Roomie Dinner

March 16, 2006

Last night, we had a roommate dinner. These events are surprisingly rare and incredibly, we usually plan it over e-mail. Ridiculous, I know.

Will flew back from a 3-day trip to Minneapolis before 8 pm and we met up with Chris and Courtney at Range in the Mission. Range is located on Valencia, a couple doors down from the infamous and quirky pirate store and writing center 826 Valencia.

The Mission is infamous for its' wide selection of delectable and reasonably priced restaurants, and Range has been on my list of places to try since it opened last year. In the location that used to house the spanish tapas place, Timo's, the new owners have redecorated and with a sophisticated interior, delicious food and great service.



Appetizers:
Chris - manilla clams with bacon and garlic toast
Courtney - braised asparagus, pecorino and mustard seed vinaigrette
Will - raw dayboat scallops with cucumber, avocado and tangerine broth
Bea - whiskey and brown sugar braised spare ribs

Entrees:
Chris - coffee-rubbed pork shoulder
Courtney - couscous stuffed pan di zucchero with roasted baby leeks and a yellow split pea sauce
Will - pan roasted lamb sirloin with runner beans, dino kale and green garlic gremolata
Bea - slow-cooked halibut with horseradish cream sauce

Dessert:
All - bittersweet chocolate pot de creme

All in all, the food completely lived up to expectations. The ribs were so tender that they fell off the bone, absolutely amazing. My halibut was perfectly flaky and the horseradish sauce was complementary and not over-powering. And to finish, the pot de creme was light and smooth and heaven. Supposedly, the menu changes daily, and I would be interested in going back and seeing how the menu changes and if this restaurant will change with success.



That being said, my rave reviews are tainted a bit by the prices of the cocktails. There's an unfortunate trend of SF restaurants with affordable dinner menus and pricy drink lists. The average price of a cocktail at Range is $9. So, maybe catch a couple drinks at the Latin America Club before you head over for dinner...

Baby Shower and Ramen

March 13, 2006

A Brass Monkey lady, Linda, crashed in the "guest bedroom" after our girls' night, so we woke up on Sunday morning and after I got my crap-show together, we headed out for brunch. We went down to Noe Valley to a favorite, Pomelo, where their brunches are yummy and the coffee hits the spot.

My co-worker, Susan, is 7 months prego and I helped to host a baby shower for her on Sunday afternoon. Susan just moved into a beautiful new home in Redwood City, very convenient for dropping Linda off. It was a pretty large gathering of ladies and little ones, with close to 30 adults and 10 kids. It was a really nice afternoon and I was pretty sleepy after it finished around 5 pm.

My co-worker, Chandra, helps set up the baby shower game






Susan, with her husband Brad to the left, opening up really cute baby shower gifts

After the baby shower, I hopped back on the freeway and headed south for San Jose, to catch up with adorable Olivia, Jack, and my super-prego sister. Angie is carrying twins, and despite only being 19 weeks along, she's filling out her 7 month maternity clothes quite well. I saw all their Disneyland/Sea World/Wild Animal Park photos (where they took Olivia last week, a last only-child hurrah), and Olivia was non-stop-talk about her adventures. She loved the tea-cup ride but was scared by the red-eyes of the abominable snowman. Her favorite new friends are Cinderella and Mrs. Incredible.

For dinner, we went to a great ramen noodle place on Saratoga in San Jose, which is infamous, apparently: Ramen Halu. This place does authentic ramen like no one else does. Most folks, like me, only associate ramen with what you ate in college because it was cheap. Ramen Halu was started by a local Japanese surfer boy, who mastered his ramen recipe in Japan before relocating to California. Two custom-designed surfboards hang from the restaurant wall, and small-framed pictures of various surfing spots hover near every table. His own personal surfboard rests in a corner, covered by a sheath.

I read a great review of Ramen Halu after, so I clipped it and pasted it here, because I can't do any better than this description:

"Ramen Halu makes three types of ramen: Shio ramen, with sea salt-flavored broth ($6.50); Tokyo ramen, with soy sauce-flavored broth ($6.50); and the namesake Halu ramen--a savory, thick, pork-based concoction ($6.90). Thick or thin noodles swim in the broth alongside sliced pork, green onions, seaweed, bamboo shoots, spinach and cloud ear mushrooms. Extra toppings like fresh cabbage, corn and boiled egg can be added for a buck each. The stock in the Halu ramen is luscious and milky with just a bite of saltiness. Flecks of white pork fat float on the top, a reassuring sign to Japan-born ramen eaters, but probably a turn-off to health-conscious Californians. Though murky to the spoon, it was delicious paired with thick, al dente noodles--chewy but fresh and hearty."

Olivia looooves her ramen




Now my ramen-consciousness is forever changed. I'm sure that I'll be jones-ing for some ramen very soon...

Girls' Night In

March 12, 2006

It's inevitable that my body automatically wakes up around 8 am, so even though I want to sleep in on a Saturday morning, it may not be possible.

I had a productive Saturday morning, where I hit a step class at the gym, went grocery shopping (to pick up items for the girls' night potluck and the baby shower), got a soy chai latte, and started laundry before noon. I headed down to Haight street to meet up with my friend, Sutton, who was going to join me for a shopping extravaganza. We hit all the goodies, Shoebiz, Ambiance, Villains, the other Shoebiz, etc. In an epic showing of stamina, we then headed up the hill, grabbed my wheels and went to Union Square where we hit more goodies. By 4 pm, we were spent and I had to get home to prep for the potluck.

The girls' night involved the ladies of my co-ed frisbee team, Brass Monkey, and was going to take place in Heather Brown's new condo in an area of town that is flanked by lower haight, hayes valley, inner mission and the castro. Heather does not know the name of her neighborhood, but I have heard it called the Art Deco district. I think we'll start calling it the Flax district, due to its close proximity to the fantastic art supplies store on Market called Flax.



Heather whipped up a fantastic polenta lasagne, and I made some seared ahi tuna on a bed of greens. We had appetizers galore and grazed over our food for several hours. Kerry Soo rounded our menu with one of her trademark desserts, a raspberry chocolate torte (to die for!). Our initial plan was to eat, drink, chat and then go dancing. We covered the eating and drinking, and inserted a helluva lotta chatting, and realized that it was close to 12:30 am. So much for dancing and girls' night out.

Kerry's raspberry chocolate torte

A fuzzy group picture...damn camera...

Kan Zaman

March 11, 2006

The past week felt exceptionally long, as I was still daydreaming of boarding down Connie's Coulee in Whitefish, when I should've been concentrating on downsizing my to-do list from work.

I was not going to Tahoe this weekend, as the social calendar had filled up with a girls' night out, a baby shower, and dinner with a very cute niece and a very pregnant sister. Will headed up to Tahoe in the early afternoon of Friday, to enjoy the delightful new snow that was hitting the Sierras.

Frodo was heading to the Orbit Room for happy hour, so I gathered Abe (in a more streamlined soft splint for his fat elbow). There were some frisbee folks, a couple peeps from work, and a very drunk Frodo. He was definitely displaying his 10 drinks on an empty stomach.

After a couple ciders, Abe, Wendy Tribbey, Frodo and I headed over to the Upper Haight for dinner, specifically, to Kan Zaman. Kan Zaman is a great place that serves up cheap-but-good Middle Eastern cuisine, belly dancers, and their trademark Hookah water pipes with flavored tobacco. Now, I enjoy the food, oogle the belly dancers with everyone else, but have never tried the Hooka. You can immediately smell the strawberry flavored tobacco when you walk in the door, and that's good enough for me.

We had to wait a while for our table, but it was worth it, as always. We ate family-style and enjoyed:

- Baba Ghanoush with pita bread
- Spicy Sausage
- Casablanca Beef Cous Cous stew
- Chicken Shish-kebobs
- Chicken Sumac
- Eggplan Musakhan

Hookah Water Pipe




Abe giving some love



We wisely chose not to pursue any other activities after our late dinner, and were happy to catch a cab home and be cozy in bed by midnight.

Tuna Tartare Taco Tuesdays

March 8, 2006

Last night, we went for dinner at Andalu in the Mission district. It was a chance for Will, Wendy, Frodo and I to catch up with our resident gimp, Abe, and his massive splint.

Frodo's idea was to go to Andalu, which was a fine choice. On Tuesdays, they advertise $1 Ahi Tuna Tartare tacos, which are just divine. So we ordered 30 of them. Andalu serves up small plates or "tapas", and this proved to be a good idea for Abe so that he could avoid a potential left-handed cutlery fiasco.

The dinner:
- Ahi Tartar Tacos with Chili and Lime, Mango Salsa
- Cambazola Cheese Fondue with Fuji Apples and Asian Pears
- Crispy Mac and Cheese with Herb Tomato Vinaigrette
- Grilled Halibut with Meyer Lemon-Caper-Butter Sauce
- Scallop and truffle oil ravioli
- Roasted portabello with bone marrow and endive
- Smoked Salmon Rillettes with Potato Gaufrettes

The wine:
- 2004 Jibe Pinot Noir (New Zealand)

The dessert:
- Fresh Donut Holes with Castillian Hot Cocoa
- Banana Lumpia with Dulce de Leche Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce
- Red Raspberry Sorbet with vanilla wafer

Abe and Wendy recreating the classic Abe-Kenny moment (although without the doilies)...oh we miss Kenny so...

Abe's Owie

March 6, 2006

A couple days ago, our dear friend, Abe, was enjoying the fresh pow-pow in the Sierras when he had a little mishap that involved a messed-up elbow, ski patrol, a little panic, and an ambulance ride to South Lake Tahoe's fine hospital emergency room.

To everyone's relief, it was not a compound fracture, but a dislocated elbow. All the same, you can bet he's enjoying a nice cocktail involving Vicodin.

Abe's x-rays are below, but proceed at your own risk, there's no need for bloggees to feel ill reading my blog...

The dislocated elbow

The elbow after it was put back in its proper place

Was this punishment for missing a week of sweet Montana mountain loving? Probably not, but now Abe is sporting a sweet wrist to armpit splint.

Poor cookie...

LATE-BREAKING NEWS (3 PM): My sister is pregnant with twins and she's going to have a BOY and a GIRL!!!

SFUC Season-Ender Bender

March 5, 2006

Last night, we got home from our Montana trip around 6 pm, dealt with some lost luggage issues, and settled in with some take-out sushi.

While we were away, we missed our San Francisco Ultimate Club (SFUC) league make-up day games last weekend, and the season-ending tournament this weekend. The tournament was supposed to be a two-day tourney, but was shortened to a one-day beach tournament because of the rain forecast. Oh well, so no frisbee for us, but we got back in time for the party!

Will and I headed over to the party after Alaska Airlines delivered my missing-in-action snowboard bag.


















Many hours later, maybe 2:30 am-ish, I take a very boozy Will home, who can't stop muttering "What happened?"...poor cookie...

Follow-up picture courtesy of Henrik, proving that it wasn't the sushi dinner that made him ill:

Whitefish Wrap-Up

March 4, 2006

Our trip came to a close today, as Wendy drove back to Calgary and Will, JonZ and I flew home to SF.

Wendy and I took Thursday off from the slopes to catch up on work. We went for a run around the Meadowlake Resort complex (lots of new construction in progress) and worked out in the Rec Center gym. I indulged myself and got a 90 minute massage (thanks Kari!)...after all, it's vacation!

The groceries that we need to finish before we leave

The night went by pretty quickly with lots of beer and cider to tackle in the fridge and some intense euchre card games. I was officially the euchre loser, as whichever team I was on ended up losing...yikes!

On Friday, we all headed to Big Mountain for our last day on the slopes. We were greeted with another 4-5 inches of fresh snow and it was another great day. Without my partner Kristi, I flew solo on the back side for most of the day. The snow in the trees were sick on the backside, and Connie's Coulee didn't disappoint either. The front-side was also pretty fun, as it was chilly enough to keep the snow and there was a light sprinkling of freshies.





We ended our last day where we spent the rest of the week...at the Bierstube. There was one last super-hot hot tub (109 degrees!), and we headed to the North Fork Grille in the main building for dinner.

Alaskan Electric Tea at the North Fork Grille

We initiated another epic night of euchre, with the girls (Wendy and I) vs. the boys (JonZ and Will). I redeemed myself, as Wendy and I won 2 out of 3 series, with the last one a slaughter of 11-2 points. I am no longer a euchre loser!

We really didn't want to leave our Montana home base, it was such a great week and it went by so fast. Our flights back were uneventful, with the exception of almost missing our connecting flight out of Seattle to SFO because our delayed Kalispell-to-Seattle flight. As a result, 4 out of 6 pieces of luggage made the flight but my snowboard bag and JonZ's ski bag had to wait for the next flight.

It's good to be home, and the weather forecast which calls for 3-4 feet of snow to dump in the Sierra Mountains this week makes it easier to be home too!

Sweet Wednesday

March 1, 2006

We're midway through our sweet vacation in Montana. It's my 4th day of boarding in a row and my body is starting to feel it.

This was probably our best day of the trip so far. There was 5-7 inches of new snow on the mountain and the visibility was finally more than "3-chair-lengths". (I do have to say, Big Mountain has the most honest snow reports of any hill we've ever seen, they even referred to the lower part of the mountain one morning before it snowed as "cement").

Kristi and I checked out the backside first (awesome!) and then toured the Hellroaring face to see how Connie's Coulee is when it's not thunder and lightening out. Truth be told, the Connie's Coulee-Glory Hole-Hellfire route to Chair 11 (Hellroaring) is damn long, and we were in awe at how fast we skiied it under the adrenaline spell induced by the lightening.
From Hellroaring, we headed back to the front-side to check out the sweet-looking bowls and faces. They were a little crusty under the 5 inches of fresh pow, so we decided to go back to the back side for the rest of the day (great decision).








The skies open up and the sun finally comes out!





The kids asleep on the ride home...awww....



We had been alternating evenings in versus out, and seeing as how we ate out the night before in Whitefish, JonZ and Will treated the crew to a feast of chicken fajitas...thanks boys!

Only 2.5 days left in our ski vacation...boo! I'm taking the day off tomorrow, to ease some R&R into the trip schedule. I booked a massage, so I hope it's everything my body hopes it to be.

Happy Ash Wednesday!