Browse Category: outings

Late Lunch

We had a really beautiful Saturday afternoon and I was able to get a little Vitamin D today.  Jes and I walked down to Ferry Plaza in search of a tasty lunch.  This is the rocket that has been on display on The Embarcadero.  Jack calls it “Uncle Jesse’s Rocket”.

After striking out on the Porchetta sammich (sold out), we waited in line for a table at Hog Island Oyster Co.  We ended up having quite an afternoon feast and it was fantastic.  We started with some Sweetwater oysters with their classic “Hog Wash”

Then we had a roasted Dungeness Crab that looked like a massacre after we were done.  I made a fat mess on the table and my hands were covered in crab juice and butter.  Tasty.

For the last course, we shared my favorite clam chowder in the whole-wide world.  It was so yummy.

After this seafood feast and two drinks each, we were stuffed and oh so happy.

Towards the end of lunch, Joy arrived at the Ferry Plaza with her girlfriends in time to say “hi” before moving on her way to Fisherman’s Wharf.  What a pleasant surprise!

Goodies

This morning, I attended a small Yelp Elite Event that happened to be at the cafe downstairs.  Since it was a small gathering, I wasn’t allowed to bring a +1.  I was bummed that I’d have to go alone but managed to make some single-serving friends.  I was surprised to meet so many people arriving from Mountain View, East Bay, and San Mateo.  They came all the way up to SF for this tiny affair!  Crazy.  While there, I got free coffee and food samples, free stickers, more buttons, and put my name in for the raffle.  They also offered lessons on how to prepare espresso drinks behind the counter.  After about a half hour, I got bored so I went back upstairs.

As Jes and I were leaving for lunch, we walked past the event and saw that there were goodie bags by the door.  I went back in to quickly grab one but walked in when they happened to be gathering for the raffle.  Being polite, I hung back to wait for them to draw the raffle winner before fleeing with the loot.  It’s a good thing I stuck around ‘cuz they picked MY NAME!  WHUUT?!!  I NEVER win these things!  The grand prize was 2 coffee drinks per day on the house for a FULL YEAR.  And I won it!  Perfect.  So not only do I have a local coffee shop but they’re going to give me free drinks for a year!  Heh heh.  Susie…Michelle…let me know when you’re ready for a FREE DRINK!!

In the goodie bag, we got a bag of coffee grounds, a single-serving espresso maker, and a cute little espresso cup set.  Not too shabby, huh?  I should go to more of these events.

Double Birthday

On Saturday night, we celebrated Susie and Victor’s birthdays.  We all met up at Spire for dinner and got invited to the birthday party that was being held upstairs.  At first we thought we were going to head over to 25 Lusk but the line was ridiculously long.  So, we headed back to Spire and crashed the birthday party after all.  It turned out to be just fine.  There was a DJ and a bar.  What else do you need?

Holly also got into town that evening so we all got to catch up with her too.  Happy Birthday to the Masayas!

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I said “goodbye” to 2010 and “hello” to 2011 with my dear husband and the Masayas this year.

The party started at 10:30 so they came over for some champagne first and then we headed out to a little place called Nombe in the Mission District for all-you-can eat Japanese tidbits.

It was pretty chill inside and the food was good.  At midnight, they broke open a new sake cask and we had help-yourself sake for the rest of the night.

The waitress that helped us was quite a character and I think she showed up to her shift already wasted.  When it was time to go, we each took a cup of sake to-go for the quick walk in the rain to the BART station.

Have I made any New Year’s Resolutions yet? Not formally but I’m sure it will include some form of watching what I eat, exercising more, and saving some money.

Did I keep any of last year’s resolutions? Meh. However, one that I DID actually follow through with was my Project 365. I managed to take a photo a day for the whole year. It definitely helps to have multiple cameras available including my trusty iPhone with all its apps for making some pretty cool Polaroids and plastic camera-looking shots. I’ve decided to keep the project going again this year and look forward to what else I’ll be able to capture. Brother will be trying again this year and Joy will also be joining me. Who else is in?!?! Happy Snappin’!

Post-Christmas Festivities

On Sunday, I picked up Holly and we spent the afternoon at Huntington Beach for a long walk and some catching up.  Afterward, we headed to Irvine to visit Patty and Johnny’s new house where a bunch of old friends from Whitney were gathered with all their little children for the evening.  It was a brief but very cool reunion.

For dinner, we drove back to Cerritos for a dinner gathering.  We shared pitchers of Hite, chicken wings, and bulgogi pizza.  It was so fun to have everyone together in one place.  Times like this make me miss our Christmas parties in Irvine.

On Monday, I drove to El Segundo with Joy to pick up Brother for lunch at Simmzy’s.  We spent a couple hours in Manhattan Beach where the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm outside.  We took Koa along for the ride and after sniffing and peeing along the beach, we had to tie him up outside of the restaurant.  To minimize the barking that usually occurs when strangers try to pet him, I posted a sign on him.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Cerritos at my parents’ house until it was time for dinner.  We met up again that night and had some tasty Korean BBQ at Shik Do Rak.

a sigh of relief

Friday was the perfect day for a happy hour since we had so much to celebrate: the end of a tough week, Michelle’s last day of her 3-month internship with us, and Ranee’s arrival back in SF for the holiday.  We went to Conga Louge for some $5 Mai Tais and appetizers.  We love this tiki bar even though they have become a lot stricter about how many people you can have in your party.  Luckily we had just enough to max out the 12-person limit and then snuck in a couple extra by the end of the evening.

It was great to be able to celebrate Michelle’s achievements and to give her a proper send off into the real world.  It was also nice to be able to hang out with our old friend Ranee.

We also got to meet Teresa’s baby brother Patrick who had also just arrived from Chicago for the holidays.  We love bringing family to our happy hours.

Afterward, most of us made it down the street to Ici for some tasty ice cream.  I got to taste their Salted Coconut Pecan and Candied Cacao Nib flavors this time.  They were delicious and it felt so good to be outside in the rain.  Once that was done, we headed over to Gordo for a little bite to eat.  I shared a chicken burrito with Michelle and it was just the right amount to get me sobered up for the drive home.