PPQ Dungeness + World Series = Too Much Awesome

October 31, 2010

A gChat between Henrik and I spawned a fantastic idea a couple weeks ago, a trip to PPQ Dungeness Island for their awesome crab and other dishes. It had been far too long since I had been there, and it was a perfect excuse to pull together good friends over good food. Additionally, it also happened to overlap Kenny's visit to SF.

You can imagine our supreme delight when we arrived for dinner and realized they had given us the back private room with the TV to watch Game 4 of the World Series. Giggity-giggity!

Oh, yummy garlic noodles, how I've dreamt of you:
The amazing five-spiced chicken:

The group minus me and Key (photographers) and Robert, who is being absurd and hiding behind Abe.

Full bellies and a shutout 4-0 win for the Giants, what more could we ask for? Too much awesome!

Kinda Rainy Saturday

October 30, 2010

Yowza, how did it get to be the end of October and Hallowe'en weekend already?!?

On Friday night, Will and I joined some Genentech-ers for happy hour at Fat Angel, a little place in the south of Fillmore/Jazzy part of town (O'Farrell and Fillmore). Apparently, we were more interested in the libations than we were the food, which turned happy hour into something a little more raucous than planned.

On Saturday morning, I got up and joined Sue Hee and Ashley for a run in the Marina/Crissy Field/Presidio, racking up 8 miles in my favorite running weather (overcast and cool). From the run, we cleaned up, and the three of us (all recently betrothed) tried to check out (gasp!) wedding dresses for the first time. We headed to Glamour Closet in the Financial District. They don't require appointments, but do rack up a first-come-first-served list that was enough to have us disinterested shortly after entering.



We headed home shortly and I finally got around to carving my pumpkin. I was inspired by my recent-bandwagon-crush on Brian Wilson (don't judge the workmanship, I really am not very artistic or precise):
Go Gigantes!

Frances

October 27, 2010

On Wednesday night, Will, Robert, Abe and I headed to Frances for dinner (prying ourselves from the TV playing Game 1 of the World Series to get to our really-hard-to-get reservations). Frances is Melissa Perello's venture, and it's been a challenge for me to finally eat here (previous reservations cancelled due to work travel, etc.).

Applewood smoked bacon beignets with maple creme fraiche and chive:
Totally forgot to take a snap before we dug in, but we also shared the grilled calamari with corno di toro peppers, preserved lemon and sicilian olive:
Will had the Five Dot Ranch Bavette steak with piperade, creamy butter beans and sauce bordelaise:
I had the Californian black cod with roasted red kuri squash, melted leeks and chanterelles (a-ma-zing!):
Abe had the saffron risotto with butter braised wild mushrooms, summer squash and tomato:
Robert had the Soul Food Farm chicken with creamy polenta, lacinato kale, and rome beauty apples:
We sampled the house wine, which goes for $1 per ounce, a pretty awesome deal:
Desserts to share, starting with the bittersweet chocolate mousse with candied pistachios, devil's food cake and cocoa meringue crisps:
"Lumberjack Cake" with french butter pear, medjool dates, and maple-walnut ice cream:
Frances was well worth the wait, and I could see why they received their first Michelin star (awarded the day before). Definite recommendation and go-back (if I can get a reservation, that is!).

Oh yea, and how about them Giants?!?!

Bar Agricole

October 17, 2010

I was so super-relieved when I found out on Friday that my work trip to London (supposedly leaving on Saturday) was cancelled. Hello weekend!

On Saturday morning, I joined Sue Hee and Sara for a 12-mile run at Sawyer Camp Trail. Yeah, that does sound very enticing, as I hadn't run longer than 5-6 miles since the SF half marathon in late July. Ouch.

On Saturday night, Will and I headed to Bar Agricole to celebrate Sue Hee's birthday. Bar Agricole is in SOMA, next door to Slim's, and is a new restaurant that features fantastic cocktails and a tasty menu.

With seven people for dinner, our strategy for the dinner was to try everything on the menu, both drinks and food. That may seem outrageous, but with 7 people, it really isn't that crazy. The menu consists of 15 cocktails, 4 tasters, 7 appetizers, 4 entrees, and 3 desserts. And we tried it all. It was magical. See below for snaps of the food and drink action.





















Happy Birthday Sue Hee!

Oh yeah, and Bar Agricole is a definite go-back.