the sunniest day of the year

So sunny that friends report it was sunny even in Daly City!

With a bit of scheduling I was able to take today off and see the last home game with some co-workers. So we're out of the running for post-season play, so we lost miserably to the D-backs and didn't even make it look like we were trying... they always say that Giants fans are the best fans in baseball-dom and I'm here to prove them right.

Started off the day with chicken and waffles from Little Skillet... just the way I began Opening Day!

the perfectly crispy waffle... and some sweet tea to boot!

fried chicken!

I admit I first found out about this joint through 7x7 magazine's 100 Eat/Drink List for 2010 and I have been faithfully returning whenever I'm in the neighborhood ever since. Crispy and juicy chicken paired with an equally crispy yet porous waffle, drizzled with sweet maple syrup. Oh yes, and a light sunburn with my brunch? Unexpected but a friendly reminder of today's dazzling weather.

Now today was pretty darn fantastic but it could have been better... for instance, we could have won if we had played our intended starter... instead I got to see some newbie, er, I don't remember his name. It's something like Sputnik so that's what I'll call him! Sputnik gave up three runs in the first inning and was followed by nearly the entire bullpen... we made strides thanks to Mark DeRosa's 2 RBIs but the new names in the defense disappointed... six of nine starting players were new to the team this year and some (Carlos Beltran, Justin Christian) were flops.

Still a lovely game:

gorgeously sunny weather

what's a 2011 game without luchadore?

Panda drums up the gatorade

the team gathers for a final goodbye

But you know what? This day was still FABULOUS! Thanks to some tactical maneuvering by MG and driving by, well, Driver, we were able to meet and greet Andres Torres and Pablo Sandoval (the Panda!) in person! Security was much more present at this event so photos are limited but the experience - maybe 30 seconds with both athletes - was phenomenal and breathtaking.

Andres Torres at the Verizon Store by Tanforan

Pablo Sandoval with his Panda-rific hair

After some joking around - he pulled his shirt over his nose! -
Panda signed my new(er) pair of Chucks!

Torres signed my bunny... sorry Buster!

touched by an outfielder!

I'm going to start a Giants shoe closet!

If only all Wednesdays could be this great!

it's official

Bought my plane ticket to Peru last night and though the trip isn't until New Year's 2012, I have already stocked my reading list with everything Peru from Condé Nast Traveler... starting with the heavenly food!

Since I went to Machu Picchu last time, I'm going to try and visit parts of the country that I haven't yet seen... I'm looking at an Amazon adventure or a flyover of the Nazca lines. That is, besides celebrating New Year's with Gambrinus and her lovely family.

For now, I'll leave you with a memory of Peru:

just chillin' out in Machu Picchu...

eatin' my grass

 Go llama, go llama, go!

living up to the name

A friend recommended that I try his favorite Peruvian place, Fresca in West Portal. Well, I never say no to food!

The place is cute but not claustrophobic and a little dark... we got to sit at the bar, right next to the brightly-lit kitchen, so perhaps the rest of the dining room seemed dim only by comparison. I did enjoy watching the food preparation, sort of like a free show with dinner.

According to my companion, Fresca has recently updated their free bread offering. Instead of slices of sourdough, they now offer pepper-spiked cornbread, seemingly baked in-house. The buns were warm and appropriately weighty but tasted just fine. Same for the chicha morada: good but nothing special compared to the other chichas I've had. And I could've done without the apple bits.

complimentary bread and cinnamon-laced chicha...
not a bad start

Started off with a ceviche trio: ceviche mojito (mint, rum, white fish, and toasted corn,) ceviche chino (raw tuna topped with a mixture that looks like wasabi but isn't spicy, tastes vaguely of soy sauce,) and the standard ceviche mixto (the classic white fish and octopus mix in a spicy lime mix.) The ceviche mixto was very good, tasted just like the ceviche in Peru. I savored the "Nuveau Peruvian" mojito ceviche and found it to be sweet and sour and really good... I could eat ceviche mojito for weeks and not get tired of it. The ceviche chino wasn't bad, it just wasn't really memorable. But I will say that the ceviches are all fresh, just like the name.

L to R: sweet potato and choclo, ceviches mixto, chino, mojito

Dinner was very savory. I ordered the trucha encebollada (literally onion-ized trout) and I loved it: the fish was split open and cooked to perfection, then smothered in red onions, tomatoes, and a few shrimp. By volume, there was probably as much onion as there was fish... but I liked it. Some of the onion slivers could have used a little more time on the grill but otherwise, the trucha was a solid and savory plate.

trucha encebollada... oh yes, the plate is hot!

My friend's lomo - that beef-onion-tomato-french fry dish covered in a soy-based sauce - was well-seasoned, just a tad tough. Also, the fries looked like tofu... but were real potato, I assure you.

lomo saltado

Overall Fresca is worth a return visit... their forte seems to lie in their raw menu.

that'll do, pig

that will most certainly do!

The details: Bacon Bacon came to Truckstop today, 11 AM - 2 PM.

The plan: To be at Truckstop by 11AM so as to bypass the notoriously long waiting time for bacon-laden food, delivering sandwiches to some co-workers and enjoying the taste of a pork belly sandwich. All on my day off from work.

The execution: Got to the alley at 11:10 AM... baby fail. Kermit and I started at the end of the alley, opposite from where the Holy Grail of food trucks was parked... we stood where the lot line divides the alley from the sidewalk. And this epic line snaking down the alley kept growing. Luckily we found each other on the metro train because waiting that long solo would've been pretty boring.

if the line was this long at 11:10,
then these crazies must've been waiting here well before 11 AM!

sold out of the Bahn Mi already!?

At 11:45 AM we finally got to the front where the same proprietor guy in the hat takes your order... this truck is just too busy to have the cash people inside! The proprietor surprised me by recognizing my from my past visits to the truck... I mean my mom and friends say I am memorable for several reasons (my face looks like no other, my voice is has a peculiar nasally-twang quality, the words I say, the way I dress, etc) but I'm sure this guy meets at least a thousand people everyday. So yes, I am surprised - and flattered - that out of all the faces that thank him for bacon or reprimand him for closing early, he remembers mine.

Maybe it's because I look like a pig! I know I did when I was a toddler, bouncing around with pigtails and such.

Anyways, after waiting another thirty minutes for the food, Kermit and I headed back to the office to make some covetable deliveries...

Kermit picks the pork belly sandwich and parmesan fries

I attracted quite a lot of attention while clutching this load,
even though the walk was only one block.
Clockwise from the top left corner: LGBT, Burger, and two pork belly sandwiches!

Not a big fan of the fries and parmesan combo though the fries themselves have great texture... crunchy. Kermit and I had ample time to watch the truckpeople make the spicy belly fries that come with pork drippings and I'm not sure if I will ever have that.

But the pork belly sandwich was worth the wait! Generous chunks of pork belly - some bits rich and luscious, others crispy and smoky - just melted into the fried egg, arugula-pepper salad, and capers. I loved the subtle spiciness of the piquillo peppers and the extra richness that the fried egg added. Kudos on the rich yet tangy dressing... which probably wasn't a proper dressing but the mixture of pork belly fat, peppers, and capers. The bread was fantastic again as well... all the ingredients are stars on their own, uniting together to create a super sandwich tasty enough to sway even the most jaded food critic. Can we get this truck some Zagat stickers and a Michelin star?

(partial) victory!

Target has been sending some confusing and frankly, disappointing e-mails, delaying or cancelling orders completely. It's not looking good, Target.

Last night I received some of my lovely Missoni items from my web order so though the shipping was delayed and the tracking numbers provided were bogus, at least some of the items arrived. The others - namely the few pieces of clothing I found - have yet to be shipped. Hopefully those aren't cancelled completely.

Until then, I have plenty to keep me happy!

Beautiful things... but did they need to ship this in three separate boxes?

my gorgeous "puzzle tray set!" I love the color scheme!

Better than the melamine trinkets they were selling in store;
this is real stoneware!

rose-covered rainboots

my heels will revel in iconic orange!

the one hand towel to rule them all
(my preciousssss!)

even the shoe box is chic!

Coming soon: I will be making my bed in the new duvet set!

a cake fantasy

I have seen photos of some pretty cool cakes online...

from kotaku.com:

a cake featuring the cutest little characters from
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.

detail of Tetra and Toon Link

from wedinator.icanhascheezburger.com:

a Super Mario-themed cupcake exhibit, complete with sidekicks, old mentor,
and a toppled baddie (checkout the upside-down Koopa Kid... looks too small to be Bowser.)
Where's Toad?

But rarely do I get to see awesomely decorated cakes in person! Just a few doors down from Le Zinc on 24th Street is Noe Valley Bakery, which gets my vote for most seductive display of cakery:

worth a visit

having an angry birds party? You need an angry cake!

for females of all ages...

my personal hero!

an her nudist friend!

this Sesame Street tray would MAKE a party.
Note the cookies in Cookie Monster's mouth!

Can't say anything for the taste of these lovely cakes but it looks like this is the place to get cake visuals done in San Francisco. Shop closes at 7PM according to the window, so make haste!
m

we got panaché

France is the source of a coveted culture that continues to elude my grasp... the ultra-chic garments and footwear, the slightly haughty yet relaxed attitude, the language that sounds nothing close to the way it's written (one of my favorite memories of Paris has little to do with the cityscape: Sisterfriend kindly requested that I trying to shout French words because I kept on saying that my name was hunger.) But no matter how different things can be, there is always a common theme I can appreciate: food!

Tater and I decided to make use of one of those $50 for $25 coupons I had purchased last December, heading over to Le Zinc in Noe Valley for what sounded like authentic and unpretentious French fare. Now I already have a favorite French joint in the city - easier parking, lovely host and hostess couple, fantastic food - but I figured I bought the voucher, might as well use it... and I really liked the backstory of the zinc bar, something I completely missed while I spent a week in Paris. Oops!

We were seated in the patio out back and while it was cute and romantic with all the trees strung with lights, it got a tad chilly.

Food time!

crab millefeuille. Can't pronounce it to save my life
but Tater and I loved the combination of crab and avocado sandwiched between
chilled puff pastry

stack it high!

Provençal-style mussels. Very wine-y.

Panaché, AKA French shandy.
Beer and lemonade... love it!

cassoulet: duck leg, a nice smoky sausage, and beans
in a happy sauce. Emeril would call it happy.

coq au vin!

The food was pretty good (though they could go easy on the salt with the cassoulet, poor Tater didn't finish.) My coq au vin was very tender and savory and it didn't taste overly salty until I started scooping up the remnants of the plate. I know we thoroughly enjoyed the crab millefeuille - favorite of the night - and will probably find a way to try and recreate it during another silly kitchen experiment... sandwiching cold crab and avocado between little squares of pastry can't be too hard, right? Thankfully the hot French waiter was really patient and not offended by my "French" when we were ordering, not even when Tater nearly blurted out "por favor." And if that guy wasn't really from France, he did a great job acting the part.

Being pleasantly full, we decided to split a dessert instead of getting two:

profiteroles aux chocolate

Wow, he even said "profiteroles" prettily. Very tasty, nice warm chocolate sauce contrasted well with the vanilla ice cream. Essentially, a child's dessert dressed up for serving but it was good. Overall, a happy experience but I don't think the owner didn't have to completely ignore us as we were leaving. If you don't want people coming in with $50 vouchers, don't offer them on opentable.com!

cleanliness is next to godliness

Due to a nasty (yet thankfully short) bout of food poisoning last night I was not able to finish baking cookies for today's potluck. Not that the cookie-cake I was planning would've been any good... Martha Stewart let me down!

the chocolate chip cookie cake that wasn't meant to be

Martha's recipe for chocolate chip cookies varied slightly from the classic on the back of those Arm & Hammer Baking Soda boxes... but I think the clincher was her recommendation for crispy cookies: bake 14-16 minutes.

the chocolate chip cookies that were glued to the pan

Guess that's the last and only dessert idea I take from Martha.

Now this upset stomach thing was awful... bodyaches, churning colons, and lots of quality time on the porcelain throne isn't a fun way to spend a Tuesday night. Thankfully I awoke feeling much better and came to work, sweaty but able.

After ruling out Tuesday's lunch (leftovers that I had nuked in the microwave) and a Snickers bar I had for a snack, I came to the conclusion that the culprit must be the Jamba Juice shake I had during my afternoon break. A pox on thee, Jamba Juice, a pox on thee and thy irresistible $2 coupon! My teammates only endorsed this conclusion as I am not the first to suffer from their sour concoctions.

Though I am not at 100% (somehow the bodyache mutated into a headache,) I feel much better. Today I stopped by Peet's Coffee to get my afternoon rush:

brown bottom cupcake and jasmine lime tea cooler.
Can't go wrong with a drink made of water and tea leaves!

I'm even feeling gutsy enough to have some seafood for dinner!

Trader Joe's Cioppino...
added a tin of "fire-roasted tomatoes" because it didn't look like there was a lot of soup

now for some homemade fare... my ghetto napoleon:
smoked salmon on top of sour cream on top of roasted potatoes

Hopefully my gutsy-ness doesn't backfire... into another round of gut-grumbling.

Now for some Modern Family! I can't wait to see baby Lily and hear Sofia Vergara!

When I don't bring a lunch to work, I try to pick my lunch from a place close to the office. That means that I've had to shift my lunch haunts a few blocks from my older downtown jobs... but since I had to crawl all the way to the post office on Sutter Street, I figured it wasn't that much further to get to Kearny Street, where Baladie Cafe is located.

Lamb and beef shawerma...
a little cool (yogurt and cucumbers)
and a little spicy (because it's better that way)

everyone was ogling my "huge burrito"

But that's essentially what it is, a Middle Eastern-style burrito, full of onions and deliciously tender meat and all the other yogurt, cucumber, and spicy sauce stuff. A refreshing take on handheld fare and quite a steal at $7.50... I mean, the shawerma is taller than my big kids sippy cup!