Mid-week brunch at The Blue Fig, Mission, SF.

I can't seem to find the site for Teaze, but their tea infuser is amazing! I was blown away! You really have to see one in action to get the full effect--it's a bit difficult to explain, but if you can, try one! I want to buy one and managed to find one on eBay!

Jesse's sweet waffle. Mmmmm.

Savory waffle. MMMMM! I loved this! It's essentially a salad on top of a waffle. It kind of reminded of this amazing pizetta I had at Fly Bar awhile back. It was a pizza topped with salad, which I love! I actually preferred this to the sweet waffle, which says a lot. ;)

I had been wanting to try The Blue Fig for a long time and it finally worked out. It's a cute little cafe--nothing fancy, but good people and great prices. It's strange though because they don't have hours. They stay open until the last person leaves! It's an interesting idea for a place and I feel like they could be a nice late-night dining option, but I guess only if people stay that late!

Thanks for brunch, J!

Yelp

Whole Foods dinner: mixed salad, crab cakes and seared scallops.

The amazing Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker. This thing is out of control! I love it! I only wish there was a better way to open and pour from it after you create your dressing, etc.

I made a super simple balsamic vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and cracked black pepper. The Flavour Shaker really does work ! It creates a really nice emulsion. I'm kind of obsessed! ;)

Cheese and bread to nibble on while cooking.

Dungeness crab cakes from Whole Foods. Pan fried and then into the oven while we sear the scallops.

Mixed green and rocket salad, almonds, goat cheese and sliced pear, tossed with the vinaigrette. Scallops seared in butter with a little salt and pepper. Dungeness crab cake. I must say, the salad was amazing. I'd never had a dungeness crab cake, but it was very good. You can really taste a difference with the dungeness crab. Also, the scallops had a nice sear.

Excellent dinner. Thanks and kudos, A! :)

Amazing evening at The Summit, Mission, SF.

Chef's Crab Fest at Bistro Boudin, Fisherman's Wharf, SF.

Bistro Boudin and Glodow Nead were kind enough to invite me to a special media dinner previewing crab season at Boudin.

We started off the evening with a little tour of the vast Bistro Boudin space (upstairs) at Fisherman's Wharf. Among other attractions, they have a neat Boudin museum and private banquet room. You can schedule to tour the museum and bakery here.

The Boudin bakers must have so much fun with these creations.

The main dining room. I love all of the dark beams and openness.

We were seated in a cozy private table in the Buena Vista Carneros Tasting Room, which was perfect for our event.

Chef Misael Reyes with Casey Shaughnessy-Gray of Glodow Nead. Chef Reyes, who is originally from El Salvador, was once Francis Ford Coppola's personal chef. He is also the only non-family keeper of Francis Ford Coppola's mother's recipe book--very cool.

Chef Reyes and prepared a lovely, crab-centric menu for us that was nicely paired by Sam, the Buena Vista Carneros Tasting Room manager.

Dungeness Crab Louis - Fresh Picked DUngeness Crab with Deviled Eggs, Avocado, Bibb Lettuce, Asparagus, RIpe Tomatoes & Louis Dressing.

Paired with 2008 Condes de Albarei Albarino

The crab was fresh, light and delicious. It went perfectly with the slightly tangy Louis (Thousand Island) dressing and mix of vegetables.

Dungeness Crab Mac & Cheese - Aged Vermont Cheddar Cheese, Fresh Cream & Freshly Picked Dungeness Crab with Buttered Soughdough Breadcrumbs

Paired with 2007 Buena Vista Carneros Chardonnay

Light, creamy and delicious. The crab wasn't overwhelming, but was present and, most importantly, the mac & cheese wasn't too salty or greasy. I happen to particularly love mac & cheese with shell pasta, too.

Soughdough Tortilla Taco - Fresh Dungeness Crab with Avocado, Red & Green Cabbage, Cilantro, Crema Fresca, Pico de Gallo & Roasted Tomato Salsa

Paired with 2008 Sagelands Riesling

Boudin's twist on fish tacos? A soughdough tortilla, of course! What a fantastic and fantastically Boudin idea! The tortillas were great, especially since I'm not typically a huge fan of corn tortillas. The crab was, of course, wonderful although they also offer fish tacos on their menu. The Roasted Tomato Salsa could have used a little more kick though--it was a little bland for my taste. The wine was my favorite wine of the evening though, and, more than the others, really enhanced the flavors in this dish.

Here is a photo of the full-sized portion of the Sourdough Tortilla Tacos. Thank goodness they cut down the portions for our dinner--even with our portions I walked out absolutely stuffed!

Cioppino - Dungeness Crab, Shrimp, Calamari, Mussels & Fish Simmered in a Spicy Saffron-Tomato Broth

Paired with 2007 XYZIN Zinfandel

What a beautiful dish. The calamari and mussels were just divine. They were cooked perfectly. My shrimp was a bit overcooked, but other than that, I really loved this dish. The crab was fresh and succulent and the broth--oh goodness, the broth! I loved the broth, especially with the toasty sourdough garlic bread.

The full-sized portion. Again, such beautiful presentation.

Left to right: Casey of Glodow Nead; Jason and Lizzie of ABC 7Live; Scott of Bistro Boudin; Susannah of YumSugar; Alison of Glodow Nead; Steven of the Nob Hill Gazette and myself.

I had to get a shot of all of us with our crab bibs on! What a fabulous group of people to enjoy a wonderful evening of food and wine with. It was lovely meeting you all.

Trio of Creme Brulee - Double Vanilla with Wafer Cookies; Peanut Butter with Ginger Snaps; Bittersweet Chocolate with Manjari Wafer.

Paired with 2007 King Estates Pinot Gris Vin Glace

What can I say.. I love dessert and I love modern creme brulees! I was already completely stuffed, but couldn't help myself! The peanut butter and dark chocolate were my favorite--so lovely.

A nice little cappuccino to finish off the evening. I only wish I wasn't too full to finish it!

Scott Shuttleworth, a managing partner at Bistro Boudin, and fabulous co-host this evening. Scott was a generous to provide each of us with a Boudin tote filled with all sorts of goodies--very classy.

I really love this tote. I'm going to cary it everywhere.

This limited Boudin baseball cap isn't even available in the gift shop!

Buena Vista Carneros 2007 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

A crab, of course! This is surprisingly soft, too. And as much as I love dungeness crab, I think I'm really going to enjoy this soughdough crab, too!

Bistro Boudin, Glodow Nead, Buena Vista, Casey, Alison, Scott, Chef Reyes and Sam, thank you all so much for such a lovely evening. Cheers to crab season!

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Yelp

Apple goat cheese salad.

Romaine, apples, goat cheese, candied pecans, honey balsamic vinaigrette dressing, ground black pepper.

Really nice.

Cheesesteak at The Grove, Pacific Heights, SF.

Cheesesteak sandwich with side salad. This was recommended to me by the guy behind the counter. It wasn't great. The bread was nice and they really give you a lot, but there was too much cheese and the steak was overcooked.

Yelp

Starting Girls Night with dinner at EAT in 111 Minna, SoMa, SF.

Minna continues to be one of my favorite spots. It's so great for art openings, concerts, karaoke, dance parties, and pop-up restaurants! LOVE. I went out for a much needed girls night and we decided to head here first for the last EAT--so fun!

Funny enough, I actually went to the very first EAT supperclub, and I ended up going to the last one, too, thanks to my friend Maddy! The menu, food and crowd definitely improved since the first.

The very open kitchen.

Salad with beets.

Yummy.

Lamb over pearl couscous polenta.

Didn't love it. The lamb was a bit tough and not very flavorful. The pearl couscous texture was off with the polenta. I realize polenta can be a bit creamy, but the creamy large pearls were throwing me off.

Pork belly over polenta with green apple slaw.

This was AMAZING. I was seriously blown away. It was coked perfectly, melted in your mouth and was super flavorful--the sour crispness in the green apple helped cut the fat and played SO nicely off the fattiness of the pork belly. The polenta was excellent, too.

White chocolate mousse with wild blueberries.

Amazing. I really like white chocolate mousse. I actually remember having an amazing white chocolate mousse for dessert at the last Junior League's Fashion Show and I've been craving one every since! This definitely satisfied that craving. :)

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