patxi's

patxi's pan pizza: this lighter deep dish pie features a crunchy cornmeal style crust, with chees and toppings covered by sauce.  prepared and cooked in a deep dish pan.



liz and i split a hawaiian pizza and it was very good for what it was.  my honest opinion is that chicago style pizza just isn't my favorite.  also, this pizza needed a little more sauce but overall i think they put out a decent slice.  the deal has been sealed in my book that new york wins the pizza contest but i'm still open to trying chicago style again and again waiting for one to win me over.

random dinner with the griffins

i really love dinners where you get to eat some of everything. mac & cheese, pizza, salad topped with chicken, onion rings and a banana milkshake.  oh ya!!

pepper rabbit

long live the glory of a ukulele!!

smooth as butter

liz, brenda, tammy, strawberry shortcake and myself hit up a spot called butter tonight.  thank you groupon for introducing us and thank you brenda for finding the deal!!

a massive amount of tater tots, mozzarella sticks, mini corn dogs, chicken nuggets & jalapeño poppers

deep fried mac and cheese

chili cheese tots

deep fried twinkie, deep fried pb&j

i'm not going to lie the food was good but with everything fried we sat on the bar stools like a ton of bricks after inhaling all this food.  i think if i ever go back i will make it a snack instead of a complete meal.  in fact while sitting i found myself staring off and on at one of the workers for about an hour.  finally i leaned over to liz and told her that it was driving me crazy trying to figure out how or where i knew this kid from.  finally he came close enough for me to talk to.  i asked him where he worked at before butter, puzzled and still not able to place him i kept staring, almost immediately he responded with the statement that he was on mtv's true life.  now those words might not mean much to many people i know but for me it was like music to my ears.  in that very instant of him saying those small words it came flooding back to my memory.  true life is a show on mtv that i do not normally watch but i will admit i've seen a several episodes in  my day.  i tend to watch the more drama driven shows on mtv but once in awhile true life will have a topic i tune in for.  his specific episode is called true life - i hate my tattoos.  i actually watched this show at least a year prior to meeting larry because of the title and the fact that i was then in the market to get a tattoo.

throwback thursday - california dreamin'

all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey, i went for a walk on a winters day, i'd be safe and warm if i was in la.  seriously who doesn't dream of california on snowy cold winter days?  thank you to the mamas and the papas for reminding the rest of the country why i choose to live in this magical golden state.

meatball monday

i purchased a bag of the costco chicken teriyaki meatballs and this is what i made with them and served it over white rice.

onions, garlic, a can of chopped pineapples including all the juice, corn starch, soy sauce, bell peppers, red wine vinegar, ginger powder and chinese five spice.

just throw it in the pan

leftover sausage, leftover potatoes, tons of eggs and cheese... what would you do?  that's right folks just throw it in the pan.

tri-tip

tonight i had a dinner party at my house but i was so busy cooking that i forgot to take many pictures.  i did however get pictures of the tri-tip before i cooked it.  i also cooked two different kinds of potatoes, broccoli salad, cornbread and pineapple upside-down cake.

the top picture is after two days of marinating in chaka's mmm sauce, the bottom picture is the meat ready to go in the oven.

the cake was the only other picture i took.  i'm not sure if i've mentioned it before but there are some days that two ovens come in handy and today was one of the days i am extremely grateful to have them both!

100 things to try before you die - SF

The Big Eat List
1. Roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni
2. Coffee-rubbed pork shoulder at Range
3. Carnitas taco at La Taqueria
4. Fried chicken and waffles at Little Skillet
5. Chasu ramen at Katana-Ya
6. Basil gimlet at Rye
7. Crab with cellophane noodles at the Slanted Door


Photo by: Stefanie Michejda

8. Morning bun at Tartine Bakery
9. Tofu soup with kimchi at My Tofu House
10. Nick’s Baja-style fish tacos at The Taco Shop at Underdogs
11. Pork sugo with pappardelle at Delfina
12. Porchetta sandwich at RoliRoti
13. Soup dumplings at Shanghai Dumpling King
14. Beef brisket sandwich at Il Cane Rosso
15. Any seasonal flavor at Scream Sorbet
16. Katsu curry from Muracci’s Japanese Curry & Grill
17. Samusa soup at Burma Superstar

Photo by: Stefanie Michejda

18. Oysters on the half shell at Swan Oyster Depot
19. Lobster pot pie at Michael Mina
20. Salumi misti plate at Perbacco
21. Pizza margherita at Pizzeria Delfina
22. Vietnamese roasted pork sandwich at Saigon Sandwich
23. Beer sausage with sauerkraut and grilled onions at Rosamunde Sausage Grill
24. Blue Bell Bitter from the cask at Magnolia Pub
25. Loaf of bread straight out of the oven at Tartine
26. A bottle of Burgundy at RN74
27. Papaya salad with salty crab at Sai Jai Thai
28. A Gibraltar at Blue Bottle Café
29. Tuna tartare and a gin martini at Bix
30. Burger at Fish & Farm
31. Tuna Tostada at Tacolicious
32. Pupusas at Balompie Café
33. Prime rib at House of Prime Rib
34. Way too much cold sake at Oyaji
35. Salted-caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery
36. Dry-fried chicken wings at San Tung
37. Rotisserie chicken at Limón Rotisserie
38. Burger and fries at the bar at Spruce
39. Pierna enchilada torta at La Torta Gorda
40. Cheeseburger with sweet potato fries at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher
41. Pho ga at Turtle Tower


Photo by: Chris Andre

42. Fried-shrimp po’boy at Brenda’s French Soul Food
43. An Old Fashioned at Alembic
44. One of Neyah White’s shrubs at Nopa
45. Secret Breakfast from Humphry Slocombe
46. Chips and salsa at Papalote
47. Ceviche and a pisco sour on the patio at La Mar Cebichería Peruana

Photo by: Joe Budd

48. Angels on horseback at Anchor & Hope
49. Ginger snaps at Miette
50. An obscure Belgian beer at The Monk’s Kettle
51. Maccaronara with ricotta salata at A16


Photo by: Ed Anderson

52. Coconut buns from King’s Bakery
53. Carnitas at Nopalito
54. Spiced-chocolate doughnut at Dynamo Donut with a Four Barrel coffee
55. Chicken porridge for breakfast at the Bush Street Out the Door
56. Nuestra Paloma at Beretta
57. Agnolotti at Quince
58. Chicharrones from 4505 Meats
59. Huarache with cactus salad at El Huarache Loco
(Saturdays at the Alemany Farmers Market)
60. The Little Star at Little Star Pizza
61. Egg custard tart at Golden Gate Bakery
62. Dim sum at Ton Kiang
63. Meatballs with grapes at Aziza
64. Sand dabs at Tadich Grill
65. Cookies-and-cream cookie and milk at Anthony’s Cookies
66. Pig parts at Incanto
67. Paper masala dosa at Dosa
68. The housemade hot dog at Absinthe
69. Foccacia at Liguria Bakery
70. Omakase menu at Sebo

Photo by: Ed Anderson

73. Scotch egg at Wexler’s
72. Shanghai Buck at Heaven’s Dog



73. Popovers with strawberry butter at the Rotunda
74. Corned-beef sandwich with Gruyère at The Sentinel
75. Fried green beans at Coco500
76. Chicken hash at Ella’s
77. Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie
78. Super burrito at Taqueira Cancun
79. Onion strings at Alfred’s Steakhouse
80. Apple fritter at Bob’s Donuts
81. Chicken curry lunch special at Punjab Kabab House
82. Fried chickpeas at Piqueo’s
83. French fries at Universal Cafe
84. A margarita at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant


Photo by: Ed Anderson

85. Pulled-pork sandwich at Roadside BBQ
86. A cheese slice at Arinell Pizza
87. Sesame balls at Yank Sing
88. Buckwheat crepe and a French cider at Ti Couz
89. Lettuce cups at Betelnut
90. Korean taco at Namu’s market stand
91. Albondigas soup at Mijita
92. Bacon-wrapped hot dog from a cart in the Mission
(preferably when you’re drunk)
93. Seven courses of beef at Pagolac
94. The house cappuccino at Tosca Café
95. 3 a.m. bowl of caldo verde soup at Grubstake
96. Ube ice cream from Mitchell’s
97. Lamb schawerma at Truly Mediterranean
98. Bloody Mary with brunch at Foreign Cinema
99. Clam chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co.
(ok, get some oysters too)


Photo by: Ed Anderson

100. Menage a Trois at Ike’s Place

out of the 100 things to try i've only tried eight of these places:  #7, 12, 46, 49, 65, 87, 96 and 100

ninty-two to go... wish me luck!

the perfect brownie pan

before heading off to the griffins for dinner i made a pan of brownies with my perfect brownie pan.  i also added chocolate chips to make these triple chocolate.

lunch at valley fair

a day of shopping with the girls (liz, the main asian and elle) at valley fair seemed like a nice way to recover from a night a dancing.  shopping plus i got to eat tempura and chicken katsu.

choco taco

tonight i ate a choco taco and it made me think about when i was younger and used to purchase these from the ice cream man.  in fact i don't remember wanting anything else from the ice cream truck.  i do remember eating push ups but when i did they were chosen for me rather than me picking them out.  besides that i always picked the choco taco, i think even back then i must have understood that the paring of chocolate and taco's was a great idea.  one summer i was so addicted to these suckers that i used to sneak (ok steal) the coins from my older sisters coin collection to fill my addiction.  i spend all her silver dollars and half dollars plus all the other coins i could find.  i specifically remember the ice cream man asking me once where i was getting all the interesting coins.  i know i felt sheepish for a moment but not enough to stop because before i knew i had spent nearly her entire collection.  all i can say for myself is that those choco taco's sure were worth it!

goodbye 2010

2010 was a great year filled with loads of food, fun, laughter and music.  here is the latest mashup from dj earworm whom i love.  he mixed songs from the year to form a nifty jam that incorporates some of the years biggest hits.

sprinkles



coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate peppermint.  the cupcakes were ok but if you ask me they are not the best.  some had way too much frosting, the cinnamon one didn't have any frosting and the frosting was much too sweet.  as for my last complaint on these cupcakes the decorations that topped off the vanilla and cinnamon ones were gross.  what good is the decorations if they don't taste good?