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oyceterSince the week was so stressful, I decided to spoil myself silly this weekend. Got to see some high school friends yesterday, which meant.... fooding!
I dragged them to Nola's, a New-Orleans-style restaurant, which I've only been to once but already adore. I had Ahi tuna mini tacos, which were basically seared Ahi with julienned jicama and cabbage and a wasabi paste, very delicious. I ended up not eating the mini tortillas, which were a little too floury and too difficult to eat with the tuna and the veggies, but I've decided that I very much like jicama.
Actually, I knew that before, but it's always nice to be reacquainted with a vegetable.
But the best thing ended up being the Nola's frites, which consisted of normal french fries, plus sweet potato fries and fried zuchinni, and oh, so good! Two wonderful sauces (ok, one was ketchup, but still, the other was a lovely creamy tangy thing) and they weren't too oily and the outsides were crispy and the insides were perfectly soft with enough to sink your teeth into, and they were spiced wonderfully as well. I've had sweet potato fries before and love them, but I think this is the first time I had fried zucchini. Alas, there were only a few pieces of the zucchini, but the fries were so good too.
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rachelmanija, if you make it up here again, it's on my list of Restaurants to Drag People To.
Then we headed down to my favorite coffee place ever (they roast their own beans), which is next to Bed Bath and Beyond. I splurged and bought myself a kitchen scale. And a little towel rack. And a new broom. Bed Bath and Beyond is difficult to resist. I also met one of my classmates' girlfriend for the first time, and it turns out she likes free food as much as me! My classmates stared at the both of us as we said things like, "But... free food! How could you not go?" Also, she likes food as much as me!
This is probably not a surprise, given that she likes free food as much as me, but it's always good to find another person who talks about food as much as me! I told her some of my favorite places around here, and she told me of a good ramen place in San Mateo that I haven't heard of. Obviously, I must go and report.
After which, I went to a co-worker's place for a barbeque and had even more lovely food there!
And then!!
JOY! Farmers' market! I missed it last week, so I am super excited this week! Also, OMG STONE FRUITS! I mean, they were out last last week, but they are now there in full force. Every other stand was offering samples of white nectarines, white peaches, yellow peaches, nectarines, pluots, some other apricot-plum cross (aprums? hee!). Still, I beelined to the peas first! One must have priorities.
I have now progressed to buying completely insane amounts of peas, enough so that when shelled, I probably still have six cups or so. I seem to have been under the delusion that this was too much last time, but really, what was I thinking? How can one ever have too many peas? Especially since this means I can have peas tomorrow and the day after as well!
Well, if I don't eat them all tomorrow....
I then proceeded to load up on fruit -- found a cherry vendor that I like better than the one the last few times with fat, round, beautifully dark red Bing cherries. I didn't try the Rainiers; I like the tartness or additional oomph of the Bings, though I saw some Tulanes somewhere else and tried those, and those were pretty tasty too. Maybe next time I'll just get all three and have a cherry sampler type thing.
(Must pause for a second while the fact that I can have three different kinds of cherries at the same time soaks into brain! I am sure this isn't special, but... I never thought about it before! Different varieties! How amazing fruits and vegetables are! really I am not crazy, I swear. I am simply very fond of fruits and vegetables...)
Right.
I nearly got the cherry vendors' peaches as well, they were so good, but I wanted to see if there were any white peaches that were good yet. I love yellow peaches, but good white peaches are my favorite, probably because my mom always used to buy them in CA. Alas, the white peaches are still rather insipid, but I got some pretty tasty white nectarines and got yellow peaches elsewhere. I love just looking at the piles and piles of them, all fuzzy and dusky where the sun has hit them, and smelling that divine peachy smell around the stem. Gah. Ripe fruit. Nothing better.
And there was white corn!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUMMER!!!!!!!!! The stone fruits and cherries are definitely heralds of summer, as are the tomatoes that will come later, but for some reason, I just connect white corn with summer the most. It's odd. But I have white corn and cherries and peaches and nectarines and pluots and peas, and life couldn't possibly be better!
Oh, then I got strawberries and raspberries from the strawberry place I like (Santa Maria strawberries... they had another type, but I didn't try it then), then a wonderfully funny and flat red onion because I am not adventurous with my onions and want to be and a normal yellow onion. I was briefly tempted by cucumbers for cucumber yogurt sauce, but held off because I'm already going to make more granola tomorrow, plus split pea burgers and maybe something with the quinoa I bought a few days ago.
Whole Foods' grain aisle is very difficult to resist as well.
And just as I thought I was done, given that it was getting difficult to lug everything I had, I found a stand with pluots that weren't too sweet but were still ripe and pluot-y, so I got some of those. I love whoever invented pluots.
Alas and alack, I still didn't see any heirlooms, though I already had so much produce at that point that I probably would have keeled over if I tried to buy some anyway.
After I staggered out of the market with all my goodies, shelled, cooked and ate some peas, I proceeded to get more coffee at the favorite coffee store, have a little more lunch (to supplement the peas), and headed out to the Super Fancy Expensive Outdoor Mall so I could a) buy my third (3!) router (thank god, this one seems to work, hallelujah!), b) buy a salt cellar from the Store of Kitchen Porn (otherwise known as Sur La Table, although Williams-Sonoma also counts, as do other places), c) get a pedicure and d) sit in Borders and read Naruto.
For some reason, I can't for the life of me find a salt cellar with a flippy lid like the one Alton Brown uses.
But I did manage to get a working router (yay NetGear!) which is also really pretty because I'm shallow like that. And I got a pedicure, which I've never done before, so that was fun. Then, instead of going home, I wandered about with a hankering for seafood. Alas, the very New England-y seafood place was teeming, so I shall just have to go some other time to get raw oysters and deep-fried seafood, but I did manage to get a seat at the bar at Left Bank.
I'm not sure how much of a chain Left Bank is -- I know of three locations, but I'm pretty sure they're still a local Bay Area thing. Anyhow, it's a French bistro-style restaurant, intended to emulate the chef's grandmother's cooking, and I love it. It's not delicate French fare; it's coq au vin and pomme frites (not together, though you never know...), and they have the best calamari ever. Though I've recently heard that Nola's also has the best calamari ever, so of course this means I should go again and compare the two.
Anyhow, I passed on the calamari, since it was just me, but I got French onion soup. I discovered that I love their French onion soup last time I was here and my mom got it. Usually I shy away from ordering it, just because most restaurants make it entirely too salty, so it doesn't taste like onion at all. I mean... why? The best part is the onion! The cheese is very tasty as well, but it's the onions, all brown and carmelized, that make it good. Anyhow, Left Bank makes a lovely onion soup in which it tastes like thick oniony broth. It was sweet and carmelized and complex and had lots of body, and the glob of cheese and the bread on top didn't hurt. But oh, the onions!
Possibly, I am too fond of vegetables....
After that, I moved on to mussels steamed with shallotts and spinach with a white wine sauce. I've been craving mussels ever I saw that Good Eats rerun, but sadly, the onion soup was heartier than I thought, and I only ate a handful! But it was a good handful, and now I have lots for tomorrow! I'm so glad they had it steamed with only a very light sauce; I get really annoyed when people drown out the taste of seafood with strong sauces. I mean, I don't mind the sauces when they complement the seafood, but fresh seafood tastes so good that it's quite sad when I can only taste the sauce and not the seafood!
I've decided I like sitting at the bar. I used to feel a bit awkward going into restaurants by myself, but I am getting over that quickly! It's easier to feel less out of place at the bar, and there's the added bonus of being able to watch the bartender make drinks. Watching the mojitos being made was particularly cool, because the bartender had a ginormous wooden pestle that he used to crush the mint leaves. And I like watching the waiters and waitresses hanging around.
It was such a lovely weekend! I just realized that I haven't felt this happy and this unstressed at home for a long, long time (WisCon doesn't count because I didn't have to worry about dirty dishes and such at WisCon). Next week I shall be responsible and fold laundry and cook and do dishes, but oh, I feel much better now.
Also, I have three volumes of Naruto to read!
In conclusion, I need to start making food as good as the restaurants so I can eat like this ALL THE TIME!
I dragged them to Nola's, a New-Orleans-style restaurant, which I've only been to once but already adore. I had Ahi tuna mini tacos, which were basically seared Ahi with julienned jicama and cabbage and a wasabi paste, very delicious. I ended up not eating the mini tortillas, which were a little too floury and too difficult to eat with the tuna and the veggies, but I've decided that I very much like jicama.
Actually, I knew that before, but it's always nice to be reacquainted with a vegetable.
But the best thing ended up being the Nola's frites, which consisted of normal french fries, plus sweet potato fries and fried zuchinni, and oh, so good! Two wonderful sauces (ok, one was ketchup, but still, the other was a lovely creamy tangy thing) and they weren't too oily and the outsides were crispy and the insides were perfectly soft with enough to sink your teeth into, and they were spiced wonderfully as well. I've had sweet potato fries before and love them, but I think this is the first time I had fried zucchini. Alas, there were only a few pieces of the zucchini, but the fries were so good too.
rachelmanija, if you make it up here again, it's on my list of Restaurants to Drag People To.Then we headed down to my favorite coffee place ever (they roast their own beans), which is next to Bed Bath and Beyond. I splurged and bought myself a kitchen scale. And a little towel rack. And a new broom. Bed Bath and Beyond is difficult to resist. I also met one of my classmates' girlfriend for the first time, and it turns out she likes free food as much as me! My classmates stared at the both of us as we said things like, "But... free food! How could you not go?" Also, she likes food as much as me!
This is probably not a surprise, given that she likes free food as much as me, but it's always good to find another person who talks about food as much as me! I told her some of my favorite places around here, and she told me of a good ramen place in San Mateo that I haven't heard of. Obviously, I must go and report.
After which, I went to a co-worker's place for a barbeque and had even more lovely food there!
And then!!
JOY! Farmers' market! I missed it last week, so I am super excited this week! Also, OMG STONE FRUITS! I mean, they were out last last week, but they are now there in full force. Every other stand was offering samples of white nectarines, white peaches, yellow peaches, nectarines, pluots, some other apricot-plum cross (aprums? hee!). Still, I beelined to the peas first! One must have priorities.
I have now progressed to buying completely insane amounts of peas, enough so that when shelled, I probably still have six cups or so. I seem to have been under the delusion that this was too much last time, but really, what was I thinking? How can one ever have too many peas? Especially since this means I can have peas tomorrow and the day after as well!
Well, if I don't eat them all tomorrow....
I then proceeded to load up on fruit -- found a cherry vendor that I like better than the one the last few times with fat, round, beautifully dark red Bing cherries. I didn't try the Rainiers; I like the tartness or additional oomph of the Bings, though I saw some Tulanes somewhere else and tried those, and those were pretty tasty too. Maybe next time I'll just get all three and have a cherry sampler type thing.
(Must pause for a second while the fact that I can have three different kinds of cherries at the same time soaks into brain! I am sure this isn't special, but... I never thought about it before! Different varieties! How amazing fruits and vegetables are! really I am not crazy, I swear. I am simply very fond of fruits and vegetables...)
Right.
I nearly got the cherry vendors' peaches as well, they were so good, but I wanted to see if there were any white peaches that were good yet. I love yellow peaches, but good white peaches are my favorite, probably because my mom always used to buy them in CA. Alas, the white peaches are still rather insipid, but I got some pretty tasty white nectarines and got yellow peaches elsewhere. I love just looking at the piles and piles of them, all fuzzy and dusky where the sun has hit them, and smelling that divine peachy smell around the stem. Gah. Ripe fruit. Nothing better.
And there was white corn!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUMMER!!!!!!!!! The stone fruits and cherries are definitely heralds of summer, as are the tomatoes that will come later, but for some reason, I just connect white corn with summer the most. It's odd. But I have white corn and cherries and peaches and nectarines and pluots and peas, and life couldn't possibly be better!
Oh, then I got strawberries and raspberries from the strawberry place I like (Santa Maria strawberries... they had another type, but I didn't try it then), then a wonderfully funny and flat red onion because I am not adventurous with my onions and want to be and a normal yellow onion. I was briefly tempted by cucumbers for cucumber yogurt sauce, but held off because I'm already going to make more granola tomorrow, plus split pea burgers and maybe something with the quinoa I bought a few days ago.
Whole Foods' grain aisle is very difficult to resist as well.
And just as I thought I was done, given that it was getting difficult to lug everything I had, I found a stand with pluots that weren't too sweet but were still ripe and pluot-y, so I got some of those. I love whoever invented pluots.
Alas and alack, I still didn't see any heirlooms, though I already had so much produce at that point that I probably would have keeled over if I tried to buy some anyway.
After I staggered out of the market with all my goodies, shelled, cooked and ate some peas, I proceeded to get more coffee at the favorite coffee store, have a little more lunch (to supplement the peas), and headed out to the Super Fancy Expensive Outdoor Mall so I could a) buy my third (3!) router (thank god, this one seems to work, hallelujah!), b) buy a salt cellar from the Store of Kitchen Porn (otherwise known as Sur La Table, although Williams-Sonoma also counts, as do other places), c) get a pedicure and d) sit in Borders and read Naruto.
For some reason, I can't for the life of me find a salt cellar with a flippy lid like the one Alton Brown uses.
But I did manage to get a working router (yay NetGear!) which is also really pretty because I'm shallow like that. And I got a pedicure, which I've never done before, so that was fun. Then, instead of going home, I wandered about with a hankering for seafood. Alas, the very New England-y seafood place was teeming, so I shall just have to go some other time to get raw oysters and deep-fried seafood, but I did manage to get a seat at the bar at Left Bank.
I'm not sure how much of a chain Left Bank is -- I know of three locations, but I'm pretty sure they're still a local Bay Area thing. Anyhow, it's a French bistro-style restaurant, intended to emulate the chef's grandmother's cooking, and I love it. It's not delicate French fare; it's coq au vin and pomme frites (not together, though you never know...), and they have the best calamari ever. Though I've recently heard that Nola's also has the best calamari ever, so of course this means I should go again and compare the two.
Anyhow, I passed on the calamari, since it was just me, but I got French onion soup. I discovered that I love their French onion soup last time I was here and my mom got it. Usually I shy away from ordering it, just because most restaurants make it entirely too salty, so it doesn't taste like onion at all. I mean... why? The best part is the onion! The cheese is very tasty as well, but it's the onions, all brown and carmelized, that make it good. Anyhow, Left Bank makes a lovely onion soup in which it tastes like thick oniony broth. It was sweet and carmelized and complex and had lots of body, and the glob of cheese and the bread on top didn't hurt. But oh, the onions!
Possibly, I am too fond of vegetables....
After that, I moved on to mussels steamed with shallotts and spinach with a white wine sauce. I've been craving mussels ever I saw that Good Eats rerun, but sadly, the onion soup was heartier than I thought, and I only ate a handful! But it was a good handful, and now I have lots for tomorrow! I'm so glad they had it steamed with only a very light sauce; I get really annoyed when people drown out the taste of seafood with strong sauces. I mean, I don't mind the sauces when they complement the seafood, but fresh seafood tastes so good that it's quite sad when I can only taste the sauce and not the seafood!
I've decided I like sitting at the bar. I used to feel a bit awkward going into restaurants by myself, but I am getting over that quickly! It's easier to feel less out of place at the bar, and there's the added bonus of being able to watch the bartender make drinks. Watching the mojitos being made was particularly cool, because the bartender had a ginormous wooden pestle that he used to crush the mint leaves. And I like watching the waiters and waitresses hanging around.
It was such a lovely weekend! I just realized that I haven't felt this happy and this unstressed at home for a long, long time (WisCon doesn't count because I didn't have to worry about dirty dishes and such at WisCon). Next week I shall be responsible and fold laundry and cook and do dishes, but oh, I feel much better now.
Also, I have three volumes of Naruto to read!
In conclusion, I need to start making food as good as the restaurants so I can eat like this ALL THE TIME!
Tags:
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 11:49 am (UTC)He sells them on his website (it's where I got mine :)).
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 10:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 12:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 10:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 03:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 10:44 pm (UTC)Also, you were right, vol. 5 is awesome!
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 11:24 pm (UTC)Sasuke: Man, I don't know half this stuff. Naruto must not know any. He better not cheat.
Naruto: AIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! I'M GOING TO CHEAT!
Yay! I am so glad you got that far. It's also very well animated, so maybe I can screen those couple episodes when you come over.
Since it's so long since I first read the early volumes, and I read them out of order, what characters do you like best so far? Anyone striking you out of the exam candidates?
(no subject)
Wed, Jun. 21st, 2006 07:24 am (UTC)And oh, I got to vol. 6, and Sasuke says, "My chi is so out of whack, I overlooked a giant snake!" and I started cackling uncontrollably. Ahhhhh, Sasuke, I love you.
PS
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 11:26 pm (UTC)Re: PS
Wed, Jun. 21st, 2006 07:22 am (UTC)Re: PS
Wed, Jun. 21st, 2006 03:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 04:04 pm (UTC)We moved from the Bay Area to Seattle several years ago. There are many fine things about Seattle which I like a lot, but, oh! I miss the tomatoes and the stone fruits. We'll get some of the latter soon now, but it just doesn't get hot enough long enough here for good tomatoes.
If you ever make it to the East Bay, I highly recommend Cafe Esin in San Ramon to you. I was reminded of it by your mention of calamari. They used to serve it with a tarragon sauce that was soooooo good. I haven't been back in a couple of years now so I don't know if it's still on the menu but whatever they have will be good. They're especially good with salads and desserts. And right now I want a big helping of their shepard's salad with their bread pudding (or possibly their chocolate banana cream pie) for dessert. Damn! When can I get down there?
I'm so glad I discovered your LJ in the post-Wiscon discussion!
MKK--hmmm just realizing I need a food porn icon
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 04:07 pm (UTC)Okay, I'll quit spamming your LJ now.
MKK
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 10:47 pm (UTC)*drools* You had access to a garden in the Bay Area! That sounds wonderful! I'm still waiting to get the condo in shape so I can start having a small container garden on the balcony. I saw heirloom tomato plants at the market, and I really need to get some!
And thanks for the restaurant rec! That sounds so good!!! I saw the dessert menu for a restaurant have PB&J bread pudding, which totally amused me (I walk around and read menus for fun).
To reply to the comment below -- food spamming is always welcome! I take a book to restaurants as well, though half the time it's a bad idea because I'm trying to eat mussels with my fingers or somethign.
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 19th, 2006 11:27 pm (UTC)Do you mean to imply that not everyone compulsively reads menus displayed outside restaurants?
MKK
(no subject)
Wed, Jun. 21st, 2006 07:24 am (UTC)Amazingly, some people don't actually stop at all the menus!
(no subject)
Tue, Jun. 20th, 2006 12:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Wed, Jun. 21st, 2006 07:28 am (UTC)