It’s Been An Interesting Week

Posted on 1 June, 2013 by Tina

On Wednesday afternoon, A. texted me to see if I’d like to meet up at Panta Rei.  I said “Maybe,” but specified that it would be least 6:30 p.m. or after.  My plans, as always, were to have a few drinks and call it a night.  I arrived at Panta Rei first.  The bartender, Roberto, is always so nice to me.  He asked if I liked spicy, then set out some olives in a spicy olive oil for me.  I’d had a couple of Heinekens by the time A. arrived with his (male) friend, J.  They had already stopped off at the Comstock Saloon and Vesuvio’s for drinks.  They wanted to eat, however, so ordered black polenta topped with shrimp, as well as sea bass in a red sauce also topped with shrimp.  The 3 of us shared.  I thought the food was good, but they couldn’t stop raving about it.  During that time, Roberto had given me another Heineken.  When we finished our food, he also gave us complimentary tiramisu.  I DO think that Panta Rei has some of the best tiramisu in San Francisco, however.  J., who was quite an interesting and intelligent fellow, was talking about Bulleit Whiskey.  The bartender promptly set up 3 shots for us.  I’ll have you know, I am NOT a whiskey drinker!  I took a sip, but didn’t really want mine.  J. refused his completely, saying that he had to be in fine form for his birthday the following day.  A. insisted that he and I do a shot and a half apiece.  That was NOT fun, let me tell you!  As we were deciding what to do next, a rather suggestively dressed young woman came into the bar and sat next to J.  They started up a conversation; her name was Ar (shall we say).  As it ended up, the 4 of us took a cab to J.’s apartment, where we drank a bottle and a half of wine, listened to some odd music and had some odd conversation.  Ar was actually quite nice, but she left after a few hours.  When I asked J. what that was all about, he said something about her being a stripper and her boyfriend being in jail.  He said that since most men probably just wanted to get in her pants, he wanted to prove that there were genuinely nice guys out there, such as himself!  Around that time, he also stated that he needed to go to bed as, once again, he wanted to be rested and ready for his birthday the following day.  He sent A. and me off to A.’s apartment with the remaining half bottle of wine.  At A.’s apartment we looked at photos, drank the rest of the wine, kept changing the music and continued the odd conversation.  He kept saying that though he was attracted to me, he wasn’t sure that we should be lovers.  (That was certainly fine with me!)  Anyway, was that some sort of challenge or was he trying to play a mind game with me?  I said that we have things in common and are cool to hang out together, but I didn’t think we should be lovers.  (What I didn’t say, point blank, is that I am NOT attracted to him in that way at all.  He’s somewhat attractive, but most certainly not the man for me.)  Beings it was going on 3:00 a.m., I told him that I needed to get home.  Well, first, he tried to give me the quintessential back massage.  We all know that’s nothing new.  It had no effect on me.  Then he tried to kiss me goodnight.  When I’m into someone, you can tell when you kiss me ’cause I actually kiss you BACK!!!  In this case, I was sort of rolling my eyes, thinking of someone else and basically putting up with it so that I could be put in a cab and sent home!  That’s what happened.  He put me in a cab, but…  got in the cab with me to escort me home.  He didn’t get OUT of the cab at my apartment, of course, but went home like a good little boy.  Then he texted me about half an hour later, as well as sending about 4 texts the following day and another the following evening, only one of which I responded to.  He wanted me to join J. and him at a party at MOMA on Saturday, but my plans were not to interact with theirs.

After giving my roommate the news, J. (Guy #2 from the dating website) had invited me for drinks on Friday, although we’ve agreed to be just friends.  We met at Pa’ina Lounge, sat at the bar, shared some calamari (he ate all but one piece ’cause calamari always tastes like rubber to me) and some spicy shiso ceviche (now THAT was good).  He asked how things had gone with the roommate, if I had any trips coming up and what had gone on with other men from the dating website.  I told him that I’m done with the website and gave him a few examples of the stupidity and rudeness that I’d come across.  When he found out that I was  going to Santa Fe, he told me that he’d been there once or twice before when he used to work for FEMA.  He was also talking to me about places in Honolulu that he liked, mainly Duke’s.  Since it seems we had 5 rounds and some type of free coffee shot, he was feeling fairly comfortable.  He talked about bars that he hangs out at, most of which employ Asian female bartenders.  Then he showed me his phone, where he keeps notes on them.  Strange, but whatever.  Hmmm…  Do you think he might have YELLOW FEVER?!?!  He said that he’d never been to Pa’ina Lounge before, but would make it a regular stop of his since it’s only a few blocks from his apartment, he thought the female bartender was cute and they have daily Happy Hour.  By then, I was more than ready to go, so I walked him to his place a few blocks away, then continued on to mine.

Although it was probably better than staying home doing nothing, both nights were sort of a waste of time.  I can’t honestly say that I had fun with either of them or shared any deep or even amusing conversation.  I’ve GOT to find something more productive to do!!!

On the other hand, while in Hawaii, my cousin had asked about my ATA purse.  Actually, many people had asked about my ATA purse. ATA purses are woven from ATA grass in a small Bali Aga village, Tenganan, in Bali, Indonesia.  That village is famous for making those purses and baskets, as well as for weaving double weft (?) geringsing cloth.  I bought some geringsing cloth a few trips ago, after haggling for quite some time with a woman.  It’s expensive for a small piece, as there are supposedly only 2 places in the world that make it.  Anyway, getting back to the purse.  I sent photos to my cousin of 3 ATA purses that I have to sell, then asked which one she liked.  She picked one out and asked the price.  I told her that it’s completely within her price range because it’s FREE!!!  I’m giving it to her as a belated birthday present; also, because her husband and she wouldn’t let me pay for lunch, dinner or drinks when we went out!  I mailed it in a Priority Mail box to her and she should have it on Monday.  That was my good deed for this week!

Tiramisu from Panta Rei

The ATA Purse That My Cousin Picked Out

Categories: dating, Food/Restaurants, Photos, Roommates, San Francisco, Sex, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dirty Business List Completed

Posted on 1 June, 2013 by Tina

Yesterday being May 31st, the last thing on my list was to give one of my male roommates his “walking papers,” so to speak.  That had been on my list since February or March, but I was getting ready for Paris and Hawaii, plus taking Italian classes, so that was my excuse for not doing it before.  Now I have no more trips coming up until August and am not enrolled in Italian this semester.  It was time.  I texted both of my roommates yesterday to ask if we could meet at the apartment around 7:00 p.m., as I needed to speak to them.  The unsuspecting outgoing roommate, N., answered quickly, saying that he’d be around, but asking what we’d be discussing.  I could already detect a bit of an attitude.  A few minutes later, he texted “I’m not in trouble am I?”  I didn’t respond to either text; was waiting to hear from the other roommate, K. To make a long story short, K. got back to me much later in the day, couldn’t be there at that time, asked if it was urgent and asked if we could discuss via telephone; that was fine with me.  After work and prior to meeting N., I met up with C., D. & D’s little girl, S., at Osha at the bottom of my office building for a “cup of courage,” as C. put it.  I wasn’t expecting N. to take it well.  A cute side note is that, while we were at Osha, there were 5 possibly Irish people sitting next to us with the most adorable little boy named Louis.  He was possibly 2 with big brown eyes and the sweetest disposition.  Much of the time he’d walk over to the edge of our table with his toy motorcycle, run it along the edge of the table, then stare at all of us as if he’d never seen women before!  S., who’s 5, was really good with him.  She got out her crayons and paper to let him draw.  He tried munching on the crayons instead, though.  He also took a liking to her baseball cap emblazoned with France.  We put it on him (he looked darling, of course), then he took it off and tried to put it back on S. At one point, S. was at the other table entertaining them with her drawing and her antics, while Louis was at our table simply staring like he was in love with us!  I’m not usually a fan of children (as most of them have been subject to bad parenting), but I wanted to take Louis home with me!  As it was, C. had to leave, but D. and S. actually came home with me.  S. had never ridden the cable car, which is my normal mode of transportation home from work, so she was pretty excited about it.  Once at home, I opened a bottle of wine for D. and me, got some water for S., heated up some chicken tamales and arancini for them to munch on, then took care of the business at hand.  I went into N.’s room, handed him the Thirty Day Notice and said that I needed a change in the apartment.  He seemed a little shell shocked, asked what it was that he’d done and asked if there was anything that he could do to change it and stay.  I explained that once my mind is made up, that’s it.  Plus, he’d already been in the apartment about 4 months longer than was necessary, due to my trips, classes and the Treasure Island thing.  He was quiet.  I said that I didn’t want the last month to be uncomfortable, just had to do what I need to do to make myself happy.  I also asked that he try not to take it too personally.  We’ll talk more this weekend about when he’ll be around for me to show the room, or whether he’ll just leave it unlocked.  I also need to take pictures of the room to put up on Craig’s List.  He wanted to know whether the other roommate, K., is staying.  I said “Yes,” but explained that K. is going to have to figure out what he’s going to do about internet.  N. has been the one whose name the internet is in, but I’m getting my own “Jetpack” from Verizon at the end of June, when my landline contract runs out.  They said it would increase my monthly bill by either $10 or $30, depending on how many gigs I wanted/needed.  Now that everything has been cleared off of my Dirty Business List, I feel incredibly relieved.  I’m ready for new things this year.  Let a new and brighter light enter my life!

On the Cable Car

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On The Pro Side…

Posted on 27 May, 2013 by Tina

At some point, I’m going to do a post about the evils of social media and its backlash.  For today, however, I’m going to write a few things (a very few things) about its most recent benefits to me.

We’re probably all on social media in some way, shape or form, right?  If it’s not MySpace, it’s Facebook, Pininterest, Tumblr, Linked In, Instagram, Twitter or something like that.  I flat out refused MySpace and Pininterest (although they granted me the right to set up an account) and resisted Facebook for years.  I’m okay with Tumblr and Linked In, but think Instagram and Twitter are kind of stupid, which isn’t to say that I don’t have accounts on them; we’ll keep that on the DL for now, though.

Facebook has maybe sort of benefitted me, in not so important ways.  I’m actually unsearchable on there and changed my “handle” so that my last name isn’t shown; that was due to being “stalked” by that apparently unstable Italian psycho.  You know how people say that you shouldn’t post certain comments or pictures on FB for fear that your boss or co-workers might see them?  Well then, make yourself unsearchable, you friggin’ geniuses!

Surprisingly, the one that’s been most useful to me has been Linked In.  Yup, my real name is even on there.  My best friend from Chico, who now lives in the Philadelphia area, found me on there.  We also became “friends” on FB, but only AFTER connecting through Linked In.  Now you can’t shut us up from commenting to each other on FB!  Last year I found someone on Linked In that I’d met nearly 20 years ago, but had lost contact with.  The other day I found my second best buddy from Chico on Linked In.  He was originally from San Diego, if my memory serves me correctly.  He said that he’s been in the Bay area since the mid-80’s.  He’s been married for 24 years and his 22-year old daughter just graduated from college!  I said that we should have lunch or dinner or whatever the next time he’s in San Francisco, if he ever actually comes into the City (since he lives in a suburb).  He replied that he’ll be in San Francisco for work next week and will contact me then!  I gauge that he and I haven’t seen each other in at least 30 years, possibly a little more.  Now that’s a LOT of catching up to do!  The other benefit to Linked In is that I can find my friends whenever they change jobs, which some are wont to do quite frequently.  Of course, the most obvious benefits to Linked In are that prospective employers can see your resume, co-workers/managers can recommend you and others can endorse your skills.  Lastly, I’m following Richard Branson on there and he’s filling my head with all kinds of dreams of success and opportunity!

So a big “thank you” to Linked In!  That’s about all I have to say on the matter for now!

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Memorial Day

Posted on 27 May, 2013 by Tina

It’s 9:30 a.m. and I’m still in bed, deciding what to do today.  Should I go see a movie?  There’s not even that much out – “The Great Gatsby,” “Iron Man,” “Star Trek,” “The Fast and Furious” and “Hangover 3.”  I’m slightly tempted to see “The Great Gatsby,” would have seen “Hangover 3” were it not for the terrible reviews and am considering “The Fast and Furious.”  Then again, maybe a movie can wait until next weekend.  I could go get pizza in North Beach at BaoNecci or Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, get another banh mi sandwich at Saigon Sandwich Shop, grab some pseudo Indo at Borobudur or get a great burger at Pearl’s.  I’m leaning towards the banh mi; it’s walking distance and cheap.  Otherwise, there’s always laundry or wandering the neighborhoods messing with my DSLR some more.  I still haven’t finished my books, either, “Just Kids” or “Cleopatra.”  If it were nice in Lafayette Park, I’d drag my beach chair and a towel over there to read; looks like it’s gonna’ be cool and gray today, though.  I could always contact one of those guys, but…  NOT!

In actuality, I finally replied to the text from D., letting him know that I was busy this (past) weekend and saying “Maybe next week.”  His response was “Maybe next week what?  You’ll have more PAMS?”  A few minutes later he corrected that to say”PMS?”  When I didn’t respond, he waited about half an hour, then texted “Sorry, that was meant for someone else.”  Yeah, right.  What kind of an idiot do you think I am?!  Since he still didn’t get any response from me, he sent me another text yesterday saying that he’d be in the Carnaval contingent during the day, then would be partying at Bissap Baobab if I wanted to stop by.  Hmmm…  No, actually; I think you’re an A**! In fact, the blocking feature on my cell phone has been enabled in regards to his number.   These are the typical morons in the dating pool in Northern California.  That’s why I truly don’t care any more and would rather be alone.  It’s not worth it for me to waste my time with these rude, unintelligent sorry excuses for men.  Dating was so much better in L.A. and I find attractive men the world over, but not in NoCal.

That brings me to my Musical Monday song.  If you’ve got something good going on (which so few people do these days), you should let the other person know once in awhile.  Besides, I hate when people keep sending mixed signals ’cause they can’t make up their mind.  Take a stand and go with it!  I’d love to tell someone, but have to keep it to myself for now.

“Tell Her” – Sons of Zion

 

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Second Day at Treasure Island

Posted on 26 May, 2013 by Tina

Our second day at Treasure Island has come to an end.  Actually, we ended it by going for drinks at Panta Rei in North Beach!  Today was even windier than yesterday, which was quite annoying.  The views were still great, the food trucks were better than most, but people don’t really spend money there.  Everyone is looking; you barely see anyone carrying anything that they’ve bought there.  It didn’t seem like some of the vendors around us sold more than 1 or 2 things all day, which doesn’t even cover the cost of renting the booth area.  I probably won’t do it again.  Some woman came around with flyers telling us that we should try the Alemany one instead, as it’s much cheaper for booth/stall rentals, there’s more of a community feel and people actually buy things there!  Even so, it was a nice enough weekend out.  Making any money at all was better than making none.  One of my co-workers stopped by this morning with her two sons and one of my friend’s friends also stopped by.  Mostly, though, people were taking pictures of the Staffordshire bull terrier, Flo.  We should have just charged them $5 a photo ’cause she seriously must have had 20 photos taken of her, not including mine!  We required a drink once the day was finished, so we headed to North Beach and were lucky enough to find a good parking space, as well as an outdoor table at Panta Rei.  One of the Italian waiters was talking about me having a good night the other night.  I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but the other Italian waiters said he was talking about the last time I was in there.  Then it dawned on me that he was talking about the night I was in there when the Aussie guy struck up a conversation, paid for my drinks and left with me to go to Ideale and Amelie!  Yeah, it was a good night; nice guy.  Anyways, I’m happy that tomorrow is a holiday, so I can sleep late, maybe go see a movie or have a nice lunch somewhere; they’ve predicted some rain, but they’re so seldom right!

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Views from Treasure Island Today

Posted on 25 May, 2013 by Tina

After attending someone’s birthday party at Mayes Oyster House last night and getting to bed around 1:00 a.m., 5:30 a.m. came FAR too soon this morning.  My friend picked me up, we loaded up the car and headed off to Treasure Island.  For the most part, it was a nice day weather-wise, only getting windy around 2:30 p.m. or 3:00 p.m.  Never having been to the Treasure Island Flea Market myself, I wasn’t all that impressed.  It was smaller than I thought it would be and not much of interest to me.  Some article had said that there is usually a booth there that sells sock monkeys.  I’m nostalgic for those “classic” toys, but alas, couldn’t find any today.  The only things I found of interest were a woman selling vintage/antique jewelry.  She had several cameos (which I collect), but was so busy with other customers that I never even got around to asking her the price of the two that I was interested in.  Some guy had a couple of T-shirts that were cute, but I’ll ask him about those tomorrow.  One of my friends from L.A. was in town and stopped by with her niece. She was looking to buy something for her niece as an early birthday present.  After they did the once-around, her nice decided that she wanted the “teddy bear” purse (actually, it’s a very small gold evening bag with Swarovski crystals) that I was selling.  Although it’s probably more for someone a little older, I’d rather see a little girl carrying it around than a woman in her mid-30’s!  The amount of food trucks lined up on the perimeter of the flea market was impressive.  Being the “pseudo Filipino” that I am, I went for the chicken pancit and lumpia.  I also had a stash of gummi bears and cashews with sea salt in my purse.  Tomorrow I’m going for the empanadas!

People Chowing Down at the Food TrucksThe Oakland Bay Bridge004007

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Treasure Island

Posted on 24 May, 2013 by Tina

This is a little self promotion.  Tomorrow and Sunday I’ll be at the Treasure Island Flea Market selling my wares at Booth #275.  If you have need of a few things from Bali, Malaysia or Hawaii, stop on by.  If not, come by to say “hello” and let me know that you read my blog!  My friend and I will be there both days from 10 to 4 with her dog, Flo.  I’d love to meet you!

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The Boys Are Back In Town

Posted on 22 May, 2013 by Tina

In actuality, it’s me that’s back in town.  The boys are calling and texting me, though.

Remember Guy #2, J., from the on-line dating website?  After 3 dates, I’d told him that we could be friends and he was fine with that, yet didn’t bother to contact him again; we’d never exchanged phone numbers, either.  This afternoon he sent me a message via the website asking if I’d like to get together for drinks.  Beings he’s the one I felt most comfortable with, drinks as friends couldn’t hurt, I suppose.  I told him to expect a text or call from me (since he gave me his phone number this time) after the weekend was over.  If things go as planned, I’ll be in need of alcohol the evening of May 31st!!!

There was a guy, D., from the on-line dating website that had been trying to set up a date with me prior to my trip to Paris.  Our schedules never seemed to mesh, though we’d spoken over the phone once.  After Paris, his plans were to go to Florida for awhile.  He sent me a text today, which I have yet to answer.  I should probably meet him at least once, but…

Another guy, B., from that website had been trying to set something up with me prior to my Hawaii trip.  He asked that I contact him upon my return as I have his “digits.”  I’ve done nothing about that, either.

There’s another guy, D., who had introduced himself to me at Muka 3 or 4 weeks ago.  He’d sent me a text saying that we should go out together soon.  When I responded that I had several things going on and it might take awhile, his texted response was “What?!”  Based on that, we won’t be going out at all!

Finally, there’s A., who’s also not from the website.  We met in 2009 at Panta Rei.  He’s made it clear that he likes me, but I always keep it on the platonic side.  We went to see a play together, we had drinks at Farallon and I went to his apartment briefly so that he could drop off his car and we could take a cab to the W Hotel (no parking in SF, as everyone knows).  We ended that evening at a house party, where he sent me home in a cab with cab fare and a bottle of champagne.  He’s invited me to Tahoe, which I politely declined.  Aside from that, we’ve met up at Panta Rei on occasion, and he was over at my friend’s apartment another time.  Then, one evening when he was really, really drunk, he called to tell me that he loved me.  As odd as that was, I doubt he even remembers making that call!!!  He’d sent me a text the night before my Hawaii trip asking when we’d meet at Panta Rei again.  We agreed to meet there sometime this week, but…  it’s not going to happen.  Maybe, and that’s a big maybe, we can meet next weekend or the one after.

As you can tell, I’m not making much of an effort to meet anyone, do anything or go anywhere.  What’s the point?  None of these men are right for me.  When you come in contact with someone that you’re truly attracted to, you don’t want to bother with the riff raff anymore!  Then again, this is currently my life and San Francisco is my momentary place of residence, so…  that means I’ll eventually contact one or all of them out of sheer boredom.  Isn’t that a sad state of affairs?  I’m so bored already that I’ve actually begun tweeting!  If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will!!!

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I Think I’m Turning Vietnamese

Posted on 20 May, 2013 by Tina

My friend is accusing me of turning Vietnamese, beings I’ve been out traipsing around the Tenderloin and other places in search of Vietnamese food to “practice” with.  He said that I’ll soon be signing up for a Vietnamese language course!  Well, after one semester of not studying, I’ve already forgotten most of my Italian.  My Bahasa Indonesian studying with a friend has never gotten started (I keep putting it off), plus I’ve forgotten the few words that I used in Bali.  The only language that’s done me any good and that seems to stay embedded in my memory is my faulty French!  That’s even better because French is spoken in Vietnam, too!

On Saturday I went to somewhere in the Tenderloin called Sao Bien, which has Vietnamese-Chinese food.  The restaurant was larger and “classier” than most of the other hole-in-the wall places, with an extensive menu.  I ordered the salt and pepper scallops on a bed of lettuce, plus some garlic noodles.  Since the salt and pepper scallops were a special, their price was not listed.  I was prepared for sticker shock.  The service in that restaurant sucks.  There was no one to greet me or seat me.  I seated myself, but it still took them awhile to bring me  a menu and take my order, though the complimentary tea appeared quickly.  The restaurant wasn’t even 1/3 full, but the food took an inordinately long time.  The salt and pepper scallops arrived first, followed shortly thereafter by the garlic noodles.  I had to remind them about my Diet Coke.  In my opinion, the scallops were of a medium serving, but taste-wise were definitely worth the $14.95 price tag.  Needless to say, I loved me some scallops!  The garlic noodles were a large serving; good, but didn’t blow me away.  As usual, I had to take most of it home.

Yesterday was actually hot in San Francisco.  It was also the day of the Bay to Breakers, which I avoid as much as possible.  I’m not into dressing up in some weird costume and running a number of miles as an excuse to get drunk.  Why not skip the costume and especially skip the running part?!  If I want to drink, I get straight to it!  By noon, I ventured out and back to the Tenderloin.  Most of the runners had completed the race or had given up.  Stragglers in caveman costumes, ballerina costumes and Barney costumes were around every corner, though.  I side stepped them and made my way to Saigon Sandwich Shop.  I used to go there a fair amount more than 10 years ago.  I tend to forget about it these days, but their banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) are the bomb!  I didn’t even know that they were open on Sundays from something like 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  There were probably 5 people in front of me, plus 2 or 3 sitting at a table.  The sandwiches, which used to be about $2.00, have gone all the way up to $3.50 now.  They’re still a bargain – a nice crusty baguette packed with either pate, chicken, fancy pork or pork meatballs, along with cilantro, carrots, daikon (or is that jicama), jalapenos and fish sauce (or whatever sauce that is).  My French influence screamed out for the pate.  So I got two of them – a pate and a pork meatball.  I ate the pate one yesterday, but saved the pork meatball one for my lunch today.  Delicious!  Gotta’ keep that place on my regular radar, as it didn’t even begin to strain my pocketbook!

Since we’re on the subject of food again, isn’t it funny how people and experiences influence what you eat?  Growing up in the Midwest amongst Germans, Irish, Swedish and Swiss people, I ate lots of red meat, bread (only freshly baked by my Grandma, though) and potatoes.  My Asian/Pacific Islander background had me eating plenty of rice, too.  What I refused to eat back in high school were shrimp and onions of any type.  I’m not even sure when that changed, but I eat them both now.  When I first dated my Thai boyfriend, I couldn’t eat spicy food.  He used to cook my food separately from his because his chile level was so much higher than mine!  He DID eventually teach me to eat and love spicy food, though.  Now if I eat it, break out in a sweat and can barely breathe, I think it’s perfect!  I was eating pate long before my French husband, but he certainly schooled me on French cheeses and wines.  Before him, I barely cooked.  With him, we cooked together and for friends all the time.  The same with my Italian boyfriend, we liked to cook together.  The Italian one didn’t teach me anything too new in Italian cuisine other than bottarga, which is cured fish roe.  He brought some from Italy that I kind of liked.  Then I had some in an Italian restaurant and most assuredly DISLIKED it!  It was much saltier than the one he’d brought back.

My latest culinary expansion was due to my trip to Hawaii.  Now I’ll eat acai bowls, will be more adventurous with poke and have had the ORIGINAL malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery.

Just wait till I get back from Vietnam.  Surely, there will be something odd that I’ll learn to like.

Since this is also Musical Monday, I’ll leave you with this little trip down Memory Lane…

“Turning Japanese” – The Vapors

 

 

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Just Got Paid

Posted on 18 May, 2013 by Tina

Remember that song by Johnny Kemp? Well, yesterday was pay day for me, so I had an urge to go out for a few drinks last night. After work, I went to one of my favorite places, Panta Rei, and sat at the bar. The restaurant was rather quiet right after work, but the place was full by the time I left. I had a few drinks, the bartender did a kamikaze shot with me (on him, he insisted), he brought me some focaccia with sea salt while the other bartender was showing me his Maori tattoo. They have a relatively high turnover, so I only know the names of about 3 of the guys that were working last night, but they’re all Italian!  The other ones always talk to me, but I don’t know their names at all! While sitting at the bar, I snapped a photo of a couple of bottles of Italian wine and sent them to my Italian friend who is currently living in Bali. Italian, French and Napa/Sonoma wines in Bali are extremely limited. When you DO find them, they’ll cost an arm and a leg. Otherwise, you’ll just have to be content with Australian, South African and Chilean wines, but I’ve never cared for most of those! My Italian friend’s response to my photo was “I hate you, Tina!!!” Around the time I was getting ready to leave, a man sat down next to me and started up a conversation. His name was Elvis, he’s from Sydney (Australia) and is in town for business. This was either his second or third trip to San Francisco; has been here briefly for business before. He asked me what I thought about, of all places, the Mission, as it had been recommended to him by a colleague. I admitted that it’s not my favorite area because it’s dirty, not always that safe, filled with dive bars and there’s no parking. My preference is to go there during the day, but will occasionally go there in the evening if my Mexican food craving kicks in or the desire to hang out in one of those bars where everyone brings their dogs is overwhelming! Elvis was telling me that he’d been very successful before, had lost everything in the failing economy and was now in the midst of building himself back up. While he was telling me this, he ate TWO orders of chicken ravioli! He then asked my opinion of Panta Rei. In all honesty, I go there to sit at the bar and drink; seldom eat there, but the food is fine. It’s more of a tourist place since it’s right on the main street, Columbus Avenue. He asked what my favorite places to eat in North Beach are, so I suggested my usual places.  That being said, the bartender at Panta Rei then brought us some complimentary tiramisu; theirs is really good.  As we were then leaving at the same time, Elvis offered to pay my bill. We walked out together, then I gave him a little “tour” of the other places that I like. We went into Ideale for a drink, where he was introduced to the owner, the bartender and a couple of the waiters. He checked out the menu and was talking to the owner for a bit. My favorite things at Ideale are the insalata d’aranci e finocchi (orange and fennel salad with walnuts and gorgonzola), the burrata (Of course! What cheese fiend could pass it up?), the bucatini all’amatriciana (pasta with pancetta and pecorino), papardelle all’agnelo (pasta in a lamb ragu) or nearly any of their fish (mahi mahi, petrale sole or skate, but ONLY if the owner is there to make it himself). Next we went around the corner to The House, so he could see where it was and look at their menu as well. My favorite things at The House are the Caesar salad with crispy scallops, the deep fried salmon roll with the Chinese mustard, the grilled sea bass with garlic ginger soy (which one of my friends described as “devastatingly” good), the grilled chicken breast with black bean mushroom sauce and their mahi mahi, when they have it. We intended to have a drink at 15 Romolo, but there was a line to get in! Believe it or not, Elvis was too cold to stand outside. My complaining starts whenever the temperatures drop below about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, so he is a REAL lightweight, temperature-wise! We hopped in a cab and went to my neighborhood French wine bar, Amelie. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that crowded for a Saturday night, as we managed to get seats at the bar! I introduced him to a couple of the bartenders. We perused the wine list and ordered a few glasses. By that time, midnight perhaps, my energy level was beginning to fail me. I thanked Elvis for the drinks and bid him “adieu,” as he’d made fast friends with the woman sitting next to him, anyway! That was a pleasant Friday night; I reinforced my bartender relationships, introduced an out-of-towner to some new places, was home in bed at a decent hour and didn’t get into any type of trouble at all! (Was that a good thing or a bad thing?!)

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