oysters for dessert
by far one of the most fun lunch experiences i've had, considering we had oysters for dessert.
"let's have lunch at the ferry building in lieu of dinner this week."
"sounds good to me."
"okay, so you choose. mijita or hog island?"
"let's do mijita."
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"you have to get the albondigas here. extra delicious."
"sounds good to me!"
"yeah, i want a carne asada taco, too."
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"you guys ready to order?"
"yeah. how about a carnitas taco and a carne asada taco, and an order of albondigas?"
"yeah. something to drink?"
"a jarritos!"
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"jarrrrrrritos."
"how do you do that with your tongue??!?"
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"i thought mijita would be a good choice since, you know. dave's mexican and everything."
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"hey, how about some oysters afterward?"
"you mean, for dessert?"
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"we've already had lunch. but oysters, please!"
"six kumamotos and six sweetwaters!"
"awesome."
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miguel, ngoc, and dave: 2 oysters each
oysters: delicious!
jardiniere
jardiniére was kind of ridiculous.
to say the least, there was a continuous stream of food, which was kind of cool considering ann's boyfriend was one of the line cooks.
have i told you that we ate for five hours straight?
yeah, you read correctly. our reservations were at 7, and we didn't leave until past midnight.
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to eat:
-tanqueray 10 martini
-hama hama and kumamoto oysters
-foie gras terrine with sauternes gelée and tamarind gastrique
-watermelon, tomato, and ricotta salad
-maine diver scallop with white corn purée, cherry tomatoes, and summer truffle
-potato gnocchi with pancetta and chanterelles
-duck confit salad with blackberries, nectarines, and pistachios
-carnaroli risotto with corn, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, and parmigiano
-hoffman farm chicken with chanterelles, bacon, and onion jus
-halibut with artichokes and caperberries
-red wine braised shortribs with horseradish-potato purée
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in between:
mas de daumas gassac 2006
oliver jouan bourgogne rouge 2003
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for sweets:
-1999 oremus tokaji
-swanton farms strawberry tart with lemon confit and basil ice cream
-summer ices: plum, sauternes, and hazelnut
-bonne bouche platter: espresso crème brûlée, opera cake, madeleine, fruit jellies, chocolate tart, truffles, and various mignardises
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glasses of water consumed: 0.5
glasses of wine consumed: 4.5
napkin changes: 2
restroom breaks: 1
"kind of" ridiculous? okay, it was
really ridiculous.
un menu pour ngoc et dave
fromage en petits chariots"ohhhhhh shit!"
"what?"
"i just realized what you're doing with the bread and the cheese and the... ohhhhh!"
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soupe au basilic, fenouil, et crevette"you know, this reminds me of my mom's soup."
"dave wasn't supposed to tear off all the basil, was he?"
"no."
"oops."
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salade de tomates d'heritage et aïoli"i forgot the base at home, so we're gonna go ghetto and make garlic butter instead."
"fine by me!"
"man, this garlic butter is pretty intense."
"yeah, it's like, totally bad for you."
"i can't get enough of it, though!"
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epaule de porc braisée au lait sur riz
maïs et courgette d'été persillade"i'm looking forward to the corn."
"i'm looking forward to the meat!"
"oh, man."
"how did you get the corn and zucchini to be so savory?"
"oil."
"huh."
"oh, man."
"that bad?"
"are you kidding! i'm almost crying here, it's so good!"
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neige d'herbes fines
tisane de thim"ooh, it does look like snow!"
"yeah, dirty snow."
"it's good, but it's a bitch to eat."
"i should have brought a cheesecloth."
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pêche rôti au four au glacées simples"roasted peaches! oh my god!"
"taste this. it's like, spoonful of churro."
"oh yeah!"
"so i can't take much of this home. i'll take some ice cream--"
"we're keeping the churro!"
"sounds good to me!"
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winners. we are all winners.
chez panisse had to happen sometime
ngoc+dave upstairs at chez panisse cafe:
hand-stretched mozzarella with grilled bread and tomato salad
albacore tuna tartare with cucumber, preserved lemon, coriander and ginger
pizzetta with wild nettles and pecorino
herb fettuccine with wolfe ranch chicken and porcini mushroom ragu
monterey bay squid roasted in the wood oven with black-eyed peas, gypsy peppers, and tomato confit
grilled laughing stock farm pork leg and braised bacon with fig and fennel bread salad
california sea bass with fried artichokes, cherry tomatoes, and aioli
mint verbena tisane
summer berry sherbet with moscato d'asti and ossi dei morti
nectarine and blueberry cobbler with nectarine ice cream
vanilla ice cream with raspberries and peaches
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robin thicke is a musical god.
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oh my! six weeks left! in the yay area! call me if you're here! let's hang out!
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did i tell you robin thicke is a musical god?
two a's. america gets two a's.
i got an iphone. i knew this thing was going to be crazy when i called my mom and she said, "i totally want one!"
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paris je t'aime, ratatouille, transformers, live free or die hard.
i went from seeing no movies to seeing four in a week. is that compulsive?
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usually july fourth is this longstanding tradition of mine to look at fireworks that aren't by disneyland. there are so many cities that, as soon as sunset hits, blow up colorful things in the air. and i am freakishly sucked in it every time.
this time around, though, the fourth of july felt really adult for me. it was exactly what it stood for: independence. and in a few moments of that, you can really turn your head around on a few things.
it was hot, first of all; hot in the dry heat up in the mountains sense of hot. the dave picked me up and we headed to lakeview in tilden, where we were to meet with the rest of the host crew.
and then patriotism ensued, with ribs, chicken wings, sausages, strawberry shortcake, and lots and lots of beer.
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"you know what? i'm really glad you got to meet this group of people. whenever we plan something we assume that everyone else is going to get involved, even though we're a pretty motley crew. we barely even hang out anymore, but it's an excuse."
"i'm so glad you brought tunes."
and the clincher:
"the party starts when miguel gets here."
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le chevalchicken wings!
lots of rice.
mai tais.
clay pot fish.
crispy house noodles! with oodles of stuff!
overall yumminess!
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i got home and heard fireworks in the distance, and as instinct dictates, i rush over to look and see where they're coming from. i saw them in the distance, not too far away; they were probably close enough for me to go over and see them up close and firsthand.
in that very instant my heart sank, and i had to call the love of my life to tell them of the extreme nostalgia that had consumed me.
next door
"meet us around 7.30."
"i might be late; i'll be running a few errands and having meetings in the city."
"we'll catch you at north berkeley bart station."
"sounds like a plan. i'll call you when i get to macarthur."
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"so what should we start with?"
"i was thinking we should get the
salt cod and potato cazuela and
fried potatoes... we'll start there and get more accordingly."
"yeah, that sounds good. should we order the paella now? it says we should allow for 25 minutes."
"sure. the
paella too."
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"i think i'll have this
cuban manhattan, that sounds good."
"ngoc, you'll like the
sangria. they make it with moscato."
"i'll have that."
"and a
dolce-amaro for me, please."
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"okay, how about this: the
little gems salad with hazelnuts and avocado, the
steak a la plancha, one of the
chorizo bocadillos, the shrimp-stuffed
huevos rellenos, and those
clams and sausage in wine?"
"yeah, we should get something green. those little gems sound good."
"so long as we have the clams!"
"and the steak!"
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"i see three empty glasses here. what do you guys want?"
"a round of
caipirinhas, please!"
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"oh man, this is great!"
"these are delicious!"
"I'M DRUNK!"
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"and how about dessert?"
"the crema de chocolate looks good."
"oh man, you guys have to try the orange bread pudding here. you'll really like it."
"what about this saffron ice cream?"
"how about all three?"
"how about dessert wine?"
"they have a dessert flight."
"and a mexican coffee!"
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week three = great success.
