DoorDash is Delivering from The Bywater

Earlier this year, I was very impressed with the fried chicken from The Bywater in Los Gatos when I had a chance to review it for Metroactive. Last week, DoorDash gave me a chance to try The Bywater's fried chicken which is a new offering for their service. The food and delivery were complimentary to me and these opinions are my own.

I chose a weekday delivery around 6:30-7PM. The delivery was prompt (early actually) and everything went smoothly. The chicken arrived still hot and crispy even though I live a bit farther from the restaurant. Here is about half the portion after plating.

The chicken was put in a reusable plastic container. Two large breast pieces. They were juicy inside, crispy and crunchy on the outside. I was very impressed with how this held up during delivery and pleasantly reminded of when I had it in store. You can order it for $22 in the store but it only comes with a small cup of butter beans. On DoorDash, for $28, you get it with red beans and rice. This came out to two portions for me, or maybe slightly over one portion for someone with a larger appetite.

The red beans and rice were served in this container. It's a heavier portion of red beans and sausages with smaller portion of rice. If you want, to split this into two portions, you can cook up more rice. But like I said before, everything served as it is delivered is already filling.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Everything tastes as it did in store which is great. I'm impressed with how hot the food stayed, and how crispy the chicken was. From order to delivery, everything went smoothly. There is currently only one entree and one drink available from The Bywater on Doordash right now. To check if your address is within the delivery zone, check out the DoorDash website. They aim for a radius of a 15-20 minute drive.

Genji Ramen at Whole Foods Market - Santa Clara

Ramen's popularity will never die. People just love this stuff. It was a very smart choice for Whole Foods at Santa Clara Square to carry Genji Ramen at their hot food bar. Genji usually offers sushi made from natural ingredients, sustainably raised and caught fish, and has vegan options too exclusively for Whole Foods Market. Other locations may also offer teriyaki bowls and baos. They apply this same standard to their ramen. Two weeks ago, Genji Ramen and Sushi invited me to a tasting of their menu. The tasting was complimentary but the opinions on the food below are my own.

($11.99) Genji's Original tonkotsu broth
The noodles were springy and chewy. Genji does not have a brick and mortar store so they cook their broth at a food preparation center, freeze it, and distribute to their store locations such as this Whole Foods one. Same with the chashu. I couldn't tell this was once frozen. It reheats well. The soft boiled marinated egg was cooked in the store. I tasted a bit too much Mirin in my egg but the texture was nice. I liked that it had plenty of woodear mushroom.

($11.99) spicy miso tonkotsu
Phil preferred this one over the original tonkotsu broth. He thought the spice added more flavor. I thought there wasn't much spice but I do agree that it adds another element of flavor. The fixins are the same plus shredded dried pepper strands on top.

($3.99) tempura bao slider - This was tasty and a different take on the usual baos. Inside there is tempura battered and fried shrimp with a sweet hoisin-like sauce and shaved spring onions. 

($3.99) Chashu pork bao slider - This version had similar condiments to the tempura slider except with tender chashu pork instead. The pork is lean and not the fatty belly cut we're used to when it comes to chashu. It's a bit bland except for the sauce. I recommend the tempura shrimp one instead.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Since Whole Foods opened last month, I've been here many times for shopping and for lunch. It is by far the best local Whole Foods because of its layout and offerings, especially for hot food. It's nice to have a quick ramen option. Though this one costs the same as restaurants and has slightly less in the bowl, it does its job of fulfilling a ramen craving quickly. Slightly less sodium than restaurants. The noodles were impressive for a food stall. I wouldn't get these particular drinks (hibiscus tea and matcha tea) again because they were too sweet. The coffee stand at Whole Foods has better options. I've enjoyed all my lunches at Whole Foods for a mixture of the atmosphere and tasty healthy options. Everything here is worth a try at least once if you're in the area.

Forge Garden Tour - Santa Clara University - Santa Clara

Last month, I attended an event for Santa Clara University Alumni at the campus garden. We took a tour of The Forge Garden which is one block off campus then had a mozzarella making workshop after. The price of admission was $10 and came with a tour, cheese workshop, wine and beer, and snacks. Santa Clara University makes its own wine called Mission Wine and proceeds help fund scholarships to the students.

Mission Wine Collection is sold on VinoShipper if you're interested in purchasing. I tasted the Pinot Grigio and Cabernet Sauvignon, they're quite nice and mellow.

In the middle of the garden is a house that is used as the office. The house was built by civil engineering students entering in a previous year's competition for the most sustainable house. There are solar panels on the roof and parts of the insulation was made with recycled denim!

For a video version of this post, watch this Youtube video.

Certain beds at the Forge Garden are used for experiments in farming or agricultural technology. Other harvested items are sold at the weekly farm stand in front of the garden. Tours like this one were also given regularly. There is a chicken coop at the corner of the garden and the chickens roam freely. Their eggs are not sold at the farm stand as there isn't enough to supply the demand. Instead, the eggs are donated to partnering elementary schools where they are used in cooking demos for the children. All compostable waste is put in a compost area to be used later.

Our mozzarella class started with pouring Straus Family milk into pots and heating up to a certain temperature while stirring. Citric acid and Rennet are added.

Then the whey is separated from the curds by straining.

All the curds are formed into a ball which is heated more, stretched, and heated again.

Our instructor was helping to stretch ours but it was still hard so we had to heat the ball again.

Finally, whoa la! Fresh pulled mozzarella with vine ripened tomatoes from the garden and balsamic vinegar. My son's little baby hand trying to reach for a bite. Mozzarella making was fun and interesting. It sounds easy as I simplified the directions above but its actually very laborious. Its hard to get the soft pillowy texture. Forget about how they make burrata, that creamy consistency must be very difficult to achieve. Now I know why fresh mozzarella balls cost so much!

Whole Foods Market Preview Opening - Santa Clara

The new Santa Clara Square complex has been much anticipated as I've driven by their construction site daily. This week, Whole Foods and a few other retailers had their grand opening to officially open the Square for business. The following photos and video are a blend of shots from my iPhone, Canon Powershot, and Whole Foods' promotional photos. They cover the media preview event and grand opening day which my husband went to.

Colin bear did not like Sourdough Sam, the Niners mascot, on opening day. But he did like the cheerleaders and getting Dwight Clark's autograph.

For a video version of this post, watch this Youtube video.

Poke by the pound and in-house smoked meats.

Bubbies Mochi from Hawaii

The swanky and spacious Tap Room using refurbished wood from the buildings that sat on this lot before.

Cider and champagne

Farm to table caviar - what does that mean?

Top Chef season 12 finalist, Melissa King, developed 8 new recipes for Whole Foods. Her items can be purchased at the hot bar and salad bar.

The oysters are $0.75 each in the Land & Sea section

You can buy Genji Sushi and Ramen for lunch at the hot food area.

As usual, lots of gluten free and vegan options in their bakery. And also this cool cupcake tower.

Sweet dreams are made of cheese.

A sample from their media preview offerings

Whole Foods Market

2732 Augustine Dr, Santa Clara, CA 95054

Taste of Orleans - Great America - Santa Clara

Last weekend, we went to California's Great America's Taste of Orleans festival. This amusement park always brings back memories of my youth. It was the place to be back then and it still is. It's a nice place to go during summer break. Thanks to Great America for complimentary tickets to the park and for the food, I got to take my son here for the first time.

The Taste of Orleans Festival is only here 7/23-24 and again on 7/30-31. For food, you can buy each item at $6 per serving or $25 for a card that gets you all 6 dishes. Food stations are set up on the side of the park near the bumper cars and Pavilion. You line up at each station with your card and they mark each item you've received. The park is also decorated in New Orleans decorations, chalk drawings, jazz music, and street signs. The nights are capped off with fireworks. Here's a summary of our family's trip there.

Red beans and rice

Creole Meatballs - these are pretty sizable and juicy meatballs.

Bourbon House BBQ Chicken Wings - these were pretty good. A bit dry but the seasoning was nice.

Crawfish Etoufee on a hot dog - The crawfish was in the sauce on the hot dogs. A very filling dish.

New Orleans Beignets - the line for this was long as it was shared with the funnel cake station. The beignets were large and tasty. Beignets are always satisfying.

[Not pictured]

Chicken-Andouille Gumbo - a small cup that had a good kick to it and tasty sausage pieces

We took Colin on two rides that he was tall enough to ride. Check out our video below.