Waterfront Seafood Grill

!!!

Chocolate Box (Seattle)

"Yes We Did" Obama emblazoned chocolates! Exhorbitantly priced given the economic climate, but how could I resist? They'll make a great gift for a lucky Obama-Mama.

McRory's

Seafood platter: $31. Joy: priceless.

Happy Hour

A whskey bar with oyster shooters. Win!

Pike's Market

So far so good, Seattle!

Suppenkuche

We finally made it to Suppenkuche, San Francisco's German style restaurant and beer hall. Like all German restaurants, it was rowdy and crowded. The food was heavy, the beer was free flowing, and everyone was having a good time.

It was too dark for a lot of photos, but we had to take one of the meat appetizer sampler. I've seen pictures of this on yelp.com, but I honestly did not expect such a huge variety of German cured meats, including what can only be described as a really good Slim Jim. I wish they'd given us a few more of the super tasty cherry tomatoes to balance out all that salty goodness, but really I have no complaints. The potato pancakes were also a hit, really crunchy on the outside and hot on the inside. The short ribs we had and the entrees we saw at everyone else's table were standard: meaty, heavy, and served with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and/or spaetzle. The black forest cake was good but not exceptional. We'll definitely be back, but we'll definitely bring helpful eaters or be more conservative in ordering. We were done in after the platter of meat and potato pancakes!

I finished another pair of button earrings. I'm really starting to enjoy this. Also, look at me with my fancy re-potted orchid. The plant was starting to droop to one side from the weight of its own leaves, so I uprighted it and gave it a supporting stick (aka. old wooden chopstick).

I'll be in Seattle for a week: happy eating for everyone with Thanksgiving plans. Hopefully I'll be doing some fun Blackberry blogging from the Evergreen State.

Crafting...Again

I'm always looking for fun projects, easy or challenging. This one is high on the fun and low on the difficulty level: covered button stud earrings! My camera always washes out the color on closeup photos (ahem, Santa, are you listening) but the vibrant orange and earth tones makes these very cute for autumn.

Nob Hill Grille

I'd been eyeballing this restaurant for awhile, and yesterday I finally stepped in for brunch. I think I'm in love.


Fresh corned beef hash is a weakness of mine. Some restaurants make it meltingly soft and fatty, but NHG grill opts for a more chewy version akin to smokey slab bacon. Though I like the soft version better, this was quite good. A quiet table (with the alternative of seating at a bar with chatty servers and cooks), friendly service, free flowing fresh coffee, and large windows sealed the deal. NHG is some kind of magic.

Obligatory close up. One thing they did pretty much perfectly: poached eggs.

Bob's Doughnuts

Okay, I gave in. No French toast this morning, but I did grab a doughnut from Bob's after buying groceries this morning.

Bob's is one of the few classic American doughnut shops that still sells puts out a great product without charging an arm and a leg (Fritelli's in Los Angeles, I'm looking at you). I kind of squished this one, but their doughnuts are light, fluffy, and actually taste a bit doughy. None of the sugary, chewy mess that more chain doughnut shops pass off as edible. At 80 cents, it's the perfect snack with my Earl Grey green tea on a cloudy afternoon.

French Toast!

I was craving a doughnut like nobody's business this morning, but I persevered and made do with homemade French toast and an avocado. And lest you think "Wait, French toast is totally fattening," it isn't! It has the same calories as a slice of bread, a fried egg, a few tablespoons of milk, and a tablespoon of 100% pure maple syrup. A fried egg sandwich with a glass of orange juice would have had twice as much fat and three times as much sugar. And, surprisingly, a ripe avocado is a great pairing with French toast. The creaminess of the fruit is perfect with the crunchy outside of the bread, and really decreases the need for a lot of syrup. A decadent breakfast with plenty of good carbs and protein.

Brewing, Continued

The brewing continues. Today we bottled our first batch (fingers crossed) and started brewing a second batch of beer. Yes, we hope to have many cases of beer to share, but we're hedging our bets by doing two batches in case one fails.


Here, you can see that the beer has become clear and a thick layer of pale sediment has settled to the bottom of the container. The red thing is a capping tool, and to the left are some shiny new bottle caps. The capping tool is basically a clamp. You position the cap on a filled bottle, place one hand on each handle, and push down until the handles are parallel to the table. Done!


J filled the bottles with the siphon while I capped the bottles. With two people working, we made short work of several gallons of beer. Now, we wait two weeks for the beer to carbonate. Here's hoping!

Jackson Arms and TMM

I had a great day today.


No, it wasn't just because K went to a gun show and bought us a box of 500 bullets, though I did apprecaite his lugging this case all over the Peninsula for us. Doesn't it look like it's from WWII? Pretty sweet. Anyway, I managed to get a head start on my day this morning. I ate a balanced breakfast, watched some television, had a bug mug of coffee, and then went to the gym for some weight lifting and cardio. Then we met up with some friends down at Jackson Arms for an hour and a half of target practice. So you see, today I managed to work on all my guns. Smiles!


I rewarded myself with dinner at TMM. Beef noodle soup, of ccourse, was a must. Great broth, though the beef wasn't as tender as usual.

Deep-froed calamari, crispy and flakey as usual.

We made the mistake of ordering chicken over rice. Coupled with the squid and an order of chicken wings, it was too many fried things in one meal. A few cold dishes or a vegetable would have made the meal much better balanced. Overall, however, it was a great meal. We had two unpictured dishes, two desserts, and a drink. Three people, $18 each, and we left with leftovers and very full bellies.

Pei Has Got a Brand New Bag!

Look what skill I'm adding to my bag o' tricks:

Get it? Bag? Har har har...puns never get old. I finally buckled down and made the handbag that I've been planning for ages. I was afraid of messing up and ruining a perfectly good piece of fabric, but no risk no gain right? I think it turned out pretty well for a first try. I need to get my sewing machine maintained so the stitching will be more sturdy and even, and I need to work on being more precise in my measuring.

This was an encouraging first try, but now I'm going to keep my eye out for a piece of fabric to use for a larger project. I want a vinyl shoulder bag because they're water resistant, can hold a sweater, and are convenient when I want both hands free (very important when you're a bus rider). I've always liked this bag, but I can't find the perfect size and color (or $200) so I'm going to make my own!

El Puerto Escondido

J discovered this place earlier this year, and since then it's become a bit of a tradition any time one of us happens to go to LAX. I was in LA a few days this past week, and my sister and I went after she picked me up at the airport.

This 24 hour Mexican restaurant is best known for a dish called "Happy Oysters." This can best be described as mild, sweet, raw oysters topped with a Mexican style ceviche of fish and shrimp. Topped with some lime juice and Tabasco, this manages to be even better than plain raw oysters.

This is the grilled octoput plate. J said he had a great one last time, but mine was mixed. Some pieces were tender, some were hard, and overall the octopus didn't really have either a salty or a charcoal-grilled flavor. Everything was bland overall, including the rice and beans. The guacamole, however, was good. One thing about Los Angeles is Mexican food almost always comes with a generous portion of gree guacamole. San Francisco, when will you learn? Anyway, I'm sticking to happy oysters next time.

Genghis Khan and Beer

Tonight, we had what the Koreans call "Genghis Khan" hot pot!


My friend S took me to Seoul Garden in Los Angeles, and I really liked the food. It's basically a simple hot pot of sliced ribeye, a huge pile of slivered napa and green onions, and a few pieces of mushrooms, fish cake, and so on. You start the meal dipping the cooked ingredients in a tangy soy sauce mixture. Then the servers use the broth to cook udon (we skipped this at home), and finally they use the broth to cook a thick rice porridge with seaweed and sesame oil. I added bonito fish flakes and gojiberries at home, it was a great meal for a chilly evening. And it was a way to get a lot of variety on the table even though I was feeling too sick today to cook.

And, beer update! We've racked the beer and started the second fermentation. I regret to report that the beer doesn't smell particularly good. I don't think it's bad, it just doesn't make me salivate the way one or two past batches did when I opened the plastic bucket. Hopefully all will still go well.

Yes We Did!

Congratulations to President-Elect Obama and all the voters, volunteers, donors, and campaign workers who made today possible. Yes We Can, and Yes We Did! People here in SF are literally dancing and singing in the streets. It's fun to hear. Although I don't 100% believe that Obama was clearly the superior choice to McCain or is some kind of guaranteed salvation for this country, there's something about his political ascendancy that speaks to the idealist in me. Had he lost, how long would America have had to wait for another chance at such a unique moment? I sincerely hope he lives up to his promise. Not his promises, but his promise and potential.

And by "yes we did,", I also mean yes we did polish off a bottle of Stefano Valeri merlot watching election results. This is really a delightful little wine. I thought the person who sold this to me said only two cases were produced, but that's impossible. Even someone who makes wine just for his friends and family makes more than two cases a year. In any case, this is a small production merlot that is pretty much an all purpose wine. It isn't as light as merlots that are only appropriate for sipping, but not at all as heavy as a zin or cab. The perfect easy-drinking wine for an exciting election night.

Vote!

I'm by and large an apolitical creature. I learned long ago that people will always disagree, and that by global standards neither of this country's biggest political parties are condemnable. So, for the most part, I have my opinions but don't get too riled up by who happens to be president. But in 2008, it was impossible to not get intensely curious, and more than a little opinionated!

In the spirit of bipartisanship, I have selected two of the best muffins from today's attempt at Dorie Greenspan's "Big Carrot Cake" recipe. Like our two major party candidates, these giant muffins want you to believe they are better than the average cupcake, that they'll deliver wholesome, healthy ingredients with enough sweetness and zest to make life pleasant, and that they'll satisfy for a long time to come.

But I'd be lying if I said I don't hope to wake up Wednesday morning and find one party's candidate like this muffin: demolished beyond recognition.

PS. I realize it's not a perfect metaphor. Let it go and go vote already!

Hot Pot Sunday

The chilly weather made J, predictably, crave hot pot. So we squished some friends into our tiny living room and had ourselves a real blowout feast: pork, lamb, beef, oysters, shrimp, squid, clams, fish cake, pork balls, blood sausage, kabocha, taro, mushrooms, napa, watercress, shrimp dumplings, tofu, noodles, and a live dungeness crab. It was good times. I forgot to take a picture of the meal in action, but suffice it to say dinner was pretty much a meal plus a free steam session for everyone in the room.



Beer Report: it's bubbling furiously! Tory, thanks for the advice so far. I really need to get a pot that will boil 3 gallons comfortably. I had to boil my wort in two separate pots, and I'm hoping the beer won't suffer. Good news is the weather's perfect for brewing, and I'd much rather see too much action than none! It's a Hoegaarden style wheat beer, so it's pretty much going nuts right now. I have a blow off tube coming out of the plastic carboy right now, and it's already blown the rubber stopper out twice. I think a wider tube would have been wise, but I've never had more activity than an air lock could handle before! It's all very exciting. I can't wait to see how it turns out (and to buy more brewing equipment).