It’s still his birthday.
For Jes’ birthday, I got him tickets to the opera. He’s always wanted to see Puccini’s Turandot and it was playing at the War Memorial Opera House this fall. We went on Saturday and got there a little early so we hung out on the balcony for a drink and a view of City Hall.
The opera house itself was beautiful and they had subtitles on a skinny screen above the stage. Our seats were up in the Dress Circle and in the center. Turandot was really good and I recognized the music from the CD that Jes used to play all the time. It was so good that I’m looking forward to watching it again at the ballpark next weekend.
The show finished a little before 11 pm and went on Open Table to find a reservation at a place down the street. We had a really late dinner at Boxing Room, which served creole fare. Jes ordered a huge shrimp po’boy that came with a side of hushpuppies. It was delicious. I also got a small bowl of gumbo and it was equally good.
Here are more photos.
On Friday night, Project by Project held their 2nd Annual Plate by Plate event at Bently Reserve. I was one of their photographers again and the venue was beautiful. I went straight from work with all my gear and spent the evening snapping and snacking.
We didn’t win anything in the silent auction this year but the Agustins won a cool shoulder bag.
The restaurants included a bunch of places that were at the event last year and the presentation of their dishes was still top-notch.
I didn’t get to taste as much this year but it sounded like the food wasn’t as good as last year.
This year for Jes’ birthday, we were actually in town. In the past, we’ve taken our annual trip out of the country during the Labor Day weekend. Last year, Jes spent his birthday in Paris, France. The year before, we were in Florence, Italy. And the year before, we were coming back from Belize! What a lucky guy.
Well, this year I threw him a birthday party with all his friends over the weekend and then took him out for a nice dinner on the night of his actual birthday. On Sunday evening (9/4), we threw a party at our house. We had food everywhere – including the coffeetable where Koa sat and stared at the food all afternoon.
We had a house filled with people and the Scotch was flowing all night.
The Suminos even came and I got to pull out my old GameBoys to help entertain them. When I took them out, Brandon and Cole asked, “What’s GameBoy?” Sheesh. Once I showed them how it worked, they were hooked.
Victor had a good time coaching them on the finer points of wrestling. I guess he enjoyed watching them play as he used to with his own little brother. The boys had fun but Marie wasn’t happy. Victor…the trouble-maker.
Jes made a prime rib roast and we sliced it up for some tasty prime rib sandwiches on Acme rolls. Everyone ate it up along with all the appetizers and sides that we had out all night. It was nice to actually have no leftovers at the end of the night.
Jes also got a yummy Coldstone ice cream cake compliments of the Masayas and then some cupcakes that the Fernandos brought too.
On Tuesday, his actual birthday, we had dinner at Benu. It’s a relatively new restaurant that is run by a James Beard Award winning chef who worked at The French Laundry back when Thomas Keller was still working in the kitchen there. They have a $180 tasting menu that was very intriguing but we didn’t have the stomach for it this time. It included 19 different items on that menu!
So, we opted for a few dishes off the a la carte menu that was equally satisfying and didn’t give you the roll-me-out-the-door feeling afterward. Everything was made so perfectly and the presentation was whimsical and pretty. The food was all very good and there were combinations that I hadn’t had before. The dish above is a chicken porridge with thousand-year quail egg. It was savory and delicious.
We also had abalone, foie gras, lobster, beef, and a very unique dessert made with chocolate ganache, peanut pudding, and miso sorbet. At the end of the night, they served a box of fancy chocolates that were also very rich and flavorful.
On Sunday (9/4), I went to a baby shower for Ranee. My cousin, Ishya, helped throw it together along with Ranee’s family and friends. The party was at Temescal Park, which is a pretty big park with a lake nearby.
Ranee and her husband Jaime are expecting a baby girl in December and everyone is very excited for them.
It was also really nice to see Ishya and Billy who are expecting twins – a boy and a girl in December too. We didn’t get to stay very long but I’m glad I got to see everyone.
On Friday night (9/2), Dayantha and Krissy flew up for the weekend and we all met up for drinks, then dinner, and then more drinks. We were out pretty late but it was fun having everyone together again.
The Suminos were also in town for the weekend so we met up with them at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning (9/3). It was so fun to see them all again and the boys are getting so big. We took them to Roli Roti and had the Porchetta Sammich.
It was so fun to see Brandon hold it with just one hand and stuff his face. That’s my boy!
Cole was insatiable and even got his own cone of meat from the salumeria inside the Ferry Building. No wonder he’s getting so tall.
Later that afternoon, we drove to Alameda. I dropped Jes off at Jimmy and Eleen’s where Dayantha and Krissy were staying. I then went down the street to KM’s house to see Mai (in town from LA) and Ranee (in town from NYC). We were supposed to go to Zachary’s for pizza but ended up having an impromptu potluck with Stephanie’s buffalo chicken dip and Mai had bought two containers of ja jang myun. Tasty.
Afterward, I went back to the Agustin House where I got to make my very own elephant necklace thanks to Eleen’s help and supplies.
Krissy made a pair of fancy earrings too. I’m so inspired! Might have to start making my own stuff again.
On July 26th, I plucked all the basil leaves off this stem when I made some pesto. The next day, I put the stem into a bottle of water and 
Today, i checked it again and it had a ton of roots and some bigger leaves in addition to some new ones budding. So, I gave it a new home in a self-watering pot that I bought yesterday at Home Depot. Let’s see how long it lasts.
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