Monthly Archives: December 2012

Work bbq at Marina Park

Posted on by
4

Marinated chicken on the grill

Marinated chicken on the grill (with Maggie girl in the background)!

Our work group decided to have another weekend bbq to celebrate a birthday/last day of work. We decided to switch it up and have it in the East Bay this time around. It was a little cold and windy, but we had a great time eating, drinking, playing volleyball, and just hanging out.
Marina Park, San Leandro CA

Lighting the charchoal grill
It took a bit of effort and lot of lighter fluid to get this baby going!

Kalbi spareribs and more meat
Kalbi spareribs, fried chicken wings, more meat and corn on the cob wrapped in foil.

Cheese and fruit plate
Cheese and fruit plate.

Lemon cheesecake
I made a lemon cheesecake!

French cruller hole cream puffs – Rolling Pin Donuts

Posted on by
2

French cruller hole cream puffs - Rolling Pin Donuts
Chocolate, maple, and vanilla. $0.45 each
Rolling Pin Donuts, San Bruno CA

The custard was way too thick for me – I could only down one. I prefer my cream puff filling on the whipped side. I was surprised how much custard they fit into these tiny cruller holes though!

Trays of donuts - Rolling Pin Donuts
Trays of donuts.

Trays of donuts - Rolling Pin Donuts
More trays of donuts!

Rolling Pin Donuts storefront
Rolling Pin Donuts storefront.

Roasted chicken and potato gnocchi – Briscola

Posted on by
Reply

Roasted chicken and potato gnocchi - Briscola
House made potato gnocchi served with braised chicken, summer corn, roasted red peppers, green beans and finished with parmesan cheese. $18
Briscola, Reno NV

Is it just me or does this look like barf on a plate? The presentation is a joke! I should have known not to order this when the the title and description of the dish had contradicting information – roasted or braised chicken? I didn’t enjoy this dish one bit. The sauce was disgusting and tasted like it was out of a can. For some reason I imagined a substantial piece of chicken, not mutilated bits thrown in with the random veggies and gummy gnocchi. They should advertise this dish as their buffet leftovers gnocchi plate, seriously.

As a whole, this meal was a disaster and I would not recommend this place to anyone. The service was horrible and the food was marginal. Argh!

Red wines - Briscola

Rodney Strong, cabernet sauvignon, Sonoma 2010. $10
Columbia Crest “Les Cheveaux”, Washington 2010. $8
These wines were decent, but honestly their wine menu is definitely lacking for a “high end” restaurant.

Focaccia - Briscola
Focaccia. Complimentary

Chopped tree trunks
Chopped tree trunks, Mount Rose Summit Trail.

Easiest chicken salad sandwich ever!

Posted on by
1

Easiest chicken salad sandwich
I make this sandwich with leftovers and things I already had in the house, so it’s super easy!

Ingredients
Leftover roasted chicken from the store, chopped
Celery, finely chopped
Capers
Tartar sauce
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Cheese
Bread or roll

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix to the consistency and seasoning you like. I’ve found that adding tartar sauce is great because it already has some of the great flavors I enjoy. There’s usually some in the fridge already so it’s also very convenient. Scoop a generous portion onto the bread, top with cheese, then I like to put it under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the bread is a little toasted.

There you have it! A delicious, quick and easy chicken salad sammy, enjoy!

Lavendar pansies (Viola tricolor, Violaceae)
Lavendar pansies (Viola tricolor, Violaceae), Jersey Street.

Breakfast sandwich – Big Ed’s Alley Inn

Posted on by
1

Breakfast sandwich - Big Ed's Alley Inn
Bacon, eggs, cheese and mayo of white bread. Served with home fries. $8.95
Big Ed’s Alley Inn, Reno NV

I think this just about gave me a heart attack, lol! The sandwich bread was definitely grilled on the same area on the grill where the bacon and eggs where first cooked. And that healthy slathering of mayo just about stopped my heart. If I was younger, I’d say this was awesome but sadly I’m getting old and have to admit that this was a bit too greasy and fatty for me…

Coffee - Big Ed's Alley Inn

Coffee.

D Bar M Western Store sign
D Bar M Western Store sign, E 4th Street.

California benedict – Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs

Posted on by
4

California benedict - Peg's Glorified Ham N Eggs
Glorified eggs benedict with turkey, avocado, tomato, and hollandaise. Served with fruit. $11.99
Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs, Reno NV

This was also gross. The hollandaise had a weird texture and flavor and the avocado had a moldy black section. The deli turkey didn’t really add anything to the dish. I liked the fruit I guess.

Mount Rose Summit Trail
Beginning of the Mount Rose Summit Trail. The summit looks SO far away!

Veal picatta – Briscola

Posted on by
3

Veal picatta - Briscola
Veal cutlets sauteed with white wine, capers, caper berries, lemon, parsley, served with spaghetti tossed with toasted garlic and olive oil. $19
Briscola, Reno NV

The veal was over-breaded and disgusting. For a veal picatta, this dish lacked acid which is surprising considering there are cpares, caper berries, lemon peels, and a citrus based sauced! Then how did the kitchen still accomplish to make it devoid of citrus flavor? The side noodles are a throw away since they lacked any flavor or life, and just take up space. Horrible service and horrible food!

House salad - Briscola
House salad for the table comes with entree orders. Meh.

Galena Creek waterfall

Galena Creek waterfall, Mount Rose Summit Trail.

Crystal dumplings – Good Luck Dim Sum

Posted on by
Reply

Crystal dumplings - Good Luck Dim Sum
Filled with shrimp and chives. 3 for $1.60
Good Luck Dim Sum, San Francisco CA

I’m not really sure why these are called crystal dumplings since they use the same kind of wrapper on most of the other dumplings but just have a slightly different shape. Hmm… Anyway, they were still delicious, hehe!

Random wall, Divisadero Street
Random wall, Divisadero Street. I really like the color of this painted ball the random tag on one of the bricks.

Rich’s banana split – Leatherby’s Family Creamery

Posted on by
4

Rich's banana split - Leatherby's Family Creamery
Chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate, strawberry and pineapple sauces, whipped cream, nuts and cherry on a whole banana. $9.29
Leatherby’s Family Creamery, Sacramento CA

Rich's banana split - Leatherby's Family Creamery

I heard good things about this place from friends who grew up in the area. The sundaes and treats are gigantic, but honestly I wasn’t impressed. The ice cream didn’t taste special and the toppings, although there was plenty of them, were generic and common. Good for Leatherby’s to keep the soda fountain alive, but I think that I’ll splurge on my sweet calories elsewhere. The service was young and lacking, and the experience was mundane and uneventful. I felt no joy during my visit which is unfortunate because that’s exactly was an old-school soda fountain should evoke. Kinda sad.

Alpine meadow, Mount Rose
Alpine meadow, Mount Rose Summit Trail.

Ham and eggs – Big Ed’s Alley Inn

Posted on by
Reply

Ham and eggs - Big Ed's Alley Inn
Ham steak with scrambled eggs, served with home fries and an English muffin. $9.25
Big Ed’s Alley Inn, Reno NV

This is definitely a greasy spoon! Now I’m a huge fan of greasy spoons, but not by this one. While the service was super friendly and accomodating, the food was really low quality and SUPER greasy even for my taste. The home fries were also overcooked and dry, and the English muffin was drenched in butter.

Big Ed's Restaurant sign
Big Ed’s Restaurant sign.

Waxy checkerbloom (Sidalcea glaucescens, Malvaceae)
Pink waxy checkerbloom flower (Sidalcea glaucescens, Malvaceae), Mount Rose Summit Trail.

Peg’s glorified huevos rancheros – Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs

Posted on by
Reply

Peg's glorified huevos rancheros - Peg's Glorified Ham N Eggs
Monterey skillet breakfast served with golden hash browns, pico de gallo, cabbage slaw, fresh pinto beans and warm tortillas. $8.99
Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs, Reno NV

I had high hopes for this place since it had SO many great Yelp reviews. Wow, were they wrong! The food was marginal at best. This breakfast platter was definitely gigantic, but I’d rather have a little bit of good food than a large pile of crappy food. The eggs were cooked all the way through, the hash browns were also overdone and hard, and the beans were flavorless. Lame, a major disappointment! At least the cantaloupe was sweet.

Condiments - Peg's Glorified Ham N Eggs
Condiments.

Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus, Malvaceae)
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus, Malvaceae) with white and pink flowers, South Meadows Parkway.