Who's Hungry?

A blog wouldn't be mine if it didn't include a collection of food photos.

Let's just take a moment to relish the super-size American grocery store.  Five years ago nothing about these photos would have seemed unusual.  But now after almost five years in Europe it's these little (or BIG!) things in life that really amaze me.  No more fighting past endless Albert Heijn shelf-stockers, no more separate trips to the pharmacy for non-prescription medicines, and hello again to FREE SAMPLES!!  I probably looked like a complete idiot taking photos inside the Nob Hill grocery store...but I couldn't help myself.  This culture shock won't last forever.

 Huge produce section

Fresh chile peppers section (for all the great Mexican food in the area)  

Woo hoo! Hot Dog section!

At least 30 different types of Mac 'n Cheese.  USA! USA! USA!

Pre-made cookie dough, how i've missed you...

During our first week, Ryan and I have also tried out a fair share of the local cuisine.  Mountain View has quite an international vibe, with lots of entrepreneurs and tech junkies coming from all over the world to live and work here.  Just on Castro street alone, you can find restaurants featuring American (5), Mexican (4), Indian (4), Chinese (8), French (1), Thai (3), Italian (5), Japanese (11), Korean (2), Mediterranean (6), Spanish (1), Vietnamese (4), and Irish (2).  Here's some photos of our first taste of the city:

 Burgers and sweet potato fries at St. Stephen's Green

 Lobster roll from The Drunken Lobster

Camarones rancheros at Fiesta del Mar Too

Turkey club from Posh Bagel

Hummus sampler from Oren's Hummus Shop

 Pizza from Napoletana Pizzeria

I don't think we can keep up this food marathon permanently (otherwise we'll double in size!) - but for the first week it's been fun.

As for cooking, the weekly Mountain View farmer's market is a great source for fresh and local produce, meat and fish.   With over 80 farm stands, it's rated one of the top 5 farmer's markets in the entire US, and it's just across the street!  Here are some pictures from our visit today:

Kale yeah!

Looking forward to many more lazy Sundays here...