J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery (Peru, Vermont, U.S.A.)

No, this blog is not dead! As I was doing work for Mieum Media’s video series interseCTion, I was far busier than before, but I am still visiting all sorts of tasty places. In November 2018, right before the midterm election, I went on a trip to my friends’ cabin in Vermont with my significant other. The owners of the cabin gave us some great recommendations. On November 5, we tried out J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery in Peru, Vermont.Read More »

Waffles INCaffeinated (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

When I told friends and family my significant other and I were going to take a road trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I got mixed reactions. People told me with surprising frankness that they thought of Pittsburgh as nothing more than a dirty steel-producing city without much to do. Having returned from our trip, we can attest that this is not the case! We found ourselves wishing we had more time to explore museums, visit more parks, and enjoy the pleasant vibe of the city. Along the way, we also got to stop at Waffles INCaffeinated, a local breakfast joint, on August 28.Read More »

Liv’s Oyster Bar (Old Saybrook, Connecticut, U.S.A.)

It is hard to believe that, until today, I have not covered any seafood on Masjib Mania. Yes, I know that I reviewed the white clam pizza from Pepe’s in New Haven, but I was really referring to dedicated seafood restaurants. Living on the Connecticut shoreline means that there are more restaurants serving fresh seafood than I can even keep straight. To celebrate my parents’ anniversary, we visited Liv’s Oyster Bar in Old Saybrook on September 7.Read More »

Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers (Oakland, California, U.S.A.)

There are a lot of negative perceptions of the City of Oakland in California. Whenever I tell people that I’m here, they more often than not reply with some variation of “be careful.” While Oakland’s crime rates are undeniable, it’s not accurate or fair to let that define the entire city. I have enjoyed my time here, and I always encourage my friends to come to Oakland to see it for themselves. On July 22, I did just that, eating lunch at Barney’s Gourmet Burgers with a friend from out of town.Read More »

Bar Bouchée (Madison, CT, U.S.A.)

While French restaurants have a certain allure in popular culture, there aren’t actually that many of them in the United States. You can certainly find them, but given all of the praise that French cuisine receives, it has not achieved the ubiquity of Italian or Chinese cuisine. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had French food! On May 17, I went with my parents and my significant other to Bar Bouchée in Madison, Connecticut.Read More »

Bowl’d BBQ (Alameda County, California, U.S.A.)

Being back in the United States, I’ve begun to miss Korean food more than one might expect. And while I love going to Korean restaurants in the US, a number of these spots, when compared to restaurants in Korea, hold reputations for being expensive and not serving large-enough portions. But when a friend told me that he would be interested in Korean cuisine, I was more than happy to try out Bowl’d BBQ in Alameda County, California.Read More »

Mi Casa (Norwich, CT, U.S.A)

When reading my review of lackluster Tequila’s of Old Saybrook, CT, my friend Mr. J told me that my “mistake was trying to find good Mexican food in New England.” While I appreciate his sense of humor and snark, he is dead wrong about this assertion! As I found when I went to Mi Casa in Norwich, CT on April 12, good Mexican food can indeed be found in the northeast.Read More »

Toss Noodle Bar (Berkeley, California, U.S.A.)

Berkeley, California is one of the best-known communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, largely due to the University of California Berkeley. Having never been to the campus before, I decided to head to the city during a particularly warm summer afternoon. I had not eaten lunch, but I was pleased to find a number of different restaurants clustered downtown. On July 7, I checked out Toss Noodle Bar.Read More »