pack a light saber

I may have missed out last year but there is no way I'm not getting myself a death star baseball this fall... I'm going to Star Wars Night 2012 at AT&T Park! This Labor Day as the Giants take on the D-backs the crowd will revel in all their Jedi, Sith, Ewok, and cyborg greatness.

Tickets are on the expensive side... I'm not paying $55 to sit in the arcade. So it's back to the top deck for me!

But even though I paid a price that would normally cover my seat and my meal, I feel like I've done the right thing. Sounds silly, right? Well take a look at today's crossword theme...

Hands down one of the top five crossword themes ever!
So I missed 4 clues... help me out?

Star Wars Night, here I come!

And to sweeten the deal, today the Giants completed a historic shutout sweep of the Dodgers. It's a good day to be a Giants fan!

goldeneye

Today I woke up to this:

The plan was that I keep Soleil for a few days while we move furniture around Mumsy's house and paint... I mean, we don't want a hyper little fox trailing paint everywhere.

So I brought Soleil home with me on Friday night. I didn't have her for 2 hours when Mumsy texted me to bring her back the next day because she was already missing the little pooch. So I snapped this picture of Soleil on my bed because it's probably the last time in the next few years that I'll get to live with her!

buttery good

In an effort to deter the feelings of aging, Tater and I went to a sort of pre-wedding celebration at Butter on 11th Street. This bar/snack bar is done up in a delightful glorification of all things white trash... an RV juts into the floor, an elk head draped with leis stands sentry over the scene, and the walls are covered in Sailor Jerry and vintage drink paraphenalia. Butter's special drinks come in jars and "the champagne of beer" is served in a paper bag.

L: Andy's punch, a light and fruity drink off the menu for lightweights like me.
R: Bitchin' Camaro, a blend of Sailor Jerry rum and Dr. Pepper

Butter also serves up snack food out of the end of a trailer... you can choose from a selection of deep-fried and microwaved goodies. Want mac 'n' cheese? You can get it straight from the box or fried in little balls. Pauly is the nice man who will whip these up and as he is as fast as the microwave. He is sweet as any man in half a trailer can be, though according to the online menu I think I was overcharged $2... didn't even see the full menu to the right of the trailer until after I started navigating my way back with my food. So check the prices on the wall before paying!

a judicious sampling of the comfort food snack menu...
I didn't ask Pauly what nubby is.
That's probably a good thing.

Tater had a craving for tater tots - what else!? I was dying to try the deep-fried twinkie (and will probably die from it.) I did notice that Pauly gave us both ketchup and ranch for the tots and three different kinds of sprinkles for the twinkie. He also poured the last of his Torani bacon-flavored syrup into a little cup so I could have graham-cracker battered twinkies and marshmallows and whipped cream and sprinkles and bacon all in one basket. Outside of butter, I'd think twice before ordering something like this. But here, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Overall, Butter carries a good vibe and gives you everything you need (drinks, snacks, and the Giants-A's game playing on a projector) to have a good time. The clientele seems mixed but prepare to get pushed a bit by passerby, even if you're sitting at the bar.

friday special

What better way to end the workweek than a soul-satisfying lunch from Koja Kitchen foodtruck at Truckstop...

Kamikaze fries and a short rib Koja sandwich...
yum!

Minus the kimchi (I forgot!) this is the exact same meal I ordered last time. This food does not disappoint... lusciously fatty fries mixed with notes of sweet and spicy... the fries are pretty filling on their own. And at $13.50 for the meal pictured (with a can of Coca-Cola) this food truck is one of the greatest deals out there. Want to pick up a single item? The Kamikaze fries are $6 and won't leave you wanting. The short rib koja rings in at $6.50 and all the others (bulgogi beef, chicken, or vegetarian) are just $5.50 a pop. And I must say again that though these sandwiches are small, they are filling and packed with flavor. After all, the "buns" are made from rice patties.

Oh, and this time, the food was piping hot! Keep coming downtown, Koja Kitchen!

third place

It's only the second time a gang of us yelled and screamed our way through Elephant & Castle's Thursday night trivia contest but we really outdid ourselves. Not only did we place (3rd overall!) but we also won a bottle of wine!

One of the questions was about a puzzle from China where you arrange 7 pieces to form a geometric shape. I knew right away that the answer was tangrams, even though the clue struck a discordant chord with me. Back in grade school, my third-grade teacher had taught us that tangrams came from Japan, when somebody dropped a square tile in front of the emperor (the square being a fancy emblem for Japan's more popular pastime, origami.)

But now I see that wikipedia corroborates the theory of Chinese origins. Could it be possible that my teacher misinformed us all? My world is crumbling before me... but at least I know that between a group of 10 or so people, we can place third.

image courtesy of google image search

Third place!

Trivia is only on Thursdays but Elephant & Castle on Clay Street is a lovely place to go for happy hour. Can you say $5 snack plates?

if it ain't broke, don't fix it

So my first attempt at homemade marshmallows failed... instead of pillowy soft masses of delight, I created vanilla-flavored gelatin squares. No one eats vanilla jello, they eat vanilla pudding. It was a huge disappointment and only added to the stress of the workday.

I thought about trying again tonight. I even stopped by the supermarket and bought a new pack of gelatin. But you know what? When you mix unflavored gelatin with water, it sort of smells like stinky feet. Just in case you weren't convinced that gelatin is made from the hooves of our cloven friends, just sniff it.

After a touch of debate with myself, I decided to create something I knew I wouldn't fail miserably at: whoopie pies! Tonight I tried a new flavor: hazelnut whoopie pies with honey buttercream. I added a touch of cinnamon and ground ginger to the whoopie cakes but I didn't taste any of the spices... probably because my tongue is numb with sugar from tasting the buttercream!

If you have yet to taste roasted hazelnuts, I highly recommend you jump on that train. Now.

bling rings

I started my travel blog I hella went there! to encourage myself to engage in more adventuresome traveling, to pack less and less, and to wander further from the beaten track in the hopes that someday I might join the ranks of rugged mountain women who stride anywhere without fear or maps.

But my friends know me all too well... "You can't give up your bling!" says Cabbage.

Yesterday I took Miss Piggy, a gift from Tater, to work. This ring has a lot of character... not everyone can wear pigs on their person.

bling fit for a queen

The Cabbage surprised me with a gift in the mail: a menagerie of glittering creatures that transform my knuckles into the most happily gaudy cuff that I have ever had the pleasure of wearing.

these babies have got some serious sparkle

The funny thing is that this is just the start of my fantastically quirky collection of costume jewelry. There are many more rings, and tons more earrings, and even a few necklaces in the form of one animal or another. It's the easiest zoo you'll ever keep.

beach fare

Tater and I have been frequenting Beachside Cafe for their cheap eats... behold, Tater's breakfast burrito. Just look how big that sausage patty is!

One day the cafe wasn't serving waffles... so I satisfied my desire for their delicious chicken and waffles by trying the chicken sandwich. It's the same tender chicken in the same crispy yet non-greasy coating, but instead of a waffle and maple syrup, it 's companions are a soft bun and a cabbage slaw. I think cabbage is really underestimated; it has more substance and crunch than it's popular cousin lettuce and it never gets soggy, no matter how much sauce is coating a slaw or salad or fish taco. All hail the cabbage, both the food and friend.

By the way, the size pictured is a large. It's double the regular size and only one dollar more.

But the weekend after we returned and I was finally able to order the heavenly chicken and waffles again! Looks like the guys at Beachside Cafe are pounding the chicken cutlets more thinly, but I wasn't left hungry after that breakfast.

I need to resist going this weekend lest I develop a Cheers-like attachment to the restaurant... must resist!

what is it?

I'm not sure to where these people are headed or what they intend to do with this glorified golf cart but it sure looks fun.

It brightens up any traffic jam at the Bay Bridge!

sweet risk

After procuring a candy thermometer, I finally tried my hand at the basic vanilla marshmallow in my newest cookbook, Marshmallow Madness. I must say that the entire book needs a rewrite because no where does it tell you to add the 1/2 cup of "Classic Coating" to the mix. I guessed that myself.

And maybe that's why I'm so unsure about these...

After cooking, whipping, and pouring, the marshmallows require about 6 hours to set before I can play with them. I hope these turn out okay!

it ain't a birthday without a little crazy

It's not all sweets and giggles...

But for the most part, my 26th birthday was lovely and stress-free. The day started off with small surprises from my friends... hot chocolate with whipped cream!

A big fat burger lunch at Ziggy's!

Desert-lettes from Cafe Madeleine!

Check out this cute panna cotta! I'm soooo keeping the cup.

Chikorita sent me flowers, all the way from Seattle!

Mumsy took me out to a Thai restaurant as recommended by someone from work... we had fun making our own spinach leaf cuplettes...

... and flaunting the flowers made from the straw wrappers. It was her idea!

But don't you think for one moment that it was all easy. After dinner, one very young, energetic, and slippery girl decided to slip out the door and run into traffic and across neighbors' yards, and almost into the 38! Thanks to the help of two women - one of which runs as fast as the Road Runner - we were finally able to capture the little fox and bring her home.

I guess her present to me was a workout. Nevertheless, I am very grateful to the women who helped us corral this ruffian in. And of course, thanks to my family and friends, my birthday came out on the plus side of things.

showstopper

If you thought last night's game was great... Matt Cain led the Giants to a 10-0 PERFECT GAME victory over the Houston Astros. Cain racked up 14 strikeouts (more free sausage!) Notable assits from Blanco, Arias, Belt, Posey for catching, and the whole team for scoring!

image courtesy of google image search

To top it off, this is the very first perfect game for the Giants, East Coast and West Side!

Not to rain on last night's hit parade but darn! Wish I'd been at this one!

it's tradition

For the past three years my baseball gang has just happened to choose Irish Heritage night for a June game at AT&T Park. The first year it just happened. The second year we were gunning (and got) a Brian Wilson Chia Pet. And this time? We were just looking for a game with cheap tickets on stubhub. Lo and behold, it's our third consecutive year at Irish Heritage night! Bring on the Riverdance and blonde children!

Besides the recurring Irish phenomenon, tonight's game was fun (so long as you're a Giants fan.) A few errors here and there made no difference. Starter Madison Bumgarner started the inning off strong with three strikeouts and continued to rack up the Ks. He also scored the first run for the Giants by means of a crowd-rousing solo home run. That must've shaken up Astros starter Bud Norris but you know what? I'll take another one of those anyday, Madison!

Bumgarner's home run was followed by a series of base hits that brought the Giants some insurance runs. We enjoyed all of this from our spiffy Arcade seats (though it was very windy that night!)

Madison struck out twelve! Then Sergio Romo took to the mound and added one more K to the wall...

You know what 13 Ks mean!

Free sausage!

Unfortunately, tonight's lucky level was the Club Level. Call me crazy but if you have the money to spend on club level seats, then you probably don't need free sausage.

Despite the sausage gaffe, things continued to turn up for the Giants as Brandon Belt scored his first splash hit with a mighty home run that soared over right field. My anemic Giants ended up winning with a jaw-dropping six runs!

Every birthday game should be like this!

can't get enough cuteness

A few cute things I've picked up for myself...

First it was ice cream, then the whoopie pies I've been baking for about two years. Now I'm not saying that I'll never make these again - we're having an unusual spell of sunny weather that's just begging me to whip out the old ice cream maker - but I have found a new book full of cute and saccharine things to make...

MARSHMALLOWS! I always find the cutest little one-hit wonder cookbooks on fredflare.com.

All I need is a candy thermometer and I'm good to go. Look out for these puffed up creations soon!

On another cute note, I've been eyeing this bag from Loungefly. It's covered in gnomes, squirrels, tulips, and mushrooms and quite honestly, it garners more compliments than my Valentino.

Oh look, Loungefly is offering 20% off when you enter the promotional code "summer12" at checkout!

Kitschy cuteness galore! Remember to stick to your personal style!

eat and enjoy

Presently you may find two options for ice cream in Golden Gate Park. The first I found is this Twirl and Dip truck parked at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive by Music Concourse Drive (where the Academy of Sciences and the de Yound Museum are.)

A most delectable menu...

My sweet of the day: vanilla soft-serve with toffee and sea salt in a Tcho chocolate shell... mmm!

I am in love with this combination... Sweet and salty and just the right amount of chocolate!

Further down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just west of Crossover Drive/19th Avenue, is a very small ice cream stand where an adorable girl serves up her homemade flavors inspired by a term abroad in France and Belgium... until she hears that most-wanted call, this is her job to her family!

I loved the slight nutty taste of the lyonnaise pink praline ganache... so girly yet no hint of strawberry.

A friend holds the vanilla and my speculoos stroopwafel... you think I'd walk away with just one?

Speculoos is a gingerbread-ish cookie dough that's popular in Belgium, according to the ice cream girl. It's quite delicious and not overly gingerbread-y (not too Christmas-y.) Fans of the dough can find chocolate bars at Trader Joe's filled with this speculoos spread. I say try it anyway you can, whether it's from TJ's or the littlest ice cream stand that could.

gotta love that engrish

Dollar store, oh dollar store, how does your translation go?

First, let me call you the dollar-fifty store. Second, if you are everyone's favorite "dollar store" Daiso, then the translation is enjoyably awkward.

Stella's story:
Her name is Stella. She is very popular with the boys,
though very stylish and selfish.

Oh that Stella!

No translation needed for these ingenious "leg-lengtheners!"

meet nana

I don't want to ruin the whole shebang, so I'll limit myself to one photo from the exhibit "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Catwalk to the Sidewalk" at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park:

a wedding dress!
From the Sirens collection

From the iconic bustier made popular by Madonna to cutting-edge fashion that combines grit and glam to the costumes from the movie The Fifth Element... it's all here, and it's all JPG. Try to resist staring at just the amazing dresses and read the short quips posted on the walls... Gaultier's gorgeously creative looks are almost as groundbreaking as his philosophy on female sexuality and the blurring of the line between masculinity and femininity.

Don't miss Jean's very first bustier, created in his childhood!

off the list

For me, Limón Rotisserie has been in a sort of downward spiral. It was already a big disappointment when they changed the dumpling-shaped tacu-tacu to a bowl of fried rice. And now the bastion of Peruvian cuisine doesn't serve chicha morada!

Every basic pollería in Peru serves the purple corn drink of the gods. Even street carts in Peru serve chicha morada! For crying out loud, establishments without cups serve chicha morada in plastic bags!

portable chicha morada from Iquitos, Peru

The chicken is still great at Limón Rotisserie but not serving chicha morada? You might as well spray paint all over Machu Picchu!

I still have some chicha-flavored Tang I picked up in Lima in January... these will have to do for now.

think of this as my patch

coming out on top

I try to keep things positive on this blog but sometimes life warrants a little acknowledgement of the unwanted.

Take these super-vague horoscopes from last week:

Thursday June 7 (upper): You could be irritated by a personal matter.
Calm down, and know that the presently difficult situation
will work out in your favor.
Friday June 8 (lower): You seem to be on top of the world right now.
It's as if you see many light-years ahead of the here and now.

Oh Jacqueline Bigar, sometimes you are just too uncanny! Last Thursday my (now ex-) boyfriend announced he was breaking up with me so he could run off and join the circus / get abducted by aliens / save the dinosaurs. Well, not really, but he might as well have said any or all of the above because the real "reason" was just as out of the blue... unfortunately, his "reason" makes less sense than saving the dinosaurs. But you must let people make their own mistakes.

After a bit of thinking and even less crying, the whole fiasco left me more slackjawed than sad. It's been four fun and happy months cut short by a brainfart but I can rest easy knowing that this happened now, not later. And I can return to being single me!

Now I don't usually like to read into real omens but when he broke my llama magnet, I should've known!

I'll make you as right as rain, mi llamita!

burgerlicious

After 2 delicious Fridays from Ziggy's Burgers, it was tough not to return for a third!

The South of the Border burger combines the usual suspects of Mexican-influenced flavors with a few California-style twists (paper-thin sliced radishes, anyone?) Do you know what makes the roasted poblano peppers and queso fresco taste better? The crunchy bun and the chorizo patty. Little bits of chorizo sausage are integrated into the beef and it makes for an outstanding patty. I loved this burger from first bite to last.

The garlic fries are pretty awesome, too, and not overwhelmed by grease and parsley the way they are at the ballpark.

As much as I enjoyed the South of the Border burger, I knew I had to try at least one other offering at Ziggy's. Blame it on the goat cheese croquette, the crown jewel in the Cal Burger. This warm little piece of heaven gave the burger a nice tangy element and offset the smooth savory-ness of the avocado and artichoke tapenade perfectly. The chorizo patty is only offered with the South of the Border burger but eating the Cal Burger allowed me to taste a "regular" beef patty. I'm happy to report that the beef patties at Ziggy's (cooked medium rare) are tender and juicy. You can tell that the guys here use a good quality beef for their patties.

It's nice to have found a great burger place, even if it's a bit of a walk from my office. Looking over their menu on menupages.com, the great debate is which sandwich to order next: the Chimichurri or the Caribbean?

dog days

My mom lives in her very own animal house. Here's the story:

1. Oddjob has a dog named Lulu (formerly Lola.) Really, my dad and his wife have a dog, and sometimes Oddjob walks her. No matter, Popsy, Oddjob, and family needed a dogsitter for their vacation. Mumsy volunteered.

2. Mumsy just acquired a dog of her own less than two weeks ago.

3. Mumsy already has two cats roaming around the house: Johnny "Mochiball" Cat and visiting cat Beefy.

So for about a week, she has never been alone! Some snapshots of Lulu's meeting with the others and playtime between Lulu and Soleil...

Lulu meets Beefy and Oddjob is delighted...

Soleil enjoying the sunshine...

... and dragging all her toys outside to join her.

Johnny and Beefy survey the doggone scene...

Mochiball is not happy!

The two dogs looking up at me on the deck...

Chow time for Beefy...

The girls play-bicker over a bone...

We haven't had four animals in the house (counting the visiting cat Beefy) for quite a while. Mumsy is finally remembering why we didn't want that many pets again.