Little by Little (Fremont, CA)

Little by Little (Fremont, CA) – A farm to table restaurant in Fremont in a strip mall? What? I knew I’d have to check out it as soon as I got the opportunity. I had dinner there back in… August (I know, this post is ridiculously late; I’m catching up!) and I had a great time trying out some of their dishes. And the best part was getting to share this experience with another food blogger! This was my first time meeting someone I’ve been following on Instagram in a non-event setting – it sounds kinda crazy but I wouldn’t just meet any rando off the internet lol. 

Anyway, back to the restaurant. Little by Little is a small, unassuming restaurant towards the back of a strip mall. I honestly wouldn’t know where it was had I not Google Map’d the route and did a preview to see what it looked like from the outside. I usually do this when I’m going to a new place lol. But, when you get inside, it’s nice and relaxing with its minimalist aesthetic. Definitely different and unexpected on the inside! 

Currently Little by Little only serves dinner and happy hour and menu is broken up into a few sections – bites, pastas, plates/bowls, and beverages. Since we were both trying it for the first time (and getting to know each other), we decided to do a few small plates, drinks and an entree. They also give out some popcorn instead of bread! I thought that was fun and unexpected – and it doesn’t fill you up quite as fast as bread (unless you’re me, who can eat fistfuls of popcorn in a short amount of time, heh). I got a Mexican Coke and my friend got one of their drinks, the Pink Panther, which has nigori sake, crushed berries, strawberry syrup, and ginger beer. It looks so pretty!

Ok, onto our shared bites. I will admit, I did not try this one – because I don’t like bone marrow (I’ve mentioned this before). It was really cool that they had this on their menu though – it’s not a cheap item! The Roasted bone marrow was served with sun-dried tomato herb jam, mashed potatoes, pickled onions, and toast. I actually ate everything else but the marrow, so I can attest that the complements were delicious. My friend liked the bone marrow, so definitely consider getting it!

Next up: the Nachos. Little by Little’s nachos are topped with short rib, pickled ramps, jalapeno and carrot relish, house made cheese sauce on tortilla chips. These were so good! I couldn’t stop eating them – which isn’t surprise since I love nachos and the different combos restaurants come up with. This was really delicious to eat with the flavorful short rib and the elevated condiments like ramps and the relish! And the cheese didn’t taste like plastic, so you know its real. I would definitely come back and get this next time.

We settled on getting one entree because we got pretty full off of these two bites – and the popcorn, of course. We ordered the Lumache pasta, with summer squash, eggplant and bell pepper ratatouille and mint. I liked this dish because it was light compared to ur heavier appetizers. It tasted nice and fresh with the vegetables and the pasta – these are vegetables that agree with me, so I was happy haha. They did have several other high quality dishes that sounded equally great!

And for dessert (which I don’t think is on the main menu), I ordered an Affogato. It was an interesting presentation, with the Verve coffee at the bottom and the Humphry Slocombe ice cream served in a cone! While I liked the way it was served, I think functionally it’s hard to eat, since usually the scoop of ice cream is immersed in the coffee. I also wished they were clear about what flavor of ice cream was served, but it was also my bad in not clearing it up again. I thought it was Vanilla ice cream, but it was actually Secret Breakfast. So, I accidentally ended up trying their most popular and signature flavor, which is bourbon ice cream with cornflakes. Awkward since I don’t drink and avoid alcohol in food as best as I can, heh. It felt like something was off when I tried it, and I realized after a few bites there was alcohol in it, so I quietly stopped eating it lol, but if you’re used to the taste then I’m sure it’s good, I just wish it was presented in a slightly more functional manner. 

Overall, it was a great experience at Little by Little! It’s a small, quiet restaurant hidden away, but it makes you feel like you stumbled into a city restaurant or somewhere in the nice downtown parts of smaller areas. I definitely forgot I was in Fremont for a minute! I liked that it was small and intimate – it was a great opportunity to get to know someone and make a new friend! I would definitely come back again to try more dishes since it is farm to table – so things will change!