Fast Food - Mission Beach Cafe

It was a VERY long week, and I needed a beer and a burger or pizza or pasta or a burrito. Something comforting. So Daniel, the ever intrepid, and I headed out to explore our still new neighborhood.

First we hit up the The Liberties Bar for a couple of beers, and then we wandered the streets pondering our options. We debated Delfina and Little Star for pizza and Range for locavore action, but we finally we settled on Mission Beach Cafe in search of a well deserved burger and fries.

I'd been there once before for brunch, but I'd been recovering from a terrible bellyache, so all I'd had was an English muffin (housemade and delicious) and some poached eggs, oh and the best cup of coffee I've had in San Francisco.

Tonight though we were there with a mission (in the Mission I might add), and we both ordered burgers (served with tomato jam, onion marmalade, and lettuce, hold the cheese). We had a choice between regular fries and truffle fries with Parmesan cheese and being the equal opportunity gluttons that we area, we decided to split one of each. We started the meal with a broccoli rabe appetizer with cherry tomatoes and anchovy butter.

The app was a little rich for me, although the combination of the tart, firm cherry tomatoes with the crunchy texture of the broccoli and the sublime saltieness of the anchovy butter made for a really good couple of bites.

Then came the long-awaited, much anticipated burgers and fries. Daniel ate a bunch of truffle fries first, and he was very, very pleased with them. I was pleased too, they had a really distinct truffley flavor, made more piquant by the Parm, but like the broccoli rabe, I could only handle a few. But no matter, that left more room for the burger. Oh do I love hamburgers. I had mine medium and added some whole grain mustard to the mix. The burger was rich and juicy and perfectly cooked. I loved the tomato jam, which had a distinctly fruity flavor and the onion marmalade. My only complaint was that the bun was a little dry and too big, so it overwhelmed the amazing grassfed Prather ranch beef wonder. But otherwise, we were very, very pleased.

And the best part of living in an apartment that is surrounded by hills in all directions is that you can eat a big ole burger and not feel guilty as long as you walk home after...

Fast Food - Weird Fish

So my dear old friend Mookie B was in town last weekend, and what did we do? EAT!

Most of the places we hit up were old (well newish-old) friends like La Taqueria and Eji and Burma Superstar. But Saturday night we did try out Weird Fish in the Mission. We had anticipated a long wait, but because we were willing to sit at the weird counter at the back of the restaurant, we were seated very quickly, and it afforded us a view of all of the weird people who came in. Okay really only one table full of weird people, but they were really, very weird (top hat, long dreds, etc).

The food was delicious. From Daniel's little b. stack appetizer (roasted yams, spinach, goat cheese and marinated tofu), to Megan's side of sauteed spinach with raisins (so lightly cooked as to maintain their shape and crunch), to my grilled jamaican-style catfish in a spicy-citrus sauce, to Daniel's side of heavenly mashed yams with coconut milk (is it weird to have two dishes for dinner that include yams?) Their fish dishes were good too, although I liked mine best...

All in all a good night, and not too weird, if you don't count the waiters, one of whom didn't know how any of the fishes were cooked and the other of whom kept smelling wine glasses to guess what was in them...

With love from Rachel Ray

Tried some sweet breakfast treats recently from Everyday with Rachel Ray

To celebrate Daniel's first Sunday with NFL ticket, I made some monkey bread minis for him and Eric.



They weren't my favorites, but really, cinnamon, sugar, and loads of butter. It couldn't be too bad.

On another recent Sunday, I tried RR's peanut butter and jelly French toast. We had some leftover challah around, so I couldn't resist. Slices of bread with peanut butter and jelly spread on it, with chocolate chips thrown in just in case it wasn't rich enough. Then a little apricot syrup for good measure.

Fast Food - I Like Ikes

So the big news. We moved to San Francisco about a month ago. I couldn't handle living in the suburbs any longer. So it's been a whole new world of restaurants to explore. One of our favorites is a sandwich joint near our place called Ikes. They're only open during the day, so it's weekends only for me and my buddy Ike, but the sandwiches are so huge that they basically keep me full all week anyway.

Everything I've had so far there has been amazing - the Not so Sloppy Ike


Which is a vegan sloppy joe. I get it with avocado and jalapeno.


Other favorites include the various shredded chicken breast sandwiches, turkey burger, and salmon burger. Daniel always gets them with dirty sauce, a mayonnaise based sauce for which Ike's is famous. I of course can't handle the mayonnaise, but the sandwiches stand up just fine without it. They all come on freshly baked bread and are literally the yummiest sandwiches I've ever had. If it weren't already 6:00, I'd order one right now.

Playing catch up...

Although I failed to take pictures of some recent triumphs - our housewarming barbecue, poached halibut with mango slaw and avocado mash, grilled chicken with grilled stone fruits to name a few - here are some recent edible adventures...

Eric wanted a poppy-seed cake for his birthday, so I adapted my old friend Teddy's apple cake and made this nectarine poppy seed cake, replacing apples and walnuts with nectarines and poppy seeds. the blackberries on top were picked from Eric and Ariel's backyard!

The birthday boy blowing out the candles. I was pleased enough with this new version of the old standard that I made it again for my snack day in my Curriculum and Instruction class...

In our unpacking days, Daniel chows down on sushi. This is not from the place we've since settled on as ours, but they did have these really strange seaweed salad rolls...

Another snack for class - these were blueberry, lime, coconut pound cake muffins. They went over quite nicely...


Not my favorite of recent green market based meals, but not bad. This was poached chicken with blackberry relish; a rocket, avocado and heirloom tomato salad; and at Daniel's request Israeli couscous. Nice colors I think.

The View from Mountain View

Yes, it's been an awfully long time since I last posted, and much has changed. There was an extended period of living out of a suitcase, followed by an even more extended period of unpacking said suitcases and getting set-up.

We're now more or less there, although my desk chair is still not built. (Ahem, Daniel...) I've eased my way back into cooking and baking. Some highlights to come in a subsequent post. And we're slowly beginning to explore the culinary offerings of the Peninsula region. So far, we have a favorite burrito place, some solid Thai, and a fix for our once a week sushi habit that is luckily within walking distance. I'll report more as we find it.

So a quick tour of the kitchen, and then I'll do a little catch up slide show in the next post.

Yep, that's a dish washer, folks. And we've got a garbage disposal too. Some of the few perks of living in the suburbs.

Our strange electric range. I miss my Brooklyn gas stove very much. I like the electric oven though...

A wider view. This floor is incredibly difficult to keep clean.

A sampling of the bounty from the Mountain View green market. The one really ENORMOUS perk of living out here.

Fast Food - Taqueria Patzcuaro

So today I'm starting a new feature. Fast Food. Quick write-ups about restaurants I visit that are deserving of mention, but maybe not a long post. Or else a way to mention a place that I happen upon without my camera in tow. Or, let's be honest, a way for me to discuss a restaurant when I don't have time for the whole shebang.

So our first entry - Denver's Taqueria Patzcuaro. Daniel, his very old friend Ben, and I went there for lunch on Friday. We usually stick to El Taco de Mexico when in Daniel's hometown (their chile relleno burrito is t-d-f), but this time we decided to be adventurous and followed Ben's recommendation to TaqPatz.

On my insistence, we all shared an order of Tacos Albanils, four tacos on homemade corn tortillas with slices of grilled steak, fried potatoes, onions, and jalapenos. With a bit of lime drizzled on top. So delicious. Good greasy, flavorful beef. And really thinly sliced pieces of lightly fried potatoes, thus combining the taco and the French fry. What could be better?

I had the Camaron de Mojo de Ajo - shrimp sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and lime juice, served with rice, lettuce, guacamole, and tortillas. I went for this because it had been recommended on some online forums and because my stomach was, as always, pushing me away from the legumes I so badly wanted. But the shrimp were delicious, really moist and perfectly cooked, if a bit greasy. The guac was rich and creamy and those corn tortillas were just right.

So there you have it. I'd go into what Daniel and Ben ate (chile relleno burrito and chicken fajitas respectively), but I'm trying (and not succeeding) to be FAST. Tomorrow is the first day of school, after all. (eeek).

Oh well. The next installment will be faster. My goal will be to get these entries down to 150 words. Let's see if I can do it...