Bacon and Leek Quiche

When Psychgrad and I initially talked about sharing a food blog many years ago I don't think either of us thought it would open us up to as much experimentation as it has.  We also never really thought that the name - Equal Opportunity Kitchen would be as literal as it has become.  What I mean when I say that is that over the years, we've spent a fair amount of time talking about food, about ingredients, trying new things and pushing our limits.  I laugh at "R"'s attitude initially which was seriously about eating just about anything and if it was mac and cheese or cereal, it didn't really matter to him.

Slowly, "R" became more discerning about what he chose to eat and went from boiling a pot of water to make the mac and cheese to looking through recipes, to trying his hand at doing some of the cooking at home.  The best is that now "R" is an ongoing contibutor to the blog, fussier about what he eats and critical of how blog posts are written.  He certainly hasn't come out and said that he'd like to be the active contributor to the blog but then I'll get a link and some pictures with some direction about making sure it's all well represented on the blog.    I'm pretty sure that he secretly checks the blog reasonably often to see if we're posting enough and/or if I've posted one of his creations.

Today's post for  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bacon-and-leek-quiche">Bacon and Leek Quiche is another of "R"'s dinners.  I know he studies the recipes, creates a shopping list, goes out to do the shopping and prepares the whole thing himself.  He's not the guy that sits on other peoples' efforts.  He's a doer - a great attribute.

CRUST

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
4. 1 large egg yolk
5. 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons ice water

FILLING

1. 1 pound thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2. 3 large leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
3. 1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
4. Salt and freshly ground white pepper
5. 8 ounces cave-aged Gruyère cheese, shredded
6. 4 large eggs
7. 2 large egg yolks
8. 2 1/2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half

1. In a food processor, pulse the 2 1/2 cups of flour with the salt. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse until the pastry is moistened. Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until smooth. Pat the pastry into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°. On a floured surface, roll 1 disk of the pastry to a 12-inch round. Ease the pastry into a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom without stretching. Trim the excess and use it to patch any holes. Refrigerate the tart shell for 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
3. Line the tart shells with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tart shells for 30 minutes, just until dry. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake the crusts for about 15 minutes longer, until they are dry and golden. Transfer the tart pans to 2 sturdy baking sheets.
4. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain the bacon, leaving 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan. Add the leeks and thyme to the skillet, season with salt and white pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the bacon and cheese.
5. Divide the bacon-and-leek filling between the tart shells. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the egg yolks and heavy cream. Season lightly with salt and white pepper. Pour the custard into the tart shells and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through for even baking, until puffed and lightly browned. Transfer the quiches to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the rings, cut the quiches into wedges and serve.

I would eat this.

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

Why am I craving lemons?  It was a total mystery to me but I went a couple of days wishing I had something with lemon in it. After doing some reading about lemon cravings and quickly ruled out pregnancy I read that it's not uncommon for people who have difficulty sleeping and/or not enough magnesium to have this craving.  Interesting, no?  I've always had to take magnesium supplements so maybe there's something to it.

I stood in front of the open fridge and just took a mental inventory of what was there and I had some lemons and also some fresh cranberries.  Hmmm... now what?  I found a recipe for Lemon Cranberry Muffins.

I can't believe this was the first time I'd ever made this variety of muffin.  It's easy (my favourite), you do it all by hand and it takes 5 minutes to put together.  That's a good recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup (I used more) fresh cranberries
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400 F

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together

In a separate bowl mix sugar with lemon zest mixing well to incorporate zest to sugar, add to flour mixture

In a measuring cup pour in milk and lemon juice; allow to sit for a few minutes (it'll look like buttermilk)

Add egg and oil and whisk all together  

Make a well in the dry ingredients, add liquid and stir only until blended, add cranberries

If you have large muffin tins, spray one tray of six with non stick and scoop even amount to each one. The smaller muffin tins (12/tray) will work also, just adjust baking time accordingly.

Bake large muffins for 23 minutes (depending on your oven); mine were done in 20 minutes 

NOTE:  These muffins are so good and I'd compare them to any good lemon cranberry muffins anywhere! They're not dry, cake like with a twist of tang.

Date and Nut Loaf

I've been told many times about my obsession with food.  I am one of 4 siblings and we all have this same "condition".  It's not gluttony but more an obsession of buying food, having it in the house and making sure the cupboards are full.  When the family gets together we will often laugh at each other and ourselves.  We also know that we've inherited this craziness from my mother (aka baba).  She went without for a very long time and as we were growing up, mom always made sure we had the freshest and best quality food she could afford and the fridge was always full.

I also have this love/hate relationship with Costco.  It's like going into a fantasy world of big volumes and bigger is better, right?  Not so much.  How many times have you gone into a Costco store, bought something in large quantity and then realized it might last you a lifetime.  This was my dilema when I decided I needed a 2 kg (2.2 lb) bag of pitted dates.  Every time I open my baking cupboard I look at that bag and shake my head at my own impulsiveness.  I went to my old standby recipe for date and nut loaf at Cooks.com and began the bakefest.

2 c. chopped dates
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. boiling water
3/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. sifted all purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine dates and baking soda; cover with boiling water and let stand
until cool.
Cream sugar and shortening together, add egg and vanilla and
beat until combined.
Add cooled date mixture, flour, walnuts, and salt; stir until just combined. Do not beat. Scrape mixture into greased 9 x 5 x 3
inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes. Makes one loaf.

This recipe doubles and triples well so if you happen to have alot of dates, this is the way to go.

Baked Pumpkin French Toast

Today (Sunday, November 25th) is the last day to enter the cookbook giveaway for Lidia's Favorite Recipes. Simply comment on the previous post, and your name will be entered into the draw!

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After making this recipe, I'm now totally on board with making french toast the night before.  Not only do you save yourself time in the morning (which is helpful when you have guests over and a baby to look after), but it also tastes great.

This french toast recipes comes from Two Peas and their Pod.  It is almost like a hybrid between french toast and bread pudding.  R's mom helped me out with preparing this recipe since Ms. E was having a meltdown while I was trying to put the dish together.   

Baked Pumpkin French Toast

1 loaf French Bread (I used a challah)
6 large eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

1. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Tear French bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly place in the pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour evenly over bread. Cover pan with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add butter pieces and cut into the dry mixture using a fork or your hands. Combine until the mixture resembles sand with a few pea sized chunks. Cover and store mixture in the refrigerator.

4. When you’re ready to bake the French toast, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove French toast from refrigerator and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the French toast is set and golden brown.

5. Serve warm with syrup, if desired.

 

Verdict: Tasted delicious and smelled amazing too!  In the future, I may try adapting the streusal recipe to include oatmeal.  I didn't find it had much of a crumble coating effect.



Petite Treats - Vanilla-Cranberry Coffee Cake

My friends at Beth Cook Publicity sent me a complimentary copy of Petite Treats by MORGAN GREENSETH and CHRISTY BEAVER.  The whole idea of "guilt free" mini treats (they're guilt free right?) really peaked my interest.  I was particularly curious about making individual serving coffee cakes.  My introduction was with a recipe of Vanilla Cranberry Coffee Cake and I'm thinking of  the Hazelnut Fig Coffee Cake.  Maybe I'll just get fancier and bake the Strawberry Cream Eclairs.  The point is that the recipes are easy to follow and quick to put together.  If you have a large group for dinner, creating several choices is not a lot of work.

Pot lucks coming up for the holiday season?  Kids lunches with a special mini treat?  Hostess gifts?  There are so many possibilities.

CRANBERRY-VANILLA COFFEE CAKE

Get your morning off to a delicious start. MAKES 12

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1¾ cup sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon allpurpose
flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted
butter, at room temperature, divided
2 large eggs
½ cup heavy whipping cream
powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a standard 12-well muffin pan with paper
liners.
** I cheated a little here and used the larger muffin tins.  Baking time was 25 minutes.
2. Scrape the vanilla bean into a food processor fitted with a blade. Discard the
pod.
3. Add the sugar and pulse until combined. Transfer all but ¼ cup to a
medium bowl.
4. Add the cranberries to the food processor. Pulse briefly until the cranberries
are coarsely chopped but not pureed.
5. In a medium bowl, sift together 2 cups of the flour and the baking powder
and salt.


6. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, combine ¼ cup of the butter and ½ cup
of the vanilla-sugar mixture. Beat on medium until
pale and fluffy.
7. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing fully after
each one and scraping down the bowl as needed.
8. Reduce the speed to low. Add half the flour mixture, then half the whipping
cream, then the remaining flour, then the remaining whipping cream, scraping
down the bowl as needed.
9. Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner halfway full. Place a
dollop of cranberry sugar on top of the batter, avoiding the edges. Top with the
remaining batter, filling each liner three-quarters full.
10. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour to the
remaining vanilla sugar. Blend with your hands until combined. Sprinkle over
the top of each cake.
11. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center returns with no crumbs. The
toothpick may return with cranberries on it, and that’s OK.
12. Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack
to cool completely. Use a fine-mesh sieve to dust with powdered sugar before
serving.
13. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Verdict:  What a delicious mini cake this was and just enough to make me happy.  The crumb of the cake is light and the topping divine.

French Toast Bake

It probably shouldn't be me blogging about this, since Giz is the one that made this delicious French Toast Bake recipe.  But, I guess being the one who took the pictures...and the one who ate most of it puts me in a good position to talk about it.

At first, I was skeptical.  I like my french toast made with challah, soaked in a healthy amount of milk and egg just before pan frying (results in a french toast that is on the softer side) and with syrup on top.


French Toast Bake
source

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1 cup brown sugar
1 loaf Texas toast (we used challah)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Directions
1. Melt butter in microwave & add brown sugar….stir till mixed.
2. Pour butter/sugar mix into bottom of 9 x 13 pan….spread around
3. Beat eggs, milk, & vanilla
4. Lay single layer of Texas Toast in pan
5. Spoon 1/2 of egg mixture on bread layer
6. Add 2nd layer of Texas Toast
7. Spoon on remaining egg mixture
8. Cover & chill in fridge overnight
9. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
10. Sprinkle with powdered sugar

11. Serve with warm maple syrup

Delicious! We found that the top layer wasn't as coated with the flavouring as the bottom.  So, eating it upside down may be the way to go in the future.  I also quite liked the leftovers cold (but maybe I'm strange that way).  Of course, one of the biggest pros of this recipe is that you make it in advance, which is great for when you have company.

Breakfast Egg Muffins

How many times have you heard people tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?  Until a few years ago breakfast for me was coffee - not smart.  Now I make a point of getting my metabolism in full gear within an hour of waking up.

I'm also a President's Choice kinda gal.  Anything I want I generally can find there.  Don't get me wrong - I don't agree with everything PC does.  I wish they'd stop selling garlic from China but I guess I have the choice of just not buying it there.   Our local garlic is so much better and also supports our local farmers.  The interesting products I find far out weigh the one or two differences of opinion that we have.

Now that Psychgrad is expecting, I've been working on recipes that are nutritious and can be frozen so that she and "R" can have readily available good quality meals ready during the sleep deprivation stage.  I mean, who really thinks about cooking and nutrition when all you want to do is sleep?

Today I made breakfast cups that are full of goodness, can easily be frozen and reheat well.

Ingredients

9 eggs
6 strips turkey bacon, fried and diced small
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 pepper, diced (I used an orange one)
6 leaves of  basil, cut very small
1/4 cup minced scallions
1/2 cup PC tex mex cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F

Spray a tray (6) of extra large muffin cups with non stick spray (or 12 small muffin cups)
Mix all the ingredients together except for the cheese
Fill the muffin cups to 1/2 inh of the top and spread a little cheese on each one

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until tops turn a golden brown.
Wait a couple of minutes before you take the muffins out of the tins, using a knife to loosen the sides.
Yumalicious and you don't need carbs to go with it.

Citrus Granola Parfait

Are you on Pinterest? If your answer is "no", you probably need to be checking it out. I love being able to go to an online resource that allows me to create virtual "boards", label them according to my own personal interests and when I'm surfing the internet for interesting things in line with my interests, I can save them (pin them) to my boards and have the original source to link to. This can be a recipe, a product, a hairdo or even just a great piece of photography. The options are broad and the site is so easy to maneuver. I'm so hooked. I've found new blogs and a wealth of creativity and inspiration.

I could eat breakfast for every meal and be entirely happy. Breakfast for snacks works too. One of the recipes that I pinned this past week was a citrus granola from The Tolerant Vegan that she featured as a parfait coupled with yogurt. I'm not so sure where this compulsion to "make this as soon as possible" comes from but I suspect if you're reading this you totally get it.

This recipe made enough to make 4 generous parfaits but now that I've made it and tried it, the next batch will be multiplied to have enough around to last for a month.

Recipe adapted from Oprah.com

zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime
zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
4 tablespoons orange juice
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
16 ounces yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
Combine all of the ingredients except the yogurt together in a large bowl Spread in a 9x13 pan (or cookie sheet)

Bake for 15 minutes and give it a stir. Bake for another 15 minutes. Cool completely. To make

parfaits, layer yogurt and granola finishing with the granola. I love the fresh taste of the citrus in this granola. The lime especially comes through - it'll put a smile on your face and leave you wanting more.

 

Norma's for Brunch

I was invited to brunch with attitude. I just wasn't sure if it was my attitude, my invitor's attitude or the restaurant's attitude. It also didn't really matter how many times I asked, I was told "you'll see". Okay, it's a surprise. Sometimes it's just easier to go along than to ask too many questions. I trusted my companions and boy oh boy was I in for the experience of a lifetime. We arrived at the Parker Meridien Palm Springs and were ushered to Norma's Restaurant.

Have you heard of it? I'd heard of the one in New York but had never visited and had no concept of what awaited. My companions wanted me to have a life long memory. Nestled in what feels like a forest, the soft latin music and bustling wait staff just make you smile. The energy is completely positive and you feel a sense of fun around you. Our waiter was engaging, helpful and efficient and started our experience off with a shotglass sample of the smoothy of the day Coffee was served in a French press. The menu is diversified and interesting with catchy names such as "Wa-Za" for a waffle that has fruit inside and out and looks so interesting you're just not sure whether or not you should eat it or save it as a piece of art.

Mango-Papaya Brown Cinnamon Crepes



Normalita's Huevos Rancheros




Fish Tacos



We're getting ready to go home from our vacation. We're all ready. It's been a great couple of months but reality becons and soon enough we'll have more great things.

Chez Edgar

It's hard to believe that Edgar has been open for over a year ago now.  It seems like just yesterday that Marysol was getting her footing as a new restaurant owner.  Now, Edgar is known for its quality, made-from-scratch foods and quaint atmosphere.  With only 11 seats, we were lucky to find a place when we arrived for brunch shortly after opening (not ones to be deterred by the time change).  

I love everything about Edgar, the food, the service, the atmosphere...even getting to practice my ordering skills in French (note: everyone is bilingual, but thankfully didn't automatically switch to English just because I have an English accent).

I'm looking forward to the opening of Odile, Edgar's little sister, which will have more seating.

I ordered the dutch baby, a puffed up pancake filled with slow-cooked pork belly, five-year-old cheddar, apple puree and maple syrup.  I ate it slowly to savour the taste and to make sure I got a bit of every flavour in one bite.  

"Ron" had the cabin à sucre-inspired meal, which included baked beans with maple syrup, poached eggs, potato gratin, bacon and what I think was a yorkshire pudding.

Of course, who can resist the counter full of baked goods?  I went with the lemon beignet, which is a muffin rolled in sugar and cinnamon and filled with lemon custard.

Ron had a plum tart, which he loved.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries

Day 2 of lemon-mania. It's really surprising how quickly you can use up a pile of citrus when you put your mind to it. Two Peas and Their Pod had lemon ricotta pancakes posted and they looked fabulous. Not only were they fabulous, they were quick and easy to make. The only alteration I made to the recipe is a change of all-purpose flour to whole wheat flour.

I made a double recipe and had enough to feed 8 people. It's almost embarassing to admit that this is the first time I've made pancakes from scratch. I'll never go back to store bought again. Although I didn't make the blueberry sauce; just added blueberries to the actual pancakes we all loved them.

To make the blueberry sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water

1. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

To make the pancakes:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. Gently fold this mixture into the dry ingredients until flour disappears. Don't over mix. The batter will be thick.



3. Heat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Cook the pancakes until browned on the underside and beginning to set, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the pancakes on the other side, about two minutes longer. Continue making pancakes until batter is gone. Serve warm with blueberry sauce or maple syrup or both.



And... to start the day we made a bowl full of lemon mint water with a splash of maple syrup.

Eating Out in San Francisco

My favourite trips are ones where we have access to kitchen facilities.  That's a big part of the reason why we often opt to stay in hostels.  

There's part of me that feels that, as a food blogger (and someone that enjoys food, in general), I should be exploring as many restaurants as possible while travelling.  But, the truth is that I generally prefer cooking my own food.  Without fail, my most memorable meals are ones that use simple, fresh ingredients.

Case in point.  Let me start with my favourite meal while travelling in San Francisco.

This meal was actually from a small cafe in Sausalito.  We took a day trip to Muir Woods, to see some massive Redwoods.  On the way back, we had about an hour in Sausalito to explore.  We didn't know where to go to eat, but took our chances on the Sausalito Bakery & Cafe.

Fresh fruit, fresh Greek salad and a blueberry bread pudding that is to die for!  I think I need to add bread pudding to my list of recipes to try.   

This is the stuff that long-lasting cravings are made of.

I also really enjoyed San Francisco Fish Company's fish and chips at the Ferry Building.  Maybe I'm easily impressed, but I've never been served take out fish and chips with both tartar and fish sauce.  Not to mention that the fish was really fresh.  I'll vote this meal as my 2nd favourite.     

Continuing on, my third favourite meal came from The Grove on Mission Street.  We went for an early breakfast and both liked our food and the energy in the tree-filled space.

I enjoyed my meal at the Sears Fine Food, a San Francisco institution.  It was about as enjoyable as the meal at the Grove.  But, a bill for breakfast that was somewhere in the neighbourhood of $45.00 somehow affects the taste left my mouth.

I don't think they're hurting for customers, though.  This is the lineup out the door as we were leaving the restaurant:

I had the french toast, which was pretty standard.  I wish it included more strawberries on the side.  I think I had 2-3 little bits of strawberry/slice.  

I thought it was pretty funny that when I asked about the extra cost for syrup, the waitress explained that that's just for maple syrup.  She explained that syrup comes with the french toast and that it tastes totally fine and that it's not necessary to get the maple syrup, unless your from Canada.  I didn't know we were so particular about our syrup.     

R got Sears' World Famous 18 Swedish pancakes.    

I was a bit worried that these pancakes might, each, end up being the size of the plate.  But, the proportions turned out to be reasonable, given the number. 

Boudin is a prominent fixture in Fisherman's Wharf.  They have quite the operation going there.  Between a takeaway counter, specialty food shop area, bakery and full service restaurant, it's the kind of place you have to visit at least once.

They're known for their sourdough bread.  I thought it was quite cool to watch the baskets of bread travel around the store.

You can also spend some time watching the bakers making various shaped bread creations.

We also went for dinner at Bistro Boudin, a full service restaurant.  The service was very good, but the meal was mixed.  I order Angel Hair Pasta with Grilled Shrimp.  The menu indicated that it included vine-ripened tomato arrabiatta and garlic.  I liked the tomato sauce.  But it lacked the spiciness you would expect of an arrabiatta sauce.  I also wasn't keen on the spice on the shrimp.  It tasted like a cajun seasoning, which didn't really work with a simple tomato sauce.  After donating my shrimp to R and adding chilli peppers to the tomato sauce, I was content.

R ordered the Sourdough Gnocchi Al Pesto with Lobster.  I didn't really see the appeal in what appears to be a fried chive topping.  R enjoyed his meal, but was quite happy to be given half of my meal because he was still hungry after finishing his.

Near the end of our trip, we were getting tired.  It was raining for two days straight and I really didn't want to figure out three meals a day anymore.  We decided to just go out and find a place to eat, which was a mistake because we ended up getting soaked while walking to the Ferry Building.  We ended up going to Gott's Roadside

I got a grilled cheese sandwich, which is something I've never ordered at a restaurant before.  R is an expert grilled-cheese sandwich maker, so I haven't felt the need to order it elsewhere.  In general, the food was okay.  But, combined with being tired and wet, I just wanted to get back to the hotel, take a warm shower and go to bed.

I had the highest hopes for what turned out to be my least favourite restaurant experience.  Our friends raved about Fang Restaurant before we left for San Francisco.  So, we were eager to the try the place.  We made a reservation for 7:15 and showed up at that time.  We waited for 40 minutes for a table to become available.  I felt like I was in combination of Seinfeld episodes.  What is the point of taking reservations if you can't keep the reservation?

We also knew to expect the owner to come by and inquire about whether we had been at the restaurant before.  Since we hadn't, we knew there was a good chance that the owner would just say "ok, I'll take care of you."  I was pretty leery about this because I had a couple of dishes in mind, but Mr. Fang was gone before I could say anything.

The first dish, which was a pork sandwich, was decent.  But, not something I would have ordered.

The other dishes, a crunchy rice, creamy lobster soup and white fish were dishes that I would never order and didn't enjoy.  But, I guess what annoyed me more than anything is that I had to ask for a glass of water 5 times before someone actually brought one.  The last request was more of a minor freak out where I basically said, "what does a person need to do to get water in here?"  I know, not the best version of me...but I was hungry, disappointed with the food, still adjusting to a time difference (and hence eating at what seemed like 11:30pm) and very thirsty.

I would not go back to this restaurant.

Aside from eating out, we generally picked up food at grocery stores.  We quickly learned that having store membership cards can make a big difference in the price of the products.  This led to kind of an awkward, "we are the worst liars ever" situation.

Basically, we overheard a customer telling other tourists was his Safeway card number was.  When we went to check out, we said we have a membership, but didn't have our card.  So, the cashier said, "just enter your phone number into the typepad."

WHAT?  A phone number?  This was not part of our deception plan.  We explained that we just want to give our Safeway number.  She repeated that we should just enter our phone number.  I'm thinking "LOOK --- I don't know this guy's phone number, I just know his Safeway number."  She could tell we were utterly confused, so she explained that our phone number IS our Safeway number.

Oh...yes...of course.  What was I thinking.

The best part is when the cashier starting calling R this other guy's name: Thor.

Stay tuned for another San Francisco post sharing some of the sites we visited.