don't rain on the parade

After the Giants win the World Series, after persuading the bigwigs at work to move the Halloween party to Thursday so people could enjoy the parade, after distributing Angry Birds costumes and sipping on good old iced tea, I thought, "Nothing will ruin this day."

Oops.

For the past two weeks, a couple of friends and I have been taking salsa classes at Metronome Collective on Monday nights. Yes, I even went to class during the post-season games but we won both Monday games! Anyways, we three were looking forward to what would've been our third class.

Then we were informed by the gracious owner of the location that our teachers were out and the substitute hadn't showed. This mystery teacher did not turn up at all, at least for the 15 minutes we waited. The owner of Metronome Collective offered us coupons and apologized for the no-show. We all ended up going home with nothing to show for tbe night other than bellies full of Mexican food. And I really wanted to shake my tail feathers, especially since I had no part whatsoever in those crazy Mission riots.

Soleil was thrilled I came home early. We still have half our our groupon thing to go but I'm going to request that the teachers set up an e-mail list so we know whether or not they will be there, and possibly the contact for any substitutes that may be thrown my way.

Let's do it again? Done!

Buster Posey home run + Blanco and Pagan catch everything + Cain's dominant pitching + Affeldt strikes out 4 in the relief + Theriot finally gets a base hit + Crawford's sac bunt + ever-dependable Scutaro gets a base hit and RBI + Sergio Romo strikes out Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera = World Series title No. 2 for the best team for the best city and the best fans, the San Francisco Giants! And all done in a SWEEP!
Long formula, I know, but Civic Center is still popping with cars honking and people yelling and awesome tricked-out orange motorcycles. It's a warm night and I already know a lot of people are calling in sick tomorrow.

Huzzah!

Parade to follow this Wednesday on Halloween Day!

Giants and crustaceans

Midway through our shopping escapade, Tater and I started looking for a restaurant that was showing Game 3. Our first try was Social on 9th Avenue but about half the tables were reserved. And empty. I asked the hostess how long she would be holding the tables for the reservation, to which she replied, " They're already here, I'm going to seat them soon." Then she began calling the tardy customers, informing them that their tables were ready.

Not wanting to wait around while a lying hostess refused to seat paying customers who were already here, we walked up a few doors and found Craw Station, a small restaurant similar to Boiling Crab. Butcher paper on the tables? Check. Shrimp and clams by the pound? Check. Garlic butter and house cajun sauces? Check. A TV showing the game? Check! Well, that last one came after I asked the waitress to show the game instead of music videos but she was very obliging. And once the game was on, tons more customers started flowing in.

Score for Tater and I for grabbing a table right in front of the tv!

We got a Dungeness crab covered in garlic butter and a pound each of large shrimp and clams, both covered in cajun sauce. Everything was hot, tender, and delicious. I resolved not to be too messy but a few shrimp got their revenge by squirting me when I twisted off the head.

We so got white rice (to soak up the sauce) and cajun fries, which came with some ketchup doctored with something spicy. The entire meal was enjoyable, the service friendly, and the beer cold. And you know what? Cracking crab legs while watching a Giants double play certainly beats waiting an hour for a table at Social.

ending a shopping day with a Sergio Romo strikeout

Go Giants! One win away!

Before all of that wonderfulness happened, Tater and I were busy on our long-awaited shopping trip. We hit up the brand new Uniqlo and City Target, quirky Ambiance, and recently remodeled and 20%-off-everything Old Navy. And before that, Mumsy and I paid a visit to the Petco Unleased at Westlake. Soleil loves her new Angry Birds toy, and I love all of the investments I acquired.

L: Angry Birds two-headed squeaky toy
R: polka-dotted jeans and tights from Old Navy

adorable navy lace cutout dress from Ambiance

super bright and lightweight water-repellent yellow jacket from Uniqlo
with a generous hood and length.
The downside about Uniqlo is that all the cool colors and styles
are in the men's section.
This is a men's style jacket, but I don't care.
It was only $40 (regularly $80.)

Ad yes, just as Tater and I wound down with a drink at the Pied Piper Bar in the Palace Hotel, we witnessed Gregor Blanco make yet another amazing catch and Sergio Romo close out yet another game. We are one step away, Giants, but how many tries will it take us?

Just in time for Halloween

I kid you not! Final Jeopardy of the day:

Category: 21st Century Games

The villains in this game were inspired by the swine flu epidemic scare.

None of the geniuses on the show got it but I knew straightaway... WHAT IS ANGRY BIRDS?

And as the universe (or multiverse, whatever) would have it, Alex Trebek read the correct question just as I was opening a box full of Halloween costumes. Guess what some choice friends and I are dressing up as!

CAW!

rhymes with orange?

Awesome. Winning. Best. These words don't rhyme with orange phonetically but right now in baseball, they're poetry.

Gazing at all of the Giants orange around me... got my wall of Giants, my orange jeans and nail polish, a colleague's neon orange kicks, and my ever-so-warm jacket. Not counting all of the orange bits on my desk (stadium cup, toy gun, etc.)

I wish there was a game today so I'd have some more winning to look forward to. Thank you Mad Bum, thank you Giants!

orange mania

Yoppi Yogurt has dived into tbe sudden rash of orange affecting San Francisco... check out the orange cups at the Montgomery Street location.

Though they ran out or orange spoons... hmm.

Red velvet and pecan praline yogurt topped with cookie dough balls, oreo crumbs, brownke bites, and a few blackberries. I think it's going to be a great afternoon. Let's keep it that way, Giants!

I totally need to marry an Italian man

Just so I could pig out on Italian Wedding Soup! This bowl from San Francisco Soup Company.

NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro seems to fit the bill... except he's Venezuelan, not Italian. And he's already married. What a deceptively Italianate surname that sureshot has.

Well good soup and great series. As Buster Posey said back at the Giants parade in 2010, "Let's do it again!"

 

 

Let's go Giants! Beating the odds like Lady Luck on crack! Ooh, I should go easy on this soup.

ceviche time

Do you know about those plaintain chips that Trader Joe's stocks periodically? Dear Mumsy is the snack's newest devotee. After picking up a few bags for her, I mentioned tbat it's a popular Peruvian snack. And now - after I've visited Peru twice and gorged myself at the Peruvian food festival - now Mumsy wants to try Peruvian food.

Since I have been disappointed by an old favorite, I decided tbat Mumsy should try Fresca in West Portal. I left my tv when the Giants had a 5-0 lead and ordered lomo saltado, tbe super savory combination of steak bits, french fries, tomatoes, and red onion cooked in a soy-based sauce. Ever since my friend's mom cooked this for me in Peru, it has been one of my favorite meals ever. Fresca's lomo saltado did not disappoint and despite a couple of tough pieces of beef, I finished my plate clean.

We were both surprised that Fresca's pollo a la brasa "wasn't ready" because Mumsy really wanted to try the rotisserie chicken (after all, it's almost all I talk about when it comes to Peruvian food.) She ordered a tuna dish as a substitute and though the grilled tuna could've used some salt, tbe green cilantro-flecked rice and the spicy red sauce were spot on.

What I really love about Fresca is their ceviche bar, where a ceviche expert marinates fish and seafood in lime juice to order. If you want to try something different, I recommend the mojito ceviche. But since this was Mumsy's first taste, I ordered the classic Peruvian ceviche of white fish (halibut used here) and red onions soaked in lime juice and peppers and seved with choclo, yucca, and toasted corn kernels. We don't have a picture because we had devoured it all before I remembered. It is that good (and might I say, much more accessible than La Mar on the Embarcadero.)

All in all, I think I showed Mumsy exactly why I gained weight the second time I went to Peru: la comida peruana.

SF is VogelSTRONG!

Watching Ryan Vogelsong strikeout Daniel Descalso witb a bag of chocolage-covered potato chips.  Let's go Giants!

dogs on money

Hello, this is Soleil. As you can see I'm wearing a Giants jersey. That's because I love everything my human likes, and she's a big Giants fan.

You'll also notice that I'm at home instead of the game. This is not because I am a dog - at least I don't think that's the reason. It's because the prices for these post-season games are crazy! The face value to stand is in the ballpark of $68! Excuse me but that's a lot of steak I'm giving up. For $68 I need a steak, a chew toy, and a nice secure place to curl up.

So instead of going to the Game 1 of the NLCS, my human took the money and threw a viewing party. There was soda, beer, guacamole, garlic fries, mini tacos, tomato-mozzarella sticks, whoopie pies, and lots of chicken wings... I stole a lot of those. And on top of that, my human's friends brought other tasty treats.

The cost was well under $68, which means nothing to me since I am a dog but there you go!

The game was pretty amazing - I loved it when the Giants batted in 4 runs in one inning. But I wish they would've used the money my human saved to score a few more. I hate the Cardinals... well I think I hate all birds but I definitely hate the Cardinals!

she's mine, all mine!

For a while I considered getting a chinchilla.

Then the universe presented me with the baddest little girl to keep all to myself: now Soleil lives with me!

She's quite a handful but all in all it is a joy to have this cute and slightly needy critter by my side. Today was a busy day for her... roadtrip, picnic, and car wash. It all led up to her first bath by me, which I'm sure she'll never forget.