As a treat for Fernando, we are staying at the Bancroft Hotel on Bancroft Avenue, about a block west of International House. I thought he would enjoy staying almost in the same location as he did when he was a student. The Hotel is a former women's club, which then turned sorority and then in 1989, after the earthquake, was closed and retrofitted. In 1990 it opened as a hotel - or at least that was the history that one of the staff gave us.
Our room is small and there is no elevator so we have to hike up the stairs to our room on the third floor. I'm finding that by the end of the day, my right knee is quite stiff so I'm rethinking stairs after this trip. Yesterday we spent all day in San Francisco, following the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf on foot, riding it back to Sutter, walking down to Grant, then along Grant till Stockton came out of the tunnel, down Stockton to Broadway, then back to Columbus, to Montgomery and eventually up Montgomery to Market. It was at that point, when my right knee started complaining, that I realized that the BART stations don't believe in escalators!! The majority of exits are by stairs with a couple of elevators. Wait 10 years when all the baby boomers have decrepit knees and the elevator lines are as long as the cable car lines. In DC they have lots of escalators, especially those going up. But I digress...
Our hotel room opens unto a little shared balcony with four full length glass doors, the only disadvantage being that you can't sleep with the windows open since there are only the doors. But it is cool enough here that the room doesn't get overheated. I'm just glad that one can open the windows and not have to rely on air conditioners for a breath of fresh air.
The shampoo/conditioner/body lotion/soaps are by EO and are wonderfully fragrant. I'm taking them home. I don't think I'll be able to afford the real thing unless they show up in Marshalls. The hotel markets itself as sustainable and ecologically friendly and they have a container for trash and one for recyclables. Their morning continental breakfast has real dishes and silverware so one doesn't have to eat with plastic forks and paper plates, although they have those too (I think they are made of corn or potatoes).
Papi has picked up a Berkeley sweatshirt (all the Asian students wear them) and has revisited all the old haunts of his student days, like Kips, where we went with the Latin students for pizza and beer, although now the majority of the room is taken up by a bar and we were about the only ones there -- of course it was only 5 pm and it is the summer. We ate french fries along with the beer and so were too tired and full to stop by Top Dog for a hot dog. That's where Fernando took my on our first 'date'. We were supposed to go out later after a short 'rest' but I was still asleep at 11 pm and Fernando decided to call it a day...
This morning we hope to go up to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden before we leave for Susan's. I'll add photos later.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chez Panisse
Yes. We actually went to that Berkeley food landmark last night for dinner. On Tuesday Camila said we should at least try to go to the Cafe upstairs so she got online to make reservations at OpenTable and found she could make reservations for the downstairs dining room (the real Chez Panisse) for Wednesday at 8:30 pm or Thursday at 9:15 pm. The 8:30 time sounded more reasonable for us and the menu was more appealing:
California white sea bass crudo with black pepper and cucumber granita
Roasted eggplant ravioli with pine nuts, tomato, and mint
Salmon Creek Ranch duck grilled over fig wood with new potatoes, green beans, and morel mushroom sauce
Royal Blenheim apricot soufflé with noyau crème anglaise
Although now that I look at the Thursday night menu, it sounds awfully good as well:
Fried squash blossoms with sheeps milk ricotta and pickled gypsy peppers
Zuppa di vongole with shell beans and basil
Grilled Llano Seco Ranch pork loin with amaranth greens, sage, and eggplant roasted in the coals
Toasted almond crespelle with Masumoto Family Farm peaches and raspberry ice cream
Do you think we could go twice??
It was very hard waiting for 8:30 pm to roll around yesterday. We got up at 3 am (12 am Pacific Coast Time) to catch our 6:15 am flight to Oakland so it was really 11:30 pm when we sat down to eat. We tried not to eat too much during the day but at 11:00 am Fernando was getting hungry and actually tried to get me to eat at Chipotle's next to REI off of Gilman street (near the married student housing in Albany). Instead I got him to feed me a cheese enchilada and a chile relleno at a Mexican hole in the wall across the street. Not bad but I really don't care for that brownish gravy they tend to put on chiles rellenos in some establishments...
But when 8:30 rolled around we were really hungry -- and also almost falling asleep -- so we were a pack of yawns. The Maitre D was French and said that later he would take us over to look at the kitchen since we weren't sitting by the kitchen (something Camila had requested). The inside of the restaurant is subdued with Craftsman decor and since they were burning fig wood in the kitchen, had a slight smokey aroma. We decided not to order the wine pairings (we wanted to make it back to the hotel) and got right down to business but the wait staff always had time for some chit chat. The Maitre d' asked if were were from out of town and we told him from Pittsburgh so it turned out that the other Maitre d was also from Pittsburgh. We chatted with him later and it turned out that he wasn't from Pittsburgh but his wife was and they had lots of relatives back in Greensburg, Latrobe and Ligonier. And by the way one of the chefs was also from Pittsburgh... That's why Pittsburgh has so few good restaurants. All the chefs are here...
The waiter dropped off a small appetizer of pickled okra and padron peppers -- grown by a farmer up in Sonoma. They were pretty tiny peppers and didn't have any bite. In Spain they are typically eaten larger and fried as tapas. I grew them the year after we went on the Camino and they did very well. Some are spicy and others aren't.
The first course of raw California Sea Bass (caught off the Santa Cruz coast) was nice. They had salted the fish slightly and the cucumber gelee reminded me of Gaga's cucumber jello salad and went well with it. They had chervil on top, confirmed by the sommelier who said it grew wild here. I told her it reseeded itself quite well in Pittsburgh too. Earlier we had talked about how easy California had it using "local" produce. How could you brag about that in California? They should try cooking local in Pittsburgh! And try catching some local sea bass in the Allegheny River! She asked if there were any native plant foods in the farmers markets. I told her I'd only seen ramps in the East End Food CoOp. No serviceberries at all. We don't even have a forager with wild mushrooms, although maybe I should go check out the farmers market in the strip. It's more upscale. She was surprised that we only had farmers markets from May through November.
The second course of roasted eggplant ravioli was good, although Fernando wasn't thrilled with it ('Lydia makes better ravioli...') -- maybe because it was al dente, except he really liked the sauce which was simple but tasty. Maybe roasted eggplant needs a little oil to carry the smokey flavor (like the sesame paste in baba ghanouj). We used up a lot of the bread sopping up the sauces -- it looked like we licked the plates. One of the breads was a levain and had the sourdough taste which I really liked but Fernando claimed it was burned and preferred the short crusty baguette. In any case, he made short work of a foot-long loaf.
Fernando's favorite course was the duck, which he loves (along with lamb). It was extremely tender and tasty - the best duck I've had. Roasting it over a wood fire made it even tastier although I'm not convinced that fig wood imparts a flavor different from other woods. I wonder what eucalyptus wood would do. I gave Fernando my potatoes because the moment I took my first bite of duck (with the skin) I realized I'd eaten too many pieces of bread and wouldn't last till dessert. I couldn't even mop up the juices with the bread this time!
Fortunately the apricot soufflé was good and tart with a sprinkling of sugar caramelized on top. They gave us a little pitcher of the noyau crème anglaise but it really didn't need it. On the other hand, how were we going to let that apricot kernel sauce go to waste?? So of course we ate that too. Fernando asked if I could make an apricot soufflé at home. I told him we didn't have any "local" apricots... Although that isn't true - the farmers market will have a few teeny ones for a couple of weeks in early summer.
Yes, watching other people enjoy their wine with dinner made me a little sad but if we'd gone that route we probably would still be at Chez Panisse this morning...
Now we can say we've done it. And we have the menus to prove it.
California white sea bass crudo with black pepper and cucumber granita
Roasted eggplant ravioli with pine nuts, tomato, and mint
Salmon Creek Ranch duck grilled over fig wood with new potatoes, green beans, and morel mushroom sauce
Royal Blenheim apricot soufflé with noyau crème anglaise
Although now that I look at the Thursday night menu, it sounds awfully good as well:
Fried squash blossoms with sheeps milk ricotta and pickled gypsy peppers
Zuppa di vongole with shell beans and basil
Grilled Llano Seco Ranch pork loin with amaranth greens, sage, and eggplant roasted in the coals
Toasted almond crespelle with Masumoto Family Farm peaches and raspberry ice cream
Do you think we could go twice??
It was very hard waiting for 8:30 pm to roll around yesterday. We got up at 3 am (12 am Pacific Coast Time) to catch our 6:15 am flight to Oakland so it was really 11:30 pm when we sat down to eat. We tried not to eat too much during the day but at 11:00 am Fernando was getting hungry and actually tried to get me to eat at Chipotle's next to REI off of Gilman street (near the married student housing in Albany). Instead I got him to feed me a cheese enchilada and a chile relleno at a Mexican hole in the wall across the street. Not bad but I really don't care for that brownish gravy they tend to put on chiles rellenos in some establishments...
But when 8:30 rolled around we were really hungry -- and also almost falling asleep -- so we were a pack of yawns. The Maitre D was French and said that later he would take us over to look at the kitchen since we weren't sitting by the kitchen (something Camila had requested). The inside of the restaurant is subdued with Craftsman decor and since they were burning fig wood in the kitchen, had a slight smokey aroma. We decided not to order the wine pairings (we wanted to make it back to the hotel) and got right down to business but the wait staff always had time for some chit chat. The Maitre d' asked if were were from out of town and we told him from Pittsburgh so it turned out that the other Maitre d was also from Pittsburgh. We chatted with him later and it turned out that he wasn't from Pittsburgh but his wife was and they had lots of relatives back in Greensburg, Latrobe and Ligonier. And by the way one of the chefs was also from Pittsburgh... That's why Pittsburgh has so few good restaurants. All the chefs are here...
The waiter dropped off a small appetizer of pickled okra and padron peppers -- grown by a farmer up in Sonoma. They were pretty tiny peppers and didn't have any bite. In Spain they are typically eaten larger and fried as tapas. I grew them the year after we went on the Camino and they did very well. Some are spicy and others aren't.
The first course of raw California Sea Bass (caught off the Santa Cruz coast) was nice. They had salted the fish slightly and the cucumber gelee reminded me of Gaga's cucumber jello salad and went well with it. They had chervil on top, confirmed by the sommelier who said it grew wild here. I told her it reseeded itself quite well in Pittsburgh too. Earlier we had talked about how easy California had it using "local" produce. How could you brag about that in California? They should try cooking local in Pittsburgh! And try catching some local sea bass in the Allegheny River! She asked if there were any native plant foods in the farmers markets. I told her I'd only seen ramps in the East End Food CoOp. No serviceberries at all. We don't even have a forager with wild mushrooms, although maybe I should go check out the farmers market in the strip. It's more upscale. She was surprised that we only had farmers markets from May through November.
The second course of roasted eggplant ravioli was good, although Fernando wasn't thrilled with it ('Lydia makes better ravioli...') -- maybe because it was al dente, except he really liked the sauce which was simple but tasty. Maybe roasted eggplant needs a little oil to carry the smokey flavor (like the sesame paste in baba ghanouj). We used up a lot of the bread sopping up the sauces -- it looked like we licked the plates. One of the breads was a levain and had the sourdough taste which I really liked but Fernando claimed it was burned and preferred the short crusty baguette. In any case, he made short work of a foot-long loaf.
Fernando's favorite course was the duck, which he loves (along with lamb). It was extremely tender and tasty - the best duck I've had. Roasting it over a wood fire made it even tastier although I'm not convinced that fig wood imparts a flavor different from other woods. I wonder what eucalyptus wood would do. I gave Fernando my potatoes because the moment I took my first bite of duck (with the skin) I realized I'd eaten too many pieces of bread and wouldn't last till dessert. I couldn't even mop up the juices with the bread this time!
Fortunately the apricot soufflé was good and tart with a sprinkling of sugar caramelized on top. They gave us a little pitcher of the noyau crème anglaise but it really didn't need it. On the other hand, how were we going to let that apricot kernel sauce go to waste?? So of course we ate that too. Fernando asked if I could make an apricot soufflé at home. I told him we didn't have any "local" apricots... Although that isn't true - the farmers market will have a few teeny ones for a couple of weeks in early summer.
Yes, watching other people enjoy their wine with dinner made me a little sad but if we'd gone that route we probably would still be at Chez Panisse this morning...
Now we can say we've done it. And we have the menus to prove it.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Macau 2012 - Round 2!
Last time we went to Macau, it was a rather slapdash trip during which we hit some of the casinos, walked around the downtown and all too soon, were back on the speedboat to Hong Kong. This time, I think both Mandy and I would like to plan this visit out a bit more. After watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations trip to Macau, I think we'll be spending a lot more time in the old town than the casino areas (although no trip to Macau can be complete without at least a little gambling).
I'm making a google map for our trip so we'll have a gameplan for hitting the highlights, but I really wish there were an option to turn off the Chinese script when looking at the map. They have the English/Portuguese translations but with all those characters, it's impossible to see what's what! The site I kept running across when I searched for "Macau walking tour" was from Frommers, and it is not bad. But the biggest problem for me was that there was no map to go along with the tour! And finding the corresponding streets and buildings on Google Maps was nearly impossible.
Thankfully I was browsing other travel forums and found the site of the Macau Government Tourist Office (duh!) which has SEVEN walks with CORRESPONDING MAPS! It's amazing that despite the fact that in many places I've been, some of the best information is from the tourism office, yet I still forget to look at their site when looking towards my next trip. Argh, well lesson learned...maybe.
I'll have to keep looking, but I think these walks will at least give us a start. My next goal is to find some reliable eating recommendations. Unfortunately, Yelp does not extend to Macau (yet!), but there is a Chinese website, Rice bowl, or something like that that Mandy has been using. Anthony Bourdain's website is ok, but they list only like 5 restaurants, and some are a bit high-priced (like the Michelin starred dim sum).
I'm making a google map for our trip so we'll have a gameplan for hitting the highlights, but I really wish there were an option to turn off the Chinese script when looking at the map. They have the English/Portuguese translations but with all those characters, it's impossible to see what's what! The site I kept running across when I searched for "Macau walking tour" was from Frommers, and it is not bad. But the biggest problem for me was that there was no map to go along with the tour! And finding the corresponding streets and buildings on Google Maps was nearly impossible.
Thankfully I was browsing other travel forums and found the site of the Macau Government Tourist Office (duh!) which has SEVEN walks with CORRESPONDING MAPS! It's amazing that despite the fact that in many places I've been, some of the best information is from the tourism office, yet I still forget to look at their site when looking towards my next trip. Argh, well lesson learned...maybe.
St. Pauls Ruins/Camoes Garden
Last time we saw St. Paul's Ruins and the Macau Museum and while I'd like to revisit that area, I'd also like to try something new. Here's the map of the St. Paul's and Camoes Garden walk. This walk starts at the famous Largo de Senada (Senate Square) with its classic wavy tile pattern and works through St. Paul's and over to Camoes Garden. There are some "antique" stores along the route but in general this is a pretty tourist-heavy area.
Guia Hill & Sao Lazaro
This route seems to be a bit less of the shopping side and more of the wonderful architecture to be found in Macau. It starts at the highest point in Macau, Guia Hill and should have some nice views. But one of the things I like best is that there is a cable car! I'll have to keep looking, but I think these walks will at least give us a start. My next goal is to find some reliable eating recommendations. Unfortunately, Yelp does not extend to Macau (yet!), but there is a Chinese website, Rice bowl, or something like that that Mandy has been using. Anthony Bourdain's website is ok, but they list only like 5 restaurants, and some are a bit high-priced (like the Michelin starred dim sum).
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A New Rambler
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| Peter Daniel Cichello |
Born Easter Sunday, he arrived with a lot of fanfare. Peter Daniel Cichello was born at 4:25 am and weighed in at 7 lbs 14.9 oz. and 50.5 cm. (c 20"). His birth and first minutes were tricky, but now he and mom are doing very well. And they all may get to go home today.
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| Here he is with his proud parents, Paul and Camila |
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| The red light monitor is to show how very special he is! |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Las Vegas!
So this year we actually managed to get a small refund on our taxes!! After two years of paying through the nose each april, we got a CPA this year and man is it worth it. So although we have been ramping our savings this year for that potential house, we've also decided to enjoy ourselves a bit with a brief trip to....LAS VEGAS!
Now mandy's never been much of a gambler (she prefers to watch me lose my money) so we're trying to see what other types of things there are to do in Vegas. We have a car so walking distance is not a prerequisite (especially since we'll be staying at Mandelay Bay where pretty much everything is driving distance).
So far some of the things we've come up with....
- Pinball Hall of Fame
- Dig This. A worksite where you get to drive heavy excavation equipment! Too bad it's crazy expensive ($249 for a few hours). Maybe I should just get a part time construction/demolition job!
- The Atomic Testing Museum also looks interesting!
- Phantom, at the Venetian is an Andrew Lloyd Weber aided revisiting of The Phantom of the Opera and has been doing well for five years (although how I never heard of it before I don't know). But shoudn't this be at Paris - Las Vegas?
- ...and of course, The Neon Boneyard looks like lots of fun too! It was on Storage Wars recently and seems like an interesting part of Las Vegas history.
And of course, we plan on eating very well while we are there too.
On our list so far...
- The Wicked Spoon (yes I know...buffets are evil. but look at those desserts!!)
- the Spring Mountain Road area has quite a variety of more ethnic restaurants including the Monta Noodle House, Kinh Do, and Asian BBQ and Noodle (the last of which Mandy is very excited about because it seems "very hong kong" to use her words)
- KoMex Fusion Express - Bulgogi burritos! After being disappointed by the Kogi truck in LA, maybe it's time for another try at the Korean/Mexican fusion thing.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
San Francisco??
Jen's parents are going to spend a month in California and Will and I were giving them some suggestions for San Francisco, at which point I thought I better save some of these recommendations for ourselves, in case we go there for our anniversary:
When we went to San Francisco as kids with my parents, we always had to eat one night at Grotto #9 at Fisherman's Wharf where we filled up on sourdough bread and butter but I don't know if it is the same as 50 years ago! We also always went to Schroeder's German Restaurant, but it was always very formal and reserved and their website makes it seem a bit rambunctious now with Polka bands. Apparently they still have the murals on the walls, which are not to be missed. They had the most wonderful brown breads and potato salad, which apparently they still have: All dinners are served with choice of German potato salad or cole slaw as appetizer, German bread and butter.
I also remember the wonderful dark rye bread at the Cinderella Bakery that Mother, Daddy, Penny and I visited in the 1990s. I found the Shanghai influence there unusual and I don't see any Shanghai noodles on their menu now -- their cafe menu looks nice and Russian, with pelmeni and piroshki and borscht. And any talk about San Francisco bakeries leads me back to the Fantasia Bakery that baked the desserts at Schroeder's and that was run by the father of one of my UC Santa Cruz housemates. I ran across this little blog posting about him in Culinary Muse.
The Tadich Grill is also interesting and it's been there a long time, although I don't remember going there as a kid, just hearing Mother and Daddy talk about it. I went once as an adult and enjoyed the little private curtained rooms. Fish and french fries are always good.
I've always wanted to go to the Cliff House to eat. You can see where it is on this map of 38 Essential San Francisco Restaurants. And their Wednesday night prix fixe menu at the Bistro is only $25/person (can that be right?) with cioppino and creme brulee!
The San Francisco Chronicle has a list of top 100 restaurants in the Bay area, but they are upscale and trendy, I'm afraid. They do list the prime rib place that Will was referring to: The House of Prime Rib. I've never been. Daddy took us to Tommy's Joynt instead -- but only for lunch for corned beef or pastrami sandwiches. I think he also went for the beer -- unfortunately I was too young to enjoy that aspect.
We'll have to go to a Chinese and a Japanese restaurant, and it's better if we find a little undiscovered hole in the wall and not a hoity toity place that has been gushed over in the media and that serves trendy cocktails.
When we went to San Francisco as kids with my parents, we always had to eat one night at Grotto #9 at Fisherman's Wharf where we filled up on sourdough bread and butter but I don't know if it is the same as 50 years ago! We also always went to Schroeder's German Restaurant, but it was always very formal and reserved and their website makes it seem a bit rambunctious now with Polka bands. Apparently they still have the murals on the walls, which are not to be missed. They had the most wonderful brown breads and potato salad, which apparently they still have: All dinners are served with choice of German potato salad or cole slaw as appetizer, German bread and butter.
I also remember the wonderful dark rye bread at the Cinderella Bakery that Mother, Daddy, Penny and I visited in the 1990s. I found the Shanghai influence there unusual and I don't see any Shanghai noodles on their menu now -- their cafe menu looks nice and Russian, with pelmeni and piroshki and borscht. And any talk about San Francisco bakeries leads me back to the Fantasia Bakery that baked the desserts at Schroeder's and that was run by the father of one of my UC Santa Cruz housemates. I ran across this little blog posting about him in Culinary Muse.
The Tadich Grill is also interesting and it's been there a long time, although I don't remember going there as a kid, just hearing Mother and Daddy talk about it. I went once as an adult and enjoyed the little private curtained rooms. Fish and french fries are always good.
I've always wanted to go to the Cliff House to eat. You can see where it is on this map of 38 Essential San Francisco Restaurants. And their Wednesday night prix fixe menu at the Bistro is only $25/person (can that be right?) with cioppino and creme brulee!
The San Francisco Chronicle has a list of top 100 restaurants in the Bay area, but they are upscale and trendy, I'm afraid. They do list the prime rib place that Will was referring to: The House of Prime Rib. I've never been. Daddy took us to Tommy's Joynt instead -- but only for lunch for corned beef or pastrami sandwiches. I think he also went for the beer -- unfortunately I was too young to enjoy that aspect.
We'll have to go to a Chinese and a Japanese restaurant, and it's better if we find a little undiscovered hole in the wall and not a hoity toity place that has been gushed over in the media and that serves trendy cocktails.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Pittsburgh
I thought I better pull together some places to go in Pittsburgh before Penny and Leena come in May. Then I could use it for other visitors as well! I jotted down some ideas in my iPhone notes and I will just add them here and fill them in later.
Food
We Chaparros always start with that
1. Udipi Cafe (Indian Vegetarian). They have their menus online so maybe we can puzzle out what we want before we go there. And Will, Jen and the kids could go here too.
2. Strip District - Wholey's, PA Macaroni Company, Lotus Foods.
3. Chefs' Picks for Pittsburgh Restaurants. A March 2012 article on favorite restaurants.
4. Primanti's? Which one? A clean one or a dirty one?
5. Someplace with Will and Jen and the kids. Hofbrau House? Church brew works?
Uppity Food
Should this be our opportunity to try a "cutting edge" Pittsburgh restaurant?
1. Salt of the Earth. The duck looks interesting, the Haluski looks crazy and how can you ever have undercooked Lamb Shank? We could combine this with a tour of the Allegheny Cemetery and a walk through Lawrenceville. Maybe drive past Children's Hospital...
2. Root 174. I don't know if I'm up for the Bone marrow crème brulee or the smoked salmon sausage but maybe the menu will change. Root 174 seems to have a lot of pork tongue and what is so special about a hanger steak?
3. Legume Bistro. Wouldn't I feel guilty eating wild baby antelope?
Attractions/Neighborhoods
1. South Side (walk along East Carson Street or the river trail?) and Mt. Washington and the Inclines
2. Hill District? August Wilson: Pittsburgh places in his life and plays
3. Oakland: Nationality Rooms, Carnegie Museums and Phipps Conservatory, Lunch at Ali Baba's
4. Northside: Ride The North Shore Connector from Downtown to the Northside, visit the Mattress Factory
5. Downtown: Free Walking Tour of the Cultural District Downtown - noon to 1 pm by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Or go on the Post-Gazette self-guided walking tour from 2006.
6. Outside Pittsburgh: Homer Laughlin Fiestaware factory...
Events
1. Venture Outdoors Festival at Point State Park
2. Sheep & Fiber Festival, May 19-20, Waynesburg
3. Pittsburgh Folk Festival, May 18, 19, 20, Monroeville.
Food
We Chaparros always start with that
1. Udipi Cafe (Indian Vegetarian). They have their menus online so maybe we can puzzle out what we want before we go there. And Will, Jen and the kids could go here too.
2. Strip District - Wholey's, PA Macaroni Company, Lotus Foods.
3. Chefs' Picks for Pittsburgh Restaurants. A March 2012 article on favorite restaurants.
4. Primanti's? Which one? A clean one or a dirty one?
5. Someplace with Will and Jen and the kids. Hofbrau House? Church brew works?
Uppity Food
Should this be our opportunity to try a "cutting edge" Pittsburgh restaurant?
1. Salt of the Earth. The duck looks interesting, the Haluski looks crazy and how can you ever have undercooked Lamb Shank? We could combine this with a tour of the Allegheny Cemetery and a walk through Lawrenceville. Maybe drive past Children's Hospital...
2. Root 174. I don't know if I'm up for the Bone marrow crème brulee or the smoked salmon sausage but maybe the menu will change. Root 174 seems to have a lot of pork tongue and what is so special about a hanger steak?
3. Legume Bistro. Wouldn't I feel guilty eating wild baby antelope?
Attractions/Neighborhoods
1. South Side (walk along East Carson Street or the river trail?) and Mt. Washington and the Inclines
2. Hill District? August Wilson: Pittsburgh places in his life and plays
3. Oakland: Nationality Rooms, Carnegie Museums and Phipps Conservatory, Lunch at Ali Baba's
4. Northside: Ride The North Shore Connector from Downtown to the Northside, visit the Mattress Factory
5. Downtown: Free Walking Tour of the Cultural District Downtown - noon to 1 pm by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Or go on the Post-Gazette self-guided walking tour from 2006.
6. Outside Pittsburgh: Homer Laughlin Fiestaware factory...
Events
1. Venture Outdoors Festival at Point State Park
2. Sheep & Fiber Festival, May 19-20, Waynesburg
3. Pittsburgh Folk Festival, May 18, 19, 20, Monroeville.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Sevilla
So I'm checking out the possibility of going to Sevilla for our 40th wedding anniversary. Naturally we'd like to stay in an apartment in the city center -- like we did in Paris. Here are some possibilities:
La Casa del Pozo Santo tourist apartments, which are located in historic buildings in the city center.
Venere Vacation Rentals in Seville lists quite a few apartments
Apartamentos La Casa del Pozo Santo - at booking.com (we booked through them for Glasgow).
ApartaHotel Resitur.
La Casa del Pozo Santo tourist apartments, which are located in historic buildings in the city center.
Venere Vacation Rentals in Seville lists quite a few apartments
Apartamentos La Casa del Pozo Santo - at booking.com (we booked through them for Glasgow).
ApartaHotel Resitur.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Pigging Out in New York City
These are coming fast and furious from Penny and I'm posting these here so they don't get lost in my gmail.
Momos, Tibetans' Forbidden Special Treat, Jackson Heights in Queens is a good place to find these beef dumplings. The Jackson Heights blog has a list of Queens Foodie Links
Snacking in Koreatown
Dining at Citi Field; Right off the 7 train is a food court that's a gourmet paradise
TimeOut NYC: Jackson Heights $1 eating walk
Momos, Tibetans' Forbidden Special Treat, Jackson Heights in Queens is a good place to find these beef dumplings. The Jackson Heights blog has a list of Queens Foodie Links
Snacking in Koreatown
Dining at Citi Field; Right off the 7 train is a food court that's a gourmet paradise
TimeOut NYC: Jackson Heights $1 eating walk
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Quick Trip to San Diego
We haven't had dim sum since Hong Kong - although Judy did order some dim sum for book group from a Squirrel Hill restaurant. I especially liked the deep fat fried sesame balls.
And while I'm running through San Diego restaurants, have you ever been to the Loving Hut? It's a global VEGAN chain! But it actually looks pretty interesting and has a jackfruit salad. Oh my gosh! They say they have one in Pittsburgh too! It's over on Campbell's Run Road near Ikea. We'll have to check it out the next time we're over there.
And another oh my gosh! San Diego has a Japanese Izakaya. And like many places around the country, it is having a Restaurant Week this week. Maybe Juan and Mandy can check out a few restaurants for us!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Frommer's 24 Great Walks in New York
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Lamb Noodle Soup
I read the serious eats article on the Lamb Noodle Soup at the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing and said to myself: now here is a place that Juan and Mandy would love! Hand-pulled noodles, cilantro leaves, lily bulbs, Chinese wolfberries, black tree fungus -- not to mention the fat-fringed lamb. And the show of them pulling the noodles! One could go just for that. But I think we would need Juan and Mandy. You can watch the Anthony Bourdain episode about it on YouTube.
Bourdain also liked the lamb burgers at Xi'an Famous Foods which now has a location in Chinatown, which was reviewed by the Village Voice Blog, which describes the food as: "The cuisine of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, is distinguished by a plethora of cumin-scented lamb dishes and all manner of wheat noodles." Fernando loves lamb so he should appreciate it, even the lamb face salad. At the Xi'an Famous Foods website you can see the many lamb and "hand-ripped" noodle dishes they have on their menu. But if you watch the Andrew Zimmern video on their website, you'll see they are not pulled as in the Lamb Noodle Soup Shop in Flushing. Not quite as impressive. Maybe we don't have to wait for Juan and Mandy to go there. Penny, have you and Leena been there? And it turns out that Xi'an Famous Foods is run by a father/son team and the son, Jason Wang, is a graduate of Wash U!
Let's see what else they have in Serious Eats New York. They have a post on Favorite Sandwiches under $6, which sounds just like the amount we want to spend for lunch. Although after reviewing their 23 choices it appears that meat is still the star. Hm. They probably haven't heard of the chile relleno burrito at El Zarape in San Diego. I suppose that counts as a sandwich.
And Penny will be happy to know that they are opening a Steak 'n Shake in New York tomorrow, January 12th. Hurry, Penny, the first 150 customers win free burgers for a year!! what a deal...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Good Gravy A New Post
I'm catching up on Anthony Bourdain and he's in the outer boroughs of New York, currently at the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing. I guess I haven't used Blogger since they went to the new interface, and, of course, it sucks. Until I'm used to it, of course.
Bourdain also goes to the Ganesh Temple Canteen in Flushing, which reminds me of Udipi in Monroeville by the temple. And he goes to Dim Sum in Brooklyn. And a tortilla factory in Brooklyn. Too bad Fair Lawn is on the other side of Manhattan!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Getting Ready for NYC - Pearl River Mart
It's been a long time since I've posted anything of real content here. I'm forgetting how to use Blogger. Juan gave us a link to a large Chinese department store in New York City's Chinatown called Pearl River Mart. Of course it reminded me that I better get busy on my Google Map of New York City as well! The Pearl River Mart website reminds us up front that it will be the Year of the Dragon, so we should look for some dragon charms for Speck. I also need a Rabbit charm for Sebastian.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Are We Ready for the Camino Again?
Grant Spangler posted an article from the November 2011 issue of the Lonely Planet Travel magazine on the Camino and Northern Spain in the Go Camino Listserv: Fork in the Road. Is it time to get enthused and get in shape?
Friday, June 3, 2011
Restaurante Club Colombia
When we were in Bogotá in December of 2006, Patty and Juan David took us to the restaurant "Club Colombia", which I thought was only a beer. I'm not sure what the relationship is between the restaurant and the beverage but there is a history of the restaurant at Colombia.com which says that Club Colombia opened its doors November 21, 2005 in Bogotá when two culinary experts, Harry Sassón and Leo Katz (!) decided to revive the traditional recipes of grandmothers and offer to the public an ample range of typical Colombian food from Cartagena to the Amazons. They have 25 types of juices, 4 kinds of arepas and empanadas and the best dessert is a torte of almojábana with cheese and honey.
The biggest selling dishes are Posta negra de Cartagena, sobrebarriga (brisket), and Sancocho trifásico which is a stew with three kinds of meat, served with avocado and rice with coconut. I think that Fernando may have ordered the Sancocho trifásico last time. The specialties of the house are Ceviche de langostinos, caldo de costilla con papa, empanadas de pipián, arepa de huevo, tamal bogotano, cazuela de mariscos y la sobrebarriga guisada.
The thing I remember most was the champu made with fresh lulo. Absolutely delish!
I'm trying to pull together other typical restaurants just so we'll have a list! Unfortunately Google Maps does not understand Colombian addresses. You cannot look up a regular address and get a proper result. You have to search by the restaurant name and even then it gives lots of incorrect or incomplete information and there's no street view to verify.
The biggest selling dishes are Posta negra de Cartagena, sobrebarriga (brisket), and Sancocho trifásico which is a stew with three kinds of meat, served with avocado and rice with coconut. I think that Fernando may have ordered the Sancocho trifásico last time. The specialties of the house are Ceviche de langostinos, caldo de costilla con papa, empanadas de pipián, arepa de huevo, tamal bogotano, cazuela de mariscos y la sobrebarriga guisada.
The thing I remember most was the champu made with fresh lulo. Absolutely delish!
I'm trying to pull together other typical restaurants just so we'll have a list! Unfortunately Google Maps does not understand Colombian addresses. You cannot look up a regular address and get a proper result. You have to search by the restaurant name and even then it gives lots of incorrect or incomplete information and there's no street view to verify.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Bogota, por fin!
OK, so finally I'm back to posting and it's high time since we have less than a week before we go to Bogota! Lots of things have changed on the web since we last went in 2006 and I should be able to orient myself much better since apparently they have google maps.
I was looking at the city of Bogota's tourism map and they showcase Andres Carne de Res and also La Puerta Falsa, a small store around the corner from the cathedral that sells typical Colombian sweets. It says it is 100 years old. Unfortunately the BogotaTurismo.gov site is technologically challenged and its "galerias" are not working. They are also supposed to have "Bogota in a minute" video clips that are nonexistent. I'll have to find some better sources - there are bound to be some out there somewhere!! Except I've been looking at the restaurants and almost none of them have followed Andres Carne de Res and created their own websites. They might have a facebook or myspace page, or a gmail address but that is about all.
Oh, and WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! Google Maps does not have street views for Bogota! Will we have to wait a decade for that? I guess I should be happy they have maps. I'll have to get some addresses to plot. Hm. Do I remember where we lived in the 1970s? I'm going to have to play around with it a bit so I don't get lost.
The New York Times ran a 36 Hours in Bogota last year. And they mention the new location of Andres Carne de Res at Calle 82 No. 12-21. Oh, my and look at this one: Sopas de Mamá y Postres de la Abuela. How could you go wrong with a name like that??? And it even has a theme song! See there is some hope that things have progressed a little in Bogota! Papi will be so happy. They have morcilla with papas criollas, fritanga, calentado, empanadas... I didn't get this listing from the New York Times, of course it would be too plebian for them, but from Bogota's city site in English.
I was looking at the city of Bogota's tourism map and they showcase Andres Carne de Res and also La Puerta Falsa, a small store around the corner from the cathedral that sells typical Colombian sweets. It says it is 100 years old. Unfortunately the BogotaTurismo.gov site is technologically challenged and its "galerias" are not working. They are also supposed to have "Bogota in a minute" video clips that are nonexistent. I'll have to find some better sources - there are bound to be some out there somewhere!! Except I've been looking at the restaurants and almost none of them have followed Andres Carne de Res and created their own websites. They might have a facebook or myspace page, or a gmail address but that is about all.
Oh, and WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! Google Maps does not have street views for Bogota! Will we have to wait a decade for that? I guess I should be happy they have maps. I'll have to get some addresses to plot. Hm. Do I remember where we lived in the 1970s? I'm going to have to play around with it a bit so I don't get lost.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sign up to stay informed and visit the libraries!
The first thing you might want to do (or might not) is sign up for newsletters that tell you what is happening in San Diego. Or you can just go to their websites.
And you always have to stop by the libraries to see what is up. Then you will see that the Geisel Library's (as in Dr. Seuss) 40th Anniversary is May 1st. Now, because you work for UCSD does that mean you get a UCSD library card?
And then there is the San Diego Public Library but their website gives me a headache, and their sirsi catalog does too. Sometimes I wonder if I am really a librarian...
- KPBS San Diego Week (TV)
- San Diego City Beat
- San Diego Reader
- San Diego Restaurant Week in September
- San Diego Union Tribune
- This Week @ UCSD
And you always have to stop by the libraries to see what is up. Then you will see that the Geisel Library's (as in Dr. Seuss) 40th Anniversary is May 1st. Now, because you work for UCSD does that mean you get a UCSD library card?
And then there is the San Diego Public Library but their website gives me a headache, and their sirsi catalog does too. Sometimes I wonder if I am really a librarian...
Grunion Runs
Wow! The grunion are still running on the beaches of California! Here's something for you to do, Juan and Mandy. The Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institute sponsors Grunion Runs. Will you be in San Diego Thursday, May 19, from 11 p.m. - 1 a.m.? When we go visit you some spring, that is something I definitely would like to do. And in the winter months, they offer tidepooling, and in the summer months snorkeling. There! All your weekends are taken care of!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
San Diego
Juan says that my next destination has to be San Diego. Let's see. What do I know/remember about San Diego? At Santa Cruz, there was a student, Jeffrey Greenberg, who spent two years at Santa Cruz then transferred to Berkeley. Later I remember seeing a news program done by an ex-Stevenson College student about Greenberg -- he became a dentist and moved to San Diego. He was saying how as a Northern Californian he had always made fun of Southern California, but then he moved to San Diego and was absolutely smitten. Well, that goes to show you that Northern Californians are full of hot air and don't know what they are talking about.
I've only been to San Diego twice. Once as a child (maybe 9 or 10?) when we went to visit the Pipers and I vividly remember going to Tijuana and getting a serape. The second time was with Fernando when we were at Berkeley. We didn't make it to Tijuana that time because Fernando needed a visa to cross the border (although Gonzalo and his friends crossed the border without one...). We did see the chimpanzees at the zoo.
I would go to San Diego to check out the California Rare Fruit Growers. Except now I see they are at The Fullerton Arboretum - CSUF and not in Vista anymore. Whoops. Now what am I going there for? Ah, maybe to see the undersea canyon that goes up to La Jolla. And to walk along the seashore. And maybe to see the Torrey Pines that my grandfather's cat was named after. Did they really pick him up along the road there?
I've only been to San Diego twice. Once as a child (maybe 9 or 10?) when we went to visit the Pipers and I vividly remember going to Tijuana and getting a serape. The second time was with Fernando when we were at Berkeley. We didn't make it to Tijuana that time because Fernando needed a visa to cross the border (although Gonzalo and his friends crossed the border without one...). We did see the chimpanzees at the zoo.
I would go to San Diego to check out the California Rare Fruit Growers. Except now I see they are at The Fullerton Arboretum - CSUF and not in Vista anymore. Whoops. Now what am I going there for? Ah, maybe to see the undersea canyon that goes up to La Jolla. And to walk along the seashore. And maybe to see the Torrey Pines that my grandfather's cat was named after. Did they really pick him up along the road there?
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