Singles week: reviews

So the hubby has been back for a while, but I haven't posted my reviews yet since I've been going through the 3000 pictures he and his brother took in Washington DC. Anyone know how I can make Aperture serve out the photos, so I can do picture editing while he plays WOW?

Anyway here we go:

Sunday: Crab Festival, Berkeley - this was kind of disappointing since it wasn't that big of a food festival with 3 different food sellers. The crab cakes were the best things to eat, but not sure the long lines were worth it. We watched the chefs slice and dice, but decided not to stick out to see the winner. Our friends picked up their kitchen knives (apparently Sur La Table has a month where they sharpen knives for free in September). We found lots of oversized rustic items at the Napa Style store which we deemed to be Spanish Ranch style but larger than life. Like the futon sized padded lounge chair which was super comfortable but the size of a double futon.

Afterwards headed to Sea Salt for their Happy Hour which happens every day and where you can get $1 oysters. Love 'em! Having not gotten our shellfish fiend on at the festival, the five of us, essentially had oysters, drinks, and dessert for dinner. Yeah, so worth it!

Monday: After going to the survivalist boutique store, G and I went to Weird Fish in the Mission, a pescatarian restaurant (veggie and fish only). I should bring my brother here. Food was relatively decent in comparison to strictly veggie places I've gone. The chowder was not famously delicious, and the appetizer was salty but I went with the Mystery Fish which was wonderful. That day's mystery fish was mahi mahi. The sweet potato side was really good, fluffy and sweet. The white sangria was tasty. Desserts were a mixed bag as well, the faux chocolate chimichangas were blech, but my peach/berry cobbler was delicious. Overall, it's an interesting menu, and a nice place to bring your vegetarian friends.

Wednesday: Since I was in San Jose, I called up K for recs on San Jose restaurants. He and his wife often rave about this one Vietnamese restaurant so I figured I would try it while I was down there. Unfortunately, googlemaps got me lost somewhere on Lawrence Expressway and I had to call K at work to get me out of here.

[Aside: As much as San Jose is in the Bay Area, whenever I drive there, I always feel LA-ish. The street layouts, the repeating architecture of freeway, tract homes, and mini-malls that get me flipped around. While getting lost, I remembered why I neither live nor work in San Jose. Did I mention I had to leave the house by 6am to beat the traffic and get there by 7:30a? Yeah, I know the way to San Jose. I just wish I knew how to get around it!]

Anyway, I finally found the place and realized immediately the "better" route to it. The restaurant was called Bun Bo Hue, so of course, I had to order Bun Bo Hue which is a rice noodle dish, with tendon, beef, pork patties, and pork blood cubes. It was yummy! OK grumpy googlemaps is forgiven! I do not know how they get that kind of flavor in their beef tendon. It's right off 101 right at Lawrence Expressway, right at the mall there. Though K & A tell me, their cousin has informed them of an even better Vietnamese restaurant. Oh really? I told them they were driving next time.

Thursday: I made it down to the Trappist in Oakland where a friend of mine met up with me. You want the nice cozy high ceiling cramped-ness of Europe, then come down here. A chalk board hanging above lists the beers of the day including their alcohol percentage ranging from 4%-8% or so. My friend's Belgian beer, served in the appropriate Belgian beer glass, had a nice rich caramel flavor to it. My Witches' Wit was more light and fruity like a Hef. I'm thinking I will go with the fuller body Belgians next time.

On the back of the beers of the day board they listed a very special beer that would probably knock people out much faster. It was tempting, but since I didn't have dinner, I passed, rather than passing out. If you don't like the specials board, then flip through the thick menu of 15 beers on tap and 150 beers in the bottle. My friend had to go to his Squash match (squash is one of those games I have absolutely no understanding of), and I decided to head home for leftovers, though I pondered going to Tamarindo next door and ordering their Hot Chocolate again. yummy! Trappist was pretty packed, though we managed to get a table. Not alot of elbow room so feel free to get cozy with your neighbor but try not to spill any of the fine fine beer.

Friday: I headed into the City after work for one of my last acupuncture treatments for my arm (whoo-hoo!). Best part about the acupuncturist is that she's across the street from one of the best French bakeries in the Bay, Tartine. I love their croissants, nice and crisp and buttery just like you stepped from the boulangerie! After the treatment, I had trouble coordinating with the guy who was recording my radio literary review, so I decided to try out Palencia/Filipino Cuisine in the Castro. We don't go into the City much anymore, and considering the trouble, for us to go back there it needs to be good. I mean, there are a ton of very good restaurants in the east bay, so why bother with the bridge and parking if you don't have to? I manage to find parking a few blocks away which was pretty damn good for a Friday in the Castro.

I call up hubby from the restaurant to figure out what to get. I went with some serious signature dishes which I felt would capture what kind of Filipino Cuisine we were talking about: kilawin ng hipon, karekare with tripe, halo halo for dessert, and calamansi juice. The Calamansi juice was fresh and didn't even have the tinge of pith in it at all. Delightful! The Chef offered up a taster of pureed jackfruit with pomegranate seeds, mint, and vanilla salt, which was an excellent blend of flavors and made me look forward to the rest. The kilawin ng hipon had a coconut sauce on it with tomatoes, which I thought made it a bit too sweet. I enjoyed more of the bites that had a bit of salt which balanced it out more. Again, it was a fine dish, that could use a touch of improvement. Karekare was a nice smooth sauce as if it was strained, but it blended well with the fried bagoong. Lots of veggies: banana heart, bok choy, sitaw. It was regular meet cubes, but the tripe was impeccable! The tripe could be pulled apart with a fork. I could see how he used the firmer meet and the consistency of the tripe to give the mouth the feeling of oxtail without the excessive fattiness. I asked for a wine pairing, and received a glass of 2006 Pinot Noir from 1001 in Mendocino. The thick berry pinot went well with the karekare. Each made the other taste fuller, an excellent pairing! Halo-halo had the works: cocogel, pinipig pandan, ube jam, ube ice cream, red beans, makapuno. The toppings were served on tasting spoons that allowed the guest to mix to your taste. I of course, dumped them all in. The ube jam was really really good, but it made the ube ice cream disappointing. It would have been better to contrast it with another flavor of ice cream I thought. Still, one of the better halo-halos served and it was huge! Enough for two! Palencia is not your grandma's cooking so don't even think about comparing the two. I did, however, appreciate the direction he was taking Filipino restaurant food and really bringing a heightened awareness of the food's flavors.

Would I go again? Yes, just to see what he's coming up with and tasting the different choices he's making in the food. A long way to satisfy a Filipino food craving, but a great place for the Filipino foodie mind to ponder the possibilities. And along the spectrum of Filipino food in the bay area, Palencia is certainly filling in the sparse high end spectrum, which I gratefully appreciate.

Whew! Maybe I'll add links to the restaurants later. I rested from driving on the weekend and spent it cleaning up our place with the help from my mother. All for now...

singles week: temescal restaurants

I get to be single for a week while the hubby takes a brotherly bonding trip to Washington DC.

In the meantime, I get to do a few things that I don't usually get to do while he is around: reorganize and redecorate a bit and try out a couple of hotspot restaurants.

I'm the kind of person that needs stuff out in the open when I reorganize. I like to spread everything out then try to regroup, but of course we don't necessarily have the room. The other thing I like to do, is try something out for a few days to see how it feels. Both habits mean that I don't finish redecorating projects or even start them if I can finish them in a day. As the hubby gets frustrated with clutter, especially clutter that falls along pathways through our place.

I've started changing out some of the photos we have up on the wall with ones we more recently took. And I found a wall space to put up more family pictures.

The other thing I get to do is try out some crowded bars and restaurants that I've been wanting to try. The hubby, again liking the space, doesn't like going into crowded bars and restaurants. Tonight I tried Pizzaiolo on Telegraph. It was crowded as usual even though there are ample tables that go all the way to the outdoor patio. It was a 30 minute wait to get a seat at the bar, which is fine by me.

I had a the spicy butternut squash soup (about as spicy as the sprinkle of dried red pepper garnish on it, so not spicy at all), one of their cocktails called the Derby, the squid pizza with aioli and tomatoes and the bread pudding with pluots for dessert. Yeah, I overate a bit as I hadn't calibrated my ordering for one person. The drinks are strong, and the paperthin dough on the pizza has just enough structure to deliver the delicious combination of ingredients to your mouth. The squid pizza was excellent, it wasn't too chewy and some of the tentacles had a nice crunch. The bread pudding was a nice light tasting dessert with a cookie crumb cookie and a slight tartness from the pluots that balanced out nicely. Overall I really liked the place and the food, though if I came with others, I would make reservations.

The other day I tried Bake Sale Betty. I bought a tray of their brownies and the fried chicken sandwich that alot of people rave. the brownies and the strawberry shortcake I got were really good! But I don't see what people are raving about in the fried chicken sandwich. I have to admit that the chicken is perfectly fried with a fine golden crunch batter, plus it's alot of chicken. But the rest of the sandwich didn't really support the chicken. I thought the cole slaw would bring more contrast: either a sour or tartness or maybe a creaminess to the crunch, but it provided neither. The thin slices of jalapeno pepper gave it a nice kick, but stepping back, it basically looked like an American version of a Vietnamese sandwich. And I can get 3 of those for the price of 1 of these in Chinatown. I think I like Vietnamese sandwiches better.

Tomorrow I go to Spenger's in Berkeley for a Crab Chef Challenge. All I know is that there's lots of crab and that's all I need to know.

Monday, I'm set to go to the City after work and meet up with a friend in town for a convention. She said she wanted seafood and that the place not be a dive. OK. Drop me a line if you have any suggestions.

Thursday, I may continue my trek of places the hubby doesn't like going to, by finally visiting the Trappist, a European style bar that specializes in lots and lots of beer. The place is barely up to fire marshal code in terms of aisleways to the door, but if you want to feel like you're in Europe without hopping a plane for 12 hours, this is the fastest way to do it. I might go there with a coworker, then also try the new tapas wine bar, Mono Restaurant in Jack London. They have Happy Hour on Thursdays. But we'll see if we make it that far.

Friday, I head to the City once again but this time to record a book review for an upcoming Filipino Roots episode for Filipino History Month that will air on KPFA. I'll reveal the books and the author when I get the air date and time.

Levende East

Alot of good motion happening for us yesterday so we decided to celebrate. Got some checks for work we had done! yeah! The hubby left 24hr and joined Club One. Yeah!

[The hubby had not been to 24hr in over a year, mostly because he found the place not very well kept. We took a visit of Club One on Sunday and really enjoyed the tour of the facilities. Really kept up, lots of amenities, classes included with membership, no gym bags allowed in workout area, brand new machines. Plus we lucked out that they were having a deal on registration. And the best part is that the hubby is inspired to go to the gym again with his goal of getting rid of the last 20 lbs and maybe even building up some muscle. We shall see.]

Anyway, we decided to roam around Old Oakland and check out one of the new restaurants in that area and we happened upon Levende East. With it's high ceilings and dark but comfy interior, it was definitely a sit and linger kind of restaurant. There were high tables for just cocktails and appetizers or nicely padded leather chairs for longer dining.

Here's what we had:
-warm bread with olive oil, chive, basil: we loved the warm bread, dense warm with a crusty exterior. could easily have this with a salad for a complete meal
-fried calamari salad: had a good balance of flavors
-indian styled mini lamb burgers: asked for medium rare, but still a bit dry. probably better if the lamb patties were thicker. A bit disappointed
-Kennebec fries: fries were nice and crisp with a bbq chip flavoring with a sour cream and chive dipping sauce. Decent, but not my favorite
-Duck confit with cherries: this was fabulous! And really made up for the disappointing burgers and fries.
-Upside down Martini
-forgot the other cocktail name: but both were really refreshing, not overly fruity or sweet, good balance of flavors so the alcohol was not overwhelming
-blueberry new york cheesecake: with more of a blueberry gelatin topping and graham cracker garnish. the hubby loved it and I found it quite enjoyable as well
-key lime pie: I had to order this because I know it's not something that I would bake at home. loved it! nice thick home made graham cracker crust with sweet black berries balanced off the key lime well. I wanted to finish it off even though my body said no more.
- 2006 calaveras viogner: dessert wine that was the pairing with the key lime. It was more of a parallel pairing. They were delightful if given some time between tasting the pie then sipping, but not together or immediately after the other.

Service was attentive but not overbearing. Our waiter knew his stuff and gave excellent recommendations. Never had to ask for water or a refill. Overall, a nice upscale, trendy but not snobby, restaurant with plenty of parking. We would go again and take people with us.

I'm glad Oakland is expanding its realm of sit down restaurants that are not all on College Ave as it allows people to explore the many wonderful neighborhoods that Oakland has.

espetus

Yesterday I stayed at home most of the day: slept in, did laundry, cleaned the other half of the balcony, cleaned the bathtub, vacuumed. It was rather relaxing since usually when I'm doing chores it's as if I'm trying to cram them in just before going somewhere else that there isn't time.

Afterwards, went bowling where I got to play with some of the toddlers roaming around (one guy brings his daughter on a regular basis and another brought his granddaughter). The kids are quite friendly and in general will let most of the women there carry them. Though they have some reservations about some of the guys. We're all in the same section of the alley so people keep a general eye out for the kids when it's their parent's turn to bowl. We managed to win 4 games and remain in 1st place!

Today, the hubby decided to join me on vacation and took the day off. The morning I spent taking a cartful of stuff from the balcony to the reuse and recycle shelf in the garage: plastic trashcan, five cinderblocks, a wooden plank, a neglected jade plant, and bag full of dead leaves from the surviving plants. I'm not sure how we got all that stuff on the deck in the first place, the thing is only 20 sq feet or so. But so goes with the rest of my life of weeding, and refocusing.

In the afternoon we headed to Golden Gate Park and wandered around. Ate at the de Young cafe but didn't tour inside. We asked the security person at the museum if the metal had been the bright orange color. She said yes, and it will eventually turn into the green color like the Statue of Liberty. "I'm not sure how you design ugly, but they did." I'm not sure what to make of the building, but it was striking in terms of the angular design and the texture of the metal. It will take a bit longer before it reaches its green hue. But I do think it's a daring design in the way that it's ultimate look with really at the whim of the elements. It's very chameleon-like. The Academy of Sciences is still closed, but I'm looking forward to it opening as we could see the two domes of the rooftop gardens emerging. With the two museums across from each other it will really be a dynamic contrast in architecture.

Went instead to the Japanese Tea Garden and took pictures of all the flowers. Even with a bit of a crowd at the garden it was a serene place to walk with various alcoves shaded by large Japanese maples or bamboo. The cherry blossoms were gorgeous!

For dinner with went to Espetus, a Brazilian Rodizio style restaurant. All you can eat, but fancier with better service. A metal disk on your table rotates between green and red. They have a salad bar for starters, then when you switch it to green, they come by with long skewers of meat (and roasted pineapple with is wonderful!). Our friend told us they had 12 different dishes on the skewers but we only got through nine of them before we couldn't go any further. But it's hard to resist saying yes. The hubby kept saying he was done, then when the next new thing came, he had to have a taste. We decided we'll have to come back another time with more people to try the other dishes. High grade meats infused with wonderful flavors. And their cheesebread is so yummy! (cheese is just baked right in)

It's back to work on Monday. So I still have a couple more days to stay in vacation mode.

looking forward to this

I'm not a huge movie fan and I don't scan the weekly openings for a movie to watch, but once in a while there's a movie that I just can't wait for the dvd. Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo is one of them. Campy and deliberate, and outrageously funny with its surreal encounters, plus with every politically laced commentary joke you can pack into 2 hours.

repitez!

Seven more days til my birthday! A friend called asking what I was doing for my birthday and frankly I hadn't thought that far ahead.

After chatting with the hubby as to what is in store, going to spend it rather quietly this year. Hubby and I will head to dinner at Fleur de Lys. A bit of a raincheck dinner from our anniversary that will double-up as a birthday dinner.

I had been thinking of having a party in between the holidays, but decided to just lounge around, going against my Capricorn nature of almost overscheduling. Not like we're lacking for parties. Maybe we'll make it into a summer swim party instead.

We shopped at Whole Foods yesterday for ingredients for paella that the hubby wants to cook for Noche Buena at his sister's. We'll try cooking it on Friday night so we're not rushing. Though we still need squid ink for the black squid rice ala Spain. Saturday we have dinner with friends at their house. Sunday, I'll wrap gifts. Christmas will be at mom's. Not sure what I'm cooking for that yet.

We ordered our holiday cards late, but that's why they're holiday cards! Well, more like New Year's cards now.

This is one of the first years where Christmas just came out of nowhere. Or at least that's what it feels like. I'm looking forward to the break since the new year I'll be off and running.

Somewhere in there will be a 1 year old party and then New Year's at the SIL's when the BIL comes o town. Fun times ahead!

How far are you willing to go?

So, we haven't gone out to Sushi in three weeks ever since our favorite Sushi Chef, Tomo, left Kansai, over in Oakland. And while we used to return to that spot even after several owner changes, we have not been there since he left. Alot of good staff have left and for good reason.

Fortunately, we had given Tomo our card and number. And while he waits for a new building to get built and designed, he's over in Pleasanton at Sendo Sushi, 4555 Hopyard Road. It's in a shopping strip mall in the Business park, so the place is packed at lunch but rather sparse in the evening, which is perfect for us. But I think as soon as people find out where Tomo has landed, you'll see the place fill up. The only other real dining place there is a salad buffet chain restaurant.

I know most people don't like driving far and wide for anything. Frankly, I work where I work and live where I live so I don't have to drive much. But for really good food, good people, I'll go just about anywhere. An hour's drive would be pushing it for a weekday, but 30 minutes is doable.

So if you loved the fusion sashimi dishes at Kansai, then head on over to Pleasanton.

Halloween Lunch Treat

In my wallet I had a hand signed raincheck from the proprietor of Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen on Shattuck for a slice of pecan pie. I had ate there on Mardi Gras and had ordered pecan pie only to be told they had run out. It was Mardi Gras and it was a shame not to have a fattening sweet treat for then.

I hadn't had a chance to eat there til yesterday when I thought it would be a good place to have lunch on Halloween. One of the waiters dressed up as a cheesy French waiter complete with black beret and fake black mustache.

Feeling rather indulgent, I really went for it on this meal: po' boy oyster sandwich with cup of gumbo, swamp juice, and the pecan pie for dessert.

They also have lighter fair: pasta and salads with some cajun spice to it for those not wanting the heart burn/heart attack meal that I had.

The po' boy was excellent! The oysters coated in a crisp corn meal sitting on the soft homemade bread simply melted in your mouth. I was through half a sandwich before I even knew it! The cup of gumbo is no dinky cup either since it has to fit the rather large spoon they give you. Their gumbo is not overtly spicy, but that good spiciness that creeps up on you and before you realize it you're needing a napkin to blow your nose. But if you need more heat there are plenty of bottles of hot sauce. When they say stick-to-your-ribs-goodness, you know what they mean when you eat this gumbo.

I had to hold back from eating the entire po' boy, which is not po' and occupies way more than a boy's appetite, to make room for the pecan pie. The pie was topped with home made whipped cream with the tell tale soft peaks and not the ready-whip striations. The pie was sweet but not too sweet and had that nice light caramelized taste that set off the sweet cream well. Oh so yummy!

The burn from the gumbo left a warm feeling for an hour after lunch, so it's not the kind of place I would go for dinner unless you give yourself plenty of digestion time after the meal. But it's certainly the kind of place that makes you want more and makes you want to go to Louisiana if the food is this good.

moving on, moving up

Our favorite sushi chef is leaving to start up his own restaurant in Walnut Creek. He said he'll call us when they open.

A bit sad that we will no longer stop off at the old restaurant. We met the owners and didn't like their attitude and expect the quality of the restaurant to soon match their attitude.

But we do look forward to his new restaurant, which will be a classic Japanese sushi restaurant with wait staff for every 4-5 tables. He deserves more than he was getting at the old restaurant and we're very happy that he's really getting the kind of restaurant he deserves.

I can see how avid foodies keep track of which chefs are where. A really good chef sets the tone of the entire restaurant through the menu and cuisine. They set the standard and expectation of the people eating there.

Tomo is definitely a guy to follow, so we'll be going to Walnut Creek more often. His new restaurant will be called Tomo's House in Japanese. It'll be near downtown near that shopping district with Nordstrom's. Location is everything afterall.

Dopo

We ate at Dopo, a new italian eatery on Piedmont Ave across from Le CoCo's. I had read about the restaurant in Diablo Magazine and always wondered where it was. It was started by a former chef of Oliveto's.

We decided to take a couple of seats at the bar with a view of the open kitchen watching them bake pizzas.

On the menu:

-cheese plate with white nectarine and candied pecans
We're just suckers for cheese plates. I don't recall the names of the cheeses, but one was drier nuttier, another that tasted like a mild goat cheese, and another that had a bluecheese tartness and flavor. We're quite entertained figuring out which cheeses go with the nectarine or the candied pecans and how the white wine I got works with that.

-squid and mint on toast (there was a Italian name for this that I can't recall)
The squid was nice and tender by itself, but when you eat it with the toast underneath that soaked up all the sauce...simply yummy! The one square we got was just large enough to share and be utterly satisfied.

-mozzerella di buffula with garlic pizza
This is a no sauce pizza and that's no matter. The crust is just the right thin crispiness and chewiness. A simple dish, but delicious. It doesn't seem big (medium size), but it fills you surprisingly quickly, plus the flavor is memorably yummy.

-fregola with sanddabs
The hubby thought this was a bit salty, but he's not sure if that's because he doesn't eat as much salt anymore. It looked nice, but I didn't think the flavors and textures blended as well as they could have.

-vanilla bean gelato
Ubersweet! A disappointment after all the delicious food. I took a tiny taste and reached for the water.

-diplomatico (chocolate mousse)
This was excellent. Chocolately, velvety, not too sweet and a nice rich whipped cream.

The menu changes daily. This is more of the urban trendy Italian restaurant in contrast to the homey and what I would consider more traditional Italian restaurant of Le CoCo's across the street. The pizzas can be ordered to go, but you'll have to eat in for the antipasti. In general we felt it was a very good restaurant. Certainly come in early to get a seat inside, though they have heaters for the sidewalk tables. This restaurant in particular really makes Piedmont Ave feel more like College Ave except with slightly more parking as the alumni of Oliveto's are running out of room to start restaurants on College. We suspect the pizzas are a consistent winner, along with the starters menu. They have their wine menu listed on a map of Italy so for Italian wine newbies like us, we can start to get a sense of the different wine regions and their productions. We'll definitely come back again.

on the hunt

We're always on the hunt for a good Filipino restaurant. Looks like Filipino restaurants are finally moving to the higher end of the restaurant spectrum. I haven't tried these places yet, but hope to make our rounds to them soon.

saturday/sunday something

A friend was having a surprise birthday party. I thought it was Sunday, but it wasn't, it was on Saturday, but managed to say hello anyway. It was a bit of a comedy of errors. Silly silly me. In any case, we got Alameda's famous Tucker's supercreamed Macapuno ice cream, oh yeah!

You know, and we actually had Saturday free. We went to the Farmer's Market. Came home and napped and napped. Then I spent the evening rearranging the office and clearing it out. Then as a reward went to Kansai (which the hubby blogged about) and where I got the idea for what the Coming Full Circle II essay will be about.

I've been struggling with what this essay, a "follow-up" to the writing in the first Coming Full Circle over 12 years ago. I must have 5-6 different intros and outlines written out. Where to begin? What to say? Where am I now exactly? Then listening to the sushi chef speak about fusion cuisine, it came to me, and the message was confirmed this morning in Kali class. Actually, it's a message that has been repeating itself for some time, and I'm just now grasping it enough to bring it to paper. So what does a Japanese sushi chef have anything to do with Filipino identity? You'll just have to read the book to find out.

Prosperity begets prosperity OR Lessons learned at the sushi restaurant

We started the first day of summer league today. There are only 4 people per team, so with dad, my sister, the hubby, and coach bowling, I'm going to play the pinch hitter role. The hubby decided to let the family bowl, while he went home in hot pursuit of his family tree lineage. The more people he finds, the more he feels empowered. Many of the people he is finding are in their 70s, and in the same urgency that he feels he needs to find them, they have a need to talk to him.

The league is playing on the opposite lanes from where we were during winter, and I always liked those lanes better. The next thing I know, I'm already shooting to set the standard for the high series women's score with a 206 (no open frames), 175, and a 190, totalling 571 which I believe is one of my highest series ever. I'm shooting to hit a 600 series this league season though I'm not sure what prize I'll give myself for that. We don't know how we did until the averages get plugged into the computer.

It was fun introducing Dad to the other bowlers. One guy, a rather boisterous funny fellow, has been teasing my sister into not getting married and that she should marry him instead. Another woman on the team says, "you're too old." And always with the quick reply, "I am, but not my money!" So we told him next week, he's going to have to bring like 10 pigs, a couple of goats, and half a dozen chicken for the dowry. Ooh, forgot to tell him about the 7 years of servitude to the family. We'll add that to the list next week.

So my 200 game brings us to Kansai, which I blogged about before as one of the best sushi restaurants in the bay area and now I can say why. Anyway, since Kansai opened about 8 months ago, we knew it was special and decided to make Kansai a reward if one of us hit a certain score. Something just out of reach of our abilities which, at the time was 200. So, if we hit 200, then for sure we could reward ourselves with Kansai.

Before we used to sit at the tables, but now that we've met the main chef, we sit at the bar. We just ask him what is fresh today and he just slices it up and hands it over. Often he just prepares something and hands it over without us asking him. Hands down, it's the kind of place that after you eat here, you just know sushi everywhere else will never be the same. Today the dishes included a couple of fish I didn't even know the name to, uni, halibut with basil, large clam, and tomago. He also handed over a special soy sauce that had a light but rich sweet roasted flavor in a light golden color which brought a delicate flavoring without overpowering the fish with kikkoman salt.

He was a sushi chef in one of the main hotels in Tokyo for four years and was previously in SF when the owner of Kansai tried his food and courted him to work here. (God Bless that woman!) After dinner, he explained how in the morning they get fish locally, and in the afternoon, they get the fish shipped directly from Japan. All fish is wild, nothing farmed. He even showed us the full color faxed pictures of the boxes of fish he had gotten this day.

He makes everything that morning from the miso soup, which should never be boiled, to slicing the fish, and folding the tomago (it takes 10 minutes and he uses cactus honey and citrus vinegar and cooks it in a pan over 10 years old). As he said, by the time it's lunch, he's full because he tasted everything. His teacher told him that he should always be the first one to taste. Why, he asks. Because if it's poison, better you dead than your customer!

Everything is handmade. He told us about the ingredients for the sushi rice, no msg, no refined sugars. Just about everything comes from Japan. He also told us his various techniques for his sauces from his unagi sauce (other restaurants cheat by using teriyaki sauce), to his spicy mayonnaise (that is light and yet explodes with flavor and heat). His tomago was dense, no air, a consistent bright yellow with a sweetness that bounced off the tongue.

Over and over again, he kept saying, it's the technique, it's the technique. The patrons of the restaurant have been hearing about him and they're coming from all over the east bay. Some of them drop by and if he's not here, they leave, because they know the chefs under him, while good, do not have his technique in creating new dishes to suit their palattes.

During dinner, we were discussing prosperity and what this kind of thinking means.

And then this happens. The chef hands me a small tall box with Japanese writing. "Here, a gift for you." he says, "300 year old soy sauce. Just one touch to your finger, all you need." We were delightfully surprised at his gift and honored by his generosity. He could only get five bottles, he handed us two. In a way, he seemed to sense that we would appreciate the quality of 300 year old soy sauce that are stored in large ceramic containers.

He told us the difference between other sushi places and real Japanese sushi restaurants. He says there are only about 10 real sushi chefs in the bay area. He explained how the temperature must remain consistent, how other places keep their fish for several days or use the frozen kind. But here, fish stays in the display for one day only, then is tossed or given away to the staff. When the owner brought him to this restaurant, he had one request, to maintain a high quality of food. You could see the displeasure in his face of owners who fret about the fish being tossed and equating it to "losing money". But he says, he knows when the busy days are and how much fish is needed each day, so he regulates how much fish he'll need each day so not too much goes to waste. In his mind, serving bad quality is like poisoning your customers, they don't come back.

The restaurant before them didn't do so well and we could quickly see it deteriorate in quality. He says that they are now making double what the previous restaurant was making. Good for us because we want them to be successful!

Now in one sense, he could be a bunch of BS, but the truth is in the taste. In the same way, that once we tasted really good wine, it instantly broadened our palattes because now you could really tell the difference from the bad, the mediocre, the pretty good and the great, when you taste the food and the fish they prepare here, you will taste that what he says is true.

Sushi, he says, is supposed to be very healthy, but what has been catered to the American taste is full of refined sugar and msg. You can eat alot at Kansai, and not feel weighted down. You can eat a little at Kansai, and feel completely satiated because of how the flavors permeate your mouth. You can taste his technique.

As we've been learning and understanding what makes a prosperous mindset, it's interesting how the quality of things in our lives increase. How spontaneously things are given to us without us asking (or maybe we did ask and we never knew it) and things we truly want and appreciate as opposed to recieving things we would have to get rid of anyway. The generosity of giving, and the humbleness of recieving. And truly believing you deserve quality, not for show, but because you appreciate the value of quality, the content it provides.

We hoped to take our cousin here for his birthday that just passed. Him and his wife have been wanting to go to Japan, but then they bought a house, and now they want to start a family, so well, actually going to Japan will have to wait. The chef mentioned that if there was a special occassion he could set up a kaiseki for us, but would need three days in advance.

A few days ago, I dreamed I was in London, and that I had a life where I could go back and forth from Europe on a whim. I tell Tuhan this, and he says, "It's not the travelling. You can get everything over there, here. It's the freedom." And yet, everything you've always desired has always been here. The challenge is seeing it and appreciating it for what it is. So if you can't go to Japan, Japan can come to you. And it does, at least sushi-wise, here at Kansai.

mardi gras meal

Since it was Mardi Gras and I was no where near to hopping on a plan to New Orleans today, I did the next best thing and headed to Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen to get some Lousiana culinary treats. Their lunch menu is mostly po' boys or meat sandwiches with a side of potato salad or hush puppies (the deep fried corn bread balls - yummy!), but they also have a few pasta dishes, gumbo and jambalaya. There are also vegetarian version of jumbalaya because this is Berkeley and you don't want to leave out your vegetarian friends.

Desserts include creole pecan pie, apple pie, and Beignets (a kind of donut type dessert). They serve a couple of Louisiana beers along with strawberry soda, lemonade, sweet tea, and swamp water (which according to the owner jokingly said "is called Arnold Palmer at lesser grade establishments").

My lunch consisted of:

-boudin sausage with salad
-cup of gumbo
-creole pecan pie
-swamp water

The gumbo has a nice balanced heat that builds in the back of your mouth, but not so searing hot that you can't taste it anymore. If you want heat there's a couple of hot sauce containers at each table to kick it up a notch. Their spoons are the size of serving spoons, so make sure to open wide. Even the cup which is a bowl in other restaurants is quite filling and enough for lunch.

For the non-carb, well semi-carb, dieters there's the boudin sausage and salad starter. Boudin (pronounced boo-dan) is a rice sausage that they grill to a nice crispness. Comes with mustard and a salad with a sweet vinagrette. Combined together you get the salt-sour-sweet tastes all at once with the varying textures makes it an entertaining dish for your mouth.

The Swamp Water is even exceptional as they made it a proper blend of ice tea and lemonade such that it really becomes it's own kind of drink, instead of the usual lemony ice tea or the watered down lemonade.

I was getting ready to end the lunch with the Creole Pecan Pie, but due to some miscommunication, they were out of it. The waiter/owner felt so bad that he gave me a business card with a handwritten note that I would get my next slice of creole pecan pie for free. The meal was so good and filling I didn't even mind missing out on dessert and it just gives me another chance to eat there again. Even as I write this, I can still feel the warmth of the meal, or maybe that's just slight heartburn. Either way it was good eats and I'm looking forward to pecan pie.

More creme than krispy

For the hubby's birthday, my sister got him a dozen Beard Papa's Vanilla Creme Puffs. But they're not the small petite creme puffs, they're the donut size creme puffs, with more of a delicate eggy crisp outside with an inch thick of a light vanilla pudding. Oh so good, and oh so wrong! If you're done with the super sweetness of krispy kremes, then you'll want to try these. They're sweet but not overly sweet. The SF store has a rotating menus of flavors alongside the staple vanilla and chocolate flavors. We shared our dozen with our parents and sister and just kept the half dozen. They're only available in limited locations and only in SF in the bay.