Served with a side of capellini pasta, oven roasted seasonal vegetables and bread. $15.50
Firewood Cafe, San Francisco CA
Mmm, I love chicken parmigiana. This was huge and very good! The chicken was generously smothered in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese which was amazing! I know that Firewood is the best restaurant in the world, but it definitely holds a place in my heart for quick quality Italian food.
Marinated olives. Complimentary
Golden apple, sage, maitake, sherry. Bloomspot 4-course chef’s tasting menu with cocktail pairings for two.
Maven, San Francisco CA
I purchased a Bloomspot dining certificate for this restaurant because I wanted to try it out for the first time. Overall, the food and cocktails were good and the certificate proved to be a great value (unlike some others I’ve purchased). All the food were shared plates, and we were pleasantly surprised at the generous portions we received especially with this pasta course. There were plenty of ravioli to share between us and the dish tasted amazing!
Fireside Cocktail: rye, chestnut, apple, cinnamon, lemon, egg white.
The cocktails ended up being smaller portions than normal, but I didn’t mind since we were served different cocktails with each course. I didn’t want to get too drunk, hehe. I enjoyed the Fireside cocktail and thought it paired wonderfully with the chestnut ravioli.
Place setting.
Catch of the day served over linguine with asparagus and a light cream sauce.
Sansei Seafood Restaurant, Waikoloa HI
Absolut Ruby Red vodka with a splash of soda.
Makalawena Beach, Kekaha Kai State Park.
With white beans, Fresno chilies, and basil. Family style supper $46 per person
Staple and Fancy, Seattle WA
This was SO simple and delicious! I wish there were more clams though since they were really juicy and flavorful, hehe.
Colorful mural near the Seattle Center.
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!
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. Complimentary
Chopped tree trunks, Mount Rose Summit Trail.
With truffled mascarpone. $18
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA
Mmm, this is true comfort food! You can’t go wrong with a delicious mushroom ravioli and the truffled mascarpone puts it over the top. I like how the truffle flavor isn’t overpowering and that you can taste and enjoy the other components. Noms!
Another beautiful day break from my balcony.
Chorizo, grilled onion, pappardelle noodles, bacon, tomatoes in a Cajun cream sauce. $12.95
Fork Cafe, San Francisco CA
This tasted yummy, probably because it was so rich and bad for you! Pappardelle is one of my favorite pastas, but I wasn’t expecting the chorizo to be in meatball form. They still had a lot of flavor and the texture was good.
Cooked squid in Chinatown.
Penne pasta with sliced chicken breast tossed in a tomato and basil sauce. £2
Waitrose, London ENGLAND
Ew, this was gross! I wasn’t a fan of how this pasta was executed. You would think that tomato and basil is a standard Italian combination, but I guess that making it British-style ruined it. The texture and flavor didn’t sit well with me. I could only eat a few bites before trying to pawn it off on other people.
Baby dragon stone wall sconce, Westminster Abbey. The outside of this Gothic church has great decorations and stone work.
Rigatoni pasta, tomato based sauce made with smoked bacon, onions, tomatoes, and red chilies with basil and parsley. €13
Ristorante Romano, Dublin IRELAND
This was one of the weirdest Italian restaurants I’ve even been to. All the workers were Asian which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I will say that the food certainly had some Asian flare. They even offer sriracha as a condiment for your meal. This pasta tasted ok – I liked the deep smokey flavor of the sauce and the bite of the rigatoni. But OMG, can you make a pasta this greasy!!! I was actually disgusted. Granted I was starving so I ate everything, but I was still grossed out by what I found at the bottom of the bowl. I’ve never seen that much grease separate from a pasta dish before!
St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We didn’t get a chance to walk inside, but this is a beautiful church from the outside especially looking at it from St. Patrick’s Park. The tulips were in full bloom!
Beef, pork and veal meatballs slow-cooked in a tomato basil sauce. $14.50
Jake’s on Market, San Francisco CA
Another definite comfort food. The meatballs were super juicy and the sauce was delicious! I liked that they didn’t go overboard with the amount of pasta.
Extra grated parmesan cheese.
Large hen-and-chicks plants (Echeveria sp., Crassulaceae), Dolores Street. I love the dramatic, upright inflorescence.
Project 365: Day 54
I felt really tired this morning, so it was a nice surprise to arrive at work and find out that I’ll be in a training class for the next three days. It’s a nice break from the usually daily grind. I leave for Ohio on Friday so I’m looking forward to that. I just have to keep thinking to myself, “Just 3 more work days after today!”
I’m totally feeling like a gigantic fatty after this weekend. And I didn’t go to the gym this evening because I had to run some clothes to the dry cleaners, and also do some laundry at home. I’m gonna have to work really hard at the gym the next few days.
Penne pasta with a meat sauce of mild Italian sausage, ground beef, tomatoes, basil, fresh garlic, and grated parmesan cheese. Served with bread. $11.25
Firewood Cafe, SFO San Francisco
This was pretty standard, but it totally hit the spot. I was craving carbs for lunch and the meat sauce was nice and hearty. The portion was also generous and I ended up taking half of it to-go.
Project 365: Day 44
OMG! Today I was invited to a birthday dinner at French Laundry next month! I’m SO excited! The timing is a little off since I’m also going to Ohio and on a Caribbean cruise in March and I’m projecting that I’ll be spending quite a bit of money as it is. Oh well, what can you do!? I can’t turn down an invitation to French Laundry, can I? LOL!
Wow, I’m so fortunate! I’ve been to a number of exciting restaurants this past year and I’m looking forward to those I’ll visit this new year. As much as I complain about my “horrible” life sometimes (lol), I actually really love it!
Pasta with tomato, sweet onions, and parmigiano. $15
Uva Enoteca, San Francisco
I like the wild boar ragu, but they charred the crap out of the top! The whole thing had a gross burned flavor, even inside. That’s a shame because the meat sauce was very tasty. My other complaint is that the orecchiette was overcooked. Unfortunate…
This would have been delicious if it didn’t smell and taste like embers.
Vittle Monster 