Snyder: Cheat-day meal for me.

A lot of carbs.

Sbrocco: ...brews with a view in Vallejo... Brungardt: It's a sandwich that's after my own heart.

Sbrocco: ...and Mediterranean small plates in Oakland.

Levine: The fries are like rock stars.

Sbrocco: Just ahead on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

Phillips: So is there anything else I should know before we get up close to the bees?

Morse: Don't get stung.

♪♪ Sbrocco: Hi.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area," the show where regular Bay Area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants.

Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Joining me at the "Check, Please!"

table today are content producer Mark Snyder, nonprofit analyst Thomas Brungardt, and health-tech educator Deb Levine.

Welcome, everyone.

You ready?

Snyder: We're ready.

Thank you.

Brungardt: So ready.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Mark starts us off.

He's an Italian food fan with a huge dilemma -- how to satisfy his cravings for handmade pastas and pizzas while maintaining a strictly pescatarian diet.

Hmm.

Luckily, he thinks he's found a solution -- an innovative Italian eatery offering all his favorites minus the meat.

Located in San Francisco's Hayes Valley, it's Baia.

♪♪ Swett: Restaurant name is Baia.

It means "bay" in Italian.

So it's after San Francisco Bay.

That's the spirit of it.

We're big on Italian -- fruits, vegetables.

The Italian way is really letting them speak for themselves.

♪♪ We hand roll all of our pastas daily, except for the gluten free.

And then the meatballs are just how grandma used to make, only they're plant-based.

♪♪ People can't believe sometimes this is vegan food, and they are realizing that they can get the same flavors, and they feel better about themselves that they're eating healthier.

At the corner of Grove and Franklin, this is a venerable spot.

Longtime San Francisco diners remember this as being the spot where Jardiniere was for 20-some-odd years.

We recognize that people have been coming in this building for many years, and it's important for them to still feel that vibe and that connection.

♪♪ The bar is the focal point of the restaurant.

We have a great by-the-glass program, as well as a nice Italian program.

And then upstairs, we set up ten tables of two so that there's kind of a date-night feel.

But at the same time, it can be a family-style restaurant, too.

I think the food is tremendous.

Often, we'll get someone who is not a vegan, never considered eating vegan food, and they leave thinking, "Wow, that was great."

♪♪ Sbrocco: Now, Mark, Baia is pretty special and unique, isn't it?

Snyder: It is, yeah.

I've been pescatarian, or vegetarian, for about 25 years, and I feel really excited about -- Sbrocco: Since birth, basically.

Snyder: Since I was 15.

Yeah.

And I'm pretty excited about the explosion of vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, plant-based-friendly restaurants happening now.

I think it's a really good trend that we need to keep supporting.

So I love this restaurant.

It's kind of a little bit upscale.

It's not bunny food, though.

Sbrocco: Right.

Right.

Snyder: It's comfort food.

I love the meatballs.

I don't really remember if they taste like real meat because it's been so long since I've had real meat.

Sbrocco: Right.

Snyder: But they are perfectly spicy and seasoned, and they're on top of polenta.

They've got a nice, juicy texture, and it has, like, a shaved "Parmesan" on top.

Again, the cheese is vegan, too, but you wouldn't know it.

Brungardt: We tried the meatballs, and they do taste like meat.

The texture is a little bit -- Sbrocco: There you go.

Okay.

Brungardt: Texture is a little bit different, but it was still very good.

The polenta, I thought, was a little underseasoned.

It did pair well with the meatballs, but I thought it could have been a little bit more seasoned.

But we did enjoy the meatballs as a group.

We all tried at least one meatball.

Levine: I loved the starters, and I very much enjoyed the dishes that were made with a lot of vegetables.

So there was a cauliflower with lemon butter, in quotes, and sprinkled with parsley.

It was, like, cooked perfectly.

Perfect crunch.

And then, also, this beautiful sunchoke dish that had sunchokes two ways, eggplant, a beet puree.

Absolutely delicious.

Sbrocco: Any favorite dishes?

Snyder: I think everybody loves their pizzas on the edge.

They're crispy, and then they've got the chewier center, which is really perfect.

It's not going to be like your floppy New York-style pizza.

Sbrocco: Right.

Snyder: It's a little elevated, and -- Levine: Hey, don't beat up on New York-style pizza.

Snyder: I do like a dollar slice.

I like a dollar slice.

Don't get me wrong, especially after a few cocktails.

Sbrocco: I got a new Yorker here.

Come on, tread lightly.

Snyder: I had the spicy sausage this time, but you can't go wrong, also, with more of their vegetable-based toppings, as well.

I think that's always a hit.

Brungardt: We tried two of the pizzas.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Brungardt: One was very good, the mushroom funghi pizza.

We thought that was great.

The group agreed it had kind of an Asian flavor to it, which was unexpected but very good.

The other pizza was a chicken pesto pizza, which was just a real swing and a miss.

I felt like -- I think it spent too much time in the oven, so it was a bit burnt.

It was very chewy.

I think it would have been more effective just having vegetables on it rather than the fake chicken.

Sbrocco: All right.

Pastas.

Snyder: The pastas are great.

Homemade flavors.

I had a pappardelle pasta, and it was al dente.

It had a buttery sauce in there, a little bit of spice, like an herbal flavor to the buttery sauce.

And it had some Broccolini on top.

Really delicious.

Again, very comforting.

Kind of a cheat-day meal for me.

A lot of carbs.

Brungardt: We tried the mushroom ravioli, and I thought it had a really great sauce.

It was like a Marsala sauce.

And the ravioli was cooked really well.

The sauce was so good, we took the pizza, and we were dipping it in the sauce.

So I would go back for that ravioli.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Levine: For the pasta, we had the rigatoni arrabiata, and it's delicious.

The pasta was cooked al dente.

So really nice and lovely, as you described.

Spicy tomato sauce.

Really nice.

Had a little too much of the alt cheese for my tastes.

I would next time maybe ask for that on the side.

Sbrocco: And did you have anything to drink?

Snyder: I had a gin-forward cocktail that was Earl Gray-tea infused.

I like tea-based cocktails.

I guess it's kind of trendy.

But super delicious cocktail.

And they change their cocktail menu up just like they change their seasonal offerings on the regular menu.

Brungardt: But I felt like, as somebody who doesn't drink, it was hard for me to find something.

Sbrocco: Did they have anything non-alcoholic?

Brungardt: They had a Baia lemonade, which I think is a lemonade naturally sweetened, which was kind of just like lemonade.

Snyder: When I was there, I did notice they had the Phony Negroni.

Sbrocco: Because it's a good name.

Snyder: Yeah.

And so, they did have a couple of mocktails when I went.

Sbrocco: What about dessert?

Levine: Oh, my gosh.

We had the panna cotta because we just had to see, how do you make panna cotta without dairy?

Sbrocco: Right.

Levine: It was like toasted marshmallows with caramelized honey on it and just, like, this crunch and softness that was out of this world.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Dessert, Mark?

Snyder: I am not a big dessert person, but I did get a dessert this time with my friends.

We shared the cioccolato.

It's a chocolate ganache, and it's, you know, that right texture of creamy, fluffy.

And then there's a little crumble on top, too, for a crunch in your bite, so just a nice way to end that very comforting, heavy meal.

Sbrocco: Right.

Brungardt: I don't go out of my way for plant-based or for vegan, but I was happy to try something new, and I think there were highs and lows of the meal, but I did enjoy it overall.

Sbrocco: All right.

Would you go back, Deb?

Levine: I would go back and sit at the bar before a show, sort of do the pizza, cocktail.

Sbrocco: All right.

Well, if you would like to try Baia, it's located on Grove Street in San Francisco, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $40.

Waiter: Enjoy.

Young girl: Thank you.

Sbrocco: Ever since Thomas spent five years working in Canada, he's developed a serious passion for poutine.

Luckily now, whenever he's dreaming of those savory gravy-and-cheese-topped fries, he just heads to his local pub.

Tucked along the scenic Vallejo shoreline, it's Mare Island Brewing Company's Ferry Taproom.

♪♪ Fortner: We're the Mare Island Brewing Company.

We've been around since 2014.

And we are inspired by Mare Island, which is 142 years of naval shipbuilding.

♪♪ Gibbons: We're both winemakers by trade, and, actually, that's where we come into this industry.

We're fermenters at the heart of it.

We brew our beer at the Coal Shed Brewery.

It's actually one of the original coal sheds on Mare Island that served as a shed that put coal on the Navy ships back in the day, when they were all coal-powered steam.

Man: ♪ Oh, I'm barely holding on ♪ Fortner: Ferry Taproom is just right across the water from the Coal Shed Brewery, so you can actually see each other from there.

Gibbons: We serve about 12 different beers at a time.

Fortner: And all of our beers have a historic basis in their name.

We actually go down to the museum, and we say, "Hey, we're making a red ale.

What do you got that has to do with red and the history of Mare Island?"

And they give us just dozens of really cool names.

We don't have to search very far to come up with incredible heritage.

Starr: I am the fifth generation of my family to work on Mare Island.

So my dad, my grandfather, my great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather all worked on Mare Island when it was a naval shipyard.

I would say the perfect pub food is something that makes people want to buy more beer.

♪♪ We have lots of good starters.

We make all of our sauces in house for the wings.

We definitely try to incorporate beer into the food.

We use our Shipwright's Porter for our barbecue sauce that we make.

We use our Coal Shed Stout for our chocolate pudding.

We have some dishes that are really super heavy and, you know, you want to take a nap afterwards.

But we also have menu items that are light and fresh and more seasonal.

The fact that I get to cook in my hometown and bring my touch to Vallejo is just a dream come true to me.

Man: All right.

Mare Island.

Gibbons: Beer is really about just this -- gathering and being with a good friend of yours and enjoying a pint.

It shouldn't be so much about what's in the glass.

It's about the environment you've created.

♪♪ Sbrocco: Now, Thomas, this is a craft taproom.

Brungardt: Yeah.

Sbrocco: But you don't go for the beers, huh?

Brungardt: I don't go for the beers.

My friends do.

I go for the food.

It's all the kind of comfort food I love.

It's poutine.

It's not traditional Canadian poutine.

It's like a loaded fry with gravy on top of it.

Just cheese curds and gravy.

Just a bunch of sausage and meat on it.

I'm sorry there's a lot of meat.

I thought about that.

Sbrocco: And Deb?

Levine: So, I'm not a poutine person because I'm just not that super into sausage.

Sbrocco: It's like Canadian nachos.

Levine: Okay.

Sbrocco: Loaded, right?

Levine: Got it.

Brungardt: That's fair.

Yeah.

Levine: However, the fries on their own are like rock stars.

They were so good, we couldn't stop eating them.

And we were very lucky because they gave us a giant serving.

So I had the Korean fried chicken sandwich.

And it totally elevated a fried chicken sandwich to an entrée.

The sandwich itself was really fun.

Fried chicken, kimchi, barbecue sauce, aioli, and a beautiful bun.

Brungardt: I also love the Korean fried chicken sandwich.

I'm half Korean, and I'm half German, and I feel like that sandwich is half Korean and half German, with, like, chicken schnitzel and kimchi.

It's a sandwich that's after my own heart.

My go-to there, though, is the Reuben, because as I've gotten older, I've become really weird about traveling, and I only travel for cured meats.

So it's really great to have a restaurant close to home that has a really good pastrami.

And their pastrami sandwich is fantastic.

It's on rye, with all your traditional toppings of sauerkraut, stone-ground mustard, Swiss cheese.

And this house-made pastrami that they cut thick, it's not a New York deli portion.

This isn't Katz's Deli, but it is -- Sbrocco: Don't talk to me about Katz's.

I love that place.

Levine: Yeah, me too.

Brungardt: It's a California-sized portion of pastrami, which it's not too much.

It's not too little.

It's just the right amount.

And it comes with a big pile of fries, too many fries for one person to eat.

My friend really likes it.

He gets it when he has the Hydraulic Sandwich, which is their flagship IPA.

He says it's very good.

Sbrocco: And, Mark, what was your experience?

Snyder: Yeah, well, I had an amazing day just getting there, because I don't have a car.

So we rode the ferry all the way to Vallejo, which was awesome.

Like, I had never ridden the ferry that far, and the views are really beautiful.

Sbrocco: And it is a ferry station, so you can really -- Snyder: It's right there.

Sbrocco: It's very scenic.

Absolutely.

Snyder: Yeah.

It was, like, a beautiful, warm, sunny day.

But by the time we got there, I was craving, like, a lobster roll or maybe, like, a shrimp po'boy or a crab Louie salad.

No seafood on the menu.

Nothing.

Nothing.

So I felt like there weren't a lot of options for the pescatarians out there.

There was a delicious mac and cheese, which is a nice comfort food.

And it was truffle mac and cheese, and it came out on a wooden board in, like, a cast-iron skillet.

So that was, like, a really nice touch.

And I had a Chardonnay, which complimented the mac and cheese very nicely.

Sbrocco: And they also make wine.

Levine: We didn't know they made their own wine, so we went for the beers, and they have a beer flight.

So you can taste a lot of different kinds of beer.

And they were delicious.

And then with the beer, we actually had marinated olives.

They were a great addition.

Brungardt: And they also have a deviled egg with smoked salmon on top.

Classic deviled egg, really great egg yolk with relish in it.

And then they top it with chives and a smoked salmon.

It's one bite.

It comes with enough for the table.

It's very simple, very delicious.

Sbrocco: Okay, bring it home.

Dessert.

Brungardt: So they always have a chocolate stout pudding, which is very rich.

It's very good.

Another thing I like about this place is they do seasonal offerings, so seasonal desserts and seasonal entrées.

So I've had fish and chips there before.

I'm sorry they didn't have it when you were there.

And one of the reasons I like supporting Mare Island Brewery is because they really celebrate the history of the area.

And you learn -- Sbrocco: And it's a very historical area.

Brungardt: Very historical.

You learn a lot about Mare Island, and they're really doing a lot to invest in the community.

Vallejo doesn't have -- It's not a food destination.

We don't have a lot of restaurants that people are clamoring to get to, but they're on the forefront of making it an up-and-coming area for food, because they have three locations now just in our area, which is awesome.

Levine: So it was lovely, right, to sit outside, and kids are running around.

Snyder: People brought their dogs.

I got to pet a lot of dogs.

Sbrocco: So good atmosphere.

Snyder: Yeah.

Sbrocco: Okay.

If you would like to try Mare Island Brewing Company's Ferry Taproom, It's located on Mare Island Way in Vallejo, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $25.

[ All cheering ] Deb's restaurant has been her date-night destination for more than two decades.

A carefully curated list of European wines, eclectic Mediterranean plates served in an intimate yet unstuffy atmosphere are what bring her back time and time again.

Nestled in Oakland's Rockridge district, it's A Côté.

Waitress: Hey, guys.

How are you?

Welcome back.

♪♪ Knowles: A Côté is a French word.

It means "next to."

Say no more.

When we first started 22 years ago, our whole concept was to gather, to share time, family, friends.

Bartender: How are you?

Man: I'm good.

Beaty: We made our tables very narrow so that we could get people to really converse together.

And it was kind of the start of craft cocktails, small plates.

We were kind of on the forefront for that in the Bay.

[ Sizzling ] Beaty: I think, really, what encompasses our food is Mediterranean-inspired dishes that are influenced completely by California seasonality.

The mussels and the pommes frites, they're always going to be on the menu.

It's what we're known for.

It's been the signature, really, from the beginning.

Chef: Fire table 18, please.

Chef Elaine loves just finding new inspiration, researching different countries' cuisines.

Beaty: There are some classic things that you would see but some things that people probably never heard of before.

♪♪ When I go out to eat, I really, a lot of times, want all the appetizers.

So if you like to eat a lot of different kinds of things in one sitting, that's why we're doing what we're doing.

We want to share the moment, the food.

You don't have to share your wine if you don't want.

Knowles: I hope people come here and feel the conviviality, the warmth, and I hope people feel like they're having a fun time when they're here, because we are fun.

Beaty: 'Cause we're fine.

Knowles: We're fun.

[ Indistinct conversations, laughter ] Sbrocco: Deb, this place has been around a long time, and that's pretty rare, isn't it?

Do they have a secret?

Levine: It is.

It is.

I think it's just -- It's a neighborhood gem.

You remember "Cheers"?

You feel like you walked in and you sit at the bar, everybody knows you.

But even if you don't know them, you feel like you know everybody in there.

So for starters -- Although, truthfully, the menu is just all over the place.

You can eat anything at any time.

But they do -- We do recommend anything from the wood-fired oven.

They also have a rotating flatbread.

So we had one with sausage, very light on the cheese.

Really delicious crust and very filling.

Sbrocco: What was your experience, Thomas?

Brungardt: It was great.

It was packed.

The parkette was full outside.

The waitstaff was very attentive.

And we really enjoyed the entrée we started with, which was the mussels and frites.

It was great.

We loved it.

Very good.

We asked for more bread to keep dipping in the sauce, because the sauce was the highlight of the night.

Sbrocco: Because it's wood-fired, right?

That's a wood oven.

Levine: Wood-fired, cooked in a pernod sauce.

So they feel very rich and creamy.

It's very different, very delicious.

Brungardt: The pommes frites, or the French fries, they were very crispy, very great.

Seasoned well.

Lots of salt, lots of parsley.

And they came with just a really great lemon aioli that I could have eaten without the fries.

I was about to put a spoon into it.

It was really good.

Snyder: We also started with the mussels, and they were delicious.

There was not a bad mussel in there.

You know how sometimes you get a bad mussel?

Levine: Yeah.

Snyder: Not a bad mussel in there.

And we did not get the fries but instead the khachapuri bread, which is like the cheesy bread from the country of Georgia.

Sbrocco: Right, from Georgia.

Georgian cheesy bread with egg.

Snyder: Yes, with egg.

I mean, that is very, very comforting.

And there's plenty of bread there to dip into the mussel sauce.

So that's why we skipped the fries.

And it worked out beautifully.

Sbrocco: That's kind of sacrilegious.

I'm not going to say, but, you know?

Snyder: Don't tell anyone.

Sbrocco: That's a good idea, actually.

Snyder: We didn't dip the cheese into the mussel sauce, just the bread, but... Levine: But the last time we went, we decided to branch out from the mussels and had a pasta with broccoli pesto, and it had a dollop of Italian cheese that, it turns out, it's the inside of the burrata.

Sbrocco: Ah.

Levine: Oh, my gosh.

It was so delicious.

Snyder: I had the steelhead salmon, and it was perfectly cooked, pink in the middle, the way you like it, on top of lentils.

That was a nice change.

You know, a lot of times you get salmon, it's with potatoes and things like that.

So I thought the lentils were a nice touch.

Sbrocco: Anything else for the group?

Brungardt: Yeah, we had the chicken piccata, which was very moist.

The chicken was cooked perfectly.

And it was on a bed of farro risotto, which was very good, as well.

Sbrocco: Any dessert?

Levine: For dessert, I go for the crème brûlée, the beautiful crust and delicious custard underneath.

I think what I really liked, though, were these almond cookies on the side that had, like, a strawberry marzipan.

So delicious.

Brungardt: We shared the Coupe A Côté, which is their namesake dessert.

It was very good.

It was scoops of chocolate ice cream with a really great toffee sauce on top and brownies on the side.

Really sweet, really unctuous.

The highlight of the night compared to everything else.

It was up there with the mussels.

Sbrocco: Wow.

And in terms of pricing?

Brungardt: I thought it was a little overpriced, but I would still go back for the mussels.

Levine: Yeah, it is a little bit on the pricy side, but it is so consistent, and the ingredients are so high quality that it's like, I don't mind doing it for a special night, for a date night.

And if you go early in the evening, they have a special where you can get the mussels and the fries for a discounted price, and it's enough to share.

Snyder: I felt the same.

I would definitely go back for the mussels, the khachapuri, sit at the bar.

Again, I like the vibes.

It passed the vibe check.

It was, you know, dimly lit, cozy, very neighborhood feel.

So I enjoyed it.

And I like hanging out in that neighborhood, so I might stop in again.

Sbrocco: Okay.

If you would like to try A Côté, It's located on College Avenue in Oakland, and the average dinner tab per person without drinks is around $55.

Knowles: There you go.

Sbrocco: And now reporter Cecilia Phillips brings us more Bay Area bites you've just got to try.

She's headed to West Marin, home of the country's oldest cheese company.

♪♪ Man: Cheers!

Phillips: Marin French Cheese -- We're in a very beautiful spot.

What do you all do here?

It's a rich history.

Kaufman: So we are the country's oldest cheese company.

We've operated at this same facility since 1865.

All of our cheeses are inspired by traditional French classic cheese recipes, but we're meeting a California vision.

All of our cheeses are uniquely influenced by our terroir, because you have the really nice warm days, but then the fog that comes in in the morning and at night helps develop the mold and the rind on the cheese.

Petite Breakfast is our flagship cheese.

We started producing that in the 1800s.

We package it only about three to four days after we produce it, and so, it's really young.

It has a unique, springy texture reminiscent of cheese curds.

♪♪ Woman: I brought my cooler.

Phillips: You're ready to go.

Okay.

One of the most amazing things about coming to Marin French is to come and have a picnic here, right?

Kaufman: Yeah.

We have everything here in the shop that you could possibly need for a picnic.

Woman #1: Do you want to go mild to strong?

Woman #2: Yes.

Kaufman: I always start at the cheese counter, then browse for an accompaniment -- jams, nuts, dried fruits, all from local producers.

And then classic -- You can't go wrong with honey.

So we have a number of bee boxes here onsite, and we're really proud to carry honey that's made here in Marin from Bonnie Bee & Company.

Morse: We've got a suit for you.

Phillips: Okay.

Oh, there's a bug on me already!

Morse: City girl.

You're going to be pretty bulletproof.

Phillips: Suited, ready to go.

Morse: Just about.

[ Chuckles ] Phillips: All right.

Now we're ready to go.

All right, so is there anything else I should know before we get up close to the bees?

Morse: Don't get stung.

Don't break my track record.

I do really well with new beekeepers.

Phillips: Oh, my gosh!

Oh, they're everywhere!

Morse: Each individual bee only makes a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime, and it takes them two million flowers to make one pound of honey.

These workers are all females.

Phillips: Wow.

It's so pretty.

Morse: Yeah.

And you can see, they're really mellow.

They're not even bothered by the fact that we're here.

Oh, that is a queen right there.

Phillips: The queen is bigger.

Morse: That's the queen.

Can you see this little bee here?

See how she looks a little tiny and fuzzy?

Phillips: Yeah.

Morse: She was just born today, and you could pet her.

Phillips: Oh, my gosh!

Okay, I touched it.

Morse: You touched a bee.

Phillips: Ugh!

Okay.

Speaking of honey, I think we've got to try some of this with cheese.

Morse: I think we do.

Phillips: Yeah?

Bye, bees.

Morse: Bye, bees.

You were a champ.

Phillips: So this is some of your assorted cheeses.

And then you've got your honey here, which is amazing.

Morse: And you can just drizzle a little bit or a lot.

Phillips: What do you like to do?

Morse: I like more.

Phillips: So I have to give a big thank you to both of you but then, also, to the bees.

To the bees.

Kaufman: Aw.

To the bees!

♪♪ Sbrocco: I have to thank my terrific guests on this week's show -- Mark Snyder, who introduced us to vegan Italian delights at Baia in San Francisco, Thomas Brungardt, who pairs his poutine with pristine views at Mare Island Brewing Company's Ferry Taproom in Vallejo, and Deb Levine, lover of the wood-fired mussels and fries at A Côté in Oakland.

Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you then.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Whoo-hoo!

What do you think of the places we featured today?

Join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook @kqedfood.

Are you ready to tell the world about your favorite restaurant?

It's easy to apply to be a guest.

Just head to kqed.org/checkplease.

Morse: Bees are truly amazing, and they've been largely unchanged for about 120 million years.

And it's a remarkable society -- cooperative, taking care of this large colony.

Phillips: What is something that you wish more people knew?

Morse: Plant more habitat plants because that helps our bees, and it helps all of our native pollinators.

Bees turn nectar into honey, and as long as moisture or air isn't getting to it, it'll remain good indefinitely.

They've found honey in the tombs of the pharaohs, thousands of years old, that's still edible.

I don't know how good it would be, but it's still edible.