See you later

I am outtie. Headed over to Singapore for another work trip...this time though, I will be there for a week so I actually have the opportunity to alleviate my jet lag prior to getting some more jet lag.

Dinner at Bar Crudo

Perched on Bush and Stockton Streets next door to the Tunnel Top bar is a too cute, tiny little place called Bar Crudo. The menu is short and to the point...they have seafood. For those who like raw goods, they had wonderful bivalves (oysters, clams, mussels) and a "crudo sampler" which featured scallops on hummus, artic char with wasabi tobiko and some other yummy goodness. Forrest ordered a full cooked crab and it was possibly one of the meatier ones that I have ever seen.

One thing that is missing from this place...starch.
This place is not recommended as a post workout stop...it is less filling than sushi as this place doesn't come with rice. The food was wonderful, I was just too hungry to be eating there. We kept joking about the pit stop we were going to need to make on the way home for a hamburger and fries.

This spot would be PERFECT as a post shopping snack, in between meals.

Movie Revier: In Bruges

Went to see In Bruges on Friday night after work and a quick stop at Williams Sonoma. Can I reiterate how much I flipping LOVE that place? It is like Christmas every time I walk into a Williams Sonoma. Forrest has said "anything you want for the kitchen is no problem with me." meaning I have completely authority to buy one of everything at Willy S with no complaint from the hubby....he is creating a monster - LOL.

Back to the movie...eh.
We need to start watching some comedies because I am starting to get depressed and lose my faith in humanity with the string of movies we have seen lately. This one is about two hitmen who hide out in the Belgian city of Bruges after a royal fuck up at their last job. Things happen, there are midgets, hookers, fights with Canadians and lots of cocaine. It starts getting a little messy towards the end and leaves on a bit of an unresolved note.... It was entertaining but very dark.

Dinner at Farmer Brown

I have this love of soul food...primarily things that are fried and with loads of flavor. Particularly, I am an absolute fool for fried chicken...in our search for soul food in the city, Forrest and I found Hard Knox Cage off the 3rd St rail in Dogpatch. It's a great place for post hangover food but can oftentimes be a gut bomb.

This past date night, we finally went to Farmer Brown. It's located on the corner of Mason and Turk about a block from the Nordstrom downtown. Super cool place...very hip - I of course felt totally out of place in my post work clothes....somehow checkered slacks and a trench coat are not so cool in place like this. This place had a very speakeasy vibe.

But let's get to the food...holy shit, the food - was fucking amazing.
Farmer Brown's schtick is that they are "farm fresh soul food" meaning that they shop at the farmers market and all their stuff is made from organic, sustainable ingredients. One could argue that chi-chi farmers market is in direct contradiction to what down home soul food cooking represents...but I disagree. With it's roots in African farming and American plantations, it has much more to do with what farming historically was than the mono culture abomination that it is today. It was about making the best food with what the land provided to share with family and friends.

Back to the food. I had the fried chicken with greens and mac and cheese - holy moly, it was a damned near spiritual experience. Forrest had the short ribs with sweet potatoes and onion rings. Everything was wonderfully seasoned and fresh tasting....definitely going back.

Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

Went out to check out the movie "There Will Be Blood" on a date night one week after the Oscars. We both really appreciated "No Country For Old Men" and given that movie won a ton of awards except for best actor, we thought it appropriate to watch Daniel Day Lewis in his latest installment.

My first exposure to DDL was in "My Left Foot" and I was surprised to learn that he really wasn't mentally retarded in real life because his presence in the movie was literally profound. That said, I was curious to see how his latest interpretation was going to be.

3 words = He Deserves It.
He absolutely deserves the title of Best Actor. His ability to completely become the character with now reservation from the audience to picture him as any previous character from a previous movie makes him that powerful of an actor. The subject matter of the movie is not one that I particularly cared for and the score was quite taxing but his acting, the character that he played carried the entire movie. He makes you hate and feel sorry for him by the end of movie.

Chez Papa

I have been diligently trying to convince Forrest of moving to the Potrero Hill neighborhood in San Francisco. Sandwiched between 280, 3rd Street and just before 20th Street is what I perceive to be one of the cutest neighborhoods in the city with some AMAZING views of downtown. Primarily a neighborhood of single family homes in the classic city styles, there is always ample parking while still being a few minutes away from Noe Valley, The Mission and Downtown. And with the arrival of the latest San Francisco Whole Foods, this neighborhood is quickly crowding.

So lately we've been heading out there for date night dinners...all part of my master plan.

This week we hit up Chez Papa..a yummy little southern french place where the servers all have heavy accents and sometimes don't get your jokes but the food is hearty and good.

Chez Mama is just down the street and literally the size of a hallway and serves bistro food...one of the best croque madames I have had in the city. Better than Cafe de la Presse in my opinion.

Forrest just learned that an outpost of Chez Papa will be opening in downtown near the Westfield mall.... We'll be there.

Book Review: Early Bird

Just finished this book the other day. A quick enteratining read... If you ever wondered what it would be like to retire early...and I mean WAY early - like in your late 20's? Then this is the book for you.

Rodney is a TV show writer who leaves LA and moves to a retirement community in Florida. And thus the madness ensues. If you want to read it, I have a copy.

Susan & Julie's Baby Shower

The guests of honor digging into their bounty. I cannot believe that they have each only gained 13 pounds. Julie is due in mere weeks!!! I gained 13 pounds just talking about the possibility of having children one day.

Finally after MUCH anticipation, I am able to post the pictures of the diaper cakes! I made one for Susan and one for Julie. The best part was each they are having a girl and boy, respectively so I was able to use all of the appropriate colors.

Our big bellies. That's me on the left and Forrest on the right. I was trying to think of ways to have games at a co-ed baby shower that would be funny for both boys and girls. So the first game was a contest to see who had the best fake pregnancy belly. Chester won by a landslide with his enormous pillow baby that was literally creeping out of his sides.

Baby bottle drinking race. Greg won by a sip! Craig was a little deficient in his inability to drink from a bottle...he not only choked, he tried to play off his loss by saying the bottle was "defective."

Big belly contestants. The winners holding their bounty.