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Oyster Shooter

This little gem included three (3) oysters. A quail egg. Delicious herbs. Etc.  A little pricey at $7, but totally savory and delicious. If you’re in the neighborhood try one.

Pardon the mediocre photography. kbye.

    

Falun Dafa and Niketown

I love this picture of the Falun Dafa celebration with the Niketown billboard in the background. How San Francisco.  

Other notable events from this weekend:

- Iron Man 2. I totally want to have Tony Stark’s babies.
- The amazing Vietnamese meal at Annalien.
- Spending quality time with a great son and great friends.
- The Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance car show.
- Ending the weekend with no dirty dishes in the sink.  
- Norman Rose, Uva Trattoria, Cole’s Chop House, Shalimar, and Pizzeria Azzurro.

Life is hard in the Bay Area. kbye.

ps. Favorite quote from The Office rerun said by Michael Scott, “Toby, it’s called an orientation not a borientation.”

Another Sunday Breakfast

I love making a fancy little breakfast on Sundays. It’s my favorite. I wish I could have shared this one with my mom for Mother’s Day.

This weekend I saw Kick-Ass. I can’t say enough good things about it. I was expecting it to be another guilty pleasure, but it blew me away. We’re talking laugh out loud and serious action/violence. Followed up the movie with some amazing soul food at House of Soul. Best collard greens I’ve ever had. It was a perfect Saturday.

AllRightByeByeNow.

I made myself a little brunch this morning. The eggs are scrambled in a jalapeno EVOO. Dee-LISH. bybynow.

Ricotta Chick Pea Ravioli in a Parmesan Wild Mushroom Broth
2005 Pommard 1er Cru Fremiers, Roux Père & Fils

Prime Angus Rib Eye Served Rare with Cheddared Pearl Tapioca and Rutherford Red Wine Sauce
2005 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

Cheese Platter with Port 

5. TriMet + a curious toddler = Best giggles in a long time.
4. Chicken Normande – Lisa’s  ”Panty Dropper” dinner. 
3. BEAST – 5 Star Food
2. Powell’s Books – Best Bookstore Ever. Can’t wait to read Requiem for a Paper Bag.
1. Pine State Biscuits - OMG, comfort food so tasty it’s sinful.

kbye.

BEAST Hash

Rhubarb Clafoutis
Vanilla Whipped Cream
Candied Hazelnuts & Maple Glazed Bacon

-BEAST Hash-
Confit Pork Shoulder
Market Potatoes,  Spring Asparagus
Poached Farm Egg
Hollandaise

Selection of Steve’s Cheese
Gathering Together & Mixed Wild Greens
Aged Balsamic & Sherry Vinaigrette

Chocolate Truffle Cake
Cardamom Ice Cream & Candied Cocktail Citrus

In the top 5 Best. Meals. Ever.  omgbye.

Oh, you haven’t heard?  I totally went to Hawaii.  It was awesome, amazing, relaxing, and perfect.  It was more than I’d hoped for.  

Sea Turtle and Me

 Highlights? Don’t mind if I do.

- I will never get tired of snorkeling. It was all I wanted to do. I snorkeled at Shark’s Cove, Turtle Bay, Hanauma Bay, and Kailua. Shark’s Cove and Hanauma were my favorite spots.

- Sea turtles are my new best friends, and I saw them every single day.  They startled me on occasion because they are pretty big, but overall they had a very calming effect on me. They hung out, floated, and swam with me.  I love them.

- The ocean is no joke. There was a day of snorkeling at Hanauma when I got my butt handed to me.  The current banged me into coral and rocks…eek. Then I saw three turtles all together.  I immediately calmed down and it turned out to be a great day of snorkeling. 

- Coral is gnarly.  I have one coral wound in particular that is still trying to heal weeks later.  Full of bacteria that stuff is.  It puts the hurt on.

- Glider ride over Oahu’s North Shore.  What an adventure!  Saw a humpback whale.  Saw where LOST is filmed.  Floated in the air for 20 minutes over the ocean. 

- Honolulu is like most major cities.  Tons of traffic, lots of dirty areas, run down buildings, etc.  I would have thought I was in San Francisco if weren’t for the sunshine, palm trees,  and pink hibiscus flowers painted all over the pay phones. Speaking of pay phones, there are quite a few of them scattered around the island.

- Body Surfing.  Although I never really mastered it I am proud to say I learned how at Waimea Bay.  Then I tried it again at Makapu.  The only thing I really learned is that the ocean is serious business.

- Here in Napa I am used to seeing taco trucks every few blocks.  In North Shore they have shrimp trucks lined up! Shrimp trucks that doled out glorious plates of the most garlicky shrimp you ever did taste.  Giovanni’s was my favorite, hands down.

- Turtle Bay had interesting creatures.  There were skinny, translucent eel things, pink sea cucumbers, pretty shells, turtles, etc.  There was a flat, sideways, earthy-toned fish that blended in almost perfectly with the ocean floor. If anyone knows the name of it please tell me. I googled “sideways fish that blends into the ocean floor” but got nothing.

- Hanauma Bay had the most turtles, parrotfish, urchins, and puffer fish; cute, chubby, polka dot puffer fish. And I can’t tell you how awesome it is to see a small school of huge, bright parrotfish swim right in front of you. 

- Shark’s Cove and Kailua had the brightest pink, purple, and orange coral.  I loved Shark’s Cove because it felt very Blue Lagoon (which incidentally is my new favorite movie, along with The Little Mermaid.)  A big wave would crash over the rocks while snorkeling and it would leave crabs clinging to the rocks.  That was fun to see.

- The sand is very sticky.  At almost all the beaches in Oahu the sand is coarse and sticky.  It would be hours later and my feet and ankles would look like they were covered in sesame seeds. 

- Yohei Sushi, one of my top 5 best meals ever!  Anyone who knows me knows that I am harsh critic when it comes to gourmet dining.  I had dinner omakase style at Yohei Sushi in Honolulu.  Amazing. Absolutely amazing.  Raw abalone liver made it a fun adventure. 

- My lodgings. I stayed in the cutest tiki loft ever on Kailua Beach.

- Tsunami Warning.  On the final day of my trip I woke up at 6am to loud air sirens.  I was told it was a tsunami warning triggered by the earthquake in Chile’.   I read the news online and got very nervous.  Then I learned I had about an hour to get to the airport before they started closing major roads.  Everything turned out fine, but it was an adventure until the very end. 

That about covers the highlights.  I was worried I would go to Hawaii and never want to leave.  Kind of like a taste of honey is worse than none at all.   Although I can’t wait to go back I am happy to just visit there, a lot.  My life has a plan right now, and I like it.  For now I’ll put Hawaii on my list of places I’d like to retire. 

Thanks for listening.  That was nice of you.  ok. bye.

My 40th birthday is next week. I thought I’d be okay with it, but I’m kinda skerred. 

I needn’t worry.  It’s turning out to be a great birthday.  My bff is hosting me a birthday party on Saturday night.  The theme is bacon, and Justin Timberlake is going to jump out of my birthday cake while Metallica and Tenacious D sing me Happy Birthday.  
I’m serious, the theme is bacon. 

Saturday morning starts with Cathy at Terra Spa for facials and massages. Steam room, cucumber water, robes and slippers ensure spa greatness.

Saturday evening brings the bacon birthday bash.  I’m so excited!  I seriously need to calm down.  I hope I get a spanking.

Monday has blown me away.  My favorite Indian restaurant, Allspice, is opening just to host me a birthday lunch with a special menu! Can you believe it?  So far there are 16 people in attendance for that. 

I’m so fortunate.  I appreciate every little gesture that has been put into this birthday.  I hope I make my friends feel as special as they make me feel.