Middle Eastern plate – La Mediterranee

Middle Eastern plate - La Mediterranee
Chicken Cilicia, Grecian spinach and feta, Levant sandwich, and Lule kebab (lamb meatball) over rice pilaf. Served with cup of curry cauliflower soup, hummus, fruit and cheese. $13.50
La Mediterranee, San Francisco CA

Damn, this plate was certainly a value! And all the components were really yummy, expect maybe the levant sandwich because it was a little dry for me. This was enough food to feed two people though especially after having had an appetizer.

San Francisco Federal Building
San Francisco Federal Building at dawn, 7th Street.

Cancun nachos with pollo asado – Cancun Sabor Mexicano

Cancun nachos with pollo asado - Cancun Sabor Mexicano
Corn chips melted with jack cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, whole beans, grilled skinless chicken and jalapenos de la casa. $8.95
Cancun Sabor Mexicano, Berkeley CA

It may not be readily evident from this pic, but this nacho plate is pretty darn big! And delicous! They use organic meats and other amazing ingredients. I’m also very much in love with their salsa bar. They have plenty to choose from and you can keep going back for more!

Chicken crisp burrito combo – Taco Time

Chicken crisp burrito - Taco Time
All-white chicken, cream cheese, mild green chiles, onions and spices hand-rolled in a soft flour tortilla, then deep-fried to golden perfection. Includes a 22 oz drink and small Mexi-Fries.
Taco Time, Seattle WA

OK, I’ll admit it – I’m obsessed with the chicken crisp burrito! I have to go to Taco Time during every Seattle visit and have one. It’s really sad, but I can’t deny with guilty indulgence.

Mexi-Fries - Taco Time
Mexi-Fries. OK, they’re really just tater tots with a bunch of salt and “Mexican” spices, lol! They are fickin’ addicting though!

Special hot sauce - Taco Time
Special hot sauce. This sauce is like crack! I douse everything in this sauce it’s SO good.

Diet Coke - Taco Time

Diet Coke.

Work bbq at Marina Park

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!

Easiest chicken salad sandwich ever!

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.

Spicy eggplant chicken – Thai Lotus

Spicy eggplant chicken - Thai Lotus
Sauteed chicken, eggplant, onion, jalapeno, bell pepper and basil. Lunch special served with jasmine steamed rice, egg roll, soup, and salad with peanut sauce. $6.95
Thai Lotus, Reno NV

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was going to be one of the best meals we had in Reno. Now I don’t wanna talk smack about Thai Lotus because their food was decent, but that’s just really sad for Reno!

Egg drop soup - Thai Lotus
Egg drop soup.

Egg roll - Thai Lotus
Egg roll.

Side salad - Thai Lotus
Side salad.

Steamed rice - Thai Lotus
Steamed jasmine rice.

Creole gumbo – Eureka Restaurant and Lounge

Creole gumbo - Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
With house-smoked chicken and cajun sausage. $17
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA

Mmm, great smokey flavor and lovely ingredients. I really enjoyed this bowl of gumbo!

Bread and butter - Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
Bread and butter. Complimentary

The Lion King, Orpheum Theatre

Finally saw The Lion King playing at the Orpheum Theatre, Market Street.

Empanadas – Poquito

Empanadas - Poquito
Beef with onions and peas. Chicken with onions and peppers. $6 each
Poquito, San Francisco CA

Mmm, I love empanadas and these were very tasty! The outside was nice and crispy and the fillings were delicious.

Salsa and aji - Poquito

Served with mild salsa roja and spicy green aji.

Tin man and child street performers
Tin man and child street performers, Union Square. Nothing says the holidays like the tin man!?

Korean bbq dinner with work peeps – YakiniQ BBQ

There’s usually an occasion to warrant a work dinner for our group, but this time around I think we just wanted to grab some Korean BBQ in Japantown. What?! We don’t have a Korea-town in San Francisco, hehe. I’d never been to this restaurant, but it’s one of those places that’s all-you-can-eat for a set price. Or at least all-you-can-eat when the service feels like refilling your table. I’m not complaining, we had plenty to eat as you will see. Overall, I enjoyed the food and it’s always fun to hang out with my work peeps and their significant others. There were only six of us that night which made it easy to pass along food as they were ready off the central grill (and split the bill, lol)! $23.99 each, beer additional
YakiniQ BBQ, San Francisco CA

Intestine bulgogi tripe - YakiniQ BBQ
The grill is located in the center of the table and it does get dirty throughout the night, but they periodically replace the grill top. At one point, we had too much meat in the center which choked out the flame, so a server had to relight it. Oops! I tried to get a pic of everything we ordered, and I was mostly successful. We kept ordering multiple plates at once so it was a little difficult. You’ll get the general idea of the evening’s dining experience though, hehe!

Prime beef tongue and pork neck meat - YakiniQ BBQ
Prime beef tongue and pork neck meat. I’ve never had pork neck meat before and it was really tender and delicious!

Prime beef tongue - YakiniQ BBQ
Prime beef tongue on the grill.

Small intestine - YakiniQ BBQ
Small intestine. You definitely have to use the scissors to cut this and cook it to a crisp!

Honeycomb tripe - YakiniQ BBQ
Honeycomb tripe. Not my favorite, but they taste better with some chili sauce on top.

Marinated short rib gal-bi - YakiniQ BBQ
Marinted short rib (gal-bi) and marinated beef (bul-go-gi) on the grill. Delicious standards.

Spicy chicken - YakiniQ BBQ
Spicy chicken.

Beef brisket - YakiniQ BBQ
Beef brisket.

Pork skin - YakiniQ BBQ
Pork skin. Again, the trick is to grill this to a crisp otherwise there’s no way you can even chew through it!

Garlic butter chicken - YakiniQ BBQ
Garlic butter chicken.

Spicy pork belly - YakiniQ BBQ
Spicy pork belly.

Steamed egg - YakiniQ BBQ

Steamed egg.

Rice cake wraps - YakiniQ BBQ
Rice cake wraps.

Dipping sauces - YakiniQ BBQ
Dipping sauces.

Banchan - YakiniQ BBQ
Banchan. Complimentary

Hite Korean beer - YakiniQ BBQ

Hite Korean beer. Large bottle $13

Hite Korean beer - YakiniQ BBQ

Hite beer in a Cass glass beer glass. It was my first time trying this beer and I enjoyed it. It was light and didn’t make me burp as much as other beers, lol!

3 piece dark fried chicken meal – Queen’s Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe

3 piece dark fried chicken meal - Queen's Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe
Two thighs and a drumstick fried chicken value meal with French fries. $5.99
Queen’s Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe, San Francisco CA

Hmm, after hearing so many rave reviews about this place I was sadly disappointed by the quality of their food. The fried chicken were SUPER greasy making them unpleasant to eat. The fries were also soggy and flavorless.

Hen-and-chicks plants (Echeveria sp., Crassulaceae)

Hen-and-chicks plants (Echeveria sp., Crassulaceae), Dolores Street.