A viralcrispy shawarma wrap brought me to Asi Mexi Fusion Bistro, a Jordanian-Mexican spot in South San Jose offering falafel burritos, shakshuka tostadas and complimentary pita and tortilla chips baskets. The wrap has the slender width and length of a relay race baton, and is filled with pickled cucumbers, toum and choice of meat. With a golden orange glow, the exterior is griddled until crisp — toasted more than a burrito dorado from La Taqueria, but less than a chimichanga. The beef strips are tender and the toum packs a bright punch, but what tied it together is a house special: crema infused with chipotle and tahini.
Asi Mexican Fusion Bistro. 6239 Santa Teresa Blvd., San Jose. asi-mexican-fusion-bistro.menu-world.com
Cal students are eating better noodles than us. Recently, I wrote about a burst of new handmade noodle shops near the UC Berkeley campus, and in preparation I came across a story from student paper Daily Cal, which also covered the topic. The piece positioned Noodle Dynasty — a shop established in 2022 — as the local standard.The beef noodle soup, lanced with a beef rib and strewn in cilantro and chiles, was rich with a moderate burn — spice levels are adjustable. Although the noodles aren’t handmade, they’re semi-thick, with gratifying springiness. If beef’s not your thing, give the fish and fermented cabbage noodle soup a shot, which is more savory than sour and generous with slippery slivers of meat.
2426 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. noodledynasty.club
At the Gilman First Friday’s Block Party, I tried food truck D’Grobak (pronounced like “the grow buck”), which brought Indonesian street food to the festivities. Established in 2020, the truck is primarily based in San Francisco, usually found at Off The Grid locations by Salesforce Tower and Levi’s Plaza. My favorite item was the dino rib, a grilled angus beef rib that’s glazed in a sweet soy sauce. The rib’s hint of smoke played nicely with the incendiary house-made sambal, which was not quite as chunky as Sambal Oelek, but twice as hot…