Category Archives: Best Takeout Food

Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late: World Wrapps

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Furikake Salmon Bowl from World Wrapps.
Furikake Salmon Bowl from World Wrapps.

Way, way back in the mid-1990s, I set myself a goal to eat my way through the “specialty wraps” section of World Wrapps in downtown Palo Alto.

Alas, I was probably within a couple of orders of accomplishing that when the fast-casual cafe shuttered.

In early 2020 just before the pandemic hit, two of the original founders revived the brand with a location in San Francisco. It not only managed to survive the tumult of the past two years, but has expanded to five other Bay Area cities. A couple weeks ago, its newest debuted at The Pruneyard in Campbell, where I was invited in as a guest to try the menu.

Of course, my original plan was to dine outside there. But when a crazy heatwave sent temperatures soaring to 102 degrees, I decided to take the food to-go to eat at home with the A/C on. Can you blame me?

Inside the new location at The Pruneyard.
Inside the new location at The Pruneyard.

When co-founders Matthew Blair and Keith Cox (the latter also co-founded Pacific Catch) originally founded World Wrapps, it pioneered enfolding innovative, globally-inspired fillings of fresh ingredients inside a rainbow of burrito-sized tortillas.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late: Salumeria Ovello

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Rotisserie-roasted duck with oranges to-go from Salumeria Ovello.
Rotisserie-roasted duck with oranges to-go from Salumeria Ovello.

Thanks to the advent of the pandemic, I’ve learned to always keep a cooler in my car. With traveling these days pretty much limited to car trips, it pays to be prepared since you never know what wonders a spur-of-the-moment stop will yield.

Such was the case when my husband and I were in Sonoma a few weeks ago, and spied the sign for Salumeria Ovello.

This charming spot is owned by Chef Andrea Marino, who once had his own Michelin-starred restaurant in Barberesco, Italy. After moving to California and getting married, he opened this storefront about three years ago.

A jar of bolognese plus fresh pasta chitarra -- all made in house and ready to cook at home.
A jar of bolognese plus fresh pasta chitarra — all made in house and ready to cook at home.

Yes, there is house-made salumi. But also, so much more, including panini stuffed with everything from Niman Ranch porchetta and arugula with house-made mayonnaise ($14) to slow-roasted beef tongue accented with salsa verde ($14).

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late: Portuguese Tasty Desserts

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Traditional biscoitos, both plain and chocolate-glazed, from Portuguese Tasty Desserts.
Traditional biscoitos, both plain and chocolate-glazed, from Portuguese Tasty Desserts.

Portuguese Tasty Desserts takes up a small footprint on El Camino Real in Santa Clara. But it welcomes you with huge warmth.

The minute you walk through the doors, you’ll be offered a sample of Portuguese sweet bread, and asked if you’d like a cup of coffee on the house to go with it.

This is a family-owned operation that first started when the original owners had a bakery in what is now the Santa Clara Town Center. As they neared retirement, they sold it. Those subsequent owners ran it for a good stretch, before eventually closing it. When they did, Teresa Defreitas, the daughter of the original owners, decided seven months ago that the time was finally right to open up her own Portuguese bakery at this site.

Cinnamon Portuguese sweet bread.
Cinnamon Portuguese sweet bread.

If you love sweet, fluffy, squishy, buttery-tasting bread, you need to pick up a loaf immediately. You can get a round, a square, a mini or my choice, a cinnamon version ($9.50). The cinnamon here is subtle, owing to the fact that it’s a mere single ribbon of cinnamon-sugar in the loaf, not a big spiral like you expect. It’s also a little haphazard, as mine was located at the very top of the loaf. Even so, it was delightful, with a taste reminiscent of Hawaiian sweet bread, but with a subtle hint of cinnamon.

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Wild About Wildgrain

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Baked-from-frozen croissants from Wildgrain that I scarfed up.
Baked-from-frozen croissants from Wildgrain that I scarfed up.

Pure temptation recently arrived on my doorstep.

It was a big ol’ box of carbs.

Inside were: artisan-made sourdough bread, pastries and pasta — all that just needed to be finished baking or cooking before devouring.

Meet Wildgrain, which bills itself as the first membership box that ships bake-from-frozen products to your home each month.

Think of it like a CSA — but for baked goods.

Made by a small team of bakers in Boston, the contents of the box vary each month. You can suspend or stop anytime you wish. But unfortunately, you can’t necessarily request certain items be included in your box or purchase favorites separately.

Baked-from-frozen blueberry biscuits that arrived in the same box.
Baked-from-frozen blueberry biscuits that arrived in the same box.

Nothing takes more than 25 minutes to prepare, though, you will have to let the bread cool for about half an hour after baking.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late: Tacos Buenrostro

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The birria taco from Tacos Buenrostro.
The birria taco from Tacos Buenrostro.

Ever since watching the Netflix series, “Taco Chronicles,” I’ve been a little obsessed with birria tacos.

The Jalisco specialty is typically lamb or goat stewed slowly until tender, then folded into a tortilla that you dunk into an accompanying bowl of the resulting broth.

Yes, think of it as the taco version of a French dip sandwich.

I have friends Nate and Annie to thank for turning me on to Tacos Buenrostro, a taco truck regularly parked at a gas station at 3295 Sierra Road in San Jose. After seeing the Facebook photos of the two of them happily devouring the tacos, I knew I had to pay a visit, too.

While the truck has an extensive menu, we honed in on the beef birria — and only the birria.

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