i like to eat.

Gap's doing these Nacho Fridays too often. They're not as special anymore. :(

My lunches at Gap have been unexciting, so that's why you haven't heard much.

This particular day was a pretty good lunch though. I had a vegetarian sandwich with tomato, cucumber, lettuce, roasted peppers and avocado on wheat. Sounds kind of boring, but the avocado sealed the deal and made it interesting.

I sometimes wonder if I could be a vegetarian...

Hmm, probably not. A juicy steak and glass of red wine easily makes me drool.

Seriously, this is the fourth time I've had nacho Friday. This one was actually pretty darn good though. Then again, when are they never good?

Related: Nacho Friday 1, 2, 3

My Thursday food adventures at the farmers' market in the Ferry Building continues. Last couple of times (1,2), I had Namu, so I wanted to try something different.

Right next to Namu is Tacolicious, a project from Joe Hargrave of Laïola restaurant and Sara, senior editor of 7x7 magazine.

I ordered three tacos since it was $9 compared to $3.50 each. I got the "chef's favorite," house made chorizo potato, beef short rib and chicken taco.

I didn't eat the tacos right away (walked back to the office) and maybe that was a wrong decision. By the time I was ready to eat the tacos, they were already cold. The meats were all tender, but the flavor was ok. I liked the chorizo potato one the best. I never had this combination in a taco before. It actually worked.

I doubt I'd go back to Tacolicious - food's decent. There are 4 other booths I need to try! :)

     

Click here to download:

Tacolicious_tag_food_mexican_l.zip (676 KB)

I lived with a girl named Emily that was a sous chef at Ame.

Ame, my friends. Michelin rated Ame.

Food there is out of this world. And even better when you know the chef. ;)

I moved out and lost contact with her, but randomly thought of her one day. Texted her and found out she was no longer at Ame, but working at a new place called Il Cane Rosso in the Ferry Building. I was shocked to hear she was at the Ferry Building, considering I work only three blocks away and visit it almost every week - just never ran into her.

I swung by Il Cane Rosso and ordered their number one seller, porchetta sandwich. Holy cow, that thing's meaty and delicious. The pork shoulder was tender, moist and full of flavor. It looks gorgeous (image 3) and so yummy. The bread was soft with a red pluot mostarda spread (tasted kind of like plum jam) and mustard greens. I could only eat half of the sandwich - too much for one sitting.

Knowing someone that works in the kitchen often leads to hook ups. And this time was no different. My ex-roomie gave me a heirloom tomato salad with sel gris (sea salt), basil, balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil. How can something so simple be so amazing?

I'll definitely be vising Il Cane Rosso again, with or without a hook up. Their menu changes daily, so be sure to check out their site.

         

Click here to download:

Porchetta_Sandwich_tag_food_it.zip (1203 KB)

Lunch from Gap's 7th floor cafe - applewood bacon, fried green tomatoes (in cornmeal) and lettuce on grilled sourdough bread. Instead of typical potato chips, the sandwich came with a side of orzo, tomato and cucumber salad. Yummy.

I've surprisingly been going to Napa a lot more frequently this year (see related posts below). Hey, not complaining. I should go even more often, considering it's close and there are so many vineyards to discover.

Aki wanted to take her mom and friends to Napa since they've never been. We first went to Robert Mondavi and tasted some delicious reds and whites. I'm not much of a white wine person, but Robert Mondavi's Chardonnay was good, not too dry, but crisp. The crowd favorite was the muscat dessert wine. We all left the vineyard with a bottle each. :) It's the perfect and sweet - reminds me of summer.

Next, we went to my favorite vineyard, V.Sattui. I really love this place, but....so does everyone else. It gets way too crowded in the tasting room and picnic area. Luckily, we were there near the end of the day and most of the tourists were leaving.

I got a hot salami and provolone cheese sandwich with a dash of balsamic vinegar from the vineyard's deli. It was enough to feed two people, but I enjoyed half of it at V.Sattui's desirable picnic area. I love the simplicity of enjoying good wine on the grass in the warm weather. It's so relaxing.

We spent a good amount of time in the picnic area and then the sprinklers turned on (that's their way to kick us out). I was surprised that this trip to Napa didn't call for more wine tasting, but the company was great and I'll miss them when they go back to Japan.

                             

Click here to download:

092009_napa.zip (4091 KB)

Related posts: I Love Napa, Part 1,2,3 / Salad in Napa

The day after the wedding was another big day of eating and hanging out with relatives from Japan and Indiana.

I had an amazing salad at Gap a few weeks back. It was a plate full of ice berg lettuce, ground beef, corn, black beans, salsa, chipotle lime dressing and tortilla chips.

It was pretty much a taco salad, minus the cheese. Yummy.

Woke up to the random noise of thunderstorms.The previous day was gorgeous and out of nowhere, thunderstorms?!

I have one of those satellite clocks and I couldn't believe the icon I saw. I've never even seen that icon before!

I was feeling gloomy and wanted to make something to keep my body warm. I had some mushrooms left from the previous meal, so I decided to make a quick soup.

I first cooked some whole wheat pasta and warmed up some chicken broth with mushrooms and sugar snap peas. When the pasta was done, dumped that into the broth and viola.

Nothing complicated, just a simple warm soup on a gloomy day.

   

Click here to download:

Chilly_Saturday_tag_food_home_.zip (341 KB)