travel

Long Thanksgiving recap

Between madly finishing NaNoWriMo and traveling back from L.A., here finally is my Thanksgiving recap.

Wednesday

While my brother, Greg, was at work, MB and I had lunch at El Pollo Loco, my first time. It wasn’t too bad. I got these grilled chicken burrito thingies. Afterwards we attempted to walk around, but it was too sunny for me so we ducked into a Starbuck’s till Greg got back.

That afternoon Greg did some prep work for Thanksgiving dinner. That’s right: he was cooking everything. A brined turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Yum!

That night we saw Ninja Assassin. The action sequences were cool, but it took forever to get started. Plus I was hungry the whole time. Luckily afterwards Greg brought us to a great Korean place, where we all had variations of sun dubu chigae, or spicy tofu stew.

Thursday

We were out early to head over to my uncle’s. While he and his family were out of town, my parents and younger aunt came to stay with my grandmother, Puo-puo. My older aunt was supposed to come down too, but she changed her mind at the last minute. This is the aunt who although she lives in California sees her mother the least. She’s also the one who made a stink about getting her “share” when my grandmother’s house in Berkeley was sold, although all the siblings had agreed that the money would go to paying for the nurse who cares for Puo-puo 24/7.

Right before we went down to L.A., I got an email from this aunt saying happy Thanksgiving. Being the polite niece that I am, I wrote back saying I was sorry we wouldn’t be able to see her, I was looking forward to seeing the family, and to have a nice holiday herself. She wrote back two messages within hours of each other.

The first said she talked to my mom and felt left out about missing Turkey Day with us, and that she was a bad daughter for not seeing her mother in over a year. (Well, then go see her.) The second one said simply that while she felt left out, thinking about how much space there was at my uncle’s house, it was just impossible for her to go. Did she not think she sent the first one? Did she forget? Weird.

Then my younger aunt told me how last Thanksgiving, this older aunt came down Tuesday night with plans to stay for a week or so, and by Thanksgiving Day was rescheduling her flight to go home earlier.

As I’ve said before, I don’t really get why she’s like this. It’s not like she has to do much to take care of Puo-puo. The nurse does everything, and my younger aunt or mother took over only when the nurse ate her lunch or dinner.

Speaking of lunch, we had delicious Chinese food my mom and aunt cooked:

MB who doesn’t even eat pork gobbled up those dumplings like there was no tomorrow.

Then while my dad, MB, and I lazed around the living room, and my mom and aunt hovered around giving unsolicited advice, my brother cooked. The turkey, before:

And the turkey after:

Delicious as always! This was the first time my father had my brother’s cooking, and he was extremely surprised. He kept saying over and over, “The turkey’s so good, the stuffing’s so good.” Even my grandmother, who hardly eats anything now, scarfed down some mashed potatoes and stuffing.

Puo-puo has changed immensely in the past few years. My chubby laughing grandmother has become an emaciated old woman I barely recognize. She can’t talk now or even make facial expressions. I have no idea if she knew who I was. She’s also lost some teeth and her hair, once black and permed, is now white and gray and lays flat on her head. When I first saw her, she did reach for my hand several times, but I’m still not sure if she knew me. My cousin Huang Lei was sad too when she saw Puo-puo. Tearfully she held her hands and spoke to her in Chinese.

Puo-puo seemed to see people though. For instance, throughout the evening she kept staring at MB. I had tried introducing him, but I don’t know if it registered. She kept eyeing him like, “Who’s this white guy in my house?” She also watched Mia, Huang Lei and Shane’s three-year old daughter, with great interest.

Mia was hilarious. After she got comfortable, she kept trying to get MB and my brother to play hide ‘n seek with her. They did for a while then got tired. At one point she decided she was mad. She kept crossing her arms (or trying to) and standing near us with a pout. A few minutes later, she came back and said, “I’m not mad anymore. I’m happy. Let’s play hide ‘n seek,” then grabbed MB’s hand and tried to pull him up.

After the meal, we hung out watching some silly Chinese variety show before finally getting ready to leave. I knew my parents were sad to see us go. I encouraged them to visit us in the spring, after we moved into a new, bigger place.

Friday

After a relaxing morning, we headed out to lunch at the Curry House. As though we hadn’t enough food already, we had no problem scarfing down our delicious curry dishes. I got the curry katsu:

Afterwards we drove out to Venice, walked on the boardwalk, and down Abbot-Kinney Street. Along the way we saw some cool graffiti:

The Venice Canals:

And some crazy Barbies:

In the afternoon we headed out to Huang Lei and Shane’s. It was fun chatting with them and playing with Mia again, who kept taking pictures as we took pictures:

Most of her pictures were of her finger.

Saturday

Our flight wasn’t till after 8 PM so we had the whole morning to relax. We had brunch at Hugo’s, then took the Metro out to Hollywood. The L.A. mass transit system is weird. There are turnstiles set up but you can walk around them. Then the tickets are checked only sporadically.

Hollywood was pretty crowded. We walked around a bit, had some Beard Papa’s, then headed back to my brother’s to chill before our flight. As we packed MB found a letter opener I forgot about in the black suitcase I had been using for months. Who knows how many times that got through security.

Check in at Burbank was so easy. There was almost no one there though our flight was full.

By ten we were home. Yay!

~ ~ ~

I’m glad to be back in the routine of writing, but I also need to get my butt to the gym more often. I know I’ve gained eight to ten pounds in the last couple of years. I’d love to get that weight off.

family / holidays / los angeles / travel — Comments Off
25
Nov 09

Update on the Mac + L.A.

My laptop seems to have recovered my clumsy drenching. We let out it dry out for more than twenty-four hours, then Monday night MB thought it safe to turn it on and get my files backed up on a USB. Then we shut it off and let it air out for another twelve hours. Tuesday morning I started to use it, and so far it’s been okay.

“If you start to smell ozone,” MB said, “shut it off.”

No strange odors as of yet.

In other news, MB and I are in LA at my brother’s. I was dreading the trip to the airport and getting through security, but it wasn’t so bad. Although we hit some traffic in the taxi, we got to SFO well before boarding. There was a line for security, but it moved quickly.

After all my trips to SF in September, I’m an expert now in terms of getting through security quickly. Before I even get on line, I take out my laptop and stuff my jacket in a bag. I also have my cosmetics in a an easy to get to pocket, and try to wear shoes without laces. Then at the end, I don’t bother trying to take everything out of the bins. I just consolidate my stuff in one bin and take it with me to the side, out of the way of the line.

A trick to getting around paying for a checked bag: hand it to the guy at the last minute right before you board. Then when you get off, it’s right there waiting for you instead of on the carousel. This probably only works with bags small enough to be carry on, but a good solution if there’s not enough overhead space.

The flight was very short, just an hour. By the time I finished looking at the ridiculous things in the Sky Mall magazine, drank a tomato juice, and read some of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, we were landing. Our plane was small so we got off lickety split.

Getting through Burbank is a breeze. The airport is so tiny, we walked just a few feet before getting outside, and then just a few minutes later, my brother pulled up.

We were a little hungry so had In-N-Out Burgers. Thing was I wasn’t that hungry so those were calories I definitely didn’t need. :(

It’s weird to be in LA and not have to deal with a time change. I have to keep reminding myself there’s no time difference between where I am and where I was.

My brother had a comfy air mattress for us – which sadly is bigger than the bed in our sublet – but I kept waking up. I think it was the vanilla latte I had yesterday afternoon. No coffee today after 12 PM.

My bro had to work half a day today so MB and I are just chilling, working on our respective stuff. This afternoon we’ll probably pick up a few items, then start preparing stuff for tomorrow.

food / san francisco / travel — 1 Comment
29
Sep 09

The Marina and tacos

The weekend in San Francisco was really warm, like in the 80s or 90s, perfect weather for a walk around the Marina and tasty tacos.

Sunday we ate a new place, at least for me, Nick’s Crispy Tacos. It was sooo good. Usually I don’t find tacos filling at all. I eat two and I’m still kinda hungry but in that yucky, fast food way. But the tacos in “Nick’s style” – with cheese and guacamole and wrapped in two tortillas, one fried and one soft – were completely satisfying.

I had one carnitas – the pork tender, lean, and juicy – and one fried fish, which was doused in a deliciously tangy lime sauce, and was full about halfway through the fish, but ate it all anyway.

Plus the decor was really cool, like something out of the Rat Pack era:

I could imagine Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ava Gardner lounging in their tuxes and furs in one of those red booths, with taco juice dripping down their chins.

Afterwards we walked out to the Marina area. What a great day to be near the water, though I resisted walking on the sand, which in retrospect I should have because the callouses on my heels could have used a good scrubbing. We had fun watching the dogs play on the beach. I find it hilarious when they roll around in the sand.

As we were strolling, we saw the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. “Let’s walk across it!” MB said. The bridge seemed pretty long to me, and I wasn’t sure if people actually walked across it like they do the Brooklyn Bridge. But sure why not? Then as we kept going, the bridge hardly got any closer, and we realized it was much farther away than we thought. Ah well, next time.

On the way back, we ran into the Palace of Fine Arts. It was really pretty!

We saw a bride and groom having their pictures taken. The bride looked pretty, but the groom was wearing one of those tacky white tuxes. Plus he looked so not thrilled to be there. Then again, when does any groom?

Walking back home was a challenge because of all the hills. I kept thinking, How are these hills in real life and not part of some extreme gym workout? We were so pooped, we had to stop in Japantown and see a movie (Surrogates, wait for the DVD).

Now it’s back to packing and organizing. Soon it will be over!

food / san francisco / travel — Comments Off
14
Sep 09

Had a lovely weekend in San Francisco

My flight was supposed to get in at 10 PM on Friday, but we didn’t land till almost 11. The weather was terrible in New York that day – rainy, windy, and cold – so we sat on the tarmac for an hour, waiting for the 40 other planes in front of us to take off.

When I got on board, I realized I had forgotten my iPod and headphones, and I had to buy Jet Blue’s crummy ones for $2. The left side worked only sometimes. Jet Blue has gotten kind of ghetto, at least compared to Virgin America. You even have to buy blankets and pillows, and there’s almost no food. I loved being able to buy eats any time I wanted on Virgin, and not having to wait for the damned cart.

On the other hand, Jet Blue has more leg room and comfier seats. Most seats have that annoying head rest – who ever wants that? It pushes your head foreward so that you get a crick in your neck. Jet Blue’s doesn’t have that; it does what a seat should – dips back and contours to your head.

At SFO I thought I’d have to wait forever for my bags, but they came out lickety split. I think it’s only New York airports that are so awful about getting luggage out in time. By the time my taxi pulled up to our place, it was midnight, and I was pooped and hungry.

While there seem to be fewer places that are open late in SF, there are still a few. We went to Grub Steak, kind of like a diner but nicer. I had a cheeseburger for about $8 – not bad! The fries were an extra $2, kind of a rip off, but I usually only eat a few fries anway so I didn’t bother getting any.

MB gets fed at work so he had virtually no food in the apartment (pasta, cream of wheat, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, spoiled milk, and of course coffee). I wanted stuff for breakfast so we stopped at Bob’s Donuts. It looks like a hole in the wall, but who cares when fresh-baked donuts and pastries are melting your mind with their good-smellness. We got a couple of croissants and old-fashioneds, all for about $5. The croissants were just right – huge and fluffy, better actually than the ones we used to get at the more gourmet pastry shop near our NYC apartment. Next time I’ll have try the apple fritters.

The next morning was peaceful and lovely. I unpacked and did some rearranging while MB practiced piano (he bought a keyboard!) and fooled around on the computer. We spent the rest of the day just walking around. For lunch we grabbed crepes at Honey Honey (again!) since we were on Post and I was STARVING, then we wandered through Chinatown.

I have to say SF Chinatown is about a billion times cleaner than New York’s. Canal Street is a chaotic, fishy mess of markets selling, well, fish, weird seafood, and even weirder dried substances; old Chinese ladies pushing you out of the way to get their grocer shopping done; and clueless tourists trying to get their picture taken in the midst of a Mandarin (well, Cantonese really) maelstrom. SF’s Chinatown is very neat and calm in comparison. The only crowd I saw was in front of the very popular Golden Gate Bakery, which I will have to try next time.

Eventually we ended up near Coit Tower, and decided to climb up. The hill was by far the steepest I’ve climbed so far. There are steps in some parts, but I’m not sure they’re so helpful. Once at top, we got a very nice view.

Chilly off and on the whole day, I was in the mood for hot noodles come dinnertime. MB did some Yelp-searching and found Chai-Yo Thai Noodle. It was really good!

I had the Yen Ta Foe, a “combination of seafood with red bean curd in a spicy and sour soup” and your choice of noodles. I got the vermicelli which was probably a bit too delicate, but the dish itself was amazing. There was plenty of seafood – shrimp, fishcakes, squid, and this thing that had the consistency of a jelly fish but looked almost like an anenome. I have no idea what it was but it was tasty. Plus the soup was nice and sour, and just a little spicy. A bargain at $8.95. In New York the same thing would have been $12 or more.

That night we saw 9. We had heard it was hokey, but we liked it. The preview did make it seem very dark so it was good to adjust our expectations. Plus we loved the theater we saw it in. It was huge and so non-ghetto. Going to the movies in New York is often a ghetto experience – people talking in regular voices the whole time, a mess all over the floor, cell phones going off and mofos answering them. Hopefully on the west coast it’ll be different.

The next morning I had to leave! It was tough although we’ll be seeing each other again in just a few days. My flight back was much easier than my flight in. I breezed right through check-in and security.

“Where is everyone?” I asked one of the security guys.

“September and October are the best months to fly,” he told me. Kids are back in school, and the holidays are not yet upon us. Plus that time of day was before the international flight rush hour, which was what we hit last time when the line stretched all the way across the terminal.

The flight left on time and for most of it, my rowmate and I enjoyed an empty seat between us, till some guy just *had* to watch TV and squeezed in. We were both annoyed, though I probably wouldn’t like not having TV either. Next time I’m bringing some DVDs. Hopefully I’ll get the next Dexter soon from Netflix.

Plus it was so nice to have almost no luggage, having dropped everything off at our new place. All I had was my computer, purse junk, and an almost empty duffel bag. Since I was carrying almost nothing, I took the Air Train and subway home, which took about an hour, including wait time. I’m thinking about taking it for my trip out as well this Friday. Although I’ll be carrying stuff, I may just suck it up since it’s so cheap.

I’m totally taking Friday off. I thought about changing my flight to earlier in the day, but last night I took a gander at our still mostly unpacked apartment, and began to panic. I’d rather take the day to organize and throw stuff out instead, before heading out around 3.

Work was pretty calm today. I had time to mail out a whole bunch of Amazon orders (keep ‘em coming!) and a box of MB’s stuff, the first of several shipments. Tonight I may start trying to organize. I’m thinking about taping up signs around the apartment – Toss, Donate, Keep (NJ), Keep (SF) – and just throwing stuff into piles.

See all my SF pics.

san francisco / travel — Comments Off
11
Sep 09

Kicking back at Jet Blue

The terminal in JFK that is.

I guess it’s been a few years since I’ve been here, cuz now it’s hella nice! It feels clean and new, and there’s even a Muji store (must not buy, must not buy). There’s free wireless (obviously) and not a lot of fast food, which, while tasty, leaves a greasy feeling in the air.

I was starving when I got here, and thought some California rolls would do it for me. Nope. Had to have a yogurt and multigrain nachos too. But that guy’s fried rice still smells damned good. Mmmm, fried rice. Gaaaaahhh. . . Also got a sandwich for later. If I remember correctly, Jet Blue doesn’t sell food on board.

Yesterday and today at work were very stressful, the most stressful it’s been, I think. There is this external website that I’ve been working on, and it’s designed so badly that when I tried to change one thing, it totally crashed. I mean, the one thing was kinda big (the master template), but it shouldn’t be so easy to try and swap it out if it’s gonna make the whole thing go kablooey.

I probably shouldn’t have been treading the unknown, but for three weeks I had been asking various IT people for help, only to get the run-around. Meanwhile the powers that be were pressuring me to make the changes. So I took the reins into my own hands – and crashed the whole wagon.

The powers that be finally kicked IT’s butt, but then they were up my butt about getting stuff down. Hold up, mofos! Where were you a month ago when I was saying, “Help me!” Of course what I actually had to do took less than an hour, but everyone all up in my bidness, asking every 10 minutes for the status, made my blood boil.

Today in addition to that website, I had a presentation to work on for my boss. It was not a big deal, very straight forward. But there I was trying to work on that, these ITers bugging me every two seconds, and then the frigging alarm in our building decided to go off. Alarms are designed to be incredibly annoying – bright blinding flashing lights and piercing whooping sound – and ours lives up to that.

But I got everything done by 1:30, half an hour before I wanted to leave. So I went home early, tried to repack my bags so that my duffel wasn’t so heavy (little success), and caught a cab. Well, not before standing in the rain for a good five minutes with all my luggage. One cabbie tried to fleece me for $70 to JFK when it’s a flat fee of $45. Do I look like an idiot?

Luckily I had left a lot of time to spare because there was tons of traffic. Friday afternoon, rainy. Not a good combo. We drove on the local roads, including a very Hassidic part of Brooklyn. Crown Heights? Everyone had grocery bags, rushing home before sundown. It was interesting to see how carefully the men protected their hats from the rain. The bags and hoods seemed specially made. Then we passed a bakery and the smell of fresh-baked bread was to die for.

Despite all the traffic, getting through check-in and security was a piece of cake. There were no lines, a first for me. And I was so glad to be rid of my heavy suitcase and duffel bag, and to just have my backpack.

Wow, just 30 minutes till boarding. I thought how the heck will I get through the wait without being bored to death, but I guess yummy snacks and free wireless are the way to do it.

food / san francisco / travel — 5 Comments
17
Aug 09

Back from SF!

And what better way to sum up the trip than with a Not-So-Secret-Diary-of-a-Bad-Luck-Girl’s Index, kind of like Harper’s Index, only a lot wordier.

Number of Japanese restaurants we ate at in one day: 3

I’m not sure how this happened. I think one day we mostly just stayed in our area.

First we walked up Fillmore Street and popped into Osaka for sushi. It was pretty good though not stupendous. For an early dinner, we tried to find Kiss Seafood, which is supposedly on Laguna but we couldn’t find it for the life of us. It seemed to be just apartment buildings.

So we gave up on that and instead went to Shabu Shabu, which in case you don’t know is a lot like Mongolian hotpot, which in case you don’t know is basically fondue with raw meat, seafood, and veggies.

It was very good. We got the beef/shrimp combo, and the quality of the beef seemed pretty good, though a few pieces were a bit fatty. We thought we’d never be full, but we totally were.

Later that night we were totally hungry again, so we stopped in this random ramen place. It was just okay, but luckily my ramen was under $9 so I didn’t feel like it was a total ripoff. I actually enjoyed the instant ramen I had last night, but maybe that’s cuz I knew it was only $1.

Number of movies we saw: 1

We caught Ponyo at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, which is this incredibly nice theater near our hotel. For $2 extra you reserve your seats beforehand, which having dealt with terrible seats surrounded by obnoxious people, was totally worth it to me. Plus there was much more leg room, so that when you got up to go to the bathroom, people didn’t have to get up to let you by. And I swear even the Sprite tasted better, like real Sprite and not just syrupy soda water.

Oh yeah the movie. It was very cute and trippy, as the director’s movies tend to be. I still like the others ones better though, namely Sprited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.

Number of museums we went to: 1

The Asian Art Museum. It was just okay. Lots of Buddhas and other artifacts. There was a samurai exhibit, but we didn’t feel like paying extra, since we’ve seen lots of samurai stuff at the Met. The archery demonstration was pretty cool though.

Number of touristy things we did: 1

Saturday we headed out to Fisherman’s Wharf. It was pretty crowded but not as bad as the South Street Seaport or Faneuil Hall on a bad day. We wandered around, saw a seal poking his head out of the water near the shore, and another shitload of seals sunning themselves on a rock. Then we had dinner at this place, the Franciscan Crab Restaurant, sort of a random pick because it was fuh-REE-zing and we were tired.

We got the prix fixe at $19, which was reasonable: clam chowder, a main dish, and this custard-like ice cream for dessert. My soup was delicious, but our entrees, the crab enchiladas, while tasty were more like crab mannicotti. Sorta strange. The custard-ice cream was really good.

Number of toothless hobos MB struck up a conversation with: 1

We were on the bus on our way home from our (mis)adventure in the Mission. He claims he thought the guy was just a street musician since he had a nice flute, but then he noticed the guy had no shirt on and not many teeth, and then he asked MB for money.

Number of homeless people in the Downtown/Civic Center area: A lot

I was kind of surprised though I have heard people say this before. Maybe it’s because the general walking population is less so the homeless stick out more, or because of the mild weather, or because Giuliani really did make an impact in New York, for better or worse.

Number of stars I’d give our hotel: 4 out of 5

I really liked where we stayed, Hotel Kabuki. I’ve read reviews complaining about the small rooms, but I thought ours was fine. It was also very clean with great bedding and cool Japanese-style decor. The bath is traditional Japanese with a closed off extra-deep tub/shower area.

I didn’t take a bath but I showered in the part outside the tub, and unfortunately the water doesn’t drain very well. The floor should be slightly slanted so that the water runs into the drain instead of pooling on the sides. But maybe you’re not supposed to take extended showers in that area of the bathroom. Maybe it’s just for rinsing off after a soak in the tub.

Our room had sliding glass doors with a little balcony. It was fun to stand out there and enjoy the view:

The thing we had to remember was that the balcony was connected to our neighbor’s, of which we were reminded when their little white dog came trotting over and peeked in. It was so cute.

As for the area, I found Japantown to be fun. I’m a sucker for Asian convenience, grocery, and stationery stores. Plus this weekend was some sort of J-Pop festival so there was a fair, girls dressed up Harajuku-style for the grand opening of some store, and an all-girl Japanese punk rock band.

On top of that, Fillmore Street is very close by, full of cute shops and restaurants. We had breakfast had the Grove twice. It was super crowded both times, but the service was equally fast. By the time I got my mocha, the guy was bringing our food to the table. We had a simple eggs special – two eggs, toast, and a side of bacon. Yum! The first time I had sausage, which was very good too, as was the coffee and mocha.

The only downside to Japantown is that the convenience and grocery stores close early. I went out at 8:30 one night to get water, and the stores were already closed. I had to go into the mall (which is right next door) and get some bottles from this crepe place.

Number of hills we climbed up and down: a billion

Wow, it was killer! Especially around Nob Hill and that surrounding area. I didn’t know how the old people canes could do it without keeling over. What really got us was going downhill. Our shins were killing us.

Number of times I put on and took off my jacket in a span of 10 minutes: 10

I love this weather but it was sort of annoying to constantly be freezing one minute, then hot the next. And then at sundown it was really cold. Makes for good sleeping weather though.

And finally. .

Number of jobs MB got: 1

Yes, this is really happening! He starts September 1. Since getting a long-term apartment seems to be so difficult, we went with a four-month sublet in Nob Hill. It’s furnished so we don’t have to worry about that for a while, the building seems clean, and the apartment in good condition. There’s a washer/dryer in the building, and a Whole Foods a few blocks away (though SF blocks seem much longer than those in NYC). The owner also seems very nice.

As for whether it’s in “real” Nob Hill, or Lower Nob Hill, I think we’re on the northern edge of “Tender Nob” (thanks, Sitcomgirl ;)). While walking back from the Asian Art Museum to our hotel, I think I did notice like three prostitutes. Oh well. Lots to write about! And the place is just temporary till we find something more permanent.

Lots to get done before we move. MB’s going first, and I’ll be following at the end of September or beginning of October. While he’s working crazy hours and getting situated, I’ll finish up stuff here at work (haven’t given my notice yet) and take care of our apartment. I was a bit worried about what to do with our furniture, but I just spoke with my mom and she suggested moving our stuff to their house till we have a bigger place. I was hoping she’d volunteer that! We really don’t have much: a bed, two desks, a dresser, and a small kitchen table with two chairs. The bookcases are crappy, though if we’re moving a bunch of stuff, we might as well move those too.

Luckily for me JetBlue is having a special for the month that MB and I are apart: fly as much as you want for $600. I’ve already booked flights for three weekends in September, and still have yet to book my last one way, just don’t when I’ll be going yet. I know it’ll be killer to fly that much, but we’ll miss each other too much otherwise. Plus it gives me the chance to lug a whole bunch of stuff over on each trip.

I’m a little nervous about these big changes – not having a job, living in a new city where I don’t really know anyone – but I’m also excited. While I worry about having too much time on my hands, I’m also looking forward to about putting tons of energy into my writing.

food / san francisco / travel — 4 Comments
14
Aug 09

San Francisco eats

As we were getting ready for our trip out here, we kept hearing that “the food sucked,” at least compared to New York, but that the “tacos were really good.” We both found this hard to believe. Isn’t the produce supposed to be fresher here? The Asian food more authentic? Plus SF is a big city – not ALL of the eats can suck, and in fact none of it does.

Crepes

Apparently crepes are a big thing in San Francisco. I received two separate recommendations for crepe places (none from the idiots above), and we’ve found one that is none of those recommendations but tasty all the same.

We had breakfast at Honey Honey on Post Street both yesterday and today. It’s about a 10 minute walk from our hotel and seems popular. Yesterday I had the breakfast crepe, ham, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes, which was tasty.

But today’s selection, the Half Moon Bay – crab cake, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms – was face-meltingly good.

The dishes come with a side of fruit (or potatoes if you prefer something carbier) and were less than $9 each, a pretty good deal for the amount of food.

Mexican in the Mission

As you New Yorkers know, it’s virtually impossible to get good Mexican food in the Big Apple. In fact, I can barely tell the difference. So getting authentic tacos and burritos in the Mission District was a must.

We traveled out to the Mission last night, an adventure in itself. Deciding to forego public transportation, we walked, which was fine till we got to a highway. Luckily that stretch didn’t last too long.

Our destination was 24th Street. At 12th Street, we thought, Just 12 more blocks, not so bad. Well 12 NYC blocks and 12 blocks in the Mission District are two very different things. By the time, we got to where we were going, we were both pooped and starving.

We had done our research beforehand, looking up places on Yelp, but couldn’t remember any of the names. So we randomly picked El Delfin.

Apparently it specializes in seafood, but we went with the enchilada/tamale combination.

Yum! I still don’t know “authentic” Mexican food from inauthentic – all I know it was good, not overly greasy/cheesy like in some other places I’ve been. Also the salsa for the nacho chips was amazing! Super spicy and tangy. And our waitress was super nice.

As for the Mission itself, we’ve heard people rave about how cool and hip it is, but I dunno. Maybe we missed the main stretch but it seemed a little scummy to me. It was strange because there’d be seedy areas, then suddenly a very chic restaurant or cafe.

And then we got on the wrong bus to go home. We ended up even farther out, at 26th Street. One lady on the bus very kindly told us the right bus to get on, and then warned us to be careful. “Lots of crazy people around here!” she called with concern from across the deserted street. Great.

We had toyed with the idea of living in the Mission, but we both agree: a big fat no. We’re too old to be hipsters.

Coffee

Another thing we noticed is that there seem to be a lot fewer Starbuck’s here. In New York they’re on every fucking block. Around our hotel there are zero.

So far we’ve tried coffee from a bunch of random places, and I haven’t had a bad cup so far. From the little place on Post with the mismatched chairs and tables, to Honey Honey, to this chi chi coffee kiosk in Union Square, everything I’ve had has been good.

I’ve realized: coffee in New York is terrible. When the best voted is McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts, you know the bar has to be set pretty low. I wonder why that is. Maybe there’s just not that tradition of gourmet coffee, aside from Starbuck’s, which I would not call gourmet. There’s the 50 cent deli coffee, which is pretty damned good; there’s fast food coffee; and then there’s Starbuck’s. There are rare instances of a cup of joe that’s in between.

More plusses to living in San Francisco. There are definitley minuses – like seemingly lots more homeless people – but I’ll get into those later.

san francisco / travel — 2 Comments
13
Aug 09

Greetings from San Francisco!

Here I am wide awake 8 AM Pacific time. Actually I’ve been awake since 6:30 but just lolled around in bed for a good hour before finally getting up. (MB is on bat-time so he’s still asleep.)

Our flight yesterday was at 7 AM so I was up at 4. Total misery. But by the time we got to the airport and I ingested a vanilla latte and bagel I was fine.

The flight was pretty good. We flew Virgin America and the plane was all spiffy and new. Despite the early hour, it was packed, but the girl next to me was nice and didn’t care that I kept getting up to use the bathroom. MB just slept the whole time. He’s one of those people who conks out immediately when getting on an airplane. I, on the other hand, can never sleep.

I had my good book to read, but spent the whole time playing the anagram game on the console (addictive!) and watching an American’s Next Top Model marathon, all of which I’ve seen multiple times. Both of those activities did an excellent job of passing the time.

We landed on time, about 10 AM, and grabbed a cab to our hotel. I was surprised at how quickly the meter escalated, but in the end it was about $40, which is less than what it would have been in New York ($45 flat fee + tip).

Where we’re staying is lovely. A smallish Japanese-styled place in Japantown, which I’ve never been to before. Actually, it’s been over 15 years since I’ve been to San Francisco. It’s browner than I remember, and hillier, though that’s like duh, of course SF is hilly. The weather’s been gorgeous so far – warm in the sun and chilly in the shade. I heard New York is suffering the three H’s – hazy, hot, and humid. Sorry New York friends! (Wah-wah-waaah.)

MB’s interview and my appointment to look at an apartment were at 2 and 2:30, respectively, so we had time to grab some food. Being in Japantown we are surrounded, of course, by Asian restaurants, but MB was craving bacon and eggs. We asked the front desk for a breakfast place, and he said that since it was 11, most places had stopped serving breakfast, but there was a place next door that served great $7 bento boxes.

We headed over there, but then MB spotted an American restaurant across the street. Lo and behold – “We serve breakfast all day!” Wha??? Why didn’t the guy recommend that? Maybe he was commissioned to drive customers to that bento place.

The place was absolutely empty, but the food was very good. Then again, how can you go wrong with bacon and eggs?

We were totally sleepy after eating so we took a short nap before heading out to our respective appointments.

Both apartments I looked at were in Nob Hill. Holy cow, walking those inclices really worked my butt muscles. Anyway, both places were very nice. The first one was listed as a two bedroom, but really it was a one bedroom. It’s a two bedroom if you don’t have a living room. The kitchen was quite big, and it was very quiet. However, it was more run down than I was expecting. I asked if it was going to be redone, and the guy hemmed and hawed about it. I mean, it wasn’t crappy but it definitely looked worn.

The second place was absolutely beautiful. Immaculate and with all new bathroom and kitchen fixtures. The area was really gorgeous – you could look down the street and see it slope down to the water. But it was probably smaller than the other place, despite the cool little alcove off the front room, and the kitchen would not be able to fit a table. Plus what would be the bedroom is off the kitchen. How weird would that be to walk through your bedroom to go cook dinner.

Anyway, all of this is moot because I didn’t apply for either. When I got my place in New York, they asked for a lot of paperwork, but as long as you had good credit, a job, and money in the bank, you were fine. The way realtors verify your job in New York, at least in my experience, is with a copy of your hiring letter.

Here they seem to be a lot more strict. True, I wasn’t exactly honest, saying, Yeah sure I’ll still have my same job after I move to San Francisco, but they actually wanted a phone number in HR to call and verify employment. (Like my company’s HR would even call them back.) Plus MB was still up in the air about a job here (although his interview yesterday with his first choice went extremely well).

So what we thought was maybe he’d get a sublet for a month or so, and once he’s been working for several weeks we’ll be able to get an actual apartment. Whether or not he’ll mention me, who will be most likely unemployed by the time I get here, is questionable. It might be better for him to get a place himself, and then I just show up a little while later.

I hate the idea of being apart for a month or so, but it seems to be the only way. Plus I wasn’t feeling good about the lying, despite the fact that I could totally afford both apartments I saw yesterday. And it’s another excuse to take a little vacation and come visit him.

After MB got back from his interview, which was more like hanging out with the guys who work there to see if he was a good fit, we attempted to go out to the Mission district for good tacos. However, my directions were bad, or we just totally missed the turn off and gave up. It was already almost 9 and we were pooped and starving. Ended up eating at this random little Italian place on Gough. It was very basic but good.

Back in our room, we crashed in front of the Discovery! channel before losing consciousness totally.

Today MB needs to go back to the company from yesterday (good sign!) and I will be doing some exploring soon.

This morning it seems cloudy, but maybe that’s just that fog everyone talks about.

boston / food / travel — Comments Off
10
Aug 09

Had a great time in Boston this weekend

Thought I’d get in a visit with ES before I potentially move to SF. Beside, it’s been more than a year, and I like to go at least once a year.

Friday

I arrived early evening, just in time for dinner at one my favorite Boston restaurants, Elephant Walk (the website is sort of awful btw). The restaurant is much more chi-chi than I remember, at least in an old-fashioned, New England blueblood kind of way. Or maybe in a French way. But the food was less expensive than memory serves.

We got our favorite appetizer, nataing, to start, and then I got the Amok Royal, which is, according to the menu, “a spicy, custard-like preparation of fresh crab, bay scallops, grouper and shrimp with coconut milk and complex Khmer seasonings, steamed in a banana leaf cup and garnished with cilantro and red bell pepper.” I thought it was going to be more like a stew so when the very custard-like concoction arrived, I was surprised. But it was really tasty.

We both stupidly forgot our cameras, and so couldn’t take pics of the beautiful, and delicious, food.

Afterwards we walked around Boston University, my grad school alma mater. I barely recognized anything, except where I actually had classes. I know the campus has changed a lot but we walked to areas I swear I had never been before.

We got back to ES’s place semi-early, around 10, and then just chilled for the night. Half of the fun of visiting ES is all the chatting and catching up, and lying around making comments about stupid TV.

Saturday

Saturday was absolutely beautiful: sunny, dry, and cool. I was up fairly early, around 8:30, and had a leisurely morning with coffee, toast, and my computer. (I’ve been visiting ES for so long I always have no problem making myself at home, though I’m not sure how her roommates feel about that!) It took us a while to get out of the house, between gabbing and whatnot, but we finally made it around 2.

We took the subway to the Boston Harbor area, and started our journey by snagging some lobster and crab rolls along the way:

We were supposed to take a boat out to one of the harbor islands, but every single one was sold out. I guess everyone had the same idea on that unbelievably perfect summer day.

So instead we just enjoyed the weather and tooled around the area, spotting among other things, a parade of segues:

A lovely ocean view:

And pretty flowers:

Next we headed out to the North End, where there was a street festival for one of the innumerable Catholic saints:

And of course there were games, where you could a variety of animal-shaped items, such as rubber duckies:

And where you could nosh on a delicious cannoli:

I got one with chocolate chips. Yum!

Then we wandered over to where some old guys out of The Sopranos were playing bacci ball. There was one guy who played with a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth while another had a thinning jet black pompadour you know he’s had since about 1955.

I wasn’t close enough to get any good shots of the players. Just this spectator:

His whole outfit screams, “I’M ITALIAN AND I’M FROM BOSTON!”

We were supposed to go see this show at 7, but it was such a gorgeous day, neither of us wanted to go underground on the subway and then sit in a theater for two hours. So we just walked around some more, venturing first into Haymarket at closing. Not a good idea! Not only were all the vendors taking down their stands and equipment, people were rifling through all the thrown-out/discounted vegetables and fruit, all at a madcap pace. It was crazy. I kept feeling like I was going to get whacked in the head by some metal pole or knocked over by an Indian or Chinese grandma lunging for a free tomato. Then when I stepped in something cold and mushy, I decided it was over and hightailed it out of there, waiting for ES on the other side.

For dinner we ate at Lucca. The food was delish. We shared the Carpaccio di Manzo, which I didn’t realize till afterwards was raw meat. Still, it was really good. I got the Pappardelle alla Bolognese and ES got the Orecchiette al Formaggio, which was like gourmet mac and cheese with sausage. Both our dishes were yummy but I think I liked ES’s better.

Again, no pictures. Our waiter was very snooty and we felt intimidated, dolts we are. He was way younger than we were too! Douche.

After dinner we walked around some more. We came upon this fountain sculpture, or whatever you want to call it. Kind of like the fountains at Bellagio in miniature. People kept running through it, trying to beat the water spouts but getting soaked all the same.

We did not attempt a run.

Sunday

Another leisurely morning, followed by a quick visit at the Sowa Open Market in the South End, which was perfect because it’s right near South Station. There’s a fun indoor antiques market, where you can buy everything from a suit of armor:

To a Muhammad Ali figurine:

To this crab plate:

I did not buy the crab plate, but found some cool jewelry. Since there was TONS of stuff, I narrowed down my choices down by focusing on stuff in cases, assuming that quality was a little better. I got an art deco style necklace and bracelet for $34. Originally there were $40 together but I bargained the lady down a little.

That was it! You couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better hostess (thanks ES!).

Next up, San Francisco!

See all my Boston pics.

rant and/or rave / travel / work — 2 Comments
31
Jul 09

A semi-bad trip

With my new job – well, not really new anymore – I don’t travel as much as I used to. In my previous position, I traveled four or five times a year to places like Orlando, Chicago, and Las Vegas. Now the extent of my journeys are to New Jersey or Connecticut.

Wednesday I went up to CT for training, and lemme tell ya, at first it was the trip that the universe did not want me to take. First off, the rain. If you’re in the tri-state area, you know what I mean. Rain by monsoon proportions, to the point that a bunch of NJ Transit trains were canceled, and many were late.

Including mine. You know when the board at Penn Station says “5 mins late,” it could actually mean up to an hour. Plus the station was super hot and crowded, and you know how I get about crowds and heat. I was actually hoping my train would be canceled altogether so that I could just go home.

The good news: the train was only about 15 minutes late, and I got a window seat. The bad? It was fuh-REE-zing and I was sitting right near these jabbery law students who just took the bar. The good news? They shut up right quick.

There were lots of cabs waiting at the station, unlike the time I went to NJ for work and it was totally deserted till I flagged a policeman down (by mistake) thinking he was a cab. Got to the hotel, the Mystic Marriott, lickety split, and I relished walking into the luxiuriously A/C’d lobby and up to check-in, brandishing my corporate card, only to be told:

“We’re so sorry, but we’ve had some flooding and we’ll have to walk you to another hotel.”

You’re kidding me. All these people hanging out in the restaurant have rooms, but there’s not a single one for me? Plus I was tired and hungry, and now would have to walk in the muggy misty weather with my luggage to another hotel.

“Well no, we’ll get you a taxi.”

Okay, that’s different.

“And the room is on us. Free of charge.”

Sweet! Not that I really cared since my company was picking up the bill.

As I was waiting for the taxi, I called MB to bitch and moan. Then as I was standing there, who walks in but Howie Mandel. Random and weird! He was rocking the shaved head, earrings, and soul patch, and dressed in what looked like motorcycle attire although he had arrived in a minivan with assistant in tow. I interrupted MB to say, too loudly, “Howie Mandel just walked in!” I don’t know if Howie heard me. He just sort of looked around like he was thinking of buying the place. Then I pointed at him and shouted, “NO DEAL!” And all my family members shook their heads.

He was probably performing at Foxwoods or something.

I ended up running into someone else from my company in the same situation, so we shared the cab to the other hotel. This guy was not a happy camper. I told him about my Howie Mandel sighting, and in response he said, “I am pissed off about this hotel situation.” But what bout Howie?

I personally didn’t care. Just as long as I had a decent hotel room I could kick back in and order room service.

The room was pretty nice. It’s a brand new Hilton and my room still had that new carpet smell. The bedding and bathroom were spotless. But then I started to notice little things, like that the bathroom door wouldn’t stay open. Then when I tried to call room service, there was no answer. So I called the front desk and they couldn’t hear me.

Them: “Hello?”

Me: “Hello?”

Them: “Hello?”

Me: “Hello?”

Luckily the other phone worked, but room service was closed! At 10 PM! What the fuck’s the point of room service if you can’t have it till at least 11?

“Dominoe’s delivers,” the guy said, and I hurled a little in my mouth.

I went downstairs and asked if there was anything within walking distance, and was told there was a diner right up the street. It wasn’t far but it’s always weird to walk someplace that’s not made for walking, especially at night and foggy, misty weather. From the road I could see the restaurant was dark, though there was a giant OPEN sign in the doorway. I got closer and saw yes it was indeed closed. A diner closed by 10:30. We’re not on the Lower East Side anymore, Toto.

I schlepped back and mentioned to the guy, not unkindly, “It was closed,” and resigned myself to a frozen dinner (at least the hotel had those). I went to pay and the guy said, “It’s on the house. I made you walk all the way out there and it was closed.”

At least they did that much.

I haven’t had a frozen dinner in I don’t know how many years, and I rememberd why. It was pretty gross. The meatloaf *might* have been meat at some point, and the potatoes smelled and tasted like potatoes, but it felt like I was eating air. Plus it was so freaking hot, I totally burned the roof of my mouth, but then it got lukewarm really fast.

The good news? I was able to catch a Ghost Hunters International (shut up) that I hadn’t seen, the hotel was extremely quiet, and the bed was nice and firm. I slept like a baby for those five hours.

The next morning I was up early to take another cab out to my company site. The guy was one of those chatty, joking types, which I wasn’t in the mood for at 7:30 in the morning on little sleep and not enough coffee. He said, “You’re from New York, aren’t you?” When I affirmed as such, he said, “I knew it! It’s written there right across your forehead.” Then he said it again a few minutes later.

He mentioned apropos of nothing about having been in the army for 30 years. I said, “Oh my boyfriend was in the army for four years – ”

“Boyfriend?” the cabby said. “You’ve been cheating on me?”

Heheh. Okay creepy old guy.

He turned normal though when I just started babbling about all my travel and hotel troubles. Not that I’d ever want to hang out with him again.

The training was fine, neither exciting nor painful. The site in CT is much nicer than in New York – the view for one. They have these floor to ceiling windows, and the building is right on the water so I kept getting distracted looking out at the boats and dipping seagulls.

The trip back home was much less eventful. The weather yesterday was sunny and fairly dry, and the train much less freezing. And I had no annoying seatmate.

Next up: the ‘rents’ this weekend, and Boston and San Francisco next month. Hopefully the universe will be on my side.

Angela Tung Oversharing on the internet since 2005.