i had a lovely weekend. if only they could all be so pleasant and eventful. of course, having that extra day makes a world of a difference…

friday night, a small reunion with the san hos in san jose. we love the ceviche at alberto’s, a divey little mexican restaurant. later, we went dancing and the DJ rocked my world. i guess it was a good sign when i saw the depeche mode sticker on his laptop. he threw out field mob, taste of honey, and fabolous in one set

the trick is to figure out how to do this on purpose

the next day, after doing time at the DMV, i went to oakland to hang out with eric/einar. i got to see the dark lord’s estate with my very own eyes

he paints figurines and miniatures and sells them. the precision and skill of this fine craft would make the most arthritic elderly chinese grandma embroiderer proud. love this lil’ guy. i took the liberty of naming him LARRY

i dragged eric to cesar — one of my favorite restaurants — on piedmont avenue. it was my first time at this location. he said it was too “yuppie,” which admittedly was the same reason that deterred me from giving it a try when it opened on shattuck when i was in college. i was a dumb fool, talking crap about it when i didn’t have a clue how awesome it is

i tried my first spanish tortilla at cesar. this one was different because it didn’t have potatoes

some of the best frenchy fries in the world, with fried herbs and sea salt

yeah, they’re good, OKAY?!

mushrooms lounging in a luxurious bath of oil. perfect accoutrement for the bread

later that evening, after finally getting home and succumbing to drowsiness, i indulged my irrepressible hankering for ethiopian. the best restaurant to go for this ailment? axum, in the lower haight. excellent!

you know how for most people, they refuse to ingest anything after an ethiopian feast, at least for half a day? well, i’m not like most people because i am a PIG. this is jubili. i will not dismiss it as a pinkberry wannabe, even though its format and offerings are basically the same. i have much respect for this place, and find their original yogurt better tasting than pinkberry’s

also, who needs pinkberry’s neon colors and starck furniture? i appreciate jubili’s design. clean lines, simple textures (see the undulating waves?)

afterwards, i watched paris je’taime, which was ludicrously, shamefully atrocious, except for the vignettes by the coen brothers, gerard depardieu (can’t go wrong with gena rowlands and ben gazzarra), and my favorite, the gem by alexander payne. it was beautiful and deeply moving, and scarily accurate! he totally nails it, and the protagonist is perfect, endearing and real. it spoke volumes to me and basically summed up my feelings while in china.

in the late morning, peg and i griddled up the corned beef hash patties from bryan’s (quality meat market)

peg’s signature steel plates

aww, nothin like eatin breakfast with the sunlight streaming through the blossoming quince

afterwards, i made my way inbound and snapped some shots along the way, practicing with my awesome toy

and then i shot the new blue bottle for eater. yes, i did take pix of the enchanting $20k siphon bar from japan. despite all the hype, i really do think it is a gorgeous space. though the crowd makes it feel like a colors of benetton photo shoot, the cafe is inviting and warm. can’t wait to try the quaint brunch menu

after that, tony and i met up and i dragged him on another mission to satisfy yet another craving – this time, for cheesesteaks at the place on divis. love those hot peps

i recharged my battery when i got home, to prepare for…
more fun and games!

taboo was never this much fun. this game, with the right combo of friends, is the most fertile breeding ground for eternal inside jokes

love the curious look on everyone’s faces

peggy is so fierce. you don’t wanna step to this

and FINALLY, on monday i had the luck of dining at spruce for lunch. i was there on saturday to shoot for the gatekeeper series on eater, and guess i felt inspired to go back for an actual meal. i have to admit, the deafening buzz is well-deserved. the interior is painstakingly thought out, handsome, and spacious, and rarely can you sit through a multi-course meal without at least one disappointment. it’s a bit too poncy for me, but i gotta give it up to a restaurant that can pull this off

a stand-out dish, the golden potato gnocchi with citrus, parmesan, and rapini. buttery and rich, the potato pillows were tempered with a slightly tangy sauce

beet and tangerine salad’s been done a million times, but this is one of the best variations of it that i’ve ever had

i’m not even a fan of polenta but i was compelled to order this, with short rib (YUM) sugo and some sort of braised cabbage

a wonderful weekend, from start to finish. i am grateful to experience these simple pleasures, and to be able to document them too. the R+R was good, and much needed for the upcoming weekend, which will entail some work on both days at the chinatown community street fair. it’s a lovely event and doesn’t warrant any bratty whining on my part, but the rainy weather always makes for a miserable time, especially when your tent comes with less-than-reliable flimsy tarpaulin.

ps – why are the photos skewed?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 1:29 am and is filed under food, friends, yay area. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.