10 for $10: A Food Blog

Welcome friends, family, anyone else who's reading this.

I'll start with the obvious, considering I'm starting a food blog: I love good food. There are few things better in life than a great meal. Food is a highlight of many of my days and a great meal can really turn a bad day around.

The Bella Napoli pizza (ham, tomatoes, local cheese, and
greens) from Pizzeria Donna Sofia in Naples, Italy

I get a thrill out of finding a new restaurants and I'm sure those who know me can attest to the fact that I will give restaurant recommendations to basically everyone I spend more than a couple minutes around. In my study abroad program this Spring, I developed a bit of a reputation of being the guy who finds the good restaurants. The blog post I wrote about food in Rome was far and away the one I got the most compliments on from my classmates, and when I was in Madrid during the second month, I had several people ask me if I'd found anywhere to eat yet (I did, sorta). So, now that I'm home, I thought I'd try my hand at straight up food blogging. I love writing and I love food, so it seems like a match made in heaven.

I'm also a college student who bankrupted himself in Europe this Spring and I'm going to be graduating college in June with a BA in English. Needless to say, I'm on a bit of a budget and food definitely costs money. A lot of people would probably think that in my situation, what I'd have to do is settle for crappy fast food chains like McDonald's or KFC if I wanted to eat out. First of all, my standard for food is way too high and I can't live like that. Secondly and more importantly, I whole-heartedly disagree. I think you can eat like royalty and still be frugal, you just have to know the right places. This is what brings me to this blog. What I'm going to do is write only about restaurants where you can get a great meal for $10 or less. Hence, the working title 10 for $10, where the 10 refers to 10/10 food.

Currywurst from Curry 61 in Berlin, Germany

I want to not only spread the word about where good, cheap food can be found, but also dispel the myth that you have to break the bank and eat at an expensive restaurant for good food. You may not get friendly, attentive waiters in tuxedos or a great atmosphere for $10 or less, but you don't have to sacrifice quality of food at all.

As of now, my posts will center around my two homes: the greater Pasadena and Los Angeles area and also Davis and Sacramento, CA, where I go to school, but I won't hesitate to review outside these areas if I find food worth writing about.

So let's begin this adventure, shall we?