Category Archive: foodie

Valentine’s Week & a trip to Monterey

Posted by Lisa On March 2nd, 2011

Like I mentioned in my last post, I arrived at the SFO airport late at night on Sunday 2/13, the day before Valentine’s Day.  Kevin picked me up at the airport and he suggested, since we weren’t going to be able to spend any time together on Valentine’s Day itself, that we do a crazy late night dinner after picking me up.  So at 10:30pm we got seated for dinner at BJ’s in San Bruno and enjoyed a nice dinner together (and shared a yummy pazookie as well!)

We’ve never been big on V-Day or anniversaries either, but Kevin sure pulled out all the stops this year.  In addition to suggesting this cute late night dinner idea, when he picked me up at the airport he gave me a King size box of Junior mints (my favorite!) and the card game Skip-Bo that we had been talking about getting for a while.  Then on Monday (V-Day) I had to go to work but he had the day off so he suggested he meet me at the office for lunch before he drove to class.  He surprised me with some of the most delicious, homemade (from scratch) devil’s food cupcakes I’ve ever had (and even had a few extra for some co-workers).  And lastly, he got me a frame with spots for four photos: he put one of us from our wedding, one of us about 2 years into our marriage, one of us and Lola living in SF, and he left one spot empty for when we have a baby.  What a sweetheart!  Okay, enough of the mooshy stuff.  🙂

The following weekend (President’s Day weekend) we decided to get away for the night and take a trip down to Monterey!  We realized we hadn’t taken a real vacation (just the two of us, and no Long Beach doesn’t count) since we went to Australia in 2008!!  Yikes, we gotta do a better job of getting away more often.  Carleigh and Scott graciously volunteered to watch Lola that night, so we packed up her bag and dropped her off at their place on the morning of Sunday 2/20 for 36 hours of play time with her best friend Bailey!

Looks like Lola on her first day of school!  Her bag was packed with lots of goodies to share with her friend Bailey.

We were recommended by C&S to drive down Highway 1 and we were glad we did.  Such a gorgeous drive along the coast.  Sure makes us appreciate this amazingly beautiful state of ours!  We stopped off for a quick visit to Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Somebody’s a major fan of the lighthouse with their “I Love Pigeon Point Lighthouse” license plate frame

I love old, run-down buildings

Thar she blows! Unfortunately you couldn’t go inside the lighthouse itself.

View off the coast

Ahoy matey!  Kevin sporting his binoculars.

Me sitting on a nicely decorated Pigeon Point Lighthouse barrel (aka a trashcan with a lid, gross).

Before checking into our hotel we drove down to Carmel to get some lunch at Carmel Belle (yummy food but super small portions and a pretty hefty price tag).  We did some window shopping and then walked down to the beach.  There were TONS of doggies out and about and it was such a gorgeous day.  We enjoyed walking along the beach and taking a break to soak in the sun.

Then it was time to check into our hotel!  Our hotel was just a block up from Cannery Row so it was nice to be so close to all the action.  Although working across from Fisherman’s Wharf in SF and knowing that I would never recommend anyone stay in a hotel out that way, I couldn’t help but get excited about being in the middle of this tourist trap in Monterey!  Haha.

Gorgeous mural of a whale around the corner from our hotel

Random old-school scuba gear on display

When Kevin saw this banner of John Steinbeck he jokingly asked me, “Why do they have a picture of Saddam Hussein up?” Hahah.

A really neat mural of fishermen along the beach.

No, we didn’t spend our money at the wax museum (they were closed, haha).

After the mandatory stroll down Cannery Row, we ate dinner at Paradiso Trattoria (pretty yummy food, especially the cilantro spread they have for their fresh baked bread…amazing!)

This was our view from the restaurant.  Gorgeous.

On Monday we woke bright and early, ate the continental breakfast at the hotel, and then checked out to go out and enjoy a drive and a walk along Ocean View Blvd. and the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail–by far the highlight of our trip!

Lots of breathtaking views to be had…

It’s a long way down!

And then, as we were looking out at the rocks and crashing waves, we spotted a furry thing scurrying across the rocks…who knew squirrels lived in the rocks along the beach?

They came up really close to us, probably looking for some eats.

Not only did we see lots of squirrels, we also saw harbor seals basking in the sun on some rocks!

Beautiful rock formations

Kevin taking a photo of the ocean

And tons of seagulls to look at and take photos of…

Seagull in action, leaping across the rocks!

Kevin taking a photo of a squirrel. They became good buds that day.

It was so so so nice to get away, just the two of us.  This being the year of our 5th anniversary of being married and our 10th anniversary of being together (!!!!) we have to take more time to celebrate our relationship and this was a perfect start to that!

Weekend in LA

Posted by Lisa On March 2nd, 2011

I flew down to LAX on Fri. 2/11 for a work retreat at our LA campus and decided to stick around for the weekend to see some family!  My mom and her boyfriend Steve came to pick me up in Alhambra and we went straight to one of my favorite restaurants out that way: Noodle World.


I spent most of my time with Mom and Steve out in San Pedro.  We took a 2 mile walk down Paseo Del Mar and when we were looking out over Royal Palms beach, we happened to spot a mermaid!

But then we realized she wasn’t alone.  Alas, she and her three friends were with a full crew taking photos.

We then enjoyed breakfast at the Lighthouse Deli (yummy batter-of-the-day pancakes!)  That afternoon me and my mom went to visit my aunt in her new digs in Garden Grove.  For those of you that know my family well, I’m happy to report that Tina is doing GREAT!  🙂

Then we made our way back to San Pedro to The Corner Store for a wine tasting benefiting the Marine Mammal Center of San Pedro.

Lots of incredible desserts like these fudgy, red velvet cake pops dipped in chocolate.  AMAZING!!

Then we zipped on over to Busy Bee (a famous sandwich shop that I had heard so many good things about but had never tried before) to buy a boatload of sandwiches to enjoy with Brianne & Brian and my brother Derek who were coming over to Steve’s for dinner and games!

Mmm…check out that greasy goodness on the sandwich wrappers. 🙂

Brianne and Brian and Catalina Island in the background

Not the best photo, but the three of us enjoying the sunset

Gorgeous view, eh?

We spent a good few hours laughing our rears off playing a game called The Game of Things (highly recommend this game for groups, so much fun!)  Kevin even joined in on the fun in SF via Skype!  He was my partner during a few rounds and it was great to have him join in on the game for a bit. 🙂

The next morning we were up bright and early for some yummy breakfast (egg, muenster cheese and honey mustard paninis with cottage cheese/oranges and a piping hot cup of joe).

Then we drove down to Long Beach and I spent a whopping 2 hours in LB the entire weekend.  I went to visit with my in-laws, Dorothy and George, and we had a great little visit.  George cooked up some yummy and slightly spicy chicken salad sandwiches for us to enjoy too. Yummy!

After the short visit with the Edmonds family (and an even shorter appearance of my bro-in-law Thomas) we drove down to pick up my brother Derek to get some lunch at Portillo’s Hot Dogs in Buena Park and then made another visit to my aunt Tina.

Derek, a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, made a visit to the windy city last year and found out that Portillo’s (a Chicago-based restaurant) had a chain out in Buena Park.  Here he is enjoying a dog covered in goodness (as you can see, he’s not the biggest fan of the Lisa blog paparazzi).

We then made our way back up to San Pedro to make a visit with Steve’s grandson Christian who is an adorable kindergartner.  We spent a good amount of time drawing mutant animals…

And then as the sun was setting, Christian insisted on taking me on a flashlight tour of Steve’s backyard where he showed me, amongst other things, the place where his cat is buried.  Haha!

After that we rushed off to LAX and I was home around 10:15pm on Sunday. I had a really fantastic whirlwind of a trip and can’t thank my mom and Steve enough for the hospitality!  🙂

Bazaar Bizarre

Posted by Lisa On January 7th, 2011

On Saturday 12/11 Jessie and I ventured out to Fort Mason for the annual Bazaar Bizarre craft fair.

I still had a few Christmas gifts to pick up so I was anxious to see what this fair had to offer–although I only ended up getting one gift (this funny shirt for my nephew!) we still had a good time.

Jessie, not impressed with our host 😉
I couldn’t resist.

Sad, funky little dead animal!
Jessie talking to a shop owner
Random cthulhu ornaments (took this photo for my brother-in-law Thomas who loves that creature!)
Hamburger dolls?
Turd cupcakes

It was a super foggy day and very quiet (other than in the psycho parking lot). Turns out it was 25th annual Tibet Day as well so we enjoyed some Tibetan food for lunch (a first for me!)





On our drive back home we were craving something sweet so stopped off at the Cups and Cakes Bakery near downtown.

Jess posing with the storefront bicycle (with her red velvet cupcake, yum!)
Enjoying my caramel-something-something cupcake. Mmmm!

One of the last sunny days

Posted by Lisa On November 28th, 2010

On Saturday 11/20 we woke up early and went on a family run! We had only run together one other time while living here and I was SO happy when Kevin agreed to go out running with me and Lola. We did the 3 mile loop in our neighborhood (which includes some killer hills and 6 flights of stairs) and it was so nice for me and Lola to show Kevin how it’s done. 😉

We then met up with our favorite friends Carleigh and Scott at Stacks’ restaurant in Hayes Valley. This is such a fantastic breakfast joint! Carleigh and I shared two plates–one of which was a plate of HUGE coconut, macadamia nut and banana pancakes. They were AMAZING!! Three thumbs up.

Super cute decor
Our massive pancakes
Kevin’s omelette and taters
Scott’s omelette and taters
The very cute (and very full) couple

We parted ways and Kevin and I walked around the neighborhood a bit. There was a really cool art installation called Ecstasy which we enjoyed quite a bit.







Then we made our way out to the Richmond District to Sutro Heights Park to do some exploring.

Can you tell it gets windy out this way?




The view of Ocean Beach, the Richmond District and Golden Gate Park off in the distance.
Stairs leading up to one of Mr. Sutro’s little hideouts
Love this photo
Enjoying one of the last sunny days in SF with my favorite person, Kevin!

Alison’s visit & Alemany Farmer’s Market

Posted by Lisa On November 28th, 2010

On Saturday 11/13 we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and decided to visit the Alemany Farmer’s Market in our neighborhood. It’s one of the best in the city and we had only gone together once before. Now that Kevin has Saturdays off we’ll definitely be visiting more often!




Probably my most favorite part of this farmer’s market are the amazing murals in each stall. They are gorgeous and I can’t get enough of them!



Yummy green beans
A really funny sign in one of the stalls
Kevin picking out some yummy mandarin oranges
And what’s a farmer’s market without fresh-cut flowers?
Our yummy loot! Apples, arugula, almonds, mandarin oranges, garlic, kabocha squash, green beans, heirloom tomatoes, bok choy and bell peppers.

After taking Lola to the park we made our way out to Walnut Creek to visit our good friend Alison who was in town! Last time she visited (check out blog post here from February) we had a grand ol’ time so we were expecting nothing less. 🙂

We met Alison and her friend Laura at Alison’s favorite Indian restaurant Sargam and enjoyed an amazing buffet lunch! Then we spent a few hours exploring Walnut Creek’s downtown area, walking and window shopping and, of course, getting pedicures! It was Kevin’s first time and I’m happy to report he’s a fan. 🙂

Oh-so-relaxing foot soak
The only photographic proof that Kevin got a pedicure!
So I love a good chair massage but the ones at this place were a little weird (check out where the pressure was at this particular moment–weird!)
The happy customers!
Showing off my orange nail color
Alison didn’t have any sandals so wore Kevin’s, haha.

We then went to her family’s home and spent a couple of hours hanging out (and eating Halloween chocolate) with her mom Laurel and her new kitties.


We then spent the evening with Laura and Daniel at Pyramid Brewery for some yummy nachos and beer and Club 1220, the only gay club in Walnut Creek.

We had a great time checking out Alison’s old stomping grounds and can’t wait to see her again!

A night out at the Ferry Building

Posted by Lisa On November 28th, 2010

On Friday 11/12 I was running late to work so I decided to drive to work instead of take public transit so I’d get there in time. As you can imagine, parking at work is exorbitantly priced because I work just across the street from Fisherman’s Wharf, so I decided to take public transit home so that Kevin and I could make our way back out there to enjoy an evening along the Bay and drive home (it made the $10 parking fee worth it a bit more!)

We took the BART to Embarcadero Station and took a stroll through the Ferry Building. We were getting really hungry and couldn’t decide on a place so ended up at Gott’s Roadside Diner.

The city looks so so beautiful at night, dontcha think?

I was messing around with my camera’s functions and came out with this photo.

Kevin enjoying his bacon burger and garlic fries

Sinking my teeth into my avocado and somethin’ somethin’ burger

We then decided to walk along Embarcadero down to Pier 39 and enjoyed a photo opp or two.

Can you see me?

That’s the F train somewhere in there

Kevin not just doing what I say (like he normally does so well!)–I was trying to get him to pose in front of this Teatro Zinzanni sign and pretend that it was “Starring Kevin” but he wasn’t cooperating. 😉

We treated ourselves at home to some homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. We know how to live! 😉


Heather’s bachelorette party

Posted by Lisa On November 19th, 2010

My lovely friend Heather who was in a sistahood with me at Redlands and who also went abroad to Nicaragua a few years after me decided to celebrate her upcoming wedding with a weekend in San Francisco! I was so happy to hear she’d be venturing out this way to celebrate so that I could definitely participate in the festivities. 🙂 They spent the whole weekend up here and I joined them on Saturday evening for some exciting bachelorette fun at AsiaSF.

AsiaSF is a superb venue for dinner and a show. The show was actually transgendered women who would dance on the bar every hour! The food was fantastic (duck quesadillas anyone?) and the ladies performances were extremely entertaining as well!

A very masculine doorman in his blue cowboy boots

The happy bachelorette (and Willy)

The group

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the ladies of AsiaSF…

Selena!!


I would love to come back sometime–just gotta save some dough for that night since it’s a wee bit pricey.

Afterwards we went to their hotel (which just so happened to be the same hotel my friend Maya stayed in that I visited) for some fun bachelorette themed games.

Heather in the middle with all of the Redlands girls

North Beach, Coit Tower & Levi’s Plaza

Posted by Lisa On November 9th, 2010

Now that work isn’t crazy busy anymore I’ve made a goal to get out of the office once a day and go for at least a 30-40 minute walk. Generally I just walk down Embarcadero but that started to get boring so I looked up how close Coit Tower was and it turns out it’s only a 15 minute walk to the base of the staircase. Twice last week I walked up to Coit Tower and was amazed by how beautiful (and strenuous!) the walk was.

A random, funny mural at the base of the staircase: “No Dogs. Toy Poodles Okay.“

Middle of the staircase (total number of stairs going up? 358. And yes, I counted them.

Gorgeous flowers in someone’s front yard–anyone know the name of them??

Filbert Steps

I would LOVE to live here, what a cute little “street”!

Someone’s adorable front yard

Almost there!

Thar she blows!

After raving about my lunch-time adventures, on Kevin’s day off on Saturday we decided to take advantage of one of the city’s last sunny days and go explore North Beach for brunch and then hike up to Coit Tower.

We really wanted to go to Mama’s Cafe for brunch but the line was ridiculous and we were starving so we Yelp app’d across Curly’s Coffee Shop. It didn’t look like too much on the outside…

But it ended up being a yummy breakfast spot! And turn’s out it’s a Japanese diner as well–interesting mix dontcha think?

Walking through North Beach we saw them painting over my favorite mural (see photo in old blog post here) to celebrate the SF Giants’ recent World Series win. I guess I’m okay with them painting over my favorite mural…


With bellies full and Lola in tow, we started off on the Barbary Coast Trail (aka Stockton Street) to the base of the tower (never really knew what those street markers were for all this time, but looked it up and you can see the info. at this link if you feel so inclined).

We took a slightly different path down the hill and saw some more really neat homes and yards.



Kinda funny, kinda creepy at the same time.

We ended up at Levi’s Plaza which I pass by everyday on the way to and from work and hadn’t spent much time there before. Lola was in HEAVEN with the grassy hills and the shallow river and since there weren’t many people around we let her off leash to explore.




I actually got a close-up of this fly! Not the prettiest insect, I’ll admit, but I thought it was cool that I got this shot before it buzzed off.

Video of Kevin and Lola playing around

Night out on the town

Posted by Lisa On November 9th, 2010

Friday night was not like a typical Friday night for us. The reason? Kevin didn’t have to work the next day!! He finally has Saturdays off from now on (we’re keeping our fingers crossed that that continues through the holidays) and it was sooo great to be able to go out and not worry about staying out too late (since he usually has to work at 6am, yuck!)

We had a delicious date night at Goat Hill Pizza in Potrero Hill. Some of the best pizza ever!

Where the magic happens.
Patiently awaiting our feast…


Cute goat-and-pizza-themed artwork. Check out the top left one where the girl is looking at the goat and in her thought bubble it says: “That got shur luks gud.” HA!

Heaven!

Then we rushed over to visit with our favorite friends Carleigh and Scott.

My delicious duo
Me and Bailey! He was super lovable that night, I think because he didn’t have Lola to distract him.
Homemade Long Island Iced Teas for Carleigh and Kevin
Mountain Goat Bailey

We spent many hours (okay, maybe 30 minutes) playing a new game we created called “guess the celebrity’s age”. Scott and I are PROS at the game–the first time we played, the two of us obliterated the competition. The second time we played we let Carleigh and Kevin win a couple so they wouldn’t be upset. 😉 Some of the celebrities we guessed: Martin Short, Bette Midler, Eddie Murphy, William Shatner, Joan Rivers, etc. etc. Never a dull moment when the four of us get together! 😉

Foodie reviews

Posted by Lisa On November 9th, 2010

It’s been a while since I wrote a foodie review…here are some of the places we’ve explored to get some grub!

Little Yangon (Burmese food)
in Daly City
What do you get when you cross Indian food and Thai food? Burmese food, apparently! Jessie and I visited Little Yangon after spending the day car shopping for her and it was exactly what we needed after that long day. I had never had Burmese food before and I was so so so impressed. I have to admit, I think about this food occasionally and can’t wait until I go back. 😉 The Rainbow noodle salad and eggplant were my favorite. Amazing food and really great service too!

Holy Grill
in SOMA, SF
YUMMMMMY burgers! Big, juicy, super flavorful. Not the cheapest burgers in the city ($6-9 each) but definitely worth every penny. I got the Yoga Burger (veggie patty with yummy toppings) and it was great. We ordered the garlic fries to share but they were a tad bit too garlicky for our taste (which is a LOT for us) so next time we’ll just go without. We loved this place so much we tried to eat there a second time within the month but were sad to find out they were closed on Sundays. 🙁 Now we know!

La Corneta
in Glen Park, SF
We were so happy to find this great taqueria near our apartment without having to deal with the crowds and the horrible parking situation in the Mission. We’ve only had burritos there but damn are they good. Good prices and great portions and only a one minute walk from the Glen Park BART station.

Jitra Thai
in Lakeside, SF
We went here with Carleigh and we were not disappointed. Really friendly service, good portions, tasty Thai food.

Big Nate’s BBQ
in SOMA, SF
Kevin and I were starving one day and our Yelp app led us to this place. Hole in the wall in every sense of the word. I wasn’t too impressed with their bbq beef burgers–the buns tasted like Safeway-brand buns and the meat, though tender, was just doused in BBQ sauce instead of cooked in it. We’ve heard raving reviews about another BBQ joint in our neighborhood (Johnson’s BBQ on San Bruno) that we’d like to check out for our BBQ fix next time ’round. It wasn’t terrible–but it wasn’t great either.

Loading...
X