Octavio Peña

Freelance writer with KQED, Eater, Serious Eats, Food & Wine, and more

Serious Eats •

This Steak-and-Fries Dinner Turns Carne Asada Fries Into a Weeknight Meal

I recently spent a few days in San Diego, where I maintained a nearly all-taco diet. As I hopped from taqueria to taqueria, I was tempted by carne asada fries, which were on nearly every menu. The dish is believed to have originated in San Diego in the 1990s, when taquerias began loading french fries with the taco fillings they already had on hand—grilled carne asada, cheese, guacamole, crema, and salsa.

I finally gave in on the last day of my trip, ordering asada fries from Tacos El Gordo, a...
Serious Eats •

The Bold 20-Minute Mexican Shrimp Dinner My Family Makes Every Week

Growing up, there weren’t many mainstays in my family’s dinner rotation. The dish camarones a la diabla—deviled shrimp—however, was my parents’ favorite, so it showed up at our table at least once a week. The dish is everything its name promises: plump shrimp seared until just browned, then coated in a fiery, glossy red sauce that begs to be scooped up with warm tortillas or spooned over a pile of rice. As a toddler, I couldn’t handle the heat, so my mom would omit the chiles for a mild version....
KQED •

This San José Pop-Up Bakery Sells 18 Different Varieties of Egg Tarts | KQED

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.
That hasn’t stopped A&M Pâtisserie. 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 lea...
Serious Eats •

The 15-Minute Mexican Fried Rice I Make on Repeat

This Mexican take on fried rice was inspired, surprisingly, by a dish at an Italian steakhouse. For my anniversary dinner at Be.Steak.A in Campbell, CA, I skimmed past the pastas and bistecca to order what looked like a rogue menu item: fried rice tossed with fennel-spiked sausage, pickled Calabrian chiles, and Pecorino Romano. It arrived loaded with warm spice, tangy heat, and just enough cheese to add a slightly funky flavor and glue the grains together. I loved it. Not just the flavors, but t...
Serious Eats •

The Bright, Herb-Packed Mexican Rice I Make for Almost Every Dinner

When most people think of Mexican rice, their minds go straight to arroz rojo, the beloved red tomato-tinged version that appears alongside dishes like enchiladas and pollo asado. Arroz verde, green rice—its verdant, slightly more mysterious cousin—often flies under the radar. Traditionally, its color and flavor come from green chiles like poblanos or jalapeños, green herbs, and/or leafy greens like spinach, but it's a wonderfully flexible dish that happily accepts whatever flavorful greenery is...
SFGATE •

'One of a kind': Rare Mexican cuisine touches down in the Bay Area

I first stumbled upon the Pre-Hispanic Mexican Cuisine food truck at San Jose’s Rose Garden Farmers Market. At least a dozen people were in line, and I joined the queue out of curiosity. I was expecting a traditional taco truck menu; instead, I was stunned by unfamiliar offerings. I ordered a small feast of al pastor negro, huitlacoche (corn fungus) quesadillas, and octopus and chorizo tacos. I was hooked and visited regularly to sample the rest of the menu.

I first stumbled upon the Pre-Hispan...
KQED •

A New San José Food Stall Specializes in Vietnamese Rice Cake Omelettes | KQED

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 Grand Century and Vietnam Town. 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 names...
San Francisco Chronicle •

This new Bay Area restaurant is selling thousands of spring rolls every weekend

Nem Nuong Nha Trang, which quietly opened in April in San Jose’s Little Saigon, appears to be the only restaurant in the Bay Area to specialize in nem nuong cuon, fresh rolls loaded with juicy pork sausage grilled over charcoal. Within the last month, demand has exploded; the restaurant sells 1,400 spring rolls per day on the weekends, and wait times can exceed an hour.

Nem Nuong Nha Trang, which quietly opened in April in San Jose’s Little Saigon, appears to be the only restaurant in the Bay A...
SFGATE •

An exceptional Taiwanese sandwich is hiding in this Bay Area strip mall

Tucked away in a labyrinth of offices in North San Jose, Tai Kee Wonton serves meticulously crafted pork-filled Taiwanese wontons. The no-frills establishment is adorned with black-and-white photos of previous generations of Tai Kee Wonton owners. The chef, Anthony Huang, is a master of the craft who has been making wontons for more than 45 years. The restaurant regularly fills up with families huddling over bowls of steaming wonton soup and gnawing on spare ribs and pork feet.

Tucked away in a...
Serious Eats •

The Easy Chicken Enchiladas I Learned From My Tías (and Make Every Week)

My biggest regret in life is all the times I turned down enchiladas growing up. I had an aversion to all things saucy (yes, that included tomato sauce on pizza). So, my thoughtful mother would appease my picky eating with the dry, deep-fried relative of enchiladas, flautas. Today, I'm a sauce-lover and often opt to add multiple sauces to a single dish. These enchiladas negras, which translates to black enchiladas, are dipped and rolled in a deeply savory, smoky, dark salsa made from charred toma...

The Bay Area’s First Kerala-Style Chai Shop Opens in San Jose | KQED

At Chayakada in San Jose, chai baristas juggle a meter-long stream of tea through the air like master waterbenders, effortlessly filling each cup to the brim with hot, frothy chai.
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 claims to...
NYT Cooking •

Chorizo, Egg and Cheese Tostadas Recipe

These breakfast tostadas are stacked with porky beans, funky cheese and runny eggs. It’s a dish with a lot of contrasting textures — the crunchy tostada, creamy chorizo beans and a jammy egg — that blend together cohesively. This recipe speeds things up by starting with canned beans, making it perfect for busy mornings. The beans are fried in the rendered chorizo fat to soften them and infuse them with warm spices, then mashed with chicken broth until smooth and spreadable. This recipe calls for...
Serious Eats •

Pollo Guisado Is Chicken Soup's Richer, Bolder Cousin

Across Latin America, cooks turn chicken, tomatoes, and spices into pollo guisado, a comforting stew that's endlessly adaptable. Especially in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, it's a weeknight favorite that's hearty enough to feed a family, simple enough to pull together with pantry staples, and flexible enough to welcome whatever vegetables or seasonings you have on hand. Some versions are briny with olives, others sweet with bell peppers. In this recipe, I lean savory, with inviting chu...
COYOTE •

Experimental Beers, Paletas, and Lattes Are Fueling Downtown San Jose’s Renaissance

San Jose is a cradle of firsts. In 1777, it became the first Spanish settlement in California. Nearly a century later, in 1849, the city was designated as California’s inaugural capital. And then again, in 1881, San Jose made history as the first electrified city west of the Rocky Mountains.

Today, the city is mostly quiet suburbs with hardly a trace of its historical significance and social prowess. Downtown San Jose (DTSJ) in particular has long been dethroned as the promising core of the Ame...
Serious Eats •

Summer Isn't Over Until You Cook Corn Like This

I'm a fan of corny things—pudding, bread, jokes. My favorite snack growing up was a spoonful of corn straight from the can, and during the holidays, I loved to drink my family's atole de elote, a warm, comforting blend of fresh corn and milk. The season I look forward to most each year is corn season. When I visit my parents in Turlock, CA, I stop at roadside stalls by cornfields and pack my trunk with cobs. This recipe is one of my favorite ways to use fresh, in-season corn and is a perfect dis...
Eater SF •

Here’s What to Order at San Jose’s New Late-Night Indian Pizza Player

A pickup window in Downtown San Jose is slinging Indian-inspired pizzas topped with samosas, vegetable manchurian, and palak paneer. There’s also saucy tikka masala wings and masala fries loaded with cheese and green peppers. The window sits directly on the sidewalk and catches the eye with a large menu and striped awning. Downtown San Jose isn’t known for its late-night dining scene. Most open signs flicker off by 10 p.m. But Mazala Pizza, which opened in late 2024, is open until 3 a.m. on Frid...

At This San Jose Fusion Restaurant, Mexican and Jordanian Flavors Collide

Located on a quiet corner of South San Jose, Así Mexican Fusion Bistro 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 mach...
Eater SF •

The 25 Best South Bay Area Restaurants

This time, it’s a whole new round of restaurants, bars, and pop-ups while the entire former roster has left the building.To put it simply: Don’t sleep on the South Bay. Santa Clara County is a culinary powerhouse in its own right. The region is home to restaurants and bars that have made appearances in the Michelin Guide for decades. Chez TJ opened in Mountain View in 1984, and the Plumed Horse debuted in Saratoga in 2009; each held a coveted star, Chez TJ losing its in 2025. But the South Bay a...
Serious Eats •

Never Heard of Mole Blanco? You're Missing Out on Summer's Best Sauce

There are many shades of mole across Mexico, each with its unique flavor profile. Oaxaca alone is known for seven distinct varieties, ranging from vibrant green to inky black. Mole negro is the most popular among them and often gets top billing, prized for its dark, complex, smoky flavors. But there's a lesser-known Oaxacan mole with nearly the opposite flavor profile and appearance, though it follows many of the same cooking steps: mole blanco (white mole). Also known as mole de novia (bride's...
Serious Eats •

Move Over Lasagna—Pastel Azteca Is Saucy, Layered, and So Much More Fun

I didn't grow up eating pastel azteca specifically, but I did grow up with its close relatives. My mom made saucy enchiladas, and my tía was known for her oven-baked chilaquiles. So when I dig into a slice of pastel azteca, it feels instantly familiar, like a greatest-hits remix of the flavors and textures I've loved throughout my childhood.

Although often referred to as "Mexican lasagna" due to its layered structure, pastel Azteca stands firmly in its own tradition and is not directly inspire...
Eater SF •

A San Jose Dim Sum Spot Serves Punk Shows With Dumplings

Typically live music at restaurants is faint and barely noticeable, like a piano gently playing in the background. But at dim sum restaurant Jade Cathay, crashing cymbals and loud vocals echo throughout the building. The delicately steamed, subtle-tasting dumplings are contrasted by the loud, clashing sounds of rock. At one point, lead singer Alvin Alvarez shouts, “Dim sum!” and the crowd goes wild.Jade Cathay is nestled in a quiet neighborhood adjacent to the San Jose airport. The restaurant is...
Serious Eats •

This 10-Minute Mexican-Inspired Smash Burger Is Even Better Than Taco Night

A few years ago, smash burgers had a serious moment—the kind of viral rise that put them on every trendy bar menu and backyard griddle. But the idea of smashing beef onto a hot surface to amplify its flavors and give it a pleasantly crispy texture isn't new. In Oklahoma, diners have been smashing burgers since the 1920s, pressing thinly sliced onions into patties as they cook. Go back even further, and you'll find a similar technique in Mexico: pacholas, seasoned ground beef patties traditionall...
Serious Eats •

Shrimp Scampi Meets Salsa Verde in This Weeknight-Friendly Pasta

I've always been intrigued by the idea of a Mexican pasta dish. Not in the Tex-Mex sense—where spaghetti gets tossed with taco seasoning and ground beef—but something that thoughtfully integrates the Mexican flavors I grew up eating into the framework of a classic Italian-American pasta dish. Years ago, I stumbled across a recipe in a 1980s Mexican-American cookbook that combined spaghetti with crema and queso fresco, almost like an Alfredo reboot. That dish was comforting and creamy, but I coul...
KQED •

San Jose’s New Late-Night Hot Spot Serves Smoky, Charcoal-Grilled Arepas | KQED

On a recent Saturday night, I was food-truck-hopping in East San Jose when the aroma of charcoal lured me to a small food stand on Alum Rock — a Colombian arepa joint called Salpikitos, 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 d...
Load More