Freebies and Gypsy's

This is going to sound bad, but I technically ate out three times (!) today.  Allow me to explain.  Munch On Me is a student favorite around these parts because they offer discounted and free food from local eateries.  I was actually on my way back home after a meeting with my mentor, and I ran into Amanda.  Since there was a fire drill going on in our building, she suggested we go out to eat.  The clear choice was to go along, and go I did.  Oddly enough, she planned to go to two of the places that had offered free food on the website.  The first was a mini hero eggplant parm sandwich from Uncle Dougie's.  It was okay.  The next stop, though, was Sumo Grub, which had offered tempura Oreos and Twinkies.

They are as you'd expect them to be:  fried in tempura batter and topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.  Suffice to say that I didn't feel great about myself after eating it all.  To give a better idea about this place, they actually offer challenge dishes--giant platters of deep fried foods to be eaten in either 15 or 25 minutes depending on what sort of foods one chooses.  In fact, we had to wait because two people were undertaking challenges when we got there, so the fryers were occupied.  It didn't look good for them when we left, so I'm pretty sure they ended up on the wall of shame.

Since I had had a Costco-sample-size sandwich and a bit of dessert, I was still hungry for dinner when I got back.  Unfortunately, my fellow food lover, Thomas, suggested Gypsy's, of which I've previously spoken praises.  Yet again, I couldn't resist.

I feel like Gypsy's is one of those places that proves that a higher power loves us and wants us to enjoy our time on this earth.  Pictured here is the Godfather's Favorite, which has chicken and pancetta in an eggy alfredo sauce over penne, Caesar salad, and a pink lemonade, all of which I procured for about $8.  Also, note the incredible piece of garlic bread that's four cloves of roasted garlic on French bread, practically the definition of simple yet delicious.  The price is enough to keep me coming back since I always take leftovers back; the incredible flavor and quality is a blessing.  I have enough self-control to keep myself from eating at Gypsy's too often, but I really don't feel guilty about eating out when I eat there.  We'll see if that turns out to be a problem.

Tonight reaffirms what I've known since I first got here:  Berkeley has an almost-unlimited number of restaurants to eat at, some of which are so good that they transcend my ability to capture them with words and photos.