Jelly Belly Factory / Thai Chef

Fairfield, CA

Four friends and I headed out to Fairfield to visit the Jelly Belly Factory. Three of us are UC Davis alumni who have passed by the Jelly Belly signs a gazillion times along Interstate 80 but never had the opportunity to visit. Me, I LOVE Jelly Bellies...they are one of my favorite candies.

Luckily, the rain had stopped before we left SF. We took the Chadbourne Road exit near the Fairfield Auto Mall and passed by the huge Budweiser plant. It smelled like work...ferment-y. =P



The JB factory tour was what I expected - kinda boring, especially if you've seen the Food Network version or some other documentary thing on Herman Goelitz. A lot of the machinery is off on the weekends so most of the tour consists of video clips and looking at unmoving equipment. I had more fun running around posing with the Mr. Jelly Belly plushes. =)

Cameras aren't allowed on the tour (boooooo) and watch out - you have to wear flimsy paper hats and there are fans abound.



Flavors I always buy: Juicy Pear, Crushed Pineapple, Cantaloupe, Buttered Popcorn, all of the Sours, A&W Root Beer, Cappuccino, Kiwi, Pink Grapefruit (+ others)

New flavors I've tried and bought: Bacon (as part of Bertie Bott's), Roasted Garlic, Buttered Toast (I like funky flavors...just not booger or earwax)

Bacon is pretty bacon-y! Roasted garlic tasted like undercaramelized roasted garlic! Buttered toast was in a way, similar to buttered popcorn. Not exactly buttery, but interesting.

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San Francisco, CA

After an absolutely horrid meal at BJ's Restaurant and Brewery, some anger/emotional shopping, and a flat tire, we decided it was time to head back to SF for dinner instead of trying a friend's sushi boat restaurant in Oakland. We dare not try something new, especially after the terrible service at lunch and just wanted something solid. We didn't need anything phenomenal and mind-blowing - just something simple and not easily fouled up. And, no chains.

We all agreed on heading to Thai Chef on Broadway in SF's Chinatown. I'm not an expert on Thai cuisine so I can't vouch for authenticity but we all agreed that our meals were at least tasty. Thai Chef's website for the second branch in the Castro shows a slightly different menu with higher prices. The third location in the Sunset (Irving/22nd Ave) had closed and/or changed ownership and/or name.

With artwork for sale on the walls, dark wood benches on the left side of the room, and red lamps, the interior was carefully put together and looked very modern compared to many establishments in Chinatown. It looked more expensive than it was, though for Chinatown, it is relatively pricey compared to the $3.25 rice plate places and other dirt cheap goodies to be found. =P

C ordered her usual Pad Thai with chicken ($6.25), J ordered what I heard was Guai Tiew Nuer Sub ("Pan fried flat noodles with ground beef," $6.25), L ordered the Wonton Egg Noodle Soup ($6.25), W ordered the Gai Yang (BBQ chicken, $6.25), and I had the Pad Ta Lay (Seafood, zucchini, carrot with spicy sauce & basil, $7.50) and a cup of Tom Yum Gai ($3.50).


I didn't realize I liked Thai food until recently. I am not a coconut fan so as I long stay away from coconut cream based foods, I'm okay. Pretty generous portions of sliced button mushrooms, circles of thing lemongrass stalk, and sliky white chicken breast meat floated in a orange tinged super tangy broth. I thought this version was unbalanced as it was rather sour. Really not too sour for my taste, but I think others might dislike the overpowering sourness of this soup. Then again, I love sour, spicy, sweet, and savory/salty foods and my tastes veer to extremes. =) I *heart* spicy and sour. On a cold night, this really hit the spot for me though I wouldn't have minded a more spice. I realized I was pretty full off this soup, especially after scooping a few spoonfuls of rice into the zippy broth.



Still, I picked out a scallop, several pieces of tender calamari, couple strips of red bell pepper, and lots of tender-crisp zucchini out of my entree. Everything was tasty but needed to be spicier! I guess the heat has been toned down for the non-Thai. Still, very tasty. I had the rest of it packed up for another day.

BBQ Chicken Rice Plate (Gai Yang)

Pad Thai with Chicken

Wonton Egg Noodle Soup

Just what we wanted - we were happy and satisfied after a pretty crappy day that included a flat tire followed by the 60 mile drive home at 50 mph.

Minus the nice, but nose-gold mining waitress...eeeeeeeewww... Still, nose-picking waitress > BJ's in Vacaville. >=(

Would I return? Sure...as long as I don't see more nose picking in the future. O_O