This San José Pop-Up Bakery Sells 18 Different Varieties of Egg Tarts
A New San José Food Stall Specializes in Vietnamese Rice Cake Omelettes
Filipino and Queer Pride Collide at Kababayan Drag Brunch
The Bay Area’s First Kerala-Style Chai Shop Opens in San José
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Hello Kitty and the Bay Area: A Love Story
At This San Jose Fusion Restaurant, Mexican and Jordanian Flavors Collide
There’s a Black and White Tegu on the Loose in Santa Clara County
San Jose’s New Late-Night Hot Spot Serves Smoky, Charcoal-Grilled Arepas
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"content": "\u003cp>You might imagine that most egg tarts are relatively indistinguishable, with their pastry cups and plain, sunglow-colored custard filling. You wouldn’t necessarily expect the treats to get remixed into dozens of different flavors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hasn’t stopped \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/a.m.patisserie\">A&M Pâtisserie\u003c/a>. The San José–based bakery pop-up sells a whopping eighteen different egg tart flavors, many of them inspired by various Asian cuisines. At a makers’ market at the Santa Clara Convention Center in November, a perpetual line of at least fifty customers swarmed the A&M booth for hours, everyone scanning the banner menu to decide which of the palm-sized egg tarts to order. A wide range of unconventional toppings included things like toasted marshmallows, flame-kissed corn kernels, \u003ca href=\"https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/milk-crumb-382321\">milk crumbs\u003c/a> and caramelized banana slices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alice Ngo and Minh Pham first started making egg tarts at home during the COVID lockdown. “We got laid off and had nothing to do,” says Pham. “Alice got bored and started baking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ngo taught herself how to make Portuguese egg tarts (aka pastéis de nata) by watching YouTube videos. After getting positive feedback from friends and family, the couple started selling the pastries to the public through Instagram and Facebook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984906\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984906\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham.jpg\" alt=\"An Asian woman and man in matching black hooded sweatshirts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A&M founders Alice Ngo (left) and Minh Pham. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t a baker, I was a cook,” says Pham. “But I enjoy pastries since I was born in France.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He moved to the United States in 2016 to pursue a tech career, but decided against working a desk job. Instead, he started working in restaurants and took cooking classes through the hospitality management program at Mission College. These days, Pham is the primary egg tart producer, juggling the pop-up with his day job as a baker at Alexander’s Patisserie. Meanwhile, Ngo uses her experience working at a hotel to handle the pop-up’s front-of-house operations and customer service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The defining characteristic of a Portuguese-style egg tart is the custard filling’s blistered, caramelized top, which sets it apart from both British egg tarts and Cantonese \u003ca href=\"https://www.seriouseats.com/daan-tat-hong-kong-style-egg-tart-5208534\">dan tat\u003c/a> — the popular dim sum dish that is probably the best-known egg tart variation here in the Bay Area. Meanwhile, Macau, a former Portuguese territory, is known for egg tarts with a scorched custard that’s eggier and less sweet than pastel de nata. The distinctions between the styles have blurred over time, but originally British custard tarts used a shortbread crust and the others were made with puff pastry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984904\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984904\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case.jpg\" alt=\"Display case with 18 different varieties of egg tarts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"924\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case-160x74.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case-768x355.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case-1536x710.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">All 18 flavors in the display case at an A&M pop-up event in November 2025. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ngo and Pham eventually shifted away from the traditional pastel de nata because they wanted their egg tarts to be lighter and less sweet. They make the puff pastry shell extra-crispy and flaky to complement their creamy custards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted something in between so I took the best of both and created my own,” says Pham. “It’s not Macau. It’s not Portuguese. It’s A&M’s.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13983625,arts_13984330,arts_13981935']\u003c/span>But the biggest thing that sets A&M Pâtisserie’s egg tarts apart is the sheer variety of flavors. The menu is ever growing as the bakers draw inspiration from their favorite pastries and restaurant dishes. Their guava egg tart is modeled after the guava-and-cheese strudel at Porto’s, the legendary Los Angeles–based Cuban bakery. The corn cheese flavor was inspired by kon-chijeu, their favorite Korean banchan. A few of A&M’s egg tarts, like the honey-garlic flavor, even have savory elements. The bakery also sells cookies, macarons and canelés.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A&M’s first large pop-ups were at FoodieLand’s 2023 festival series, which spanned several cities including Sacramento, Berkeley and San Mateo. Now, the bakery’s busiest events of the year are SJMade’s November Holiday Fair and its Winter Wonder Market in December. “The first year, we brought 600 and sold out within three hours,” Pham says of the holiday fair. “Then, the second year we brought 800 and sold out by 2 p.m.” This year, they scaled up to 1,500 egg tarts for each day of the two-day event, which required an entire month of prep time. The most time-consuming component is the multi-layered puff pastry, which takes hours to assemble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984903\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM.jpg\" alt=\"Long line of customers waiting to buy egg tarts. A large banner overhead shows the different flavors available. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A long line of customers waiting to order at one of A&M’s pop-ups. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During my visit to the A&M booth at last month’s SJMade Holiday Fair, I split a six-pack of egg tarts with my fiancée, my cousin and his girlfriend. After each bite, there was an audible “mmm” from each member of the party. We loved the classic egg tart custard’s glassy surface and creamy, light interior. My favorite was the yuzu egg tart, which had an intense acidity to balance the butteriness of the crust and strips of candied yuzu peel to mellow out the experience. A close second was the seasonal pistachio egg tart with chunks of pistachio on top for some crunch. Each person in the group had their own favorite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bakery’s next step will be to experiment with savory egg tarts that have a quiche-like filling. Pham plans to introduce these to the menu once he figures out a way to bring an oven into their pop-up space, so he can serve them warm. He and Ngo are also constantly improving their existing flavors — the matcha egg tart is being upgraded to matcha mochi, and the s’mores tart will soon incorporate homemade marshmallow. The pop-up’s next seasonal special is a salted egg yolk tart that’s scheduled to release around Lunar New Year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have 18 flavors of egg tarts now,” says Pham. “I can say confidently we’re the only ones offering that many flavors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/a.m.patisserie/\">\u003ci>A&M Pâtisserie\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> pops up at events around the Bay. The next pop-up is at the \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjosemade.com/pages/winter-wonder-market-2025\">\u003ci>SJ Made Winter Wonder Market\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> at South Hall (435 S. Market St., San José) on Dec. 13–14, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>You might imagine that most egg tarts are relatively indistinguishable, with their pastry cups and plain, sunglow-colored custard filling. You wouldn’t necessarily expect the treats to get remixed into dozens of different flavors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hasn’t stopped \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/a.m.patisserie\">A&M Pâtisserie\u003c/a>. The San José–based bakery pop-up sells a whopping eighteen different egg tart flavors, many of them inspired by various Asian cuisines. At a makers’ market at the Santa Clara Convention Center in November, a perpetual line of at least fifty customers swarmed the A&M booth for hours, everyone scanning the banner menu to decide which of the palm-sized egg tarts to order. A wide range of unconventional toppings included things like toasted marshmallows, flame-kissed corn kernels, \u003ca href=\"https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/milk-crumb-382321\">milk crumbs\u003c/a> and caramelized banana slices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alice Ngo and Minh Pham first started making egg tarts at home during the COVID lockdown. “We got laid off and had nothing to do,” says Pham. “Alice got bored and started baking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ngo taught herself how to make Portuguese egg tarts (aka pastéis de nata) by watching YouTube videos. After getting positive feedback from friends and family, the couple started selling the pastries to the public through Instagram and Facebook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984906\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984906\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham.jpg\" alt=\"An Asian woman and man in matching black hooded sweatshirts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Alice-Ngo-and-Minh-Pham-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A&M founders Alice Ngo (left) and Minh Pham. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t a baker, I was a cook,” says Pham. “But I enjoy pastries since I was born in France.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He moved to the United States in 2016 to pursue a tech career, but decided against working a desk job. Instead, he started working in restaurants and took cooking classes through the hospitality management program at Mission College. These days, Pham is the primary egg tart producer, juggling the pop-up with his day job as a baker at Alexander’s Patisserie. Meanwhile, Ngo uses her experience working at a hotel to handle the pop-up’s front-of-house operations and customer service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The defining characteristic of a Portuguese-style egg tart is the custard filling’s blistered, caramelized top, which sets it apart from both British egg tarts and Cantonese \u003ca href=\"https://www.seriouseats.com/daan-tat-hong-kong-style-egg-tart-5208534\">dan tat\u003c/a> — the popular dim sum dish that is probably the best-known egg tart variation here in the Bay Area. Meanwhile, Macau, a former Portuguese territory, is known for egg tarts with a scorched custard that’s eggier and less sweet than pastel de nata. The distinctions between the styles have blurred over time, but originally British custard tarts used a shortbread crust and the others were made with puff pastry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984904\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984904\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case.jpg\" alt=\"Display case with 18 different varieties of egg tarts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"924\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case-160x74.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case-768x355.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Display-Case-1536x710.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">All 18 flavors in the display case at an A&M pop-up event in November 2025. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ngo and Pham eventually shifted away from the traditional pastel de nata because they wanted their egg tarts to be lighter and less sweet. They make the puff pastry shell extra-crispy and flaky to complement their creamy custards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted something in between so I took the best of both and created my own,” says Pham. “It’s not Macau. It’s not Portuguese. It’s A&M’s.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>But the biggest thing that sets A&M Pâtisserie’s egg tarts apart is the sheer variety of flavors. The menu is ever growing as the bakers draw inspiration from their favorite pastries and restaurant dishes. Their guava egg tart is modeled after the guava-and-cheese strudel at Porto’s, the legendary Los Angeles–based Cuban bakery. The corn cheese flavor was inspired by kon-chijeu, their favorite Korean banchan. A few of A&M’s egg tarts, like the honey-garlic flavor, even have savory elements. The bakery also sells cookies, macarons and canelés.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A&M’s first large pop-ups were at FoodieLand’s 2023 festival series, which spanned several cities including Sacramento, Berkeley and San Mateo. Now, the bakery’s busiest events of the year are SJMade’s November Holiday Fair and its Winter Wonder Market in December. “The first year, we brought 600 and sold out within three hours,” Pham says of the holiday fair. “Then, the second year we brought 800 and sold out by 2 p.m.” This year, they scaled up to 1,500 egg tarts for each day of the two-day event, which required an entire month of prep time. The most time-consuming component is the multi-layered puff pastry, which takes hours to assemble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984903\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM.jpg\" alt=\"Long line of customers waiting to buy egg tarts. A large banner overhead shows the different flavors available. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Line-of-customers-at-AM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A long line of customers waiting to order at one of A&M’s pop-ups. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During my visit to the A&M booth at last month’s SJMade Holiday Fair, I split a six-pack of egg tarts with my fiancée, my cousin and his girlfriend. After each bite, there was an audible “mmm” from each member of the party. We loved the classic egg tart custard’s glassy surface and creamy, light interior. My favorite was the yuzu egg tart, which had an intense acidity to balance the butteriness of the crust and strips of candied yuzu peel to mellow out the experience. A close second was the seasonal pistachio egg tart with chunks of pistachio on top for some crunch. Each person in the group had their own favorite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bakery’s next step will be to experiment with savory egg tarts that have a quiche-like filling. Pham plans to introduce these to the menu once he figures out a way to bring an oven into their pop-up space, so he can serve them warm. He and Ngo are also constantly improving their existing flavors — the matcha egg tart is being upgraded to matcha mochi, and the s’mores tart will soon incorporate homemade marshmallow. The pop-up’s next seasonal special is a salted egg yolk tart that’s scheduled to release around Lunar New Year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have 18 flavors of egg tarts now,” says Pham. “I can say confidently we’re the only ones offering that many flavors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/a.m.patisserie/\">\u003ci>A&M Pâtisserie\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> pops up at events around the Bay. The next pop-up is at the \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjosemade.com/pages/winter-wonder-market-2025\">\u003ci>SJ Made Winter Wonder Market\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> at South Hall (435 S. Market St., San José) on Dec. 13–14, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Located at the intersection of Tully and King roads, the Lion Plaza shopping center is in many ways San José’s original Little Saigon — a hub for homesick Vietnamese Americans since the mid-’80s, though it’s since been eclipsed by trendier malls like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13904835/san-jose-immigrant-food\">Grand Century and Vietnam Town\u003c/a>. But in the mornings, the supermarket’s food court still fills up with hungry diners getting their phở or bó nè fix. And since August, there’s been an exciting new addition: Bột Chiên, a stall specializing in its namesake dish — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/vietnamese-food\">Vietnamese\u003c/a> omelettes topped with fried rice cakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bột chiên isn’t strictly a breakfast dish, but at around 9 o’clock on a recent Sunday morning, the dining hall’s tables filled up with hungry diners feasting on the lacy, golden-brown omelettes heaped with pickled vegetables and, often, stretchy melted cheese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owner Tu Nguyen hadn’t always planned on getting into the restaurant business. He’d been an auto damage appraiser for State Farm for 15 years when he decided to buy CreAsian Bistro, a Vietnamese fusion spot in Pittsburg, from a friend in 2016. Soon after that, he invested $150,000 to transform a Quiznos into another Vietnamese restaurant called Anh’s Kitchen. But running the two restaurants at the same time turned out to be more intense than he’d bargained for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983630\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983630\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right.jpg\" alt=\"Asian American man and woman pose for a portrait. The man's black T-shirt reads, "I'm the Nicest Asshole You'll Ever Meet."\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tu Nguyen (left) and Lan Vi Tang opened Bột Chiên in August of 2025. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I had a restaurant with 73 items,” says Nguyen. “I said, ‘What can I do to simplify this?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nguyen decided to step away from his restaurants to focus on something simpler and more affordable. He and his wife, Lan Vi Tang, wound up opening the bột chiên stall because that had been Nguyen’s favorite childhood dish. His aunt had sold the rice cake omelettes while she was at a refugee camp in Malaysia in 1980, and he grew up eating her version of the dish, which he insists is better than what you can find at any restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bột chiên is a simple dish, but Nguyen’s attention to the individual elements makes the process quite labor-intensive. While other Bay Area restaurants make bột chiên with packaged rice cakes, Nguyen commits two hours to make his from scratch. “The dough is where the money is,” he says, explaining that the starch in the rice cakes retrogrades rapidly when refrigerated or frozen. They’re noticeably more tender and chewy when freshly made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983631\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983631\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1.jpg\" alt=\"An omelette topped with fried rice cakes and melted mozzarella cheese.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nguyen’s cheese bột chiên adds stretchy melted mozzarella to the mix. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nguyen’s rice cake recipe begins by hydrating rice flour and reducing the liquid on the stove over low heat while continuously stirring. Once the mixture transforms into a thick paste, it’s poured into a tray and steamed until it sets into a jiggly block. (An electric mixer would jam up as the batter thickened, so Nguyen does everything by hand.) The dough then gets cut into bite-size cubes, which are fried until they’re crispy on the outside yet chewy on the inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13981935,arts_13975429,arts_13954983']\u003c/span>A popular street food in Saigon, bột chiên may have been originally inspired by chai tow kway, a stir-fried radish cake and egg dish from the Teochow people, who \u003ca href=\"https://ccs.city/en/anthology-of-chinese-diasporas/migration-of-the-teochew#:~:text=In%20the%20migratory%20movement%20of,served%20as%20a%20business%20port.\">migrated to Vietnam\u003c/a> from China’s Eastern Guangdong province starting in the 18th century. Unlike a French omelette that requires low heat and gentle folding, the eggs for bột chiên are cracked directly into a blistering hot pan around the crispy rice cakes, then scrambled vigorously until the underside of the omelette gets lightly crunchy and golden-brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eating the dish is mainly a textural experience. You start by clasping the crispiest rice cake between your chopsticks before anyone else at the table can call dibs. You chisel it out of the omelette like an archaeologist, then pile on some pickled carrots and daikon for brightness and crunch. A dash of the accompanying sweet-and-savory soy sauce concoction is the finishing touch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nguyen offers three variations of the dish: classic, mozzarella and taro. My favorite is the mozzarella bột chiên, in which the melted cheese binds the scallions, pickled vegetables, egg and rice cakes together into one harmonious bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983629\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983629\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio.jpg\" alt=\"Vietnamese-style beef carpaccio — thin slices of rare beef topped with slices of onion and jalapeño.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bột Chiên’s beef carpaccio is a holdover from Nguyen’s previous restaurant, CreaAsian Bistro. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While most of the restaurants in Lion Plaza mainly serve full-sized entrees, Nguyen likes to think of Bột Chiên as an appetizer spot with a small, focused menu. “At first I had 12 items,” says Nguyen. “Now, I’m down to eight.” In addition to the assorted bột chiên, those items include calamari, chicken wings and beef jerky papaya salad. He’s also carried over customer favorites from CreAsian like his Vietnamese beef carpaccio — paper-thin slices of beef briefly marinated in lime juice and topped with roasted peanuts, sliced chiles, mint, basil and fried onions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Nguyen, the decision to open in the Lion Plaza food court was a personal one. Growing up in San Francisco, he had fond memories of visiting the plaza when it was one of the Bay Area’s very first Vietnamese food hubs. He’s excited to feed the community and has started brainstorming new dishes like garlic noodles and meatball stew with bánh mì.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983632\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983632\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront.jpg\" alt='Exterior of a food court kiosk. A yellow banner overhead reads, \"Bột Chiên.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bột Chiên kiosk is located inside the food court at Lion Plaza, one of San José’s oldest Vietnamese food hubs. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m hoping that in the future people know we’re here,” Nguyen says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, he says, people from as far away as Sacramento have made the journey to eat his bột chiên. A hundred-mile drive for an appetizer might seem like a lot, but that’s just the kind of dish it is. When the craving hits, you have to have it.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bột Chiên is open Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. inside the food court at Lion Plaza (1818 Tully Rd., San José).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Located at the intersection of Tully and King roads, the Lion Plaza shopping center is in many ways San José’s original Little Saigon — a hub for homesick Vietnamese Americans since the mid-’80s, though it’s since been eclipsed by trendier malls like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13904835/san-jose-immigrant-food\">Grand Century and Vietnam Town\u003c/a>. But in the mornings, the supermarket’s food court still fills up with hungry diners getting their phở or bó nè fix. And since August, there’s been an exciting new addition: Bột Chiên, a stall specializing in its namesake dish — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/vietnamese-food\">Vietnamese\u003c/a> omelettes topped with fried rice cakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bột chiên isn’t strictly a breakfast dish, but at around 9 o’clock on a recent Sunday morning, the dining hall’s tables filled up with hungry diners feasting on the lacy, golden-brown omelettes heaped with pickled vegetables and, often, stretchy melted cheese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owner Tu Nguyen hadn’t always planned on getting into the restaurant business. He’d been an auto damage appraiser for State Farm for 15 years when he decided to buy CreAsian Bistro, a Vietnamese fusion spot in Pittsburg, from a friend in 2016. Soon after that, he invested $150,000 to transform a Quiznos into another Vietnamese restaurant called Anh’s Kitchen. But running the two restaurants at the same time turned out to be more intense than he’d bargained for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983630\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983630\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right.jpg\" alt=\"Asian American man and woman pose for a portrait. The man's black T-shirt reads, "I'm the Nicest Asshole You'll Ever Meet."\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Tu-Nguyen-left-and-Lan-Vi-Tang-right-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tu Nguyen (left) and Lan Vi Tang opened Bột Chiên in August of 2025. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I had a restaurant with 73 items,” says Nguyen. “I said, ‘What can I do to simplify this?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nguyen decided to step away from his restaurants to focus on something simpler and more affordable. He and his wife, Lan Vi Tang, wound up opening the bột chiên stall because that had been Nguyen’s favorite childhood dish. His aunt had sold the rice cake omelettes while she was at a refugee camp in Malaysia in 1980, and he grew up eating her version of the dish, which he insists is better than what you can find at any restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bột chiên is a simple dish, but Nguyen’s attention to the individual elements makes the process quite labor-intensive. While other Bay Area restaurants make bột chiên with packaged rice cakes, Nguyen commits two hours to make his from scratch. “The dough is where the money is,” he says, explaining that the starch in the rice cakes retrogrades rapidly when refrigerated or frozen. They’re noticeably more tender and chewy when freshly made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983631\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983631\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1.jpg\" alt=\"An omelette topped with fried rice cakes and melted mozzarella cheese.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Cheese-Bot-Chien-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nguyen’s cheese bột chiên adds stretchy melted mozzarella to the mix. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nguyen’s rice cake recipe begins by hydrating rice flour and reducing the liquid on the stove over low heat while continuously stirring. Once the mixture transforms into a thick paste, it’s poured into a tray and steamed until it sets into a jiggly block. (An electric mixer would jam up as the batter thickened, so Nguyen does everything by hand.) The dough then gets cut into bite-size cubes, which are fried until they’re crispy on the outside yet chewy on the inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>A popular street food in Saigon, bột chiên may have been originally inspired by chai tow kway, a stir-fried radish cake and egg dish from the Teochow people, who \u003ca href=\"https://ccs.city/en/anthology-of-chinese-diasporas/migration-of-the-teochew#:~:text=In%20the%20migratory%20movement%20of,served%20as%20a%20business%20port.\">migrated to Vietnam\u003c/a> from China’s Eastern Guangdong province starting in the 18th century. Unlike a French omelette that requires low heat and gentle folding, the eggs for bột chiên are cracked directly into a blistering hot pan around the crispy rice cakes, then scrambled vigorously until the underside of the omelette gets lightly crunchy and golden-brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eating the dish is mainly a textural experience. You start by clasping the crispiest rice cake between your chopsticks before anyone else at the table can call dibs. You chisel it out of the omelette like an archaeologist, then pile on some pickled carrots and daikon for brightness and crunch. A dash of the accompanying sweet-and-savory soy sauce concoction is the finishing touch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nguyen offers three variations of the dish: classic, mozzarella and taro. My favorite is the mozzarella bột chiên, in which the melted cheese binds the scallions, pickled vegetables, egg and rice cakes together into one harmonious bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983629\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983629\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio.jpg\" alt=\"Vietnamese-style beef carpaccio — thin slices of rare beef topped with slices of onion and jalapeño.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Beef-Carpaccio-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bột Chiên’s beef carpaccio is a holdover from Nguyen’s previous restaurant, CreaAsian Bistro. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While most of the restaurants in Lion Plaza mainly serve full-sized entrees, Nguyen likes to think of Bột Chiên as an appetizer spot with a small, focused menu. “At first I had 12 items,” says Nguyen. “Now, I’m down to eight.” In addition to the assorted bột chiên, those items include calamari, chicken wings and beef jerky papaya salad. He’s also carried over customer favorites from CreAsian like his Vietnamese beef carpaccio — paper-thin slices of beef briefly marinated in lime juice and topped with roasted peanuts, sliced chiles, mint, basil and fried onions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Nguyen, the decision to open in the Lion Plaza food court was a personal one. Growing up in San Francisco, he had fond memories of visiting the plaza when it was one of the Bay Area’s very first Vietnamese food hubs. He’s excited to feed the community and has started brainstorming new dishes like garlic noodles and meatball stew with bánh mì.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983632\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983632\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront.jpg\" alt='Exterior of a food court kiosk. A yellow banner overhead reads, \"Bột Chiên.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Bot-Chien-storefront-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bột Chiên kiosk is located inside the food court at Lion Plaza, one of San José’s oldest Vietnamese food hubs. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m hoping that in the future people know we’re here,” Nguyen says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, he says, people from as far away as Sacramento have made the journey to eat his bột chiên. A hundred-mile drive for an appetizer might seem like a lot, but that’s just the kind of dish it is. When the craving hits, you have to have it.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bột Chiên is open Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. inside the food court at Lion Plaza (1818 Tully Rd., San José).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Every October, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fanhs-national.org/filam/filipino-american-history-month-2025\">Filipino American History Month\u003c/a> honors more than a century of Filipino presence in the United States. In the Bay Area, that legacy runs deep: Cities such as San José, Milpitas and Daly City have long served as hubs for the Filipino diaspora. San José alone is home to around 109,000 Filipino residents, making it one of the 10 largest Filipino communities in the country, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it makes sense that San José plays host to a slew of cultural events this month — such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-kababayan-drag-brunch-tickets-1762716465399\">Kababayan Drag Brunch\u003c/a>, which returns for its fourth year on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Strike Brewing Company. First organized in 2021, this drag brunch has become a South Bay fixture during Filipino American History Month, reflecting the area’s vibrant intersection of Filipino and LGBTQ+ culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hosted by drag performers Manang and Tori Tia, the all-ages event blends Filipino food, queer artistry and community pride in an afternoon of performance. “Bring your lola (grandma), bring your auntie, and bring your parents who may be supportive of queerness but don’t usually go to nightclubs,” says Manang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2160px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263.jpg\" alt=\"five drag queens in colorful outfits stand on a stage under a neon sign that reads 'mama kin'\" width=\"2160\" height=\"2345\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263.jpg 2160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-2000x2171.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-160x174.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-768x834.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-1415x1536.jpg 1415w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-1886x2048.jpg 1886w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2160px) 100vw, 2160px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Manang, Kashewpeia, Tala, John Feddellaga and Tori Tia at Kababayan Drag Brunch 2023. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Manang)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year’s show features six performers, including \u003cem>Drag Race Philippines\u003c/em> season three’s John Fedellaga, widely known online as the “Omegle Queen.” DJ Ayumi Please provides the soundtrack, while Filipino bites come courtesy of Gnosh Confections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a great event to bring people together to celebrate being Filipino, to have fun, to see queer joy,” adds Manang. “We hope Filipinos show up like we always do — yelling, cheering, laughing. It’s a big party for our community to celebrate the month and to celebrate queer joy, especially at a time when that is under threat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Kababayan Drag Brunch takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Strike Brewing Company & Warehouse Taproom (2099 S 10th St #30, San Jose). Free; more information \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-kababayan-drag-brunch-tickets-1762716465399\">\u003ci>here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Every October, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fanhs-national.org/filam/filipino-american-history-month-2025\">Filipino American History Month\u003c/a> honors more than a century of Filipino presence in the United States. In the Bay Area, that legacy runs deep: Cities such as San José, Milpitas and Daly City have long served as hubs for the Filipino diaspora. San José alone is home to around 109,000 Filipino residents, making it one of the 10 largest Filipino communities in the country, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it makes sense that San José plays host to a slew of cultural events this month — such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-kababayan-drag-brunch-tickets-1762716465399\">Kababayan Drag Brunch\u003c/a>, which returns for its fourth year on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Strike Brewing Company. First organized in 2021, this drag brunch has become a South Bay fixture during Filipino American History Month, reflecting the area’s vibrant intersection of Filipino and LGBTQ+ culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hosted by drag performers Manang and Tori Tia, the all-ages event blends Filipino food, queer artistry and community pride in an afternoon of performance. “Bring your lola (grandma), bring your auntie, and bring your parents who may be supportive of queerness but don’t usually go to nightclubs,” says Manang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2160px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263.jpg\" alt=\"five drag queens in colorful outfits stand on a stage under a neon sign that reads 'mama kin'\" width=\"2160\" height=\"2345\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263.jpg 2160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-2000x2171.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-160x174.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-768x834.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-1415x1536.jpg 1415w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/F26E7C14-0C46-4F54-B262-ED8AD753F263-1886x2048.jpg 1886w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2160px) 100vw, 2160px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Manang, Kashewpeia, Tala, John Feddellaga and Tori Tia at Kababayan Drag Brunch 2023. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Manang)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year’s show features six performers, including \u003cem>Drag Race Philippines\u003c/em> season three’s John Fedellaga, widely known online as the “Omegle Queen.” DJ Ayumi Please provides the soundtrack, while Filipino bites come courtesy of Gnosh Confections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a great event to bring people together to celebrate being Filipino, to have fun, to see queer joy,” adds Manang. “We hope Filipinos show up like we always do — yelling, cheering, laughing. It’s a big party for our community to celebrate the month and to celebrate queer joy, especially at a time when that is under threat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Kababayan Drag Brunch takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Strike Brewing Company & Warehouse Taproom (2099 S 10th St #30, San Jose). Free; more information \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-kababayan-drag-brunch-tickets-1762716465399\">\u003ci>here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chayakada.us/?hl=en\">Chayakada\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a>, chai baristas juggle a meter-long stream of tea through the air like master \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGy0kbk6gYc\">waterbenders\u003c/a>, effortlessly filling each cup to the brim with hot, frothy chai.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Sunday afternoon, the shop was buzzing with late-2000s pop hits while friends sipped chai huddled around tables loaded with egg puffs and boardgames. Open since June, the cafe takes its name from the chaya kada, a kind of small tea shop or tea stall found in the state of Kerala, India. Chayakada \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DKosIfpxmuB/\">claims to be the first one\u003c/a> in the United States — a small slice of South India tucked away in a South San José strip mall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owner Aleena Thomas got her start in the food business in 2023, when she quit her job as a program manager at Meta to open Bread Bae, a San José–based ghost kitchen operation focused on baked goods and chai from Kerala. Thomas grew up in Kuwait, but has fond memories of visiting her grandparents and uncles in Kerala. She became nostalgic for the food from her childhood and wanted to share it with others who might be feeling the same way. And while there were \u003ca href=\"https://tastecooking.com/the-rise-of-kerala-cuisine-in-america-cannot-go-unnoticed/\">other restaurants\u003c/a> specializing in the food of Kerala, there weren’t any Kerala-style chai bars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t have a single chaya kada in all of America. I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’” says Thomas. “How come we don’t have one? I wanted to have that in the U.S.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981957\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981957\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a cup of very frothy chai.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The special, meter-high pouring technique results in an extra-frothy cup of chai. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chaya kadas are known for meter chai, a style of tea preparation that involves pouring the tea from a great height to aerate the drink. Thomas suggests the pouring method may have started as a way to attract customers to the tea stalls. But the technique isn’t just for show — it helps create a thick layer of froth in the chai glass, imparting a smoother mouthfeel. The height of the pour also \u003ca href=\"https://www.thekitchn.com/does-pouring-height-make-a-difference-in-coffee-taste-255299\">cools the drink\u003c/a> to a temperature where the tongue can detect more flavors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before we had coffee machines and frothers, you needed to get air into your beverages,” says Thomas. “Most of the people who do it are taller than I am and have longer arms. So their arm actually goes up to a meter. I don’t know if my wingspan is that large. We try to get it as far as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It isn’t just the eye-catching pour that makes Chayakada’s drinks special. The cafe is one of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932089/indian-coffee-roaster-kaveri-berkeley\">few Bay Area spots\u003c/a> sourcing its tea and coffee from small farms in India. The coffee is from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lemilscoffee/\">Le Mils\u003c/a>, a Bay Area roastery that gets its coffee beans from the owners’ family farm in Chikmanglur. Chayakada is also one of the only shops in the Bay Area that serves traditional Indian filter coffee, a sweet, chicory-infused drink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981958\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981958\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs.jpg\" alt='A display tray of crispy, golden-brown pastries labeled \"Egg Puffs.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tray of egg puffs, one of the traditional Kerala-style street snacks served at Chayakada. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for the Kerala-style chai, Thomas believes a lot of people don’t see the full spectrum of the drink. “If somebody asks, ‘What’s your favorite chai?’’’ she says. “You’re like, I’m not really sure, what Starbucks gives me?” She wants people to understand that, as with coffee, you can alter a chai’s flavor intensity, roast level and sweetness. At Chayakada’s chai counter, you can also get your tea flavored with saffron, masala, white chocolate or salted caramel. For customers looking to take their chai game to the next level, Thomas offers tea blending and tasting workshops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chayakada serves the same street food snacks typically found in a traditional chaya kada in Kerala. Specifically, the menu is reflective of the cuisine of the Malayali people who are native to Kerala and make up a majority of its population. The most popular dish is a puff pastry that envelops a boiled egg and caramelized onions. A close second is the pazhampori, which Thomas likens to a plantain tempura. Heartier options include goat biryani, fish cutlets and slow-roasted beef sandwiches. There’s also a large selection of curries served alongside Kerala staples like porotta (a flaky flatbread) and kappa puzhukku (mashed tapioca).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981959\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich.jpg\" alt=\"Toasted sandwich filled with saucy shredded beef.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Kerala-style sandwich filled with shredded, slow-roasted beef. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s no other place doing this,” says Thomas. “So, I want to make sure authentic food is served first. Eventually, we could add some fusion flare. Right now, I want people to understand I’m not just Indian, we’re Malayali.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13955884,arts_13912706,arts_13969923']\u003c/span>Thomas is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the history of chaya kadas in Kerala. The tea shops first appeared in Kerala during the 19th century, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.keralatourism.org/munnar/munnar-history.php\">tea plantations were established in the rural town of Munnar\u003c/a>, and soon spread all across Kerala. “For every chaya kada, there’s a community that is built with it,” says Thomas. In particular, the tea stalls in Kerala have a history of being places of congregation where patrons commonly read the newspaper out loud, making them places for lively social and political discourse. The intermingling of people from different castes at chaya kadas is even credited with helping to ease caste barriers in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas continues the tradition of chaya kadas being more than a place to sip tea. “I have a 4-year-old,” says Thomas. With that parental mindset, she designed Chayakada so that guests of all ages could enjoy it. The shop features a mini library, foosball, boardgames and carrom — a popular Indian tabletop game. She has a Bring-Your-Own-Boardgame policy to encourage crowds to come in and kick back. She’s even hosted Charades nights, tea party–themed birthday parties and an Onam celebration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981960\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981960\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner.jpg\" alt='A woman poses in front of a green plant wall with a neon sign that reads, \"Chai yeah.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas poses for a portrait inside Chayakada, her San Jose tea shop. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chayakada is only a few months old, but it has already hooked a community of regulars who pack the dining room during high tea for a late-afternoon snack. Thomas says that half of her customers come in already familiar with chaya kadas and Malayali cuisine. She enjoys having the opportunity to introduce the food to those unfamiliar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“America is considered a coffee country,” says Thomas. “There’s millions of people who are tea drinkers. I really want to get chai to where coffee stands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chayakada.us/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Chayakada\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> (117 Bernal Rd. Ste. 80, San Jose) is open Wednesday through Monday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m., except Mondays when the shop closes at 7 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chayakada.us/?hl=en\">Chayakada\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a>, chai baristas juggle a meter-long stream of tea through the air like master \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGy0kbk6gYc\">waterbenders\u003c/a>, effortlessly filling each cup to the brim with hot, frothy chai.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Sunday afternoon, the shop was buzzing with late-2000s pop hits while friends sipped chai huddled around tables loaded with egg puffs and boardgames. Open since June, the cafe takes its name from the chaya kada, a kind of small tea shop or tea stall found in the state of Kerala, India. Chayakada \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DKosIfpxmuB/\">claims to be the first one\u003c/a> in the United States — a small slice of South India tucked away in a South San José strip mall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owner Aleena Thomas got her start in the food business in 2023, when she quit her job as a program manager at Meta to open Bread Bae, a San José–based ghost kitchen operation focused on baked goods and chai from Kerala. Thomas grew up in Kuwait, but has fond memories of visiting her grandparents and uncles in Kerala. She became nostalgic for the food from her childhood and wanted to share it with others who might be feeling the same way. And while there were \u003ca href=\"https://tastecooking.com/the-rise-of-kerala-cuisine-in-america-cannot-go-unnoticed/\">other restaurants\u003c/a> specializing in the food of Kerala, there weren’t any Kerala-style chai bars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t have a single chaya kada in all of America. I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’” says Thomas. “How come we don’t have one? I wanted to have that in the U.S.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981957\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981957\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a cup of very frothy chai.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Saffron-Meter-Chai-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The special, meter-high pouring technique results in an extra-frothy cup of chai. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chaya kadas are known for meter chai, a style of tea preparation that involves pouring the tea from a great height to aerate the drink. Thomas suggests the pouring method may have started as a way to attract customers to the tea stalls. But the technique isn’t just for show — it helps create a thick layer of froth in the chai glass, imparting a smoother mouthfeel. The height of the pour also \u003ca href=\"https://www.thekitchn.com/does-pouring-height-make-a-difference-in-coffee-taste-255299\">cools the drink\u003c/a> to a temperature where the tongue can detect more flavors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before we had coffee machines and frothers, you needed to get air into your beverages,” says Thomas. “Most of the people who do it are taller than I am and have longer arms. So their arm actually goes up to a meter. I don’t know if my wingspan is that large. We try to get it as far as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It isn’t just the eye-catching pour that makes Chayakada’s drinks special. The cafe is one of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932089/indian-coffee-roaster-kaveri-berkeley\">few Bay Area spots\u003c/a> sourcing its tea and coffee from small farms in India. The coffee is from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lemilscoffee/\">Le Mils\u003c/a>, a Bay Area roastery that gets its coffee beans from the owners’ family farm in Chikmanglur. Chayakada is also one of the only shops in the Bay Area that serves traditional Indian filter coffee, a sweet, chicory-infused drink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981958\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981958\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs.jpg\" alt='A display tray of crispy, golden-brown pastries labeled \"Egg Puffs.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Egg-Puffs-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tray of egg puffs, one of the traditional Kerala-style street snacks served at Chayakada. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for the Kerala-style chai, Thomas believes a lot of people don’t see the full spectrum of the drink. “If somebody asks, ‘What’s your favorite chai?’’’ she says. “You’re like, I’m not really sure, what Starbucks gives me?” She wants people to understand that, as with coffee, you can alter a chai’s flavor intensity, roast level and sweetness. At Chayakada’s chai counter, you can also get your tea flavored with saffron, masala, white chocolate or salted caramel. For customers looking to take their chai game to the next level, Thomas offers tea blending and tasting workshops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chayakada serves the same street food snacks typically found in a traditional chaya kada in Kerala. Specifically, the menu is reflective of the cuisine of the Malayali people who are native to Kerala and make up a majority of its population. The most popular dish is a puff pastry that envelops a boiled egg and caramelized onions. A close second is the pazhampori, which Thomas likens to a plantain tempura. Heartier options include goat biryani, fish cutlets and slow-roasted beef sandwiches. There’s also a large selection of curries served alongside Kerala staples like porotta (a flaky flatbread) and kappa puzhukku (mashed tapioca).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981959\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich.jpg\" alt=\"Toasted sandwich filled with saucy shredded beef.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Roast-beef-sandwich-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Kerala-style sandwich filled with shredded, slow-roasted beef. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s no other place doing this,” says Thomas. “So, I want to make sure authentic food is served first. Eventually, we could add some fusion flare. Right now, I want people to understand I’m not just Indian, we’re Malayali.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>Thomas is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the history of chaya kadas in Kerala. The tea shops first appeared in Kerala during the 19th century, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.keralatourism.org/munnar/munnar-history.php\">tea plantations were established in the rural town of Munnar\u003c/a>, and soon spread all across Kerala. “For every chaya kada, there’s a community that is built with it,” says Thomas. In particular, the tea stalls in Kerala have a history of being places of congregation where patrons commonly read the newspaper out loud, making them places for lively social and political discourse. The intermingling of people from different castes at chaya kadas is even credited with helping to ease caste barriers in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas continues the tradition of chaya kadas being more than a place to sip tea. “I have a 4-year-old,” says Thomas. With that parental mindset, she designed Chayakada so that guests of all ages could enjoy it. The shop features a mini library, foosball, boardgames and carrom — a popular Indian tabletop game. She has a Bring-Your-Own-Boardgame policy to encourage crowds to come in and kick back. She’s even hosted Charades nights, tea party–themed birthday parties and an Onam celebration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981960\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981960\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner.jpg\" alt='A woman poses in front of a green plant wall with a neon sign that reads, \"Chai yeah.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Aleena-Thomas-Owner-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas poses for a portrait inside Chayakada, her San Jose tea shop. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chayakada is only a few months old, but it has already hooked a community of regulars who pack the dining room during high tea for a late-afternoon snack. Thomas says that half of her customers come in already familiar with chaya kadas and Malayali cuisine. She enjoys having the opportunity to introduce the food to those unfamiliar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“America is considered a coffee country,” says Thomas. “There’s millions of people who are tea drinkers. I really want to get chai to where coffee stands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chayakada.us/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Chayakada\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> (117 Bernal Rd. Ste. 80, San Jose) is open Wednesday through Monday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m., except Mondays when the shop closes at 7 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Lowriders — American-made muscle cars customized with chrome plates, glossy paint and pristine rims — comprise an art form that neatly represents the ideals of this country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cars are products of engineering and ingenuity, as well as community and culture. With candy paint and gold rims, the mobile masterpieces come from a long tradition that’s been stigmatized and even criminalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, lowriding culture is being celebrated on the highest national level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, Sept. 26, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. will open the exhibition \u003ca href=\"https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/corazon-y-vida-lowriding-culture\">\u003cem>Corazón y vida\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, honoring more than 80 years of lowriding culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13981674 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"794\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ-768x381.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ-1536x762.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">El Rey, a vintage 1963 Chevrolet Impala, has been named Lowrider of the Year three times by Lowrider Magazine. \u003ccite>(National Musuem of American History)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The exhibition includes photographs from artists like \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Lou_Dematteis/\">Lou Dematteis\u003c/a> and posters from the \u003ca href=\"https://library.harvard.edu/collections/royal-chicano-air-force-posters\">Royal Chicano Air Force\u003c/a>. Artifacts such as plaques, jackets, a tool box and a “No Cruising” sign from Sacramento help fill in important context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And of course, there’s the legendary vehicles. Those include “\u003ca href=\"https://www.petersen.org/vehicle-spotlights/1963-chevrolet-impala-el-rey\">El Rey\u003c/a>,” Albert de Alba, Sr.’s 1963 cherry-and-sherbet-colored Chevrolet Impala, and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.petersen.org/vehicle-spotlights/1964-chevrolet-impala-gypsy-rose\">Gypsy Rose\u003c/a>,” a 1964 Chevrolet Impala hand-painted with a floral design by the late Jesse Valadez Sr..\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, the car is the star,” exhibition curator Steve Velasquez tells me in a recent phone interview. “But it takes a community to build it. It takes a community to show it. It takes the community to really appreciate it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That community of lowrider lovers that Velasquez references is largely Latino. As the federal government makes it a point to accost, harass and deport immigrants — specifically Latino people — \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/23/nx-s1-5550915/trump-immigration-judges\">without due process\u003c/a>, \u003cem>Corazón y vida\u003c/em> comes at an interesting time, to say the least.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add to that this administration’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-executive-order-to-force-changes-at-smithsonian-institution-targeting-funding-for-programs-with-improper-ideology\">meddling into the Smithsonian\u003c/a>, an institution under threat of a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/22/nx-s1-5517973/smithsonian-document-citizen-historians\">comprehensive internal review\u003c/a>” to weed out “improper ideology” and “divisive narratives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exhibition has been in the works since the end of Trump’s first term, but it comes at the right time, says Velasquez, adding that it’s “the right thing to do” regardless of who’s in power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long before the current administration, lowriding and the culture from which it emerged faced harsh critiques, over-policing and biased legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RAavisatXA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January of last year, \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/california-cruising-law\">California’s Assembly Bill 436\u003c/a> took effect, ending a more than 25-year ban on “cruising zones” throughout the state. And while changing laws is a major accomplishment, changing people’s minds is a separate hurdle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s taken a lot of work, from a lot of people, to change the perception of lowriding as criminal and to make it more of an expression of culture,” says Velasquez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many car clubs serve the community by volunteering at hospitals, speaking to the incarcerated and organizing food drives, Velasquez says. Along with hanging fuzzy dice on the rear-view and installing hydraulics to make their cars hop, lowrider groups for years have filled the gaps created by a lack of city services and other social institutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923205/best-of-roll-with-us-a-sisterhood-of-lowriding\">Dueñas\u003c/a>, an all-women, intergenerational collective from the South Bay led by Angel Romero, exemplifies the changing perception of lowriders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since their founding more than five years ago, the collective has turned heads at car shows, organized holiday toy drives for kids and performed philanthropic work throughout the South Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981668\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Duen%CC%81as_2-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"An intergenerational group of Latina women pose for a photo.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-2000x1333.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dueńas car club, pictured in 2021, is an intergenerational collective of women from the South Bay. \u003ccite>(Renée Lopez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, an image of Dueñas will be included in the Smithsonian exhibition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never thought that lowriding, in general, would be this widely accepted,” says Romero. “Especially in times like this, where we’re facing a lot of different things going on in our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those “different things” include a widespread federal crackdown on immigration, which sharply increased after Trump’s spending bill, approved in July, dedicated a staggering $75 billion to ICE enforcement over the next four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To see our culture and our history highlighted in the Smithsonian,” Romero says, “it shows that no matter what, we will always be here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The image of Romero’s car club included in the Smithsonian exhibit was created by Northern California-based photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/misslopezmedia/?hl=en\">Renée Lopez\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Lopez got final confirmation of the exhibition, she printed the image and hand-delivered it to the car club members. “I was like, ‘Hey, by the way, y’all are about to be in Smithsonian,’” Lopez says. “We all cried, it was amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981669\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13981669 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-2000x2667.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-2000x2667.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Renée Lopez, seen here at work in Oakland, has documented lowrider culture for years, with a specific focus on women. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Miss Lopez Media)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://unscriptedphotographers.com/misslopezmedia\">A photographer\u003c/a> who’s spent the past six years documenting lowrider culture, specifically the women in the scene, Lopez says the inclusion in the exhibit is a huge honor, and something that she’s still trying to wrap her head around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t get paid,” she says about her cultural documentation, “I do it out of love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s mission to center women in lowriding underscores a significant shift within the culture. “We were really only allowed to be passengers,” Lopez says, in reference to older ways of thinking. “Now,” she says, “women have money to buy their own cars, they’re building their own cars and painting their own cars.” Two years ago, for the first time, she saw a woman compete in a hop contest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is what I’ve been working for, to push the culture forward,” says Lopez. “For it to be at this time, with what’s happening in this country right now, it is so special. I can’t even explain it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez, who is currently working on a documentary about women in lowriding, plans to make the trip to the nation’s capitol for this weekend’s opening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lowriding has been happening for a long time, and it’s always about resistance and resilience, right?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For it to be shown right now, I feel like the timing couldn’t have been better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Corazón y vida’ opens Friday, Sept. 26, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. \u003ca href=\"https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/corazon-y-vida-lowriding-culture\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>. The touring exhibition \u003ca href=\"https://www.sites.si.edu/s/tour-schedule?exhibit=Lowrider%20Culture%20in%20the%20United%20States%20%2F%20Cultura%20Lowrider%20en%20los%20Estados%20Unidos\">visits three cities in California\u003c/a>: Anaheim, Port Hueneme and Fresno. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Lowriders — American-made muscle cars customized with chrome plates, glossy paint and pristine rims — comprise an art form that neatly represents the ideals of this country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cars are products of engineering and ingenuity, as well as community and culture. With candy paint and gold rims, the mobile masterpieces come from a long tradition that’s been stigmatized and even criminalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, lowriding culture is being celebrated on the highest national level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, Sept. 26, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. will open the exhibition \u003ca href=\"https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/corazon-y-vida-lowriding-culture\">\u003cem>Corazón y vida\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, honoring more than 80 years of lowriding culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13981674 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"794\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ-768x381.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/iwJihpZQ-1536x762.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">El Rey, a vintage 1963 Chevrolet Impala, has been named Lowrider of the Year three times by Lowrider Magazine. \u003ccite>(National Musuem of American History)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The exhibition includes photographs from artists like \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Lou_Dematteis/\">Lou Dematteis\u003c/a> and posters from the \u003ca href=\"https://library.harvard.edu/collections/royal-chicano-air-force-posters\">Royal Chicano Air Force\u003c/a>. Artifacts such as plaques, jackets, a tool box and a “No Cruising” sign from Sacramento help fill in important context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And of course, there’s the legendary vehicles. Those include “\u003ca href=\"https://www.petersen.org/vehicle-spotlights/1963-chevrolet-impala-el-rey\">El Rey\u003c/a>,” Albert de Alba, Sr.’s 1963 cherry-and-sherbet-colored Chevrolet Impala, and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.petersen.org/vehicle-spotlights/1964-chevrolet-impala-gypsy-rose\">Gypsy Rose\u003c/a>,” a 1964 Chevrolet Impala hand-painted with a floral design by the late Jesse Valadez Sr..\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, the car is the star,” exhibition curator Steve Velasquez tells me in a recent phone interview. “But it takes a community to build it. It takes a community to show it. It takes the community to really appreciate it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That community of lowrider lovers that Velasquez references is largely Latino. As the federal government makes it a point to accost, harass and deport immigrants — specifically Latino people — \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/23/nx-s1-5550915/trump-immigration-judges\">without due process\u003c/a>, \u003cem>Corazón y vida\u003c/em> comes at an interesting time, to say the least.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add to that this administration’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-executive-order-to-force-changes-at-smithsonian-institution-targeting-funding-for-programs-with-improper-ideology\">meddling into the Smithsonian\u003c/a>, an institution under threat of a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/22/nx-s1-5517973/smithsonian-document-citizen-historians\">comprehensive internal review\u003c/a>” to weed out “improper ideology” and “divisive narratives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exhibition has been in the works since the end of Trump’s first term, but it comes at the right time, says Velasquez, adding that it’s “the right thing to do” regardless of who’s in power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long before the current administration, lowriding and the culture from which it emerged faced harsh critiques, over-policing and biased legislation.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/9RAavisatXA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/9RAavisatXA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In January of last year, \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/california-cruising-law\">California’s Assembly Bill 436\u003c/a> took effect, ending a more than 25-year ban on “cruising zones” throughout the state. And while changing laws is a major accomplishment, changing people’s minds is a separate hurdle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s taken a lot of work, from a lot of people, to change the perception of lowriding as criminal and to make it more of an expression of culture,” says Velasquez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many car clubs serve the community by volunteering at hospitals, speaking to the incarcerated and organizing food drives, Velasquez says. Along with hanging fuzzy dice on the rear-view and installing hydraulics to make their cars hop, lowrider groups for years have filled the gaps created by a lack of city services and other social institutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923205/best-of-roll-with-us-a-sisterhood-of-lowriding\">Dueñas\u003c/a>, an all-women, intergenerational collective from the South Bay led by Angel Romero, exemplifies the changing perception of lowriders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since their founding more than five years ago, the collective has turned heads at car shows, organized holiday toy drives for kids and performed philanthropic work throughout the South Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981668\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Duen%CC%81as_2-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"An intergenerational group of Latina women pose for a photo.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-2000x1333.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Dueńas_2-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dueńas car club, pictured in 2021, is an intergenerational collective of women from the South Bay. \u003ccite>(Renée Lopez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, an image of Dueñas will be included in the Smithsonian exhibition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never thought that lowriding, in general, would be this widely accepted,” says Romero. “Especially in times like this, where we’re facing a lot of different things going on in our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those “different things” include a widespread federal crackdown on immigration, which sharply increased after Trump’s spending bill, approved in July, dedicated a staggering $75 billion to ICE enforcement over the next four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To see our culture and our history highlighted in the Smithsonian,” Romero says, “it shows that no matter what, we will always be here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The image of Romero’s car club included in the Smithsonian exhibit was created by Northern California-based photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/misslopezmedia/?hl=en\">Renée Lopez\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Lopez got final confirmation of the exhibition, she printed the image and hand-delivered it to the car club members. “I was like, ‘Hey, by the way, y’all are about to be in Smithsonian,’” Lopez says. “We all cried, it was amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981669\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13981669 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-2000x2667.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-2000x2667.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Miss-Lopez-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Renée Lopez, seen here at work in Oakland, has documented lowrider culture for years, with a specific focus on women. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Miss Lopez Media)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://unscriptedphotographers.com/misslopezmedia\">A photographer\u003c/a> who’s spent the past six years documenting lowrider culture, specifically the women in the scene, Lopez says the inclusion in the exhibit is a huge honor, and something that she’s still trying to wrap her head around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t get paid,” she says about her cultural documentation, “I do it out of love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s mission to center women in lowriding underscores a significant shift within the culture. “We were really only allowed to be passengers,” Lopez says, in reference to older ways of thinking. “Now,” she says, “women have money to buy their own cars, they’re building their own cars and painting their own cars.” Two years ago, for the first time, she saw a woman compete in a hop contest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is what I’ve been working for, to push the culture forward,” says Lopez. “For it to be at this time, with what’s happening in this country right now, it is so special. I can’t even explain it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez, who is currently working on a documentary about women in lowriding, plans to make the trip to the nation’s capitol for this weekend’s opening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lowriding has been happening for a long time, and it’s always about resistance and resilience, right?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For it to be shown right now, I feel like the timing couldn’t have been better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Corazón y vida’ opens Friday, Sept. 26, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. \u003ca href=\"https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/corazon-y-vida-lowriding-culture\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>. The touring exhibition \u003ca href=\"https://www.sites.si.edu/s/tour-schedule?exhibit=Lowrider%20Culture%20in%20the%20United%20States%20%2F%20Cultura%20Lowrider%20en%20los%20Estados%20Unidos\">visits three cities in California\u003c/a>: Anaheim, Port Hueneme and Fresno. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Hello Kitty and the Bay Area: A Love Story",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a large white kitten outfit wearing a cap and jersey for the Giants baseball team waves with both hands on the baseball field\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980118\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hello Kitty throws out the first pitch before a game at Oracle Park on June 8, 2025 in San Francisco. With deep roots from San José to Santa Rosa, Sanrio’s prevalence in the Bay Area is stronger than ever. \u003ccite>(Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Laura Chin walked into the Hello Kitty Cafe, dressed for the occasion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wearing a pink milkmaid dress adorned with sprinkles, the longtime Sanrio fan completed her outfit with black cat ears and various themed accessories. Greeted by cases filled with cute Hello Kitty-themed confectionery and employees sporting signature pink aprons, the experience elevated Chin’s love for the Japanese brand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sanrio is often dismissed as just a cute pastel brand for children, or perhaps a nostalgic relic of Y2K,” Chin says. “But we overlook its cultural depth; it has enduring relevance. It has a really big aesthetic influence across, I believe, generations and even subcultures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That influence is reaching fever pitch in the Bay Area. When Westfield Valley Fair mall unveiled the Hello Kitty Cafe in mid-July, a reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/hello-kitty-cafe-santa-clara-20774832.php\">500 people lined up for opening day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a Giants baseball game in June, which sold out before the season even began, tens of thousands of fans lined up around the block to \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@tephaniep/video/7513697416378338602\">scramble for a Hello Kitty Giants jersey\u003c/a> giveaway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979973\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1080px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13979973 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sanrio fan Sarah Naini shows off her Hello Kitty Giants jersey at a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves on June 8, 2025, at Oracle Park in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sarah Naini)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a longtime Sanrio and Giants fan, Sarah Naini lined up at exactly 9 a.m. and was able to score one of the 15,000 free jerseys at around noon. But not everyone was as lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of my friends came in 30 to 45 minutes after me, and they didn’t even end up getting one because the line was that long,” Naini says. “I’ve gone to many Giants games and I’ve never seen the line that long, even before a game. I was asking one of the workers, and she said it was the craziest line that she’s ever seen in history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What might seem like an unusual frenzy in the region has an explanation, and it’s not just \u003ca href=\"https://hoodline.com/2023/05/new-census-data-shows-that-asians-have-overtaken-whites-as-largest-bay-area-racial-group/\">the Bay Area’s substantial Asian population\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, Sanrio’s roots in the Bay Area go back almost to its very beginnings, more than 50 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A not-so-Hollywood beginning\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before Hello Kitty took over cafe menus and baseball stadiums, she slowly built her empire here in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the book \u003cem>Hello Kitty: The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon, \u003c/em>authors Ken Belson and Brian Bremner explain that even early on, Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji’s goal for the Japanese brand was to expand to North America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979972\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979972\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The very first Sanrio retail store in North America was located in San José’s Eastridge Mall. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sanrio Co. Ltd.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Like many Japanese businessmen, Tsuji was keenly focused on what was going on overseas,” Belson and Bremner write. “In the character-goods industry, there was no place better than America or, more specifically, Hollywood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Sanrio didn’t debut in Hollywood’s cinematic spotlight. The company’s first North American satellite office was right here in the Bay Area, in South San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Randy Patterson, former vice president of retail and wholesale at Sanrio North America, notes in the Netflix documentary series \u003cem>The Toys That Made U\u003c/em>s that there were “a couple of warehouses in South San Francisco that were just chock-full of inventory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This modest start in South San Francisco soon gave way to a more visible presence nearby. If you were around San José in the 1970s, you might recall \u003ca href=\"https://corporate.sanrio.co.jp/en/about_sanrio/history/\">Sanrio’s first-ever retail store in the United States\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Known as Gift Gate, the first, but certainly not the last, Sanrio store was located in Eastridge Mall, on the second level near Macy’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980016\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980016\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Store employee Jack Chau straightens Hello Kitty merchandise on the shelves at the Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For longtime San José resident Cynthia Pilgrim, Eastridge was her go-to, and she still remembers the feeling of visiting the Sanrio store as a child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was an attractive store, very colorful, very inviting — and that just stirred up something about your own childhood that made you curious,” Pilgrim says. “You wanted to go inside and figure out what the store was about. So, I loved it for the colors, and Hello Kitty was a big part of it. She was always in the window or somewhere nearby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Bay Area beagle who helped Hello Kitty\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When it comes to Sanrio characters, along with Hello Kitty, fans may also think of My Melody, Kuromi or even Cinnamoroll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in his company’s early days, Tsuji started out selling a character a little more local to the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980015\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13980015 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hello Kitty merchandise, including toys, accessories, and home goods, lines the shelves at the Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tsuji was a fan of Charles Schulz, creator of the \u003cem>Peanuts\u003c/em> comic strip and a longtime resident of Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He met Schulz in 1970 and secured the license to market Snoopy and other \u003cem>Peanuts\u003c/em> characters in Japan, marking an important step in Sanrio’s international expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980011\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers line up to order at the Hello Kitty Cafe in the Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before long, the cultural exchange came full circle. In the 1980s, a mall in Santa Rosa hosted a Sanrio store, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By securing the license for Snoopy, a character with direct ties to the Bay Area through Schulz and his studio, Sanrio laid important groundwork for expanding Hello Kitty and other characters across North America.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than just cute\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sanrio’s early presence in the Bay Area turned into a lasting connection. Stores like Gift Gate did more than sell products — they created experiences that sparked curiosity and brought a touch of “cute” into everyday life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, Hello Kitty and her friends became comforting childhood companions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980019\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980019\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Store employee Arielle Valera wears Hello Kitty accessories on her apron at the Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That affection didn’t fade with age. Instead, it evolved into something richer. Chin, a political science professor at De Anza Community College and longtime fan, has seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.britannica.com/topic/kawaii-culture\">kawaii culture\u003c/a> flourish not only among her students but the community at large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plush toys and character charms have moved beyond children’s accessories to become symbols of identity and emotional expression for people of all ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980017\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980017\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025, sells a wide range of Hello Kitty merchandise. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chin describes these characters as “emotional surrogates,” offering care, optimism and even rebellion. In today’s world of emotional burnout and constant pressure, both especially strong in the Bay Area, she sees softness as a form of resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, kawaii culture also provides a space for memory, joy, and cultural belonging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think of Sanrio’s modern revival not as regression, but as an emotional reclamation that these are symbols that are not just for kids,” Chin says. “They’re for everybody. They’re for anyone who understands that cuteness is joy, that cuteness can be armor, that identity is fluid, and that joy is worth displaying. And to love Sanrio, it’s to say that I remember who I was. I honor who I am. And I carry both with me, sometimes clipped to my purse in plushy form.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a large white kitten outfit wearing a cap and jersey for the Giants baseball team waves with both hands on the baseball field\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980118\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/HelloKitty.1x1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hello Kitty throws out the first pitch before a game at Oracle Park on June 8, 2025 in San Francisco. With deep roots from San José to Santa Rosa, Sanrio’s prevalence in the Bay Area is stronger than ever. \u003ccite>(Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Laura Chin walked into the Hello Kitty Cafe, dressed for the occasion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wearing a pink milkmaid dress adorned with sprinkles, the longtime Sanrio fan completed her outfit with black cat ears and various themed accessories. Greeted by cases filled with cute Hello Kitty-themed confectionery and employees sporting signature pink aprons, the experience elevated Chin’s love for the Japanese brand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sanrio is often dismissed as just a cute pastel brand for children, or perhaps a nostalgic relic of Y2K,” Chin says. “But we overlook its cultural depth; it has enduring relevance. It has a really big aesthetic influence across, I believe, generations and even subcultures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That influence is reaching fever pitch in the Bay Area. When Westfield Valley Fair mall unveiled the Hello Kitty Cafe in mid-July, a reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/hello-kitty-cafe-santa-clara-20774832.php\">500 people lined up for opening day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a Giants baseball game in June, which sold out before the season even began, tens of thousands of fans lined up around the block to \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@tephaniep/video/7513697416378338602\">scramble for a Hello Kitty Giants jersey\u003c/a> giveaway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979973\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1080px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13979973 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/SarahNaini.HelloKitty.Giants-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sanrio fan Sarah Naini shows off her Hello Kitty Giants jersey at a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves on June 8, 2025, at Oracle Park in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sarah Naini)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a longtime Sanrio and Giants fan, Sarah Naini lined up at exactly 9 a.m. and was able to score one of the 15,000 free jerseys at around noon. But not everyone was as lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of my friends came in 30 to 45 minutes after me, and they didn’t even end up getting one because the line was that long,” Naini says. “I’ve gone to many Giants games and I’ve never seen the line that long, even before a game. I was asking one of the workers, and she said it was the craziest line that she’s ever seen in history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What might seem like an unusual frenzy in the region has an explanation, and it’s not just \u003ca href=\"https://hoodline.com/2023/05/new-census-data-shows-that-asians-have-overtaken-whites-as-largest-bay-area-racial-group/\">the Bay Area’s substantial Asian population\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, Sanrio’s roots in the Bay Area go back almost to its very beginnings, more than 50 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A not-so-Hollywood beginning\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before Hello Kitty took over cafe menus and baseball stadiums, she slowly built her empire here in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the book \u003cem>Hello Kitty: The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon, \u003c/em>authors Ken Belson and Brian Bremner explain that even early on, Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji’s goal for the Japanese brand was to expand to North America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979972\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979972\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GiftGate.FirstSanrioStoreInUSA-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The very first Sanrio retail store in North America was located in San José’s Eastridge Mall. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sanrio Co. Ltd.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Like many Japanese businessmen, Tsuji was keenly focused on what was going on overseas,” Belson and Bremner write. “In the character-goods industry, there was no place better than America or, more specifically, Hollywood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Sanrio didn’t debut in Hollywood’s cinematic spotlight. The company’s first North American satellite office was right here in the Bay Area, in South San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Randy Patterson, former vice president of retail and wholesale at Sanrio North America, notes in the Netflix documentary series \u003cem>The Toys That Made U\u003c/em>s that there were “a couple of warehouses in South San Francisco that were just chock-full of inventory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This modest start in South San Francisco soon gave way to a more visible presence nearby. If you were around San José in the 1970s, you might recall \u003ca href=\"https://corporate.sanrio.co.jp/en/about_sanrio/history/\">Sanrio’s first-ever retail store in the United States\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Known as Gift Gate, the first, but certainly not the last, Sanrio store was located in Eastridge Mall, on the second level near Macy’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980016\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980016\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Store employee Jack Chau straightens Hello Kitty merchandise on the shelves at the Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For longtime San José resident Cynthia Pilgrim, Eastridge was her go-to, and she still remembers the feeling of visiting the Sanrio store as a child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was an attractive store, very colorful, very inviting — and that just stirred up something about your own childhood that made you curious,” Pilgrim says. “You wanted to go inside and figure out what the store was about. So, I loved it for the colors, and Hello Kitty was a big part of it. She was always in the window or somewhere nearby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Bay Area beagle who helped Hello Kitty\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When it comes to Sanrio characters, along with Hello Kitty, fans may also think of My Melody, Kuromi or even Cinnamoroll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in his company’s early days, Tsuji started out selling a character a little more local to the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980015\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13980015 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hello Kitty merchandise, including toys, accessories, and home goods, lines the shelves at the Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tsuji was a fan of Charles Schulz, creator of the \u003cem>Peanuts\u003c/em> comic strip and a longtime resident of Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He met Schulz in 1970 and secured the license to market Snoopy and other \u003cem>Peanuts\u003c/em> characters in Japan, marking an important step in Sanrio’s international expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980011\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers line up to order at the Hello Kitty Cafe in the Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before long, the cultural exchange came full circle. In the 1980s, a mall in Santa Rosa hosted a Sanrio store, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By securing the license for Snoopy, a character with direct ties to the Bay Area through Schulz and his studio, Sanrio laid important groundwork for expanding Hello Kitty and other characters across North America.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than just cute\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sanrio’s early presence in the Bay Area turned into a lasting connection. Stores like Gift Gate did more than sell products — they created experiences that sparked curiosity and brought a touch of “cute” into everyday life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, Hello Kitty and her friends became comforting childhood companions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980019\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980019\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Store employee Arielle Valera wears Hello Kitty accessories on her apron at the Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That affection didn’t fade with age. Instead, it evolved into something richer. Chin, a political science professor at De Anza Community College and longtime fan, has seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.britannica.com/topic/kawaii-culture\">kawaii culture\u003c/a> flourish not only among her students but the community at large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plush toys and character charms have moved beyond children’s accessories to become symbols of identity and emotional expression for people of all ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980017\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980017\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/250812-HELLOKITTY-19-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sanrio store in Cupertino on Aug. 12, 2025, sells a wide range of Hello Kitty merchandise. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chin describes these characters as “emotional surrogates,” offering care, optimism and even rebellion. In today’s world of emotional burnout and constant pressure, both especially strong in the Bay Area, she sees softness as a form of resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, kawaii culture also provides a space for memory, joy, and cultural belonging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think of Sanrio’s modern revival not as regression, but as an emotional reclamation that these are symbols that are not just for kids,” Chin says. “They’re for everybody. They’re for anyone who understands that cuteness is joy, that cuteness can be armor, that identity is fluid, and that joy is worth displaying. And to love Sanrio, it’s to say that I remember who I was. I honor who I am. And I carry both with me, sometimes clipped to my purse in plushy form.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "asi-mexican-middle-eastern-fusion-restaurant-san-jose-halal",
"title": "At This San Jose Fusion Restaurant, Mexican and Jordanian Flavors Collide",
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"content": "\u003cp>Located on a quiet corner of South \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San Jose\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/asimexicanfusion/?hl=en\">Así Mexican Fusion Bistro\u003c/a> would be easy to miss if it weren’t for the vibrant butterfly mural on the wall — one of the butterfly’s wings is a Mexican flag, and the other is a Jordanian flag. Inside, where customers sip on micheladas and catch sports on the TV, the restaurant feels like a standard Mexican spot until the basket of pita chips and tortilla chips arrives at the table: Instead of guacamole, you dip the chips in hummus topped with salsa macha.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dip is typical of Así’s hybrid approach, which supplements the restaurant’s traditional Mexican menu with dishes that incorporate Middle Eastern ingredients in surprisingly delicious ways. Mini blue tostadas come topped with ribbons of beef shawarma, toum (garlic sauce) and sumac pickled onions. The shakshuka a la Mexicana, meanwhile, is a cross between traditional shakshuka and huevos rancheros, combining eggs, salty cheese, cilantro and a sumac-spiced tomato sauce — again, all on top of a tostada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owner Lourdes Barraza quit her job as a Group Supervisor at Santa Cruz Juvenile Hall to start a taco catering business in August 2018. “I’m a mom of three girls,” says Barraza, noting that catering allowed her to keep a flexible schedule. “For me, having my career was important, but being a mom was always number one.” Six years later, in January 2024, Barraza opened Así Mexican Fusion Bistro along with her eldest daughter, Isabella Astorga, who manages the restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979657\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979657\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallo%CC%81n-Left-to-right.jpg\" alt=\"Four women pose for a portrait in front of a mural.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left to right: Lourdes Barraza and her daughters Isabella Astorga, Sophia Gallón and Ana Colin. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Así Mexican Fusion Bistro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the brick-and-mortar, the mother and daughter wanted to go beyond traditional Mexican food. “We thought, ‘Let’s do Middle Eastern fusion,’” says Barraza. As it turns out, Astorga’s partner is from Jordan, and as she became more familiar with that country’s cuisine, she was intrigued by how similar it was to Mexican food — and how well the two cuisines’ spices and cooking techniques blended together. The fusion dishes at Así don’t come across as a gimmick, then, but rather a love letter to both cultures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also a lot of fun. Some of the restaurant’s most creative fusion creations include a falafel-stuffed burrito and fries loaded with chicken shawarma, black beans, feta and pickled turnips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recipe development starts by breaking dishes down into their components and examining potential twists. For example, if a Mexican dish has oregano, the chefs consider fortifying that earthy flavor by adding Middle Eastern spices like za’atar or sumac. “It’s trial and error,” says Barraza. “As we go, we make changes we feel necessary. It seems to be working, people seem to love it.” One of their greatest hits is the tahini-chipotle crema, which serves as a nutty, smoky complement to grilled meats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979658\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979658\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate.jpg\" alt=\"Chicken kebab, grilled tomatoes, cucumber salad and various sauces on a plate.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Así’s take on al pastor is like a deconstructed chicken kebab skewer. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s worth noting that there’s a long history of Mediterranean and Mexican fusion. Al pastor was created thanks to Lebanese immigrants who \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/08/584057034/building-a-latino-muslim-coalition-with-tacotrucksateverymosque\">introduced spit-roasted meat to Mexico in the 1930s\u003c/a>. Así shakes things up a bit by serving both chicken shawarma (cooked on a traditional vertical spit) and a pollo al pastor plate that’s essentially a deconstructed kebab: big, kebab-like chunks of spiced chicken paired with charred tomatoes, onion and a heaping pile of cucumber salad. The experience of loading up a freshly made corn tortilla with chicken kebab, tzatziki, toum and salsa verde is something you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13977033,arts_13971280,arts_13976236']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Así is also a fusion of the family’s experiences and skills. Barraza brings her cooking experience as well as knowledge of family recipes — Así’s salsas are the same ones her father served at his taqueria in Southern California. Meanwhile, Astorga puts her communications degree to use by running an efficient floor and creating a strong sense of community with customers. Barraza’s youngest daughter helps out as a server and makes \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DAl2EuYSxlV/?hl=en\">social media videos\u003c/a> for the restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Así is relatively new, it has already earned a dedicated following, with some customers stopping in as many as five times a week. “We’ve become a pillar in the short time we’ve been in the community,” Astorga says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979656\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979656\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada.jpg\" alt=\"Tostada topped with egg cooked in tomato sauce.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Shakshuka a la Mexicana’ is a cross between traditional shakshuka and huevos rancheros. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The success can be attributed in part to Barraza’s willingness to adapt. When she noticed that a majority of Así’s customers were Muslims who had concerns about cross-contamination from pork, she decided to remove it from the menu. Now, all of the food they serve is halal. Meanwhile, Barraza says many Latino customers have been hesitant to try the restaurant’s Middle Eastern–influenced dishes. She hopes to entice them by pairing those items with more familiar Mexican dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family has bright hopes for the restaurant’s future, with plans to eventually open a nicer sit-down location with full table service. However, they’re in no rush to expand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The restaurant is in its toddler stages,” Barraza says. “Before we open another location, I need it walking on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/asimexicanfusion/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Así Mexican Fusion Bistro\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is located at 6239 Santa Teresa Blvd. in San Jose.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "A Mexican-Jordanian Fusion Restaurant Opens in San Jose | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Located on a quiet corner of South \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San Jose\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/asimexicanfusion/?hl=en\">Así Mexican Fusion Bistro\u003c/a> would be easy to miss if it weren’t for the vibrant butterfly mural on the wall — one of the butterfly’s wings is a Mexican flag, and the other is a Jordanian flag. Inside, where customers sip on micheladas and catch sports on the TV, the restaurant feels like a standard Mexican spot until the basket of pita chips and tortilla chips arrives at the table: Instead of guacamole, you dip the chips in hummus topped with salsa macha.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dip is typical of Así’s hybrid approach, which supplements the restaurant’s traditional Mexican menu with dishes that incorporate Middle Eastern ingredients in surprisingly delicious ways. Mini blue tostadas come topped with ribbons of beef shawarma, toum (garlic sauce) and sumac pickled onions. The shakshuka a la Mexicana, meanwhile, is a cross between traditional shakshuka and huevos rancheros, combining eggs, salty cheese, cilantro and a sumac-spiced tomato sauce — again, all on top of a tostada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owner Lourdes Barraza quit her job as a Group Supervisor at Santa Cruz Juvenile Hall to start a taco catering business in August 2018. “I’m a mom of three girls,” says Barraza, noting that catering allowed her to keep a flexible schedule. “For me, having my career was important, but being a mom was always number one.” Six years later, in January 2024, Barraza opened Así Mexican Fusion Bistro along with her eldest daughter, Isabella Astorga, who manages the restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979657\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979657\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallo%CC%81n-Left-to-right.jpg\" alt=\"Four women pose for a portrait in front of a mural.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Lourdes-Barraza-Isabella-Astorga-Ana-Colin-and-Sophia-Gallón-Left-to-right-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left to right: Lourdes Barraza and her daughters Isabella Astorga, Sophia Gallón and Ana Colin. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Así Mexican Fusion Bistro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the brick-and-mortar, the mother and daughter wanted to go beyond traditional Mexican food. “We thought, ‘Let’s do Middle Eastern fusion,’” says Barraza. As it turns out, Astorga’s partner is from Jordan, and as she became more familiar with that country’s cuisine, she was intrigued by how similar it was to Mexican food — and how well the two cuisines’ spices and cooking techniques blended together. The fusion dishes at Así don’t come across as a gimmick, then, but rather a love letter to both cultures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also a lot of fun. Some of the restaurant’s most creative fusion creations include a falafel-stuffed burrito and fries loaded with chicken shawarma, black beans, feta and pickled turnips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recipe development starts by breaking dishes down into their components and examining potential twists. For example, if a Mexican dish has oregano, the chefs consider fortifying that earthy flavor by adding Middle Eastern spices like za’atar or sumac. “It’s trial and error,” says Barraza. “As we go, we make changes we feel necessary. It seems to be working, people seem to love it.” One of their greatest hits is the tahini-chipotle crema, which serves as a nutty, smoky complement to grilled meats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979658\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979658\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate.jpg\" alt=\"Chicken kebab, grilled tomatoes, cucumber salad and various sauces on a plate.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Pollo-Al-Pastor-Kebab-Plate-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Así’s take on al pastor is like a deconstructed chicken kebab skewer. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s worth noting that there’s a long history of Mediterranean and Mexican fusion. Al pastor was created thanks to Lebanese immigrants who \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/08/584057034/building-a-latino-muslim-coalition-with-tacotrucksateverymosque\">introduced spit-roasted meat to Mexico in the 1930s\u003c/a>. Así shakes things up a bit by serving both chicken shawarma (cooked on a traditional vertical spit) and a pollo al pastor plate that’s essentially a deconstructed kebab: big, kebab-like chunks of spiced chicken paired with charred tomatoes, onion and a heaping pile of cucumber salad. The experience of loading up a freshly made corn tortilla with chicken kebab, tzatziki, toum and salsa verde is something you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Así is also a fusion of the family’s experiences and skills. Barraza brings her cooking experience as well as knowledge of family recipes — Así’s salsas are the same ones her father served at his taqueria in Southern California. Meanwhile, Astorga puts her communications degree to use by running an efficient floor and creating a strong sense of community with customers. Barraza’s youngest daughter helps out as a server and makes \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DAl2EuYSxlV/?hl=en\">social media videos\u003c/a> for the restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Así is relatively new, it has already earned a dedicated following, with some customers stopping in as many as five times a week. “We’ve become a pillar in the short time we’ve been in the community,” Astorga says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979656\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979656\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada.jpg\" alt=\"Tostada topped with egg cooked in tomato sauce.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Shakshuka-a-la-Mexicana-tostada-1536x865.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Shakshuka a la Mexicana’ is a cross between traditional shakshuka and huevos rancheros. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The success can be attributed in part to Barraza’s willingness to adapt. When she noticed that a majority of Así’s customers were Muslims who had concerns about cross-contamination from pork, she decided to remove it from the menu. Now, all of the food they serve is halal. Meanwhile, Barraza says many Latino customers have been hesitant to try the restaurant’s Middle Eastern–influenced dishes. She hopes to entice them by pairing those items with more familiar Mexican dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family has bright hopes for the restaurant’s future, with plans to eventually open a nicer sit-down location with full table service. However, they’re in no rush to expand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The restaurant is in its toddler stages,” Barraza says. “Before we open another location, I need it walking on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/asimexicanfusion/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Así Mexican Fusion Bistro\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is located at 6239 Santa Teresa Blvd. in San Jose.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "escaped-black-and-white-tegu-lizard-loose-santa-clara-county-san-jose",
"title": "There’s a Black and White Tegu on the Loose in Santa Clara County",
"publishDate": 1749500198,
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"headTitle": "There’s a Black and White Tegu on the Loose in Santa Clara County | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When someone told me over the weekend that a black and white tegu was loose in Joseph D. Grant County Park, I initially thought one of those boxy little driverless robotaxis had gone rogue. Turns out that tegus are, in fact, massive lizards native to Central and South America that like nothing more than gobbling up eggs, small mammals and fruit — and being pretty darn cute while they’re at it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The black and white tegu was spotted last week by hikers who reported their sighting to the Santa Clara County Parks department. Rangers have been searching for the tegu near Grant Lake ever since, and are encouraging hikers to immediately report any sightings of the little guy to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977344\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977344\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb.png\" alt=\"A large white lizard with black markings peers out of shrubbery.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1551\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb-160x124.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb-768x596.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb-1536x1191.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Parks posted this alert to Facebook on Friday. \u003ccite>(Facebook/Santa Clara County Parks)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Where the heck did this lizard come from? Well, tegus are smart and usually docile, which means people like keeping them as pets. It’s perfectly legal to do so in California, even though they can grow up to four feet long and live up to 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a pet tegu named Winston who has his own TikTok account:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@winstonthetegu/video/7129275873358040366\" data-video-id=\"7129275873358040366\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@winstonthetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@winstonthetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@winstonthetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"winstonthetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/winstonthetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#winstonthetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#TEGU\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"argentine\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/argentine?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#argentine\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"blackandwhite\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackandwhite?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#blackandwhite\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Tegus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"argentinetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/argentinetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#argentinetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizard\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizard?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizard\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizardlife\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizardlife?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizardlife\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptile\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptile?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptile\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptiles\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptiles?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptiles\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"foryoupage\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryoupage?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#foryoupage\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fypシ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp%E3%82%B7?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fypシ\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cute\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cute?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cute\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizardsofinstagram\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizardsofinstagram?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizardsofinstagram\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegulizard\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegulizard?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tegulizard\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptilesofinstagram\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptilesofinstagram?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptilesofinstagram\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"happy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/happy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#happy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - winstonthetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7129275857436396334?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – winstonthetegu\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, when tegus get out into American nature, they can be destructive little so-and-sos who wreak havoc on native bird populations and other small creatures. They are also speedy and fond of burrowing, making them tricky to find and catch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@seasexotics/video/7345949940624969006\" data-video-id=\"7345949940624969006\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@seasexotics\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@seasexotics?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@seasexotics\u003c/a> He stole my shoes \u003ca title=\"animal\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/animal?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#animal\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"animals\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/animals?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#animals\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"pet\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pet?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pet\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"pets\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pets?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pets\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cuteanimals\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cuteanimals?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cuteanimals\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"interesting\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/interesting?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#interesting\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptiles\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptiles?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptiles\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cute\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cute?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cute\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptile\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptile?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptile\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"aww\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aww?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#aww\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"blackandwhite\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackandwhite?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#blackandwhite\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"blackandwhitetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackandwhitetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#blackandwhitetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizard\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizard?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizard\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizards\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizards?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizards\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Sea’s Exotics\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7345950029963643694?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Sea’s Exotics\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Exacerbating matters, female tegus will lay up to 35 eggs each year; populations of the escaped reptiles can grow quickly. Both Florida and Georgia have such out-of-control tegu problems that both states recently introduced bans on breeding and selling the animals. One tegu owner, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@thatteacherwiththelizard/video/7236761514924051758\">@thatteacherwiththelizard on TikTok\u003c/a>, notes that “Tegus are on the same level as cats when it comes to intelligence … They’re escape artists, they’re cunning, they’re super sweet. If you have a cat, you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep your eyes peeled if you’re in Joseph D. Grant County Park. The local birds will thank you for it.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Tegus are giant, egg-gobbling lizards who have no business roaming Silicon Valley willy-nilly.",
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"title": "Giant Lizard Spotted in South Bay Park, Near San José | KQED",
"description": "Tegus are giant, egg-gobbling lizards who have no business roaming Silicon Valley willy-nilly.",
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"headline": "There’s a Black and White Tegu on the Loose in Santa Clara County",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When someone told me over the weekend that a black and white tegu was loose in Joseph D. Grant County Park, I initially thought one of those boxy little driverless robotaxis had gone rogue. Turns out that tegus are, in fact, massive lizards native to Central and South America that like nothing more than gobbling up eggs, small mammals and fruit — and being pretty darn cute while they’re at it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The black and white tegu was spotted last week by hikers who reported their sighting to the Santa Clara County Parks department. Rangers have been searching for the tegu near Grant Lake ever since, and are encouraging hikers to immediately report any sightings of the little guy to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977344\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977344\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb.png\" alt=\"A large white lizard with black markings peers out of shrubbery.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1551\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb-160x124.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb-768x596.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/santa-clara-fb-1536x1191.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Parks posted this alert to Facebook on Friday. \u003ccite>(Facebook/Santa Clara County Parks)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Where the heck did this lizard come from? Well, tegus are smart and usually docile, which means people like keeping them as pets. It’s perfectly legal to do so in California, even though they can grow up to four feet long and live up to 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a pet tegu named Winston who has his own TikTok account:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@winstonthetegu/video/7129275873358040366\" data-video-id=\"7129275873358040366\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@winstonthetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@winstonthetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@winstonthetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"winstonthetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/winstonthetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#winstonthetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#TEGU\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"argentine\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/argentine?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#argentine\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"blackandwhite\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackandwhite?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#blackandwhite\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Tegus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"argentinetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/argentinetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#argentinetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizard\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizard?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizard\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizardlife\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizardlife?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizardlife\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptile\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptile?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptile\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptiles\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptiles?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptiles\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"foryoupage\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryoupage?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#foryoupage\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fypシ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp%E3%82%B7?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fypシ\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cute\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cute?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cute\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizardsofinstagram\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizardsofinstagram?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizardsofinstagram\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegulizard\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegulizard?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tegulizard\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptilesofinstagram\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptilesofinstagram?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptilesofinstagram\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"happy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/happy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#happy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - winstonthetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7129275857436396334?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – winstonthetegu\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, when tegus get out into American nature, they can be destructive little so-and-sos who wreak havoc on native bird populations and other small creatures. They are also speedy and fond of burrowing, making them tricky to find and catch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@seasexotics/video/7345949940624969006\" data-video-id=\"7345949940624969006\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@seasexotics\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@seasexotics?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@seasexotics\u003c/a> He stole my shoes \u003ca title=\"animal\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/animal?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#animal\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"animals\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/animals?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#animals\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"pet\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pet?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pet\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"pets\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pets?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pets\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cuteanimals\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cuteanimals?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cuteanimals\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"interesting\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/interesting?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#interesting\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptiles\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptiles?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptiles\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cute\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cute?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cute\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"reptile\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/reptile?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#reptile\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"aww\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aww?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#aww\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"blackandwhite\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackandwhite?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#blackandwhite\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"blackandwhitetegu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackandwhitetegu?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#blackandwhitetegu\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizard\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizard?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizard\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lizards\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lizards?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#lizards\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Sea’s Exotics\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7345950029963643694?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Sea’s Exotics\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Exacerbating matters, female tegus will lay up to 35 eggs each year; populations of the escaped reptiles can grow quickly. Both Florida and Georgia have such out-of-control tegu problems that both states recently introduced bans on breeding and selling the animals. One tegu owner, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@thatteacherwiththelizard/video/7236761514924051758\">@thatteacherwiththelizard on TikTok\u003c/a>, notes that “Tegus are on the same level as cats when it comes to intelligence … They’re escape artists, they’re cunning, they’re super sweet. If you have a cat, you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep your eyes peeled if you’re in Joseph D. Grant County Park. The local birds will thank you for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "salpikitos-arepas-san-jose-charcoal-grill-late-night",
"title": "San Jose’s New Late-Night Hot Spot Serves Smoky, Charcoal-Grilled Arepas",
"publishDate": 1748985708,
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"headTitle": "San Jose’s New Late-Night Hot Spot Serves Smoky, Charcoal-Grilled Arepas | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent Saturday night, I was food-truck-hopping in East \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San Jose\u003c/a> when the aroma of charcoal lured me to a small food stand on Alum Rock — a Colombian arepa joint called \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/salpikitos.usa24/?hl=en\">Salpikitos\u003c/a>, it turned out. I felt like I had stumbled into a family’s backyard barbecue. There was an assembly line of cooks. One tended to a simmering pot of speckled quail eggs; another fanned the flames while searing a batch of arepas on the grill. It was nearly midnight and every table was packed with customers chowing down on charred masa cakes and sipping bottles of Colombiana cola.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For research purposes, I ordered the fattest arepa on the menu, the desgranada, which overflowed with beef, corn, plantain, avocado, chicharron and quail eggs skewered on toothpicks. I loved the contrast between the crisp, brittle masa and the creamy filling. It was one of the tastiest arepas I’ve come across in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edward Tovar and Vivian Sanchez opened the San Jose location of Salpikitos last December, but the business was born in Villavicencio, Colombia, in 2008. Tovar’s brother, Carlos Kaleet, started out selling arepas from a street stall and eventually expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in Villavicencio and another in Bogota. Tovar and Sanchez worked alongside Kaleet back in Colombia and got his blessing to continue the family business when they moved to the United States three years ago. Over the last six months, they’ve transformed Salpikitos from a simple food stall that had a few scattered tables to something more like an outdoor restaurant, complete with a walled-off, fully built-out kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977046\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977046\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripin%CC%83a-on-Grill.jpg\" alt=\"An arepa topped with shredded cheese and pinapples cooking over a charcoal grill, alongside a sausage link.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salpikitos’ calling card is that it cooks its arepas on a charcoal grill, imparting the corn cakes with a smoky flavor. Pictured here are the components of the choripiña. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13971280,arts_13954112,arts_13939388']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Of course, the food stand’s specialty is its arepas, which are a kind of masa cake that originated in Colombia and Venezuela. There’s a growing number of Colombian and Venezuelan food businesses in San Jose that make these stuffed corn cakes, but almost always on an indoor griddle. What makes the arepas at Salpikitos special is that they’re grilled over charcoal to impart a smoky flavor and a light char. Plus, the cooks make the masa from scratch using white corn kernels. “Before we had an electric machine,” says Sanchez, “but right now, we’re grinding it by hand. It takes about two and a half hours for the thirty pounds of masa we make per day.” The arepas are sturdy enough to encase an incredible amount of filling and have a subtle corn flavor that serves as a blank slate for a diverse cast of ingredients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple spent years studying the recipes at the original Salpikitos to replicate the flavors as precisely as possible. “The spices, amounts and ingredients are all the same we used in Colombia,” says Sanchez. There are over a dozen varieties of stuffed arepas on the menu. The top seller is the aforementioned desgranada. Sanchez’s personal favorite is the shrimp arepa filled with gooey cheese, tomatoes, red onions, avocado and paprika.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977043\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977043\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez.jpg\" alt=\"A man and woman, both dressed in black, pose for a portrait next to a fence.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-1920x1081.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Owners Edward Tovar and Vivian Sanchez. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, Tovar says his favorite dish isn’t a stuffed arepa at all. It’s the choripiña — a plain, unstuffed arepa topped with melted cheese and chunks of macerated pineapple, and served with a grilled Colombian chorizo link on top. All of the flavors come together incredibly well — the smoke-infused corn flavor of the grilled masa, the tart sweetness of the pineapple, the richness of the cheese, and the savoriness of the spice-infused chorizo. It’s also just a fun eating experience, since you can wrap the arepa around the sausage and bite into the whole thing as if it were a large stuffed taco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tovar and Sanchez say their menu is identical to the one at the Salpikitos locations in Colombia, so I was surprised to see dishes inspired by American and Mexican cuisine. The rancher burger arepa is filled with traditional burger toppings along with the addition of corn and quail eggs. Those two aren’t ingredients I would ever typically consider adding to my burger, but I can confirm that the combination works exceptionally well, especially with the hard sear the beef patty gets on the grill. The Mexicana, on the other hand, features beans, jalapeño, tomato, avocado, cheese and meat with a tangy red salsa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977044\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977044\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada.jpg\" alt=\"A cheesy, overstuffed arepa on a paper plate.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fat, overstuffed desgranada is the bestseller. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977045\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977045\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripin%CC%83a.jpg\" alt=\"Arepa topped with chopped pineapple and a sausage link.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The choripiña isn’t stuffed — instead, chopped pineapple and a grilled chorizo link are placed on top. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When asked about their favorite menu item, every Salpikitos employee recommended something different. In other words, it’s the type of place where there’s something for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salpikitos isn’t visible from the street, and it’s tucked directly in the middle of the food truck park. Which is to say, the place isn’t easy to come across accidentally, yet the tables fill up nearly every night of the week, and the owners say they sell around 150 arepas a day. It’s become a popular late-night spot for diners in the mood for Colombian barbecue who gather near the fire as the cold night air fills with smoke and chatter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel customers come here because of the flavor of the arepa,” says Sanchez. “Customers tell us the flavor is unique because of the charcoal. It’s the essence of the arepa.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/salpikitos.usa24/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Salpikitos\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open Monday through Friday 7 p.m.–12 a.m. and Saturday to Sunday 5 p.m.–midnight at 1948 Alum Rock Ave. in San Jose.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Salpikitos is the first U.S. location for a family business born in Colombia.",
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"title": "San Jose’s New Late-Night Hot Spot Serves Smoky, Charcoal-Grilled Arepas | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent Saturday night, I was food-truck-hopping in East \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San Jose\u003c/a> when the aroma of charcoal lured me to a small food stand on Alum Rock — a Colombian arepa joint called \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/salpikitos.usa24/?hl=en\">Salpikitos\u003c/a>, it turned out. I felt like I had stumbled into a family’s backyard barbecue. There was an assembly line of cooks. One tended to a simmering pot of speckled quail eggs; another fanned the flames while searing a batch of arepas on the grill. It was nearly midnight and every table was packed with customers chowing down on charred masa cakes and sipping bottles of Colombiana cola.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For research purposes, I ordered the fattest arepa on the menu, the desgranada, which overflowed with beef, corn, plantain, avocado, chicharron and quail eggs skewered on toothpicks. I loved the contrast between the crisp, brittle masa and the creamy filling. It was one of the tastiest arepas I’ve come across in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edward Tovar and Vivian Sanchez opened the San Jose location of Salpikitos last December, but the business was born in Villavicencio, Colombia, in 2008. Tovar’s brother, Carlos Kaleet, started out selling arepas from a street stall and eventually expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in Villavicencio and another in Bogota. Tovar and Sanchez worked alongside Kaleet back in Colombia and got his blessing to continue the family business when they moved to the United States three years ago. Over the last six months, they’ve transformed Salpikitos from a simple food stall that had a few scattered tables to something more like an outdoor restaurant, complete with a walled-off, fully built-out kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977046\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977046\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripin%CC%83a-on-Grill.jpg\" alt=\"An arepa topped with shredded cheese and pinapples cooking over a charcoal grill, alongside a sausage link.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-on-Grill-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salpikitos’ calling card is that it cooks its arepas on a charcoal grill, imparting the corn cakes with a smoky flavor. Pictured here are the components of the choripiña. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Of course, the food stand’s specialty is its arepas, which are a kind of masa cake that originated in Colombia and Venezuela. There’s a growing number of Colombian and Venezuelan food businesses in San Jose that make these stuffed corn cakes, but almost always on an indoor griddle. What makes the arepas at Salpikitos special is that they’re grilled over charcoal to impart a smoky flavor and a light char. Plus, the cooks make the masa from scratch using white corn kernels. “Before we had an electric machine,” says Sanchez, “but right now, we’re grinding it by hand. It takes about two and a half hours for the thirty pounds of masa we make per day.” The arepas are sturdy enough to encase an incredible amount of filling and have a subtle corn flavor that serves as a blank slate for a diverse cast of ingredients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple spent years studying the recipes at the original Salpikitos to replicate the flavors as precisely as possible. “The spices, amounts and ingredients are all the same we used in Colombia,” says Sanchez. There are over a dozen varieties of stuffed arepas on the menu. The top seller is the aforementioned desgranada. Sanchez’s personal favorite is the shrimp arepa filled with gooey cheese, tomatoes, red onions, avocado and paprika.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977043\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977043\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez.jpg\" alt=\"A man and woman, both dressed in black, pose for a portrait next to a fence.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Edward-Tovar-and-Vivian-Sanchez-1920x1081.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Owners Edward Tovar and Vivian Sanchez. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, Tovar says his favorite dish isn’t a stuffed arepa at all. It’s the choripiña — a plain, unstuffed arepa topped with melted cheese and chunks of macerated pineapple, and served with a grilled Colombian chorizo link on top. All of the flavors come together incredibly well — the smoke-infused corn flavor of the grilled masa, the tart sweetness of the pineapple, the richness of the cheese, and the savoriness of the spice-infused chorizo. It’s also just a fun eating experience, since you can wrap the arepa around the sausage and bite into the whole thing as if it were a large stuffed taco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tovar and Sanchez say their menu is identical to the one at the Salpikitos locations in Colombia, so I was surprised to see dishes inspired by American and Mexican cuisine. The rancher burger arepa is filled with traditional burger toppings along with the addition of corn and quail eggs. Those two aren’t ingredients I would ever typically consider adding to my burger, but I can confirm that the combination works exceptionally well, especially with the hard sear the beef patty gets on the grill. The Mexicana, on the other hand, features beans, jalapeño, tomato, avocado, cheese and meat with a tangy red salsa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977044\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977044\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada.jpg\" alt=\"A cheesy, overstuffed arepa on a paper plate.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Desgranada-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fat, overstuffed desgranada is the bestseller. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977045\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977045\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripin%CC%83a.jpg\" alt=\"Arepa topped with chopped pineapple and a sausage link.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Choripiña-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The choripiña isn’t stuffed — instead, chopped pineapple and a grilled chorizo link are placed on top. \u003ccite>(Octavio Peña)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When asked about their favorite menu item, every Salpikitos employee recommended something different. In other words, it’s the type of place where there’s something for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salpikitos isn’t visible from the street, and it’s tucked directly in the middle of the food truck park. Which is to say, the place isn’t easy to come across accidentally, yet the tables fill up nearly every night of the week, and the owners say they sell around 150 arepas a day. It’s become a popular late-night spot for diners in the mood for Colombian barbecue who gather near the fire as the cold night air fills with smoke and chatter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel customers come here because of the flavor of the arepa,” says Sanchez. “Customers tell us the flavor is unique because of the charcoal. It’s the essence of the arepa.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/salpikitos.usa24/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Salpikitos\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open Monday through Friday 7 p.m.–12 a.m. and Saturday to Sunday 5 p.m.–midnight at 1948 Alum Rock Ave. in San Jose.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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