eclectic dishes in an intimate setting in Petaluma... and sharing the aloha and mabuhay spirit in Vallejo.

Phillips: [ Crunches ] Mmm!

Sbrocco: Just ahead on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

Every day is Thanksgiving.

Elliott: Every day, right?

Sbrocco: Hi.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area," the show where regular Bay Area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants.

Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Joining me at the "Check, Please!"

table today are martial arts instructor Mel Orpilla, attorney and food tour guide Houston Porter, and HR consultant and podcaster Kahja Elliott.

Welcome, everyone.

Porter: Thank you for having us.

Sbrocco: We kick things off with Kahja.

She's a huge fan of classic carnitas burritos.

Now she's found a vegan version that offers a healthier take without sacrificing flavor.

It's just one of the many creative plant-based dishes at Roasted and Raw in downtown Oakland.

♪♪ Greer: Roasted and Raw is all about giving great people great food, The service, the flavors, the love, we all want that to come through on each meal.

I've been loving to cook since I was about 7 or 8 years old.

I used to throw down meals for my brothers and tear up my mom's kitchen.

My parents were huge on eating healthy.

We didn't have a lot of fast-food growing up.

But I really went off course with my diet when I hit college.

And once I got into the chef career, my body really started to break down.

So my cousin had challenged me to really start trying to incorporate the plant-based lifestyle.

I noticed my body changed with the shift in my diet immediately when I gave up red meat and dairy for about a month.

Well, the way you rise to the challenge of really making plant-based food flavorful is by failing.

And everything is not a failure.

It's more of just a learning lesson.

And a little bit our house seasoning.

I take different kind of flavors from my family, from my mom, from my grandmas, but I also incorporate 20 years of fine dining.

All these different influences have really kind of marinated and stewed almost in a pot now in my career, into my own concept of what healthy plant-based food should be.

Hey, big ups to getting the raw dish.

The restaurant really is very local, which I love.

It really serves downtown Oakland.

And that consists of our nine-to-fives.

But then also, more importantly, is our residentials... Woman #1: Oh, yeah, that has a bite.

Woman #2: Right?

Greer: ...which we feel haven't had sufficient healthy food in downtown Oakland for a lot of years.

This your first time having the food?

Man: It's my first time.

I'm not even vegan, man.

Good food is good food.

Greer: The great thing about Roasted and Raw is that 72% of our clientele are not vegan.

And so, we really feel like we're making a stride as far as-non vegan people, or just humans in general, eating healthy food.

You don't need meat every meal, or you don't have to be vegan in order to have a plant-based meal.

Hey, appreciate you coming through, man.

Sbrocco: Now, Kahja, are you a vegan?

Elliott: I'm not a vegan, but I enjoy the food.

Yes.

Sbrocco: And when you walk in the door, is there one thing that you always start with?

Elliott: I will always start with the carnitas burrito.

That's my favorite.

So -- Sbrocco: And we say "carnitas," right?

Elliott: "Carnitas," yes, of course.

But it's mushroom based.

It's barbecue carnitas.

So it has that smoky flavor to it.

There are black beans.

There are these really good caramelized onions and peppers that give it a little bit of sweetness.

And there's rice in there, but it's basmati rice.

So, to me, it gave it a little bit of a lighter feel.

Orpilla: So I had the barbecued carnitas taco rice bowl, not the burrito.

And it had the typical pico de gallo on it, some roasted corn, but it had strips of fried tortilla strips that added to more texture.

But the barbecued carnitas was so good that you would not even know it was vegan.

And with the selection of hot sauces that they had at the counter -- there must have been about 10 different hot sauces -- I was in hot sauce heaven.

Sbrocco: And what else did you have?

Orpilla: I had the chorizo empanada.

And I thought that was excellent.

It was a chorizo that was walnut based.

So it had almost like a refried bean texture, and it had a lot of flavor.

And the crust, though, was what really blew me away.

It was flaky.

It was golden brown.

And they gave you this great chipotle dipping sauce.

Elliott: Mm-hmm.

The aioli.

So good.

Porter: I agree.

It was -- The flavor and texture was really incredible.

I thought it could have used a little more chorizo spice, because I thought, "What a brilliant thing to do an alternate version of," because chorizo really is about the spices.

But the crispness on it was amazing.

And we ordered basically the whole menu.

And so, ended up taking things home.

That was still crispy two or three days later.

When we brought it out of the fridge, it was still crispy.

It was just amazing.

Elliott: The sweet potatoes, the maple-glazed sweet potatoes, are so good.

So I've had them a few times.

It's like the classic sweet potatoes you would associate with holiday or Thanksgiving.

As a matter of fact, I'm wondering, do they have -- Sbrocco: Every day is Thanksgiving.

Elliott: Every day, right?

I hope they do, like, a sheet-pan order because I can order for the holidays.

But they had, like, all those classic seasonings.

I felt like I tasted cinnamon or maybe nutmeg.

But the maple flavor was really the primary driver of the sweetness.

And I liked that it didn't make it cloyingly sweet, like sweet potatoes can sometimes be.

Porter: We had a chickpea curry that had the sweet potatoes in it, and the maple really came through.

And it was phenomenal.

We chose to get the chicken on that.

Perfect texture, perfect cook, and a little bit of smokiness to it.

So everything that we had had this just beautiful smokiness that really, for a meat eater, felt very natural.

Orpilla: I had the kelp noodle pad Thai.

I love seafood, and I love pad Thai and all Thai food.

And that kelp noodle had such a clean kind of snap to the noodle.

It just kind of popped in your mouth.

It had such a flavorful sauce.

It was more like a kelp noodle pad Thai salad because everything was raw.

And the toppings, the sauce, everything was just perfect.

I would go back there just for that again.

Porter: So we had ordered half the menu, we sat down, and then saw a special come out.

They'd just written it up on the board, and it was shrimp and grits.

And we were very curious about what the shrimp was going to be, because a lot of times, it's highly-processed soy when they make fish.

But the shrimp was actually made with a certain type of seaweed that not only did it taste like shrimp, but it had the multiple textures that shrimp normally has.

All of us could not believe that that wasn't real shrimp.

Orpilla: We came out of there feeling like, "This is clean food."

I mean, I felt like we weren't heavy.

I felt like the food is healthy, and we just felt clean.

I don't know how to explain it.

Sbrocco: Do you feel like you got value?

Orpilla: Oh, yes, definitely.

Definitely.

Because, traditionally, it seems like meatless dishes cost more money.

But this place was just right on.

Sbrocco: Yeah.

Agree, Houston?

Porter: I agree.

Although, there were some dishes that should have been more.

Sbrocco: Say that loudly.

I'm sure the owners would be happy to hear that.

Porter: They have a broccoli bacon slaw.

Elliott: Bacon slaw.

I had that, too.

So it's raw.

It has broccoli, it has kale, but it also has diced apple and some sliced carrots.

It has a little bit of, like, a mustard-based dressing to it.

So there's a little bit of the crunch, there's a little bit of tang from the mustard.

You get the sweet from the apple.

So I felt like we got our green vegetable in.

Sbrocco: And the vibe is kind of cool.

Elliott: There is that sense of community.

And if you go often enough, you kind of know by face the people who are behind the counter.

So it feels like coming back to someplace you already know.

Sbrocco: All right, if you would like to try Roasted and Raw, it's located on 14th Street in Oakland.

And the average tab, per person, without drinks is around $25.

Man: So good.

Sbrocco: Houston's restaurant is proof positive that good things come in small packages.

Tucked down an indoor alley with just a handful of tables, it's run by a husband-and-wife team who offer an ever-changing menu of imaginative, locally-sourced dishes.

Located inside the historic Lan Mart building in downtown Petaluma, it's Street Social.

♪♪ ♪♪ Martin: The name of the restaurant is Street Social.

We came up with the name in a friend's house drinking scotch and thinking of what our next move was.

Pier: We were both working full-time in industry in Los Angeles.

Martin: So then Marjorie was like, "Let's call them Socials."

Pier: Definitely like the dinner-party vibe.

We wanted it to feel small and intimate.

And then once we moved up here, we started looking for a brick-and-mortar.

Martin: What you see is what we were doing 10 years ago when we were doing pop-ups at people's houses and wineries and farms.

The food at Street Social is very eclectic.

There's a lot of comfort food.

A lot of stuff comes to me in dreams.

I know that sounds weird, but... And, you know, try to keep a pen and paper by the bed and write it down.

Just come with an open mind and be ready to eat and expect to be surprised.

It doesn't matter if you're vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or a carnivore.

We have something for everyone.

Pier: It's a funky space.

This was originally where horses were shoed, so people would, while they were shopping, bring their horses back here.

And the original coal chute was actually back right underneath the kitchen.

So it's definitely one of the funkier little restaurants, build-outs that you've ever seen.

"Little" being the key word.

Martin: Yeah.

It's like you're walking into -- What is that movie, where they walk into the door in the closet?

"Narnia."

[ Laughs ] It's like that.

And then you walk in, and then people are just like, "Wow."

And I think the customers like to be able to see, actually, what's going on and be able to stop by and say thank you or just chat it up with you real quick.

And so, it's just a fun vibe.

♪♪ Sbrocco: Now, Houston, when we say tucked away and small, that's what you mean with Street Social.

Porter.

It really is.

Although it's inside the building, but it really does give a European flavor.

You feel like you're sitting in a little alley in Europe, and the attention to detail with what they do is just phenomenal.

We usually like to go with at least three people so you can try everything.

Sbrocco: And what did you have the last time you were there?

Porter: The last time we there, we started as as normal.

We ordered up a good portion of the menu.

With the starters, this time, it was the amberjack crudo, which came with pickled blueberries and a lime oil that they put over the top of it.

And every time we go, there's something in each dish that I've never heard of before, that I end up going home and researching to find out, "How have I never heard of this?"

Elliott: So I also had the amberjack crudo.

Very good.

Very fresh.

I loved the blueberries, too.

I thought that just brought in a little bit of freshness to it.

And it also had these little crispy things on top that just gave a little bit of crunchiness since the fish was soft and the blueberries were soft.

But we also had the blistered chickpea starter, and they were tossed in, I believe it was, a sumac salt.

But they were good.

Kind of like little things to pop in your mouth while you were waiting for the main course.

Sbrocco: Right.

And, Mel, how about you?

Orpilla: I started off with the potato churros.

And, you know, most people know what a churro is, is a deep-fried kind of sweet dessert that you get from a Mexican restaurant.

But these were deep-fried potato.

These were not oily at all.

And it tasted like it was made out of whipped potatoes because it was so light and fluffy on the inside.

And it came with a sour cream dipping sauce.

And I thought, "What a great way to start a meal."

It was hearty but yet not filling at the same time.

Porter: Another big hit was the pan-seared monkfish.

It has a lobster texture to it.

So it's a very firm fish.

Perfectly cooked.

But it was the chorizo marmalade on top that it's just one of those things where Chef Jevon, he's never over-the-top.

It always fits with the dish.

Sbrocco: Did you -- Your -- This is the theme, the chorizo marmalade?

Orpilla: I had that, too.

And I liked the combination of the sweet and the savory of the fish.

But I love how it was sitting on a bed of black-eyed peas.

And Chef Jevon came out, and I asked him, I said, "Is this a Southern dish?

He says, "No, I just made it up."

Porter: Yeah.

Sbrocco: A lot influences.

Orpilla: It's not based on any kind of cuisine.

He just knew that the flavors would work in the presentation.

I thought it was a great dish.

Sbrocco: Did you have that dish, as well?

Elliott: I had -- I took a page out of Houston's book.

We had the spread.

So I went with three people.

And we had one of each of the entrées.

So one of my girlfriends had the steak.

Cooked perfectly.

It came with fries.

It came with a really nice chimichurri sauce on top.

Very good.

But for my entrée, I had the vegetarian dish, which was the vegetarian enchiladas.

And so, it was very, very thinly sliced zucchini.

Almost like a zucchini lasagna, because in between was this house-made queso fresco.

There were roasted chunks of zucchini on the plate with a little bit of the crumbled queso fresco around.

So it was creamy.

Now, we had the salad, too, the little gem salad, which I have to shout out to the salad dressing because we were dipping everything -- the crudo slices.

We were dipping, like, everything we got in the salad dressing.

I think it was sherry vinegar based.

Really delicate.

I think we even got, like, salad to go.

We were really impressed by that.

Sbrocco: And did you have any other dishes?

Orpilla: We ordered two desserts.

One was like a butterscotch pudding.

That was really good.

Not too sweet.

It tasted like something you would order from a pub in England or something.

But what really was the star of the show was this strawberry ice cream with a butter-crumble cookie.

I mean, the cookie itself could have been a dessert by itself.

But I have never had such a fresh-tasting strawberry ice cream.

Sbrocco: And I see you shaking your head.

Elliott: I'm shaking my head.

We did a little bit of a split.

We got that, which, to me, was, like, the best part of a crumble, where you get that crumbly brown sugar topping with the ice cream, so very fresh.

Sbrocco: And you've talked a little bit about service.

You know, because it's such an intimate spot, you felt like you got attended to very well.

Elliott: She could have sat down with us.

We were so close.

You know, we were right there, seated by where the host stand was.

So we felt like she was just omnipresent during our meal in a good way.

You know, she could see when we wanted water or anything that we needed, or if we had a question, we could just turn and ask her.

Orpilla: Yeah, we ate outside.

I think there were only three tables.

Porter: I always put quotes -- "outside."

Orpilla: In the corridor, the hallway.

And I thought it was very, very intimate.

Very romantic in a sense because the subdued lighting, and I just felt like I wasn't in Petaluma.

I felt like I was in some European city in a sidewalk and enjoying a nice meal with my wife.

Sbrocco: Right.

Did you feel like you got value for the money you spent?

Orpilla: Yes.

I definitely did.

Some of it was a little bit expensive, but it was definitely worth the price.

Elliott: Yes.

I don't necessarily think it was a value per se, but I don't think every dining experience is value based.

This was a food experience.

Sbrocco: All right.

If you would like to try Street Social, it's located on Petaluma Boulevard in downtown Petaluma.

And the average tab, per person, without drinks is around $65.

♪♪ Mel's place is another surprising North Bay find.

Featuring friendly service, a low-key island vibe, and flavor-packed Filipino and Hawaiian specialties, it's a popular hangout for those in the know in Vallejo.

Located just off Highway 80 in a former Howard Johnson's, it's Kehaulani's Cafe.

♪♪ Arnold: Kehaulani's Cafe brings a lot of aloha, great food, and the diversity of Vallejo.

My parents are both Filipinos.

They came here after World War II.

My dad was in the military.

But I remember helping my mom every Sunday, cooking her favorite Filipino food.

It was the hearty stuff for all our relatives that come over, you know?

But we took two styles -- Filipino and Hawaiian -- blended them together as a blend of our culture and Hawaii's culture.

Arianna: Kehaulani's Cafe is named after my middle name.

"Kehaulani" means "heavenly mist" in Hawaiian.

It's been nice to see him, you know, doing something what he loves.

Arnold: I just wanted to give back to the community and have a unique place where all my buddies could hang out.

You know, that's why I built this.

♪♪ Well, the concept of the menu is, we wake up late, we eat about 12:00, then we go about our business.

That's why we call it every day, all-day brunch.

When I see menus, I like to read it so it's fun, not serious.

There's like four or five columns.

One is Breaking Bread.

That's what you do when you get to a table, anyway.

You break bread.

You gather, talk, story.

Then as entrées come in, that section, my mom used to say, "You like eat?"

That means coming to the table, let's eat, it's time for dinner.

And, you know, the "Happy Ending," that's just make-believe, that's just fun.

Arianna: The happiness I find is, you know, customers coming near, far, even down the street.

Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a table of four ladies who haven't seen each other since high school.

And they were here from 9:00 a.m. till closing, just talking, eating.

And, you know, we really want to be that spot for a lot of customers.

Arnold: As you walk in, you prepare for glory.

[ All cheering ] What's up, brother?

And I think they go home happy, fulfilled.

I want them to go home and make love.

[ Applause ] Sbrocco: So, Mel, I love that this is, for those in the know, in the former Howard Johnson's.

Orpilla: Right.

Right.

Sbrocco: You have to really know where this spot is, right?

Orpilla: It's across the street from a car wash and a Jack in the Box.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Orpilla: And it's a little nondescript place on a corner.

They have a little sandwich board out front.

And if you're not looking for it, you can drive right by it and end up in the Grocery Outlet store.

Elliott: That's exactly what happened to me.

Orpilla: There you go.

There you go.

Sbrocco: And what do you usually start with when you go there?

Orpilla: The go-to dish for anybody that goes there for the first time is his loco moco.

So -- And loco moco traditionally is white rice with a hamburger patty, brown gravy, and a fried egg on top.

Well, he makes it elevated.

He uses a slow-cooked, braised short rib.

And it's just fall-off-the-bone, flavorful short rib with his own homemade gravy.

Elliott: I had the loco moco.

Sbrocco: You did?

Elliott: Yes!

And it was a big portion.

Orpilla: Yes.

Elliott: I had, like, a nice, hearty portion.

The gravy, for me, was just a tiny bit salty.

But because it had the rice and the egg with it, I felt like it balanced it right out.

And I liked that, even though it was listed with a fried egg, they were making the eggs to order.

I'm not a huge fan of the runny yolk, so they made mine over-medium, so it was perfect.

It was different for me.

I'm not accustomed to that combination of food for breakfast.

So that was a new one on me.

Loco moco is not a breakfast meal.

It is a lunch or dinner meal.

It was something that the local Hawaiians wanted that was flavorful, cheap, and easy to make real fast.

Elliott: Okay.

Orpilla: If you want breakfast, you should go there when they do their ube waffles with fried chicken.

Porter: Ooh!

Elliott: Oh!

Orpilla: Ube is this sweet purple yam that's becoming kind of trendy now.

Porter: Well, we started with a sweet bun, like a pulled pork in pillowy -- Orpilla: Like the laughing buns.

Porter: Yeah.

Laughing buns.

I've never heard them called that, but that's perfect.

Yeah, they were phenomenal.

There was one little slice of slightly pickled cucumber that gave it a little bit of crunch.

But we also had the fat burger.

Sbrocco: They have a whole portion on the menu that you can eat with the hands.

Porter: Yes.

And that had the low-and-slow braised short ribs on the burger, with some pickle and a little bit of sauce.

And one of the best burgers we've had.

That was -- It was phenomenal.

Orpilla: One of their other signature dishes is arroz caldo, which is a chicken and rice porridge.

And it's a traditional dish that I like to eat when it's cold and rainy outside.

It's just comfort food, and it warms your soul when you go in there on a cold, rainy day and eat that nice, hearty bowl of arroz caldo.

Elliott: We also had the sisig bowl.

So it was a rice bowl that came with the pork.

It had some chicharrones sprinkled on top, so there was some crunch.

There's a little bit of veggies in the rice.

It also had -- and I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right -- is it atchara?

Orpilla: Atchara.

Elliott: Atchara.

Orpilla: It's like a Filipino relish.

Elliott: Relish.

I'm new to that.

So I liked the little bit of vinegary flavor that it brought to the pork.

Orpilla: Yes, exactly.

Yes.

Porter: So one of the desserts that we had was called a POG crème brûlée.

Orpilla: POG is pineapple, orange, and guava.

Porter: Yeah.

Orpilla: And I was surprised when he made a crème brûlée out of it.

And it didn't taste like your traditional crème brûlée.

It was just -- It was perfect.

Oh, it was so good.

Porter: And I think they said it was a family recipe.

And, oh, it was wonderful.

We don't go by Vallejo on I-80 very often, but any time we go by from Sacramento to Oakland or San Francisco, we're now going to time it so that we can go there.

Orpilla: Exactly.

Porter: Very affordable.

Sbrocco: All right, everybody, to Vallejo.

Porter: Yes.

Orpilla: There we go.

Sbrocco: If you would like to try Kehaulani's Cafe, it's located on Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo.

And the average tab, per person, is around $30.

And now, reporter Cecilia Phillips has more Bay Area bites you've got to try.

This week, she's rolling along the Sonoma Valley Farm Trail.

♪♪ Man: A little salt.

Dolan: These are so big this year.

Woman #3: I know.

Dolan: Flatbed Farm is a place where the community can gather and really focus on getting fresh and local produce, as well as learn about what a little farm can do.

And this weekend is great because it's a special weekend where it's part of Sonoma Farm Trails, which is all different farms open their doors, and everyone can visit different neighboring farms.

Phillips: All right, so we're gonna go feed some chickens?

Young girls: Yeah.

Phillips: I just assumed that chickens would eat chicken feed.

But you all are feeding them all kinds of good stuff.

Girl: We just feed them all different fruits and veggies that we can't eat or sell.

We always throw it to them, and then they get, like, all that nutrition.

Phillips: Okay, so where are we now?

Girl: We're at the chicken coop.

Oh, here's a big one.

Girl #2: There are a lot of eggs.

Girl #3: And sometimes they even come in blue and green.

Some of them are freckled.

Girl #2: It's really cool.

Girl #3: They taste so good.

Phillips: What's some of the types of produce that you have here?

Dolan: Well, we love to do things that are a little bit different and off the beaten path.

So pineapple guava, for example, is super interesting.

We actually bought the plant because we loved the foliage of the plant for flower arrangements, and then we realized that this fruit is super cool and very edible.

Kind of juicy.

Phillips: Mmm!

It's kind of like eating a tropical gummy bear.

Dolan: It totally is like a tropical gummy bear.

Griffin: These are ground cherries.

They grow on a bush, kind of like a tomato bush.

And then they fall on the ground.

And that's when you know when they're ready.

And then you just peel back the little layer.

Phillips: Okay.

Griffin: Surprising, right?

Phillips: It tastes like somebody baked a pie into that cherry.

Griffin: It's so good.

Cutri: We have an acre and a half here, and we intercrop and intensively farm.

Here's a lemon cucumber right here.

Quite simply, you can just give it a little twist and a pop.

Phillips: Oh.

[ Crunching ] Wow.

Cutri: [ Chuckles ] Fresh off the vine.

These will be perfect for a spicy blend.

Dolan: It's really fun to be able to discuss with chefs how they're gonna be using our produce.

Chef: This is butternut squash for our duck confit hash today.

Dolan: And it's also fun to work with chefs who are interested in seasonal availability, who are familiar with seasonally-available crops, and who get just as excited as I do about what's coming in in the next season.

Phillips: How do you decide what you're gonna put on the menu when you come out to a farm?

Lowe: I just keep a blank mind.

Like, just walk into it, and it's like, "What's here?"

Today we have a take on our classic fried chicken sandwich.

We're calling it the fried chicken greenwich.

The special greens on the sandwich -- our green serrano chili hot sauce that we made with chilies from the farm.

And also a cucumber kimchi.

Phillips: Awesome.

It took us a while to get up to the farm, but it was worth the wait.

Woman #4: Is it good?

Man: Oh.

Snyder: To my mind, farmers are unrecognized heroes, and they're not celebrated enough.

And I think the more that people get on the farms, get to meet them, realize all of the love and care that goes into growing our food, I think that everyone leaves feeling better.

Woman #5: It's so good.

Sbrocco: I have to thank my great guests on this week's show, Mel Orpilla who digs in to the loco moco at Kehaulani's Cafe in Vallejo, Houston Porter, who craves the crudo at Petaluma's Street Social, and Kahja Elliott, who savors the maple-glazed sweet potatoes at Roasted and Raw in Oakland.

Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you then.

Cheers, everyone.

Whoo-hoo!

Orpilla: Cheers.

Sbrocco: Cheers!

♪♪ Phillips: A little gourd, very reminiscent of an umbrella.

Vegetable imitating life.

Ready for rainfall.

We always need rain, right?

Woman #6: I come here every week for the Harvey's Donuts.

Usually the frosted one goes first.

Phillips: What are you looking for when you go to a farm stand?

Man: Great pastries, fresh fruit, lots of people, everyone in a good mood.

Phillips: Okay.

And you?

[ Laughs ] Great answer.

Great answer.