La Note, Berkeley

La Note is in my top 3 breakfast places in the Bay Area. The first time I went there was the first time I was ever in this area - when I was living in LA and had come up to visit Heather. We had so much fun that day, which started with a huge breakfast of eggs and pancakes and I can't remember what else - but enough that we had to take a stack of pancakes to go. I remember that we attempted to drive out to Stinson Beach after, with our extra food, but got bored of driving and pulled over at some other (closer) beach instead and had a picnic of leftovers. That first trip was when I first started thinking "I should really move to San Francisco" and eventually I came to my senses and did just that (well, Oakland really, at the time). 

When Kev and I first started dating, this is one of the first places I took him in the East Bay. He won extra points for loving it as much as I did. When his parents came to visit a few months later, we took them there too. Guess what? They also loved it. 

Fast forward 5+ years later. Kev and I are now married and living in San Francisco and no longer go to La Note as often. Yesterday his dad John arrived for a visit from Wales. We both took today off and had plans to go to Mama's in North Beach for breakfast. We got there at 10:30, but there was a huge line (I know. There's always a huge line, but it's Friday, don't you people have to work?).  John said: What about that place you took me to in Berkeley?

And so we headed over the bridge to Berkeley, where there was a line at La Note, but we braved the wait and it was so so worth it. The first thing I ever ate at La Note was the Cote Nord (or as we like to call it - eggs on bread) and I still order that 90% of the time. They scramble the eggs so that they are super creamy, and then they are placed on toasted levain bread with either goat cheese or cream cheese. AND they are served with the most amazing roasted tomatoes. 

Both dad and son got ham and cheese omelettes, which were also incredible - and not at all dry. But we weren't done there - we also wanted pancakes. We couldn't decide between the oatmeal raspberry and the lemon gingerbread with poached pears - so we got both. I love that you can opt for just one of each, instead of a whole stack.

You see that empty plate? All of our plates looked just like that. But if that isn't enough to convince you to go, I will leave you with this thought. As we were eating, John said "sometimes at home, I think about this place.  I never thought I'd get to go back".

Go here.

Today life gave me lemons

I know, I can't believe I wrote that either, but today I really did get a big bag of lemons from Trin, and also it was a super crappy day at work. How very convenient.

 

And both literally and metaphorically, I really need to figure out what to do with these lemons. 

Trip to LA: Senor G's and Juice, Playa Del Rey

This weekend we went down to Los Angeles and had a couple of breakfasts out in Playa Del Rey. I'm not really sure how I lived in LA for two years and never once went over to Playa. Now whenever we go to LA, this is where we stay because that's where our friends are.

On Saturday morning, we walked down to Senor G's. It's a juice bar/Mexican restaurant and has that beach-y vibe going on that seems to be going on anywhere you go in Playa. I liked the wall color and drink selection. 

We got some smoothies and a shot of wheat grass. Well I didn't have the shot of wheat grass, but I thought it looked kinda cool. I had the Strava - strawberry, banana, guava juice with fat free vanilla yogurt and ice. It was gooooood.                              

I like that they serve you chips and salsa, even though it is 10 AM. I bet if you had a hangover you'd really like that they serve you chips and salsa before 10 AM. The salsa is that really chunky kind, that isn't spicy but just really tomato-y. I like that in a salsa.

I forgot the name of this dish. It came with tortillas though.

I didn't take enough pictures of the food because we all wanted to get eating.    

Katz's Deli, New York

Katz's Deli is one of those NY institutions that I never went to the first 20 years of my life, even though throughout all of those years I only lived less than an hour away. One of the reasons I never went was that for the last 5 of those years, I worked in a Jewish deli and ate many, many meals there so that the idea of going out to deli probably wouldn't have been all that appealing.

Now though, the idea is very appealing. West coast delis just don't compare, and so now every time I go back to NY, there is a trip to Katz's deli.

These pictures are from last time I was in NY, a few months ago, but they seemed much more interesting than tonight's dinner (beans on toast!).

  

Dinner at Home: Bacon Sarnie (or British bacon sandwich, if you're not from 'ol Blighty)

This is another example of a British staple that a certain someone did not think you could get in America. There were many, many years that this someone mourned the loss of British bacon. And then one day we were in a little shop on Castro St (Healthy Spirits, if you're in the market for some British bacon) and there it was, in the frozen goods area. And there was much rejoicing in all the land.

Since that fateful day, bacon has been spotted in locations such as The Liberties Irish Bar in the Mission and Roxie's Market in the Sunset.

Tonight, British bacon was spotted in our kitchen. And for you, here is a step by step guide in how to make your own:

Step 1: Get your bacon out and cut 2 slices of white bread (can be any bread but "it tastes better on white bread").

Step 2: Heat up your pan on the stove with some oil and throw the bacon in with it. While that is cooking, butter your bread (bread is not to be cooked!)

Step 3: Take cooked bacon out of your pan and put it on your bread and watch the cool looking steam rise.

Step 4: Eat!

Sunday Night Dinner: Pizzas

Every Sunday, we have a standing dinner reservation over at the Smiths'. We started this about six months ago when their baby was born, and we've kept this going over the last few months. This week's dinner was homemade pizza.  

I have to admit I don't have very much to say about the pizza making process because I was either taking photos or hanging out with a super cute 6 month old.  I think what happened was :

Dough was made, tomatoes were crushed

 ingredients were gathered up (in a very stylish way)

  and then finally the pizzas got prepped (click for better view):.

We had (left to right):

1. tomato/basil/mozzarella/parmesan

2. tomato/basil/spinach/mushroom/mozzarella/parmesan/prosciutto

3. tomato/cheddar/pear/basil

#3 would have been with gorgonzola, but I really don't like gorgonzola so they humored me and switched it to cheddar.

Here are the end results (click for better view):

I think #2 was my favorite. The saltiness of the prosciutto always makes for a great pizza, especially when there is also parmesan. #3 was also a hit - I wasn't sure how I'd feel about pear and cheddar on a pizza, but it was surprisingly good.  Interesting fact:  The first pizza we used some leftover dough from a previous pizza making night. It had been frozen and then defrosted, and I actually liked dough best. It had much more flavor than the fresh dough and a better texture as well.

Next week we are the ones cooking - I need to come up with a good follow up to this meal (especially since the last Sunday night dinner I cooked over there was such a bust!)

5PM Fresh baked bread at Tartine, Mission

Last year I got really into the 7x7 100 Things to Try Before you Die list.  Tartine is on the list twice - for their morning bun and also for their fresh bread - specifically, a loaf fresh out of the oven. We live just a couple of blocks away from Tartine, and go there often enough, but somehow we had never gotten the bread. I'd always forget at 5PM, or I'd be walking by and it would be hours earlier, or more recently, wait in line for 20 minutes to find out that they don't bake bread on Mondays.

Yesterday though, the stars aligned and as we were driving home we passed Tartine at 4:45 and I remembered! And it was a Sunday, and they make bread on Sunday! We parked the car and I walked over, and of course there was a long line (is there ever not a long line?) and I waited and waited and then it was my turn and they handed over this giant loaf of bread, that was in fact still warm. 

So. How much can you really say about a loaf of bread? It's just bread right? This bread though really may be the Best Bread in the Entire World Ever. Super crunchy outside + chewy inside, with just the teensiest flavor of sourdough. Just look at it! You see all those crumbs? You cut into it and little crumbs start flying everywhere, which normally I do not like because I know I'm the one who is going to have to clean up those crumbs.  Yesterday though, I did not care. Fly crumbs, fly wherever you would like to go, I will be too busy enjoying my bread to care.