Exploring the Bay Area

  Toss Noodle Bar Downtown Berkeley’s Toss Noodle Bar is respected for offering only inexpensive, delicious Asian fusion dishes. The menu features a DIY list of options that lets you pick and combine elements from different Asian culinary traditions, starting with your choice of noodle or rice bases, then adding soup, sauce, or curry before choosing the protein you prefer—but you can also pick some popular favorites from the set menu, like the Pad Thai, the Toss garlic noodles, or the Pad Se Ew, all for very reasonable prices. This affordable place to eat is hardly a secret! They are open every day from 11 am to 10 pm and almost always have customers in their dining room. There’s often a line forming to place an order. Students in particular enjoy the low-price, high-quality noodles and stir-fries that are made to order here. The dining room is stripped back and modern, and the service is quick, placing an emphasis on coming to devour delicious food quickly and simply, alone or wit...

  Burma Spice Burma Spice is an attractive full-service sit-down restaurant in Redwood City that serves delightful, artistic, and tasty Burmese dishes at reasonable prices. The servers here know the menu and perform their duties with the type of natural ease that comes with experience, and the chefs work quickly and carefully to make aesthetically pleasing and tasty dishes without overcooking the meat, using too much sauce, or adding too much of any one flavor. The result is a dining experience that is completely satisfying. The food is—without fail—something you will enjoy eating, your water cup seems to fill itself automatically, and the eating area is quiet and clean. All this makes it the ideal place to eat with people you really want to spend time with—it’s a comfortable and enjoyable place to relax together, and the food, which is cooked perfectly, only adds to your enjoyment. Although Burma Spice serves a specific type of cuisine, Burmese cuisine, and it is decorated with so...