Everett and Jones

I think I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking for this one.  If you want good BBQ, venture across the bridge to Oakland.  Everett and Jones is right in Jack London Square and it's worth the trip.  Bring your appetite.  I gorged myself on ribs, potato salad, collard greens, cornbread muffins - the real deal!  Don't forget to drink the Saucey Sistah beer.  Yes, I said Saucey Sistah and it washes that BBQ down real good!  Everett and Jones:  3 stars. 

Yummy plate o'ribs!

Collard Greens - get 'em while they're hot!

Saucy Sistah!

Total Annihilation!

Tommy's

The Richmond neighborhood is known for authentic ethnic food.  I wouldn’t know because I tend not to venture too far outside of my little bubble.  Lame, I know.  Anything past Divis (or Divisadero for you non-locals) is a mystery to me, but I’m getting better.  Thanks to my friends Bill and Kerr, I now understand the amazingness that is Tommy’s.  Don’t let the name fool you.  It’s a Mexican restaurant.  San Francisco is full of Mexican restaurants both down and dirty and shi-shi.  There’s a lot of taquerias in the Mission and I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a few, both sober and not so.  I’ve had tons of really good Mexican since I moved here.  For me really good Mexican isn’t a stretch because New York sucks for Mexican.  Some of you might be saying, “How can you screw up Mexican food?”  Well, that’s a good question.  I think that most of it is pretty good.  But Tommy’s is something really special.  And, what’s really special about Tommy’s are the Margaritas.  I don’t know what they put in those things, but they are not too tangy, not too tequila-y and not too limey—I’ve had a lot of bad margs in my day and these are just right and they go down like Poland Spring.  Tommy’s margs are on many San Francisco must try lists including 7x7’s Big Eat List 100 Things to Try Before You Die. 

Walking into Tommy’s feels like walking into any typical Mexican joint.  It was crowded, jubilant and the décor was cheesy.  We ponied up to the bar and ordered some margs.  The white board behind the bar said something like:  If you live in San Francisco, be thankful you live in the best city in the world.  It made me like this place even more and I hadn’t had anything.  First marg went down fast and smooth and I got to enjoy some chips and salsa (naturally) while drinking it.  The salsas were pretty awesome.  Red and green.  You would typically think green is more mild, but in this case the green was super spicy.  The red was sweeter, but got spicier by the bite.  Yay for hot salsas!  I think they do that so you order more margs.  Well, they saw us coming.  Pitcher please!

For dinner we started with nachos and guac.  Standard fare, right?  Nope.  These were the best damn nachos I’ve ever had.  The refried beans were the first layer, followed by cheese, sour cream and some guac and jalepenos.  I’m craving them just writing about it.

 

Don't you want to eat these right now!

 

For my main I went simple.  Chicken enchilada.  The mole sauce was pretty tangy, lots of yummy cheese and the beans and rice were also smothered in more cheese.  Ok, this was pretty damn good, but those nachos were off the hook, yo.  Another pitcher, and a shot of tequila later, we were soaking up (literally) Tommy’s  very well.  The servers are super friendly, the atmosphere is welcoming and homey and the margs are strong and good.  What more can you ask for!  Delicioso!  Muchas gracias Tommy’s.  Quatro stars. 

Muy bueno!

Dining in the Dark

Last Tuesday I attended the Foundation Fighting Blindness annual gala funding raising dinner.  It’s one of my pro-bono projects, but is also a cause close to my heart since my grandma has macular degeneration. Every year, the Foundation hosts this event, which is your typical gala filled with schmoozing, raising money for a cause, dinner in ballroom, tear-jerker videos and moving stories.  What’s not so typical about it is that the main course is served completely in the dark.  I mean pitch black.  You can’t see a thing.  This sensory experience allows the diners to empathize with people with vision problems.  Think of how challenging it is just to eat a simple meal, let alone live your everyday life with little or no vision.  It was really an eye-opener! (Ok, maybe this a bad joke here).

I have to admit I’ve done this before, so I was a bit prepared.  There’s a restaurant here called Opaque, which serves the entire meal in the dark.  It’s a very unique experience and I would recommend it.  It’s somewhat expensive and the food is not that great, but you don’t go for the food.  The cool thing about it is that all the waiters are visually impaired.  You really get to know them and learn a lot about their hopes and struggles.  Dinner in the Dark event uses waiters from Opaque.  Our waiter was David.  He was legally blind, talked about his childhood in New Mexico and his love of the mountains.  He was a very nice guy with a calm, almost soothing demeanor.  

The first course, a salad, was served in the light.  As we finished the salad, we prepared for the darkness by strategically placing the wine bottles right in front of us.  After the 30-second warning, BOOM!  It was pitch black.  The room immediately filled with even more chatter.  I think it got louder because people tend to over-compensate on one sense when one is missing.

As the food was placed in front of me I knew I was in trouble.  Beef.  My nose knows.  I had a feeling and contemplated asking for the vegetarian plate, but thought it wouldn’t be as fun.  I mean you pretty much know what you’re getting on a veg plate.  Since I don’t eat beef, no worries, I’ll just work my way around whatever beef product this was.  I just went for it and stabbed my fork into the food.  First bite:  the most delicious, cheesy bit of risotto.  It was perfectly cooked and lucky for me there were gallons of it.  I scooped up all that risotto, all around the beef, which turned out to be a brisket.  I did end up getting a few bites and it was actually tasty!  Despite the fact that I have not regularly eaten beef for 14 years, I sometimes enjoy the taste.  I didn’t want to risk it though, and continued to eat around it.  Next few bites, hmmm…what’s this? Easy – a carrot! You can’t mistake this shape.  Next, bok choy.  

At some point I threw manners to the wind and just used my hands.  It was a lot easier.  When you put your fork down, it was a bit challenging to find it.  However, I always knew exactly where my wine glass was (obvi).  We did manage one pour very successfully. 

The lights slowly went back on.  As my eyes readjusted, I found a clean plate minus a hunk of beef.  All in all it was a great night.  I now have a greater appreciation for what visually impaired people go through and I hope my fellow readers will have the chance to dine in the dark someday too.  Props to Grandma Ethel who dines in the dark every day.    
    

Five Days as a Vegan

Sometimes I like to challenge myself, just little things like running the New York Marathon or moving to a city where I don’t know anyone.  Easy.  Being a Vegan? Well, anyone can do anything for five days.  I strategically picked the week days because brunch is my favorite meal and I love eggs too much.  So, I embarked on the mission with excitement and enthusiasm.  Seriously, I was actually excited and walked into Whole Foods with a whole new outlook of reading labels and avoiding the cheese aisle.  To start off, I made a giant batch of beans and rice.  I soaked the beans for eight hours.  This was the first time I cooked dry beans and would definitely recommend soaking overnight as they turned out a little al dente (even after simmering for almost three hours.)  During the last hour I added chopped garlic, onions, pickled jalapenos and a green pepper.  I also dumped in the rest of the jalapeno juice which gave the beans an extra kick.  For two lunches and one dinner, I had beans and rice.

Next I whipped up a veggie-tofu stir-fry.  Nothing magic here.  Just a bunch of veggies in the wok and I served it with soba noodles.  I marinated the tofu in rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce and added a ton of sriracha to the dish for spice.  For two lunches and one dinner, I had stir-fry.

My other staples consisted of oatmeal or cereal with soy milk and fruit for breakfast.  This wasn’t a stretch because it’s my usual.  Yes, I actually prefer soy milk.  I also whipped up a few protein shakes consisting of soy milk, almond butter, bananas and flax oil.  I did end up eating some fake chicken nuggets for dinner one night.  Not that bad, but I purposefully avoided the seitan and the other fake meats.  No thanks.

For one dinner I made a salad of pea shoots, roasted beets and avocado with a lemon and olive oil dressing.  This was the most delicious of all the meals.  Pea shoots are the leaves of peas.  They taste more like pea pods than peas.  I got a ginormous bunch for $1 at the farmers market.  

If you’re not board yet, you should be.  I was totally bored on this diet.  Even for five days the lack of variety got really old.  I can’t imagine eating so many naked beans.  They just scream for cheese and sour cream!  And, I was a bit hungry during the day.  I got some yummy crackers and tasty vegan cookies for snacking, but nothing seemed to be filling and it was a lot of carbs.  Additionally, I avoided restaurants because I didn’t want to smell the meat products.  The whole time I craved a turkey burger with blue cheese. 

The story is probably different for actual vegans.  I’m sure there’s lots of good recipes out there.  There’s even a great vegan Mexcian restaurant that I’ve been to before. I’m sure you’re asking Mexican without cheese, WTF? But, they have cashew cheese, which was surprisingly very good.  Yes, I said cashew cheese.

The moral of the story is I enjoyed my stint as a vegan.  I truly stuck to it for five full days. (There might have been one minor accident involving a tater-tot). But the only thing that kept me going was knowing that on Saturday morning, I was going to devour a bacon, egg and cheese.  Don’t worry bacon, I won’t ever ditch you again!  

Me enjoying my return to meat and dairy!