Bea's Newsletter v.2.0

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Crafty Nite

July 29, 2009

On Tuesday night, I went for a run in GG Park and then headed over to Sue Hee's for Crafty Nite with the ladies. I had intended to work on some handmade cards, but ended up spending most of the time visiting and trying to troubleshoot my new work iPhone (whee!).

Katharine made a pretty amazing ahi tuna tartare:

Look at Sandy...she's a knitter!:

Wendy's handmade barrettes:

Thanks for hosting another super fun Crafty Nite!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

RunSFM 2009

July 26, 2009

The weekend of the San Francisco Half Marathon was upon us, so on Saturday night, Will and I held a pre-race potluck for a bunch of the ladies who were planning on running.

The ladies hydrated and fueled at the table while the boys (non-runners) enjoyed their cocktails and enjoyed being men...
Wee early on Sunday morning, some of us carpooled down to the start line:
The race was okay, I finished in 2:06:59 (2617/7988 overall, 994/4507 women, 386/1579 age group, pace 9:42 min/mile) which was 32 seconds faster than last year. Even though this was a PR for this race, I felt pretty awful in the last 5-6 miles or so (bad blisters under my arches that had never appeared during my long training runs) and my body just felt tired (I guess weeks of less than 6 hours of sleep a night finally took its toll...).Regardless, I was glad to have finished my fourth half-marathon in the last 12 months, and am looking forward to my fall races.

A bunch of us ended up at Sue Hee's for a post-race breakfast, which was a phenomenal way to finish the morning.
Huge thanks to my running friends who are a big network of support, to Robert and Sue Hee for hosting the post-race brekkie, and big ups to Will, who woke up at 5 am to drive us down to the start line...

Friday, July 24, 2009

Anchor Oyster Bar

July 24, 2009

On Friday night, Will and I continued our week of good eats by trying out the Anchor Oyster Bar with Key. Anchor Oyster Bar has been a pillar of the Castro food scene since the late 70's and it's hard to believe that it's taken me so long to try this place. And it's only a few blocks from my house!

I started with a cup of their classic clam chowder. Awesome.
Key had the Combination Cocktail sampler (with shrimp, crabmeat, prawns). Great deal!
Will had the crab cake entree with salad and potatoes. Great portions and very tasty. Will and I did a half-time switch, and I had a chance to try his entree...I had the featured sea scallops for dinner, with potatoes and steamed veggies, with a generous portions and perfectly cooked scallops.
Key had the featured filet of petra sole, which was huge!

We highly enjoyed Anchor Oyster Bar. The only caveat is that it is a tiny place and there's almost always a line. But, it is totally worth the wait.

Weakerthans

July 24, 2009

On Thursday night, Will and I headed off to the Trendy-loin for an evening of food and music. Our first stop was to meet up with Sue Hee and Robert for dinner at Pagolac, a popular Vietnamese spot. Will and I ordered the famous "7 Courses of Beef", which sounds more ambitious than it really is. The meal features several courses with beef, but very reasonable tastes for portions. Many of the courses feature rice paper and many veggie fixin's to make rolls with the various types of beef. Yum!

From Pagolac, we walked a couple doors down to Olive to meet up with Shaun and to have a drink (and for Will to get dessert).

And finally, we all headed off to the Great American Music Hall to go see one of my all-time favorite bands (who also happen to be Canucks), the Weakerthans.

So good. I heart the Weakerthans!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Spruce

July 23, 2009

On Wednesday night, I got to finally check off one of the biggest "must-try" restaurant from my list...Spruce. I had a work dinner with my team, in fact, it was a good-bye dinner for our team lead who was moving on to bigger and better things (much to the chagrin of our team...boo!!!).

To start, I had the sweet corn and sorrel soup, which was to...die...for.... Seriously, for a girl who loves her corn, this was one of the best soups I've ever had.

For dinner, I had the slow-roasted short rib with grilled peach and fresh horseradish. As soon as I see the words "short rib" on a menu, I'm a goner. And this was totally worth overlooking the rest of the menu.

For dessert, I had the classic beignets, served alongside Araguani chocolat sauce or creme anglaise as dipping sauces. OMG. I was too full to have more than a couple, but they were delish!

A fun yet sad goodbye to our team lead, and a wonderful meal for his send off. And, Spruce is definitely a fantastic restaurant to have a meal at.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Renegade Craft Fair 2009

July 19, 2009

On Saturday morning, I got up early and met up with Gail and Irene at the Nike Women's running event at Little Marina Green. Along with tons of other runners at the Marina (for the Nike event and what seemed like every other running club), we got a great but hard run in the Presidio and Crissy Field.

After the run, we headed over to The Plant Cafe for brunch with Wendy.

From Chestnut street, we walked over to Fort Mason to check out the 2nd Annual Renegade Craft Fair, featuring over 200+ artists from across the US hawking their handmade goods. There's a great selection of jewelry, bags, clothing, art and much more. A bunch of other ladies joined us there (JoJo, Sue Hee, Beth, Heather, etc.), and and we had a great girly afternoon.