Check, Please! Bay Area, season 19, episode 12, airs Thursday, November 28, at 7:30 pm, on KQED 9. See other television airtimes.

On this episode of Check, Please! Bay Area, our guests start their culinary adventure in Palo Alto at ROOH, a modern Indian restaurant where traditional flavors meet innovative techniques in dishes like paneer chili rolls, jackfruit toast and chicken tikka kulcha. Next, they head to The Barn in Half Moon Bay, a rustic, farm-to-table eatery offering seasonal American comfort food, from juicy burgers with barn-pickled jalapeños to fried mac and cheese, all enjoyed in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. The journey continues in San Jose at Kusan Uyghur Cuisine, where diners experience the rich, bold flavors of Central Asian dishes like hand-pulled noodles and big plate chicken. Finally, reporter Cecilia Phillips visits the Fork’n Good Food Festival in Rohnert Park, where she samples a diverse array of gourmet eats, from local Sonoma bites to globally inspired street food.

Host Leslie Sbrocco joins guests Avani Tumuluri, Jacob Gorneau and Eliza Bulanti from KQED in San Francisco.

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Host Leslie Sbrocco sipping wine (Courtesy of Leslie Sbrocco)

My name is Leslie Sbrocco, and I’m the host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Each week, I’ll share my tasting notes about the wine, beer and spirits the guests and I drank on set during the taping of the show.

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Episode Transcript

Leslie Sbrocco: Contemporary Indian plates in Palo Alto.

Did it live up to the hype?

Avani Tumuluri: It so lived up.

Leslie Sbrocco: Burgers al fresco in Half Moon Bay

Jacob Gorneau: The bread makes the sandwich.

Eliza Bulanti: The bread makes the sandwich.

Leslie Sbrocco: And Central Asian cuisine in San Jose.

Eliza Bulanti: And it really knocked my socks off.

Leslie Sbrocco: Just ahead on “Check, Please! Bay Area.”

Cecilia Phillips: You heard it here first. This smacks.

Humberto Segura: Yeah, it smacks. [laughs]

[music playing]

Leslie Sbrocco: Hi, I’m Leslie Sbrocco. Welcome to “Check, Please! Bay Area,” the show where Bay Area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants. Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go check them out to see what they think. Joining me at the “Check, Please!” table today are three very studious guests—dental student Avani Tumuluri, psychology and brain science student Eliza Bulanti, and scorpion researcher grad student Jacob Gorneau.

Eliza Bulanti: Thank you.

Avani Tumuluri: Thanks for having me.

Leslie Sbrocco: Avani’s restaurant offers a tempting fusion of Indian and California cuisine. Add in Ayurveda-inspired cocktails, vibrant decor, and it’s the perfect place for a family dinner or a first date. Located in downtown Palo Alto, it’s ROOH.

[music playing]

Apurva Panchal: Rooh means “soul” in Persian, and in India also.

Abi Capristo: I think ROOH is passion. It’s passion for food, it’s passion for hospitality, it’s passion for putting a twist on traditional food that goes back hundreds of years.

Apurva Panchal: Alright? Perfect. I grew up in Mumbai. I’m Gujarati. Our food culture was something which had sweet, sour, and spicy—all umami flavors together. At ROOH, we have covered all the regions of India and many lost recipes which people have forgotten to cook.

[music playing]

Abi Capristo: We always like to think of nostalgic, but we wrapped it in this beautiful presentation with these vibrant colors and just a tiny bit of a modern twist to all these beautiful traditional dishes.

Man: Oh! Yo!

Apurva Panchal: Also the street food which people used to enjoy during their childhood. That first taste takes them to their childhood memories of family or the place where I was born.

Abi Capristo: We all know that Indian cuisine is a lot of vegetarian items, but I think we’ve turned it into such a fun and exciting way of eating vegetarian food that never gets old. It’s always amazing.

[music playing]

Apurva Panchal: In Sanskrit, we always say Atithi Devo Bhava. That means the guests should be treated like God. That’s how we follow it as part of our hospitality culture.

Abi Capristo: It’s so great when people walk in, they’re like, “This is my first time here and I have to be back.” You know, it’s exciting to see people be excited.

Leslie Sbrocco: Alright, Avani. I mean, this place is really a creative take, right, on Indian street food.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah. I think that I love that it’s a progressive Indian cuisine, but it kind of has a mix of the inspiration of California culture with the Indian culture. I love the decor. I love the atmosphere. You walk in, and it’s just like this shroud of reds and these antique decorations and mirrors.

Leslie Sbrocco: It puts you in the mood.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, it really puts you in the mood. It really does. I’m ready to eat. I’m ready to have fun.
Leslie Sbrocco: You’re ready.

Avani Tumuluri: And I absolutely always go for the Paneer Chili Roll. It looks like a pinwheel, which is really cool because I feel like it marries in the American culture.

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah, like a lunch snack.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, it’s like a classic Lunchable.

Leslie Sbrocco: I think it’s a snackable or something.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah! Snackable.

Leslie Sbrocco: I hear Eliza going, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Did you have this as well?

Eliza Bulanti: I did, and it was phenomenal. I thought that the flavors and the textures, I loved how they wrapped them all up, because the paneer wasn’t super overwhelming, and the crispiness of the kataifi, too, with kind of the smoothness of the paneer was perfect. And then what really put it over the top for me was the chili garlic chutney that it came with.

Jacob Gorneau: Absolutely.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah!

Eliza Bulanti: The flavor of that was phenomenal and just paired with the textures, it was a work of art, like every other dish I had here too.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, Yeah.

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah, absolutely.

Jacob Gorneau: I had the Assorted Papad, which came with three different chutneys and a bunch of different crispy crackers that were variously seasoned. My favorite one was the chili peanut one. I love peanut flavor, but in particular this peanut was so rich and decadent it almost had like a chocolatey richness to it, which was really delicious.

Eliza Bulanti: I loved this menu and that it really emphasized small plates. So my family and I got a lot of them to share, which as an adventurous eater, was so fun for me to get to try so many different things. I think my favorite had to be the Chicken Tikka Kulcha. It was like this warm, round flatbread stuffed with this really flavorful shredded chicken. And then it had this beautiful dollop of za’atar butter and pickled onions on top, and it came out warm so that the butter kind of melted in and the flavors just melded perfectly. It was glorious.

Leslie Sbrocco: So did you get the most of it and then your parents just a little bit?

Eliza Bulanti: Exactly. Everyone took a little bite, and I was like, “This one is for me.”

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah.

Eliza Bulanti: And then I also—probably the most beautiful dish I got was the Potato Tikki Chaat.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, yeah.

Eliza Bulanti: It was like a cube of really thinly sliced potatoes, and it sat atop this yogurt sauce that was almost like a whipped cream consistency, drizzled with a tamarind sauce and some raspberry seeds. The flavors and the textures were incredible.

Avani Tumuluri: I really like the Jackfruit Toast.

Eliza Bulanti: Oh!

Avani Tumuluri: I love jackfruit. I feel like if you’re able to season it right, it can be very meaty, and the jackfruit itself is very nicely spiced. And then with that buttery bread on the bottom, oh my gosh.

Leslie Sbrocco: It’s a nice combination.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah.

Jacob Gorneau: I had a Duck Seekh Kebab. I always like duck. I know sometimes people feel like it’s a little on the fatty side of things, but it was just this incredible flavor bomb, the meat itself, and there was some mixed berry chutney on top as well. And so it was really this beautiful balance between tang and spice.

Eliza Bulanti: That sounds amazing.

Jacob Gorneau: Definitely my favorite dish.

Leslie Sbrocco: Did they order right? So far?

Avani Tumuluri: They ordered right.

Eliza Bulanti: Okay, good. Okay, good.

Avani Tumuluri: My mouth is watering.

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah.

Avani Tumuluri: If you guys ever go again, you should definitely order the Malai Broccoli.

Eliza Bulanti: Ooh!

Avani Tumuluri: Now, I know it sounds like, “Why would I pay for a broccoli?” But it’s this giant piece, and it’s placed on this creamy daal, which is like lentil-based sauce, and it’s very nicely spiced.

Leslie Sbrocco: Get the broccoli.

Eliza Bulanti: I have to try that.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah.

Eliza Bulanti: I also had a delicious mocktail that went perfectly with the dishes I got. It was the Pink Guava mocktail, and it had these hints of masala spices in it, which I think cut the sweetness of the guava perfectly and really paired nicely with this meal.

Avani Tumuluri: I’m so excited, ’cause I had the same one.

Eliza Bulanti: No way! Okay.

Avani Tumuluri: No way! It was so good.

Jacob Gorneau: I tried the Mulberry Sour, which was really refreshing and bright to kind of complement some of those warmer spices. And the thing that really blew my socks off was the Patna Fizz, which is a lychee-flavored cocktail that also has, I believe, some mushroom essence in it. Beautifully purple. Like, it was really amazing.

Avani Tumuluri: Wow!

Leslie Sbrocco: And dessert?

Avani Tumuluri: Oh, of course. Of course I had dessert. I always go for the kulfi. If you guys don’t know what it is, it’s sort of an Indian ice cream, and the flavors that they have are like pistachio or saffron, flavors that you wouldn’t really get at your normal supermarket, and it’s just always decorated so beautifully.

Jacob Gorneau: My takeaway was this is amazing. This is a great special-occasion venue. And I wouldn’t necessarily go there on a first date, but I would definitely take someone I really love there and, you know, show my love through these dishes. Like, it’s really a love letter to food.

Leslie Sbrocco: Alright. If you would like to try ROOH, it’s located on University Avenue in Palo Alto, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $60.

Leslie Sbrocco: Eliza is a big-time burger lover, and she says the absolute best can be found at her casual coastal eatery. Located in Half Moon Bay, it’s The Barn.

[music playing]

Matt Haugen: The Barn is casual.

Man #2: Cheers.

Woman: Can I steal one of your fries for the dog?

Matt Haugen: It’s communal, above all.

Patrick Hanna: It’s put itself on the map as a little oasis and really just part of our ethos, which is…happy people make good food.

Woman: It’s so delicious.

Patrick Hanna: Matter of fact, I find that the best food is generally the simplest. We make everything that we possibly can, and our ingredients come from local purveyors as much as possible. We make the best burger on the coast. I know that could be an arguable statement, but I’m happy to take on anyone else that wants to challenge it. And it’s not because of some secret ingredient. We use our homemade American cheese, sauces, high-quality bun.

Man: I like the beef.

Patrick Hanna: For sure, one of the highlights for me and a lot of customers is the veggie burger. We cook down a lot of ingredients, primarily mushrooms and farro for building texture. And I’m not a vegetarian, so I honestly have that with a little bacon on top, and it’s fantastic.

Matt Haugen: Can we talk about the milkshakes? Because there’s something about the milkshakes which you don’t find anywhere.

Patrick Hanna: It’s Marianne’s Ice Cream from Santa Cruz, and a splash or two of milk just to be able to blend it together. And then we make our own ingredients to create the flavor, so if it’s chocolate, we’ll make separate chocolate ganache that then gets put into the ice cream.

Matt Haugen: Of course, homemade whipped cream.

Patrick Hanna: Well, yeah. You need to have that a little bit more fun on top.

Matt Haugen: Why not? I mean, for the person who has bacon on a veggie burger…

Patrick Hanna: True.

Matt Haugen: …whipped cream on a milkshake is par for the course.

Patrick Hanna: So Half Moon Bay, we are on the coast. Restaurant is about a five-minute walk from the sand. Dutch word, it’s called Gezellig. It means “warm,” “comfortable,” “family,” and that’s what this place means to me.

[music playing]

Leslie Sbrocco: Eliza, this spot feels like, you know, you’ve gone to the beach…

Eliza Bulanti: Yes.

Leslie Sbrocco: …you’ve hung out those gorgeous beaches in Half Moon Bay, and now you need something to eat, right?

Eliza Bulanti: Yes. 100%. That’s one of my favorite parts about this restaurant is you can really do it all here, whether that’s after a hike by the beach or just hanging out for the day. You can kind of get a sense of that local vibe that represents the quaint town of Half Moon Bay, I think, really well.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah.

Leslie Sbrocco: Alright. What is your favorite?

Eliza Bulanti: Oh, yes. Okay. What’s kept me coming back for years? It’s The Pretender. So although I am a beef hamburger-loving person, The Pretender, it is my must-have here. It’s kind of a hearty patty. It’s filled with farro, mushrooms, flax, garlic, and Parmesan, and I know that so well because I’ve even tried to recreate it at home. It’s that good.

Leslie Sbrocco: [Laughs]

Eliza Bulanti: And then topped with some white cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, lemon-dressed arugula, fresh tomato on a toasted brioche bun. And a tip given to me years ago by a lovely employee was to add pickled beets as well.

Leslie Sbrocco: And you’re a vegetarian, right? So did you find your way to that dish?

Avani Tumuluri: Yup. I had The Pretender.

Eliza Bulanti: Yeah? Okay. What did you think?

Avani Tumuluri: I felt like I was pretending to eat a burger. Oh, it was so good. I actually really liked it.

Leslie Sbrocco: What did you have when you went there?

Jacob Gorneau: I had a pulled pork sandwich, which was amazing. It was super sweet, super smoky. I have a huge sweet tooth, but I am glad that I ordered the spicy coleslaw on that.

Eliza Bulanti: I was gonna ask which one you got. You can do it sweet or spicy.

Avani Tumuluri: I got spicy.

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah, and the spicy really balanced it out a lot. And, man, the buns themselves were also delicious.

Avani Tumuluri: I had the Vegan BBQ one, which I also was a little hesitant about because sometimes, you know, with the vegan versions, you never know. But this one was insane. It was so good ’cause it was with jackfruit.

Jacob Gorneau: Jackfruit is so good.

Eliza Bulanti: It really has like that meaty tenderness.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, and the ciabatta bread? That bread, oh, it was amazing.

Eliza Bulanti: I have to mention the What the Cluck sandwich too, because that also comes on the ciabatta bread. It’s a chicken sandwich. It comes with goat cheese on top, arugula, tomato, and then their housemade Barn buttermilk. And you can opt to get it crispy or grilled. I usually get mine crispy, and I think the creaminess and the tanginess of the goat cheese with the crispiness and the saltiness of the fried chicken, it balances perfectly. And that ciabatta roll, I think, really puts it over the top.

Leslie Sbrocco: I think a ciabatta holds things in better.

Eliza Bulanti: Yes, it does.

Jacob Gorneau: The bread makes the sandwich.

Eliza Bulanti: The bread makes the sandwich.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, and I didn’t know the buttermilk was housemade.

Eliza Bulanti: Yes.

Avani Tumuluri: Because I think that came with — Oh, I’m segueing the Mac Attack.

Eliza Bulanti: The Mac Attack is my very favorite. I always have to get a side of the Mac Attack with whatever main I choose. It’s like a cube of fried mac and cheese, perfectly golden and crispy. It has like a nice crust on it so it doesn’t fall apart, and it’s sprinkled with some flaky sea salt. And you get that nice cheese pull in every bite. And it comes with their housemade buttermilk.

Avani Tumuluri: I didn’t know it was housemade! That actually made it 10 times better, because this Mac Attack is an actual famous thing in the peninsula.

Leslie Sbrocco: Right.

Avani Tumuluri: Everyone talks about it. And so I’ve been feeling left out. I’m like, “Oh, I’m trying this Mac Attack.” I finally got to go, and it’s so good.

Leslie Sbrocco: Did it live up to the hype?

Avani Tumuluri: It so lived up. Oh, my God. Me and my cousin were like, “Whoa!” Like, it was insane.

Jacob Gorneau: Another thing that I tried was the Hot Farmer burger, which is like everything that I’m looking for in anything.

Eliza Bulanti: Yes.

Jacob Gorneau: Which was a balance of some peppery arugula, fried onions, and that was just sweet, spicy, sour. I was hook, line and sinker.

Eliza Bulanti: Yeah.

Avani Tumuluri: I did get an amazing drink. It was called — I’m gonna mispronounce this. Olallieberry Lemonade. Olallieberry Lemonade, right? That was good, right?

Eliza Bulanti: That’s one of the best.

Avani Tumuluri: I was like, “What berry is a Olallieberry?” So I looked it up. It’s just a different variation of a blackberry. You guys are like, “Yeah, we knew.” But it didn’t really taste exactly like a blackberry. It almost had this tanginess, and they had full olallieberries at the bottom I could pick out at the end.

Jacob Gorneau: Oh, yeah, I did the same thing. I was just waiting to finish it so I could have all of them.

Leslie Sbrocco: Did you have any desserts?

Eliza Bulanti: I did. [Chuckles] Always have to get —

Leslie Sbrocco: Eliza’s turning into our dessert.

Avani Tumuluri: She’s the dessert.

Eliza Bulanti: I have a big sweet tooth, and I always have to get a dessert. So my favorite have got to be their milkshakes. They’re just a classic, simple vanilla milkshake topped with a dollop of whipped cream and, again, served in the nice mason jar. Just the perfect sweet to end the meal.

Avani Tumuluri: That sounds so good. They make their own pastries there too I saw.

Eliza Bulanti: Yes. Okay, so I got an apple pie also a few times ago.

Leslie Sbrocco: Remember, you were working for that. You know.

Eliza Bulanti: Right! It was topped with this crumbly topping. I mean, it was a big piece too, enough to share, and really, really delicious.

Leslie Sbrocco: And did you think that it was a good value?

Jacob Gorneau: I think so, yeah. I think it was an excellent value. And I feel like the space is so spread out and large outside that you’d never be wrestling with someone to get a seat or something.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah.

Jacob Gorneau: Or if you’re having like a day trip out in Half Moon Bay, it’s a great place to stop on your way in or out.

Eliza Bulanti: Yeah.

Leslie Sbrocco: Alright, if you would like to try The Barn, it’s located on Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $30.

Leslie Sbrocco: Jacob’s restaurant is a very rare find indeed. It’s one of only a handful in the Bay Area serving the traditional dishes of an ancient Silk Road empire. Hidden away in San Jose, it’s Kusan Uyghur Cuisine.

[music playing]

Yolwas Hashim: Just mix it well before you eat it. Kusan Uyghur Cuisine is a modern fusion of the Uyghur foods. And Kusan was this big empire from a thousand years ago. This area covered northwest of China, was based out of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, also the north of India. So the Uyghur people were living in Central Asia, and the place I’m from is called Ürümqi.

Hashim: How was everything?

Customer: Really good.

Hashim: The food, the drinks, just the most easy way to let customers know you and know your culture. Our Uyghur foods have a lot of rich flavors. We have a lot of spice. We make everything fresh daily.

[music playing]

Hashim: All the meat is halal. I’m making the laghman. We came early to cook all the lamb, beef, soup.

[music playing]

Hashim: Our hand-pulled noodles, people all can tell that we make noodle fresh every day. After the noodles have cooked, it’s too hot and we have to cool it down and the noodle can taste more tender.

[music playing]

Hashim: Yogurt is the most important part of our history and our foods. When I was little, it was my mom making yogurt for me at home. You eat yogurt a lot because you eat a lot of lamb, so you want to balance the oily meats. We really appreciate each customer that came, so every time my customer finishes the food, we offer them free ice cream.

[music playing]

Hashim: I feel like everybody can feel more happy and still can remember us — that’s the most important thing. I’m so proud and so happy I have this restaurant in Bay Area because a lot of people, they never tried our food, and I believe that a lot of people love it. So that makes me more even excited.

Leslie Sbrocco: Now this place is really a hidden gem. I mean, is that the appeal for you?

Jacob Gorneau: I think for me, yeah. I think something I just love about this place is it’s just this beautiful enmeshment of more traditional Eastern Chinese cooking styles and spices, as well as things from Western Asia. And something I really go for is the Black Fungus Salad. They toss black fungus, which is this kind of gelatinous large fungus, with chili oil, a little bit of sesame oil, and a little bit of soy sauce. And then there are a few goji berries sprinkled in there that allow for kind of a… almost like raisin-y sweetness that really offsets and cuts through the fat and the saltiness of the soy.

Leslie Sbrocco: Did you have this dish?

Avani Tumuluri: I had the same thing. I know my reactions are giving it away. I had the same thing. It was so good. I think that was one of my favorite dishes there. I really liked that texture. Your teeth just bite into it really well. Like, it’s really satisfying.

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah, it’s like very — like, almost like a gummy worm or something.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, yeah.

Leslie Sbrocco: Very toothy.

Avani Tumuluri: Chili oil gummy worm.

Leslie Sbrocco: What did you start with?

Eliza Bulanti: Okay, so I didn’t get that, but I’m gonna have to try that next time. I’m so interested now. I got the Samsa to start, which were two little golden pockets of dough stuffed with lamb and topped with sesame seeds, black pepper, and salt. It was a really simple dish, but it really allowed the flavor of the lamb, which I know is really popular in this cuisine, to shine through, and I thought it had a perfect ratio of crust to filling. It was really phenomenal.

Leslie Sbrocco: Well, it is a meat-heavy cuisine.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah.

Leslie Sbrocco: Was it maybe a little more challenging for a vegetarian?

Avani Tumuluri: It was challenging, but…

Leslie Sbrocco: But doable?

Avani Tumuluri: No, yeah, exactly. Doable. And I had the laghman for the entree. It was one of the only ones that was vegan, but also, I’m very much considering that part of the culture is to eat meat, you know? And so I really liked that they actually even thought of having a vegan or vegetarian option.

Jacob Gorneau: I also got the laghman because it also has an option to have it with lamb. They also give you the option to have it either spicy or not spicy. I got the spicy, which is this very tomatoey stew that’s kind of on a bed of handmade noodles with potatoes, cabbage, some black fungus. Again, it was very nice to have all of those different vegetables and all of the different textures built into this dish.

Jacob Gorneau: I also had their lamb chao-mian.

Both: Ooh!

Jacob Gorneau: And I think the typical chao-mian I’m used to is very like soy sauce forward with a few sauteed vegetables. But this was just a very intense cumin stew almost, and it was really incredible.

Avani Tumuluri: The one disappointment I did have was when I ordered grilled naan, and it comes with cumin and chili powder, but when it came out, it was just more warmed up and it didn’t have any of the spices on top of it. But, you know, other than that, it was honestly overall, like, really — I do like how they incorporate those spices into the dishes.

Leslie Sbrocco: And very interesting.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah.

Leslie Sbrocco: They really took you on a trip.

Eliza Bulanti: The spices were phenomenal. Another one of the dishes I got was the Big Plate Chicken, which was recommended.

Jacob Gorneau: That is so good.

Eliza Bulanti: And it was just these juicy, tender pieces of chicken and potatoes and veggies. You could tell they had been simmered for a really long time. And then it was on top of these flat, wide noodles in the best sauce. It was almost like a dry heat. The spiciness hit you after, and it did have so many hints of cumin, allspice, cinnamon. And I found myself — I was dragging my noodles back and forth through the sauce in every bite just to soak it up, because it was that good.

Avani Tumuluri: So did you guys get the yogurt drinks that they have?

Eliza Bulanti: Yes!

Avani Tumuluri: The yogurt is amazing. That tastes homemade as well. I got the Honey Yuzu Peel yogurt drink — so refreshing, especially with the heaviness of the meal itself.

Jacob Gorneau: Yeah, I had the Honey Lemon one.

Avani Tumuluri: Yes!

Jacob Gorneau: I just highly recommend if you’re going with a few folks, make sure you all get a different yogurt drink to try.

Avani Tumuluri: Yeah, ’cause you all try each others. I tried my sister’s, the passionfruit one.

Eliza Bulanti: Yeah.

Jacob Gorneau: And they have a milk tea that has butter in it. And if you’re someone who’s really fiending for some rich, rich flavors, there’s a little bit of butter, a little bit of salt. And it’s just, at least for me, an unconventional take on a milk tea, and it was delicious.

Leslie Sbrocco: And any room for desserts?

Avani Tumuluri: I had the Bakali. It was this very dense cake, and it was amazing. It had some spices in it, maybe a little bit of cardamom drizzled with chocolate and caramel on top. It was very good.

Eliza Bulanti: Sounds delicious.

Leslie Sbrocco: And my dessert queen over here?

Eliza Bulanti: Oh, yes. I got the homemade yogurt dessert topped with sliced almonds and honey. Really, really good because I had never had Uyghur cuisine, so I was so excited to try something new, and it really knocked my socks off. I would go back.

Leslie Sbrocco: Well, if you would like to try Kusan Uyghur Cuisine, it’s located on 4th Street in San Jose. The average tab per person without drinks is around $30.

Leslie Sbrocco: And now reporter Cecilia Phillips heads to Sonoma County for more Bay Area bites you’ve just got to try.

[music playing]

Cecilia Phillips: We’re here in Sonoma County for the Fork’n Good Food Festival. Where did the name come from?

Mercedes Hernandez: Well, I probably can’t really say it. Well, you know, food is pretty effing good, so, like, I thought, like, what better name than the Fork’n Good Food Festival, right? Hi! How are you? Can’t really forget it.

Cecilia Phillips: What kind of energy and vibe is gonna be here today?

Mercedes Hernandez: We have so many amazing local restaurants and food trucks here in Sonoma County, and I wanted to create an event that would bring together the food vendors and the community for a day of just food, fun, live music, and just have a good time.

[music playing]

Cecilia Phillips: The name of your business tells part of the story of what you do. So tell me about the name.

Joseph Edwards: Legacy BBQ originated from my father. My father was a pitmaster here in Sonoma County.

Man: Thanks, Joe!

Joseph Edwards: And so I took up the reins and hopefully will pass it on to my family, so continuing my father’s legacy.

Cecilia Phillips: Amazing.

Joseph Edwards: I wood-fire tri tip. I have my own rub — salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic. Get it nice and hot, cut it real thin, and serve it right off the grill. That’s the secret.

Cecilia Phillips: Is a tri tip sandwich something that you should be eating with a fork?

Joseph Edwards: If you can get this down without a fork, I will give you a sandwich for free.

Cecilia Phillips: OMG! Ahh! We did it! No forks, baby.

Joseph Edwards: Cheers.

Cecilia Phillips: Oh.

Joseph Edwards: So good.

Cecilia Phillips: That is fork’n good.

Jeannette Ambriz-Diaz: Chamoy?

Woman: Yes, please.

Jeannette Ambriz-Diaz: Chamoy is a sweet, tangy, a little spice kind of paste that you put around your drinks.

Woman: I love it.

Cecilia Phillips: But you don’t just do drinks.

Jeannette Ambriz-Diaz: No. One of my favorite things is a cucumber roll.

Cecilia Phillips: So I love that you’ve done cucumber so I can feel a little bit less guilty about the fact that I’m eating a lot of candy right now.

Jeannette Ambriz-Diaz: It’s a well-balanced meal.

Cecilia Phillips: A good drip.

Jeannette Ambriz-Diaz: Right?

Katia Reyes: Now we’re just waiting till it’s fully cooked, and then we start flipping. My name is Katia, and I am owner of Los Mini Pancakes.

Woman: Enjoy!

Woman #2: Yay!

Katia Reyes: In Mexico, they have the mini pancakes. But I’m actually one of the first ones in Sonoma County that started mini pancakes. My menu is just whatever you want. Unlimited syrup, unlimited toppings. That’s what people like.

Cecilia Phillips: Okay, so how do you eat these? With your hands?

Katia Reyes: No, we got forks. Yeah.

Cecilia Phillips: [Chuckles]

Katia Reyes: Cheers.

Cecilia Phillips: They’re so fluffy.

Cecilia Phillips: I see a lot of bright colors here. What do you specialize in?

Humberto Segura: So we made a Hot Cheeto menu. We have Hot Cheeto burgers, Hot Cheeto tamales, crunchwraps, burritos, and corn.

Woman: Good.

Cecilia Phillips: What have you prepared for me?

Humberto Segura: Got the Hot Cheeto mac and cheese burger. It goes with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, patty, cheese, nacho cheese, mac and cheese. We cover the bun with Hot Cheeto dust.

Cecilia Phillips: Oh, and there’s Hot Cheetos on the inside, too? [Chuckles] Oh, no! Oh, my God. That was so good. Do you ever say anything, like, right when you eat something, you’re like…?

Humberto Segura: It smacks.

Cecilia Phillips: Oh! You heard it here first. This smacks.

Humberto Segura: Yeah, it smacks. [Laughs]

Leslie Sbrocco: I want to thank my great guests on this week’s show, Avani Tumuluri, who cherishes the Chili Paneer Roll at ROOH in Palo Alto; Eliza Bulanti, who always makes room for the Mac Attack at The Barn in Half Moon Bay; and Jacob Gorneau, who introduced us to the fragrant flavors of Kusan Uyghur Cuisine in San Jose.

Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on “Check, Please! Bay Area.” I’m Leslie Sbrocco, and I’ll see you then. Cheers!

Avani Tumuluri: Cheers!

Eliza Bulanti: Whoo-hoo!

Leslie Sbrocco: Love it, love it, love it.

Cecilia Phillips: When you eat something delicious, what do you say when that first little taste hits your lips?

Joseph Edwards: “Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

Katia Reyes: I say, “This is really bomb.”

Man: Keeping it PG, “It’s flipping good.”

Cecilia Phillips: Is there certain things that you just have to eat or don’t have to eat with a fork?

Jeannette Ambriz-Diaz: I feel like you’re out of a food festival. There’s no judgment. You should be able to eat with your hands. Get messy. We’re here to try everything.

Cecilia Phillips: But, hey, there’s nothing wrong with this.

Joseph Edwards: Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Cecilia Phillips: Yeah. [Laughs]

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Check, Please! Bay Area reviews: ROOH, The Barn, Kusan Uyghur Cuisine