Sunday, September 30, 2007
hugging banned?!?
cavin alerted me to this article, "school bans hugging". the last line of the article is best, but i won't ruin it for you. but seriously. this is outageous!
Labels: random
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
vodka martini - the focal point of mediocrity?
this past weekend i was at (another) wedding. i always have the same problem whenever i go to an event like this: what will i drink?
sometimes i will have a craving for something, like a white russian, which most bars will have (unless for some strange reason they don't have milk). more usually, though, i will order something based on what liquor is smiling back at me from behind the bartender.
on saturday when cocktail hour rolled around, and after having drank my fair share of homemade white russians in the motel room, i decided that it was time to move on to another drink. i felt like a dirty martini, and when i looked to see what they had on the shelf, the pickins' were mighty slim.
a couple of years ago, i have to admit, i was an ignorant bastardess when it came to martinis. i didn't really know what was in them, but i knew i liked the extra dirty briney-ness to them. for all i would have cared, a bartender could have poured rubbing alcohol in the martini glass, with a large helping of the olives and their au jus and i would have been set. so of course back then, i ordered the sacriligious vodka "martini", because, gin was for old fogeys and losers, right?
but as i've been more inclined to make my own drinks at home, i've read more about this martini character. hmmm...gin? vermouth? in the past two years, i've been schooling myself in the art of tending bar and learning about the martini (shaken vs. stirred, how much vermouth, etc) and i'm a convert. gin does have more flavor than vodka, which translates into a more flavorful martini (a "martini" doesn't need the gin qualifier - that's exactly what a martini is). just this week i've discovered more people on my (the correct) side of the fence who think "vodka martinis are for twats and wankers" and that they are the "focal point of american mediocrity."
since i've finally come around, the more important question is what type of gin is best?
cavin and i have been experimenting with different types of gins. he is of the "gin&tonic" camp, meanwhile i of the "dirty martini" camp. while cavin has been purchasing many gins and assessing their quality and their success mixed with tonic and lime, i haven't been quite as enthusiatic with making the home martini as of late. as we get ready to move though, this bad habit of not drinking the liquor in the house (and drinking belgian beers at beck's) will probably shift to all out benders because 1) the less stuff we have, the less stuff we have to move, and 2) moving is very stressful and what better way to relieve stress than by drinking (and yelling)?
last weekend at the wedding, i wanted a dirty martini, but all they had was tanqueray. "do you have any other gin back there?" i was asking while trying to peek over the bartender's shoulders and waist, fantasizing there would be some cabinet of bombay sapphire, hendricks, beefeater, junipero, etc. the bartender looked at me like i was crazy, as probably no one had ever asked him that type of question before. "nope." argh.
why is it that tanqueray is the one gin that most places invest stock in? after having many tanqueray&tonics, i can see how the typical novice non-gin drinker can stand the extra sweetness of this liquor, especially when mixed with lime and soda. but for the purist i'm becoming, tanqueray is probably the worst gin to have in a martini, especially a dirty one. who wants a sweet martini with olives in it? of course, if you're one-of-those that wants an appletini then perhaps tanqueray is perfect for this, though, i just read that an appletini is made with vodka, not gin. hmph. go figure.
we've had several gins in the house in the past months, and while i cannot assess their quality in the G&T (earth to cavin?), for dirty martinis, i prefer hendricks, beefeater, and boodles. i've been to some nicer bars that have hendricks and beefeater, but i have yet to see boodles in public bar, unless you count gin under the counter in one of these. (haha - i would never do that...!)
don't get me wrong. vodka has its place (rusky standard!), but in a martini, it does not.
sometimes i will have a craving for something, like a white russian, which most bars will have (unless for some strange reason they don't have milk). more usually, though, i will order something based on what liquor is smiling back at me from behind the bartender.
on saturday when cocktail hour rolled around, and after having drank my fair share of homemade white russians in the motel room, i decided that it was time to move on to another drink. i felt like a dirty martini, and when i looked to see what they had on the shelf, the pickins' were mighty slim.
a couple of years ago, i have to admit, i was an ignorant bastardess when it came to martinis. i didn't really know what was in them, but i knew i liked the extra dirty briney-ness to them. for all i would have cared, a bartender could have poured rubbing alcohol in the martini glass, with a large helping of the olives and their au jus and i would have been set. so of course back then, i ordered the sacriligious vodka "martini", because, gin was for old fogeys and losers, right?
but as i've been more inclined to make my own drinks at home, i've read more about this martini character. hmmm...gin? vermouth? in the past two years, i've been schooling myself in the art of tending bar and learning about the martini (shaken vs. stirred, how much vermouth, etc) and i'm a convert. gin does have more flavor than vodka, which translates into a more flavorful martini (a "martini" doesn't need the gin qualifier - that's exactly what a martini is). just this week i've discovered more people on my (the correct) side of the fence who think "vodka martinis are for twats and wankers" and that they are the "focal point of american mediocrity."
since i've finally come around, the more important question is what type of gin is best?
cavin and i have been experimenting with different types of gins. he is of the "gin&tonic" camp, meanwhile i of the "dirty martini" camp. while cavin has been purchasing many gins and assessing their quality and their success mixed with tonic and lime, i haven't been quite as enthusiatic with making the home martini as of late. as we get ready to move though, this bad habit of not drinking the liquor in the house (and drinking belgian beers at beck's) will probably shift to all out benders because 1) the less stuff we have, the less stuff we have to move, and 2) moving is very stressful and what better way to relieve stress than by drinking (and yelling)?
last weekend at the wedding, i wanted a dirty martini, but all they had was tanqueray. "do you have any other gin back there?" i was asking while trying to peek over the bartender's shoulders and waist, fantasizing there would be some cabinet of bombay sapphire, hendricks, beefeater, junipero, etc. the bartender looked at me like i was crazy, as probably no one had ever asked him that type of question before. "nope." argh.
why is it that tanqueray is the one gin that most places invest stock in? after having many tanqueray&tonics, i can see how the typical novice non-gin drinker can stand the extra sweetness of this liquor, especially when mixed with lime and soda. but for the purist i'm becoming, tanqueray is probably the worst gin to have in a martini, especially a dirty one. who wants a sweet martini with olives in it? of course, if you're one-of-those that wants an appletini then perhaps tanqueray is perfect for this, though, i just read that an appletini is made with vodka, not gin. hmph. go figure.
we've had several gins in the house in the past months, and while i cannot assess their quality in the G&T (earth to cavin?), for dirty martinis, i prefer hendricks, beefeater, and boodles. i've been to some nicer bars that have hendricks and beefeater, but i have yet to see boodles in public bar, unless you count gin under the counter in one of these. (haha - i would never do that...!)
don't get me wrong. vodka has its place (rusky standard!), but in a martini, it does not.
Labels: booze
Thursday, September 13, 2007
trash at mcdonald's
ok. so here. i'm admitting it. i eat at mcdonalds. i've mentioned this before in a previous post. earlier this week we got one of those mcdonald's coupon books which lures me into their death trap fast food box with the $3.49 (hunh! it went up 10 cents since the last coupon book back in march!) mcnuggeRs deal.
but seriously, i don't go there that often. on occasion, while cavin and i are doing one of our regular trips up to philly and we're pressed for time and food, we'll stop at mcDs and grab a quick bite. in fact, the two weeks ago we were driving up to PA was one of those rare times. we went to mcDs to get a big mac (which actually wasn't that great - i kept thinking about how "light" the burger felt in my hands, as if i was eating air). part of it was because we had recently been to in-and-out out on the west coast and i wanted to compare their double double animal style to the classic big mac. (i also recently had a five guys burger and i think i favor the five guys over in-and-out, which obviously wins hands down over mcdonalds - duh.)
but today, since having the coupon book, cavin decided to meet me at the recently refurbished mcDs at union station, where we could take advantage of the 99 cent mcmuffin (any kind) sandwich coupon. here's where it turned downhill.
cavin, being the smart man that he is, suggested that we only get one sandwich and split it (of course getting hashbrowns also) - i'm fine with that. except, when i go up to the non-english speaking cashier, he doesn't want me to tell him my order (aka speak english), he wants me to tell him a numero. well, i don't want a meal, i just want the sandwich, and finally his supervisor comes over and punches it in for him, utilizing the $.99 coupon i've handed her. though, her mentee is not the only one lacking english skills, so when she says, "$4.38", i'm left wondering how a $.99 sandwich and two hashbrowns adds up to over $4, and i'm doubting my price-is-right skillz on pricing hashbrowns.
i finally see the receipt, and i see that we some how ended up ordering two mcmuffins, one being at $2.19. this is bullshit, but cavin convinces me that the $2 isn't worth it. ok. i'm fine with that.
now we're looking for a place to sit. i have one requirement - i don't want to sit next to the bathrooms. fine. we walk over to the other side, and there is a free 4-seater against the wall, with benched seating on one side, and two seats bolted in on the other side. next to the table we picked is another 4 seater, and a probably late 30s black woman, zoned in on txt messaging...who the hell cares. she's got this huge backpack in the space where someone (cavin) would need to squeeze into the benched seating. he literally has to climb over her bag, all the while, she's not looking up, but is most probably aware of what is going on, yet has no reaction.
our table has been littered with crumbs from some slob before us, so i take my napkin, and not purposely doing anything to distract this lady from her most important text messaging, and brush off the crumbs onto the floor, which have inadvertantly hit her foot or some part of her body. but why do i care? if she had shown the least bit of courtesy and moved her bag and her body over a few spare inches, this could have been avoided.
well, of course, she didn't "notice" when cavin was climbing over her bag to get into the benched seat, but she does "notice" when the crumbs accidentally hit her leg (or whatever), to which she then, looks at me and says in a disgusted tone, "please DON'T brush your crumbs on ME!" her response has illicited my don't-fucking-mess-with-me tone as i bite back, "well, if you had moved your fucking bag and moved over so that he could have gotten in the seat then we wouldn't have this problem!"
of course, now, at this point, she's not having any of my attitude, as i'm not having any of hers. she's calling me an asshole and a bitch and i'm saying the same things right back. cavin sticks up for me and tells the lady not to tell me to shut the hell up and now she's yelling at him. i'm finally like, "whatever. it's not worth it" while she's still muttering "asshole" under her breath. she finally shuts the hell up and we're eating (both a sandwich and hashbrown each!) as pleasantly as possible while she's still totally immersed in her oh-so-important txt messaging.
after we were done eating and chatting (~15 minutes), right before we get up to leave some other flake sits down next to her, he obviously knowing her. i get up to leave, look at her, roll my eyes, while kevin re-climbs over her bag to get out of the benched seat. as we walk away, i know that she's telling her flake friend about how i'm the asshole. whatever. she's lucky that i was on my way back to work.
of course, cavin was right. we should have only gotten one sandwich to split and i should have just given the other away or something. so when i got back to work, i started having chest pains and i was still a little livid from the encounter of the rude kind at mcd.
mcdonald's is so not worth it, but i just can't get over the stinkin' chicken nuggets and french fries. maybe i'll learn my lesson soon.
happy freaking birthday, eh?
but seriously, i don't go there that often. on occasion, while cavin and i are doing one of our regular trips up to philly and we're pressed for time and food, we'll stop at mcDs and grab a quick bite. in fact, the two weeks ago we were driving up to PA was one of those rare times. we went to mcDs to get a big mac (which actually wasn't that great - i kept thinking about how "light" the burger felt in my hands, as if i was eating air). part of it was because we had recently been to in-and-out out on the west coast and i wanted to compare their double double animal style to the classic big mac. (i also recently had a five guys burger and i think i favor the five guys over in-and-out, which obviously wins hands down over mcdonalds - duh.)
but today, since having the coupon book, cavin decided to meet me at the recently refurbished mcDs at union station, where we could take advantage of the 99 cent mcmuffin (any kind) sandwich coupon. here's where it turned downhill.
cavin, being the smart man that he is, suggested that we only get one sandwich and split it (of course getting hashbrowns also) - i'm fine with that. except, when i go up to the non-english speaking cashier, he doesn't want me to tell him my order (aka speak english), he wants me to tell him a numero. well, i don't want a meal, i just want the sandwich, and finally his supervisor comes over and punches it in for him, utilizing the $.99 coupon i've handed her. though, her mentee is not the only one lacking english skills, so when she says, "$4.38", i'm left wondering how a $.99 sandwich and two hashbrowns adds up to over $4, and i'm doubting my price-is-right skillz on pricing hashbrowns.
i finally see the receipt, and i see that we some how ended up ordering two mcmuffins, one being at $2.19. this is bullshit, but cavin convinces me that the $2 isn't worth it. ok. i'm fine with that.
now we're looking for a place to sit. i have one requirement - i don't want to sit next to the bathrooms. fine. we walk over to the other side, and there is a free 4-seater against the wall, with benched seating on one side, and two seats bolted in on the other side. next to the table we picked is another 4 seater, and a probably late 30s black woman, zoned in on txt messaging...who the hell cares. she's got this huge backpack in the space where someone (cavin) would need to squeeze into the benched seating. he literally has to climb over her bag, all the while, she's not looking up, but is most probably aware of what is going on, yet has no reaction.
our table has been littered with crumbs from some slob before us, so i take my napkin, and not purposely doing anything to distract this lady from her most important text messaging, and brush off the crumbs onto the floor, which have inadvertantly hit her foot or some part of her body. but why do i care? if she had shown the least bit of courtesy and moved her bag and her body over a few spare inches, this could have been avoided.
well, of course, she didn't "notice" when cavin was climbing over her bag to get into the benched seat, but she does "notice" when the crumbs accidentally hit her leg (or whatever), to which she then, looks at me and says in a disgusted tone, "please DON'T brush your crumbs on ME!" her response has illicited my don't-fucking-mess-with-me tone as i bite back, "well, if you had moved your fucking bag and moved over so that he could have gotten in the seat then we wouldn't have this problem!"
of course, now, at this point, she's not having any of my attitude, as i'm not having any of hers. she's calling me an asshole and a bitch and i'm saying the same things right back. cavin sticks up for me and tells the lady not to tell me to shut the hell up and now she's yelling at him. i'm finally like, "whatever. it's not worth it" while she's still muttering "asshole" under her breath. she finally shuts the hell up and we're eating (both a sandwich and hashbrown each!) as pleasantly as possible while she's still totally immersed in her oh-so-important txt messaging.
after we were done eating and chatting (~15 minutes), right before we get up to leave some other flake sits down next to her, he obviously knowing her. i get up to leave, look at her, roll my eyes, while kevin re-climbs over her bag to get out of the benched seat. as we walk away, i know that she's telling her flake friend about how i'm the asshole. whatever. she's lucky that i was on my way back to work.
of course, cavin was right. we should have only gotten one sandwich to split and i should have just given the other away or something. so when i got back to work, i started having chest pains and i was still a little livid from the encounter of the rude kind at mcd.
mcdonald's is so not worth it, but i just can't get over the stinkin' chicken nuggets and french fries. maybe i'll learn my lesson soon.
happy freaking birthday, eh?
Labels: chaos
Monday, September 03, 2007
san francisco in 4 days
day one
day one on the west coast consisted of many "hi! i haven't seen you in so long!" comments, "auntie, uncle, this is cavin" introductions, and "are you going to be next?" questions (directed towards me about getting married, because the main reason we were out in california was for my cousin's wedding). the rehearsal dinner was thursday night also, and while i don't have any pictures posted here, let me just tell you the priest and church coordinator were completely anal, the music (two guys singing bee gees type karaoke) was deafeningly loud, the food was mediocre (filipino cooked without much care), and we were dead tired because we had traveled all day and opted not to go out with my cousins and her million bridesmaids and groomsmen. (seriously, there were 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen!)
day two
my morning started pretty early, with me having to travel to my uncle's house to pick up the minivan we were borrowing all weekend (which was very gracious of them). before we even flew out to the west coast, we decide that we might as well do the whole touristy thing because cavin had never been, and i hadn't been in a long, long time. we got our asses out of union city and drove downtown and parked. here are the noisy, and sometimes mean to each other, sea lions that reside in fisherman's wharf.
while we were waiting to meet gaberage, we walked to ghirardelli square to sample some chocolate and get iced coffee. we then rode a street car (for free, because the driver was all kinds of late) to the rincon center, and when we got off at our stop, there was all kinds of hoo-ha going on.
apparently, we were just in time to hear the end of a speech about the value of having goals when you are a child, blah blah blah, from the one and only, barry bonds. who knew that august 24 was barry bonds day? i guess all the people on their lunch break walking past that exact moment, figured it out, as we did.
after we met up with gaberage, we put our names in to eat deem sum (dim sum) at yank sing, a place i had researched before we left dc. it was very tasty, and between the three of us, we were able to sample lots of fresh food, including mushroom dumplings, sesame balls, turnip cakes, and fried taro (my favorite). while it was quite good, it was a little on the pricey side. (we did have a lot to eat, i'll admit, but still!) though, i'd say the food was a lot more fresh than what i've seen on the east cost, and there was much more selection at yank sing than i've seen in PA, NJ, MD or DC.
after lunch we drove on lombard street, the crookedest street. since i was driving my uncle's white 1989 minivan, i was a little scared driving up and down the steep streets, especially when tourists were standing in the middle of the road, not caring that these were actual streets where cars were whizzing by. i almost ran over people, not by accident, but because they were being stupid and standing in the middle of the road taking pictures. i'm all for taking pictures, but come on! stupid asshole tourists! :)
after stuffing our faces, we walked off all the calories consumed by heading towards the golden gate bridge. we drove across the bridge, parked on the sausalito side, and walked south across it, towards san francisco. well, we actually only walked half-way, and then walked back. (it was windy!) it was a little bit scary walking across, after all press lately with the bridge in minnesota collapsing, but i'm still alive and here to tell the tale. plus, i started freaking out thinking, 'what if there were drunk drivers driving and weren't paying attention and drove their car into me!'...i know i know. i can't help it. i worry too much. but still!
barry bonds day was a pretty good day. after i argued with my dad about when we would be home and dropped off gaberage, we made it back to one of my uncle's houses where my (huge) family was all there enjoying oysters on the grill, lots of filipino food, and ended the night with our friends, don julio and johnnie walker (black label, of course).
day three
our third day in california was all about the wedding. it was a very "west coast" style wedding, with the majority of the 300+ attendees being filipino, and most of them being the bridal party (hehe). since the ceremony was at 10am (early!), the five east coasters (pv, reg, gavitron, cavin, and i) couldn't wait until cocktail hour for food. we satisfied our craving by hitting up the infamous (and non-existant on the east coast) in-and-out burger joint. apparently the way to go is "double double animal style" (which is essentially a glorified big mac). it was very tasty (and i'm sure a zillion calories). i'm glad we didn't go animal style on the fries, though, it probably would have helped their naturally dry taste and texture.
there was lots of dancing at the 7.5 hour reception. the only problem was that cocktail hour started at 2pm, and by 4:30-5pm, the "open bar" ran out and it turned to cash bar. hunh? i guess that's what happens when you have 300+ people at your wedding and all of them are boozers. the parents (especially east coast) were a little ho hum because only krunk music was being played. they complained that the music was too loud, but seriously. if they had been playing swing music, and the todo todo todo, would they have been complaining about how loud the music was? probably not. the night ended with another (regretful) trip to in-and-out burger for more eating and drawing on a narcoleptic's face - gavitron. (don't get me wrong - in-and-out was good the second time around, but i don't think it was really that necessary to get more burgers to eat before retiring to bed).
day four
in the morning before going to luzelle's mansion for the next-day brunch, the east coasters and the san diego first cousins decided to hit napa valley. we were tired of eating filipino food all weekend, and welcomed the french food at bistro jeanty, which is actually in yountville, ca. [bouchon, which was a few doors down was all booked for lunch! :( ]
we ordered:
duck and goat cheese pate
home cured pork belly with lentil and foie gras ragout
fried smelts
beet and mache salad with goat cheese
onion tart
cassoulet
pork chops
coq au vin
sole meuniere
pomme frites
white wine / rose
the food was decent, but nothing outstanding. i thought the onion tart and duck rilletes and faux gras terrine we had at central last month was much better. we didn't get a chance to do the whole "wine tasting" tour of napa valley, but that's ok. now that we know it's only 45 minutes from relatives house in the bay area, i'm sure cavin and i will make a special trip in the near future to do the whole sideways bit.
we left the next morning with a broken thumb (i'm exaggerating, though, cavin did lose a battle with one of the oysters), a 40 pound box of longaniza (which i'll probably need to wait on eating because i'm sick of filipino food), down on our sleep (which resulted in me getting sick!), and 5 pounds heavier. i guess that's what the west coast style is all about?
day one on the west coast consisted of many "hi! i haven't seen you in so long!" comments, "auntie, uncle, this is cavin" introductions, and "are you going to be next?" questions (directed towards me about getting married, because the main reason we were out in california was for my cousin's wedding). the rehearsal dinner was thursday night also, and while i don't have any pictures posted here, let me just tell you the priest and church coordinator were completely anal, the music (two guys singing bee gees type karaoke) was deafeningly loud, the food was mediocre (filipino cooked without much care), and we were dead tired because we had traveled all day and opted not to go out with my cousins and her million bridesmaids and groomsmen. (seriously, there were 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen!)
day two
my morning started pretty early, with me having to travel to my uncle's house to pick up the minivan we were borrowing all weekend (which was very gracious of them). before we even flew out to the west coast, we decide that we might as well do the whole touristy thing because cavin had never been, and i hadn't been in a long, long time. we got our asses out of union city and drove downtown and parked. here are the noisy, and sometimes mean to each other, sea lions that reside in fisherman's wharf. 
while we were waiting to meet gaberage, we walked to ghirardelli square to sample some chocolate and get iced coffee. we then rode a street car (for free, because the driver was all kinds of late) to the rincon center, and when we got off at our stop, there was all kinds of hoo-ha going on. 
apparently, we were just in time to hear the end of a speech about the value of having goals when you are a child, blah blah blah, from the one and only, barry bonds. who knew that august 24 was barry bonds day? i guess all the people on their lunch break walking past that exact moment, figured it out, as we did. 
after we met up with gaberage, we put our names in to eat deem sum (dim sum) at yank sing, a place i had researched before we left dc. it was very tasty, and between the three of us, we were able to sample lots of fresh food, including mushroom dumplings, sesame balls, turnip cakes, and fried taro (my favorite). while it was quite good, it was a little on the pricey side. (we did have a lot to eat, i'll admit, but still!) though, i'd say the food was a lot more fresh than what i've seen on the east cost, and there was much more selection at yank sing than i've seen in PA, NJ, MD or DC.
after lunch we drove on lombard street, the crookedest street. since i was driving my uncle's white 1989 minivan, i was a little scared driving up and down the steep streets, especially when tourists were standing in the middle of the road, not caring that these were actual streets where cars were whizzing by. i almost ran over people, not by accident, but because they were being stupid and standing in the middle of the road taking pictures. i'm all for taking pictures, but come on! stupid asshole tourists! :)
after stuffing our faces, we walked off all the calories consumed by heading towards the golden gate bridge. we drove across the bridge, parked on the sausalito side, and walked south across it, towards san francisco. well, we actually only walked half-way, and then walked back. (it was windy!) it was a little bit scary walking across, after all press lately with the bridge in minnesota collapsing, but i'm still alive and here to tell the tale. plus, i started freaking out thinking, 'what if there were drunk drivers driving and weren't paying attention and drove their car into me!'...i know i know. i can't help it. i worry too much. but still!barry bonds day was a pretty good day. after i argued with my dad about when we would be home and dropped off gaberage, we made it back to one of my uncle's houses where my (huge) family was all there enjoying oysters on the grill, lots of filipino food, and ended the night with our friends, don julio and johnnie walker (black label, of course).
day three
our third day in california was all about the wedding. it was a very "west coast" style wedding, with the majority of the 300+ attendees being filipino, and most of them being the bridal party (hehe). since the ceremony was at 10am (early!), the five east coasters (pv, reg, gavitron, cavin, and i) couldn't wait until cocktail hour for food. we satisfied our craving by hitting up the infamous (and non-existant on the east coast) in-and-out burger joint. apparently the way to go is "double double animal style" (which is essentially a glorified big mac). it was very tasty (and i'm sure a zillion calories). i'm glad we didn't go animal style on the fries, though, it probably would have helped their naturally dry taste and texture.
there was lots of dancing at the 7.5 hour reception. the only problem was that cocktail hour started at 2pm, and by 4:30-5pm, the "open bar" ran out and it turned to cash bar. hunh? i guess that's what happens when you have 300+ people at your wedding and all of them are boozers. the parents (especially east coast) were a little ho hum because only krunk music was being played. they complained that the music was too loud, but seriously. if they had been playing swing music, and the todo todo todo, would they have been complaining about how loud the music was? probably not. the night ended with another (regretful) trip to in-and-out burger for more eating and drawing on a narcoleptic's face - gavitron. (don't get me wrong - in-and-out was good the second time around, but i don't think it was really that necessary to get more burgers to eat before retiring to bed).day four
in the morning before going to luzelle's mansion for the next-day brunch, the east coasters and the san diego first cousins decided to hit napa valley. we were tired of eating filipino food all weekend, and welcomed the french food at bistro jeanty, which is actually in yountville, ca. [bouchon, which was a few doors down was all booked for lunch! :( ]we ordered:
duck and goat cheese pate
home cured pork belly with lentil and foie gras ragout
fried smelts
beet and mache salad with goat cheese
onion tart
cassoulet
pork chops
coq au vin
sole meuniere
pomme frites
white wine / rose
the food was decent, but nothing outstanding. i thought the onion tart and duck rilletes and faux gras terrine we had at central last month was much better. we didn't get a chance to do the whole "wine tasting" tour of napa valley, but that's ok. now that we know it's only 45 minutes from relatives house in the bay area, i'm sure cavin and i will make a special trip in the near future to do the whole sideways bit.
we left the next morning with a broken thumb (i'm exaggerating, though, cavin did lose a battle with one of the oysters), a 40 pound box of longaniza (which i'll probably need to wait on eating because i'm sick of filipino food), down on our sleep (which resulted in me getting sick!), and 5 pounds heavier. i guess that's what the west coast style is all about?
Labels: event, filipino, restaurant, travel, wine