Naturally, I go back to work

...Even though I am leaving in a week for a much anticipated vacation.


Roasted mushrooms and fontina cheese




Lavender panna cotta


Arugula dressed with s & p, lemon, olive oil rolled with speck.

Huipil

Crispy tacos - breaded halibut and al pastor. GREAT stuff.



Try the mole too!

Huipil
2992 Spring St
Redwood City, CA 94063
(650) 369-1245

Kappo Nami Nami

Great sushi and traditional Japanese dishes.

Kappo Nami Nami
240 Castro St
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 964-6990

Cha Ca Thang Long (Vietnamese Turmeric Fish with Dill)

Cha Ca Thang Long (Vietnamese Turmeric Fish with Dill) - Hanoi dish

Lisa's Tea Treasures

Tea time with mom + sis.







Lisa's Tea Treasures
1145 Santana Row # 1145
San Jose, CA 95128-2059
(408) 247-3613

First meal back in California - Orenchi ramen

OMFG


Look at that f'in egg. PERFECTION


The ramen here is pretty f'in good. Not sure if I like this better or Santouka.... Santouka's is saltier (being a super-taster and all...) but no one can beat that egg.

Orenchi‎
3540 Homestead Rd
Santa Clara, CA‎
Tel: (408) 246-2955‎

Weird Fish

My buddy, Yuichi, came to the city this weekend to help us move (again). He brought me to a place he frequents in the Mission.

Fish and Chips - I have always been a fan of fish and chips, and these were done really well. Not heavily battered and soaked with oil.


Breakfast Porridge-polenta, stewed tomatoes W/ loads of garlic, grana cheese, tortilla strips, and a baked egg - fantastic. Well-balanced, surprisingly lighter than expected, and easy to eat it all. I would definitely order this again.


Weird Fish
2193 Mission st
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-4744

Swan's

Went to Swan's today for a late lunch. The wait was about 30 minutes which wasn't too bad.





Clam chowder - it was okay in terms of flavor but I prefer a thicker clam chowder. They make their chowder solely with milk.


Combination seafood salad with dijon dressing, and a "Thousand Island" type dressing




Overall, nice, simple, tasty seafood. Cool experience and environment. Extremely friendly service. But probably not something I'd crave regularly.

Swan Oyster Depot‎
1517 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA‎
Tel: (415) 673-2757‎

Remnants of a good macchiato

made by me ;)

The little heart is still there!

2010 San Francisco Half Marathon

2007 SF Half Marathon: 2:30:39

2010 SF Half Marathon: 1:59:47



I threw up a little in my throat but kept on pushing. I don't think I've felt this kind of pain ever in my life. But no pain, no gain. Mind over matter. =)



I ended up running about 5 miles in a row at an 8:30 - sub-9 minute pace. I've never done that in my entire life. In fact, I was the kid with the 13-minute miles who always walked the last lap. This is probably the second time I have been proud of myself. =)

This was followed by a post-race meal at Zuni Cafe.





Zuni Cafe
1658 Market Street
San Francisco, CA
Tel: (415) 552-2522‎

What an awesome day. I worked my ass off for this race. Training sucks sometimes, but races are so much fun!

It's CARBO-LOADING time

Chez Joe


Pasta with vodka sauce


Frog Hollow rustic plum tarte made by yours truly

Primavera - Ferry Building

Pre-race lunch

Guajillo Chile Chilaquiles - Organic, local scrambled eggs, refried beans, sour cream, avocado, queso cotija, white onion & cilantro.


I forgot what these were called but the bottom is corn filled with black beans, topped with radish, salsa, cheese, ground beef. Amazing stuff. Loved it!


What a difference when using fresh, organic produce and farm eggs. YUM.

Primavera
1 Ferry Plaza
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
San Francisco, CA 94101

Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant

And yes, we did get a couple glasses of wine. =)

Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant
101 The Embarcadero
Marketplace Shop #23
San Francisco, CA‎
Tel: (415) 391-9400‎

Suppenküche

German food with an emphasis on Bavarian cooking.









Suppenküche
525 Laguna Street (@ Hayes)
San Francisco CA 94102
Tel: 415.252.9289

Tataki Sushi

Tri-style poke - pretty terrible, fish was mushy/old, seasoning too sweet and off (pineapple... ?)


Spicy tempura - shrimp tempura, spicy albacore tuna, jalapeno, masago - this was quite nice although the tempura was slightly soggy like it had been left out for awhile before rolling/plating


Extinguisher - albacore tuna, avocado, habanero, masago, spicy aioli - this one was good. Nice balance of spice and flavor.


It's great that Tataki aims to spread the word on sustainable sushi, but with odd-tasting poke, lukewarm miso soup, decent rolls, doesn't make it completely exceptional.

Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar
2815 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 931-1182

Aziza Restaurant

I contemplated on posting these photos because of the horrible lighting but felt obligated to share it with you all anyway. Aziza is now up there as one of my favorite restaurants next to Commis and Manresa.

Seriously amazing "pretzel" bread


Wonderful cauliflower soup


Meatballs with jícama, grape, herb vinaigrette


Squab with cherry, tarragon, frisée, foie gras, spiced honey bread


Basteeya with chicken, almond


Black cod with broccoli, garlic scape, octopus, ginger


Lamb with fennel, morels, corn, sweet onion


Pistachio meringue cake with strawberry, burnt honey ice cream, nougatine (AMAZING)


Coconut milk cream with cherry, sponge cake, walnut crumble


Goat yogurt panna cotta with raspberry, rose gelée, hibiscus soup


I really can't say anything BAD about this meal. Seriously. LOVE LOVE LOVE ! AMAZING! Everything was perfectly cooked, plated, and seasoned. I mean, everything! The waiter was very well informed of the food preparation as well. I was also very impressed with the desserts which is nice because I have been rarely impressed with Michelin desserts in the past. OMG I can't wait to go back.

Aziza
5800 Geary Boulevard @ 22nd ave
San Francisco, CA 94121-2005
(415) 752-2222