Drinks and late dinner at Gitane, Financial District, SF.

I took Richard to Gitane for drinks and a late bite after Patton Oswalt at Cobb's Comedy Club. I love this bar.

Coup Glacee - riesling ice wine, Pimm's No. 1, sliced cucumber, strawberry, ginger beer, mint 12

I like rieslings and I love Pimm's, but I don't love cucumber. Normally with Pimm's the cucumber is fine, but it was too strong for me in this particular drink. It might have had something to do with the strong flavor of ginger beer, too.

Padrons - fried Spanish peppers, smoked sea salt 6

Fesol - butter beans, pork belly, picada 8

Both very quite nice. Super tender beans, yummy peppers although the salt could have been a bit more even throughout.

Caille - Roasted Tolenas farm quail, chorizo herb stuffing, sweet corn, potato galette 22

Once again, the quail! I loved it when I had it and recommended it to Richard. He loved it, of course and he's not easy to please! The crispy potatoes and the corn are just awesome. And the chorizo stuffing packs a big punch of flavor into the lovely quail. Mmmm!

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Amazing dinner at B44, Belden Place, SF.

Left: Grilled morcilla sausage / baby white beans / mortar allioli

Right: Sautéed mussels / sofrito / pancetta / green peas / tarragon

One of my best girlfriends, Arang, has the sweetest parents ever! They were in town visiting and invited a few of her friends out for a fantastic dinner. I don't if there's anything we didn't order from the B44 menu--we had about 10 courses and it was amazing!

Our dessert--churros with chocolate and custard.

The meal was fabulous and the service was great. B44 is an excellent place to go with a group. There wasn't anything I didn't like, but here were my favorites (of course, I didn't get photos of any of them!):

• Tiger shrimp sautéed with garlic and adobo - Just a really yummy shrimp dish. One of the more flavorful dishes of the evening.
• Escalivada - Warm roasted vegetables / cabrales / pine nuts / garlic oil - This was tasty pizza -bruchetta on these great big slices of soft French bread!
• Arros Negre – Squid / clams / sepia / green peas / green bell pepper / squid ink / mortar allioli - Okay, I just really like squid ink paella! It wasn't as nice as the one at Iluna Basque, but we ordered two paellas and I preferred this one to the seafood one.

Muchos gracias padres de Arang!

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Iluna Basque Haiti Benefit Night, North Beach, SF.

Sautéed Scallops over Ratatouille

These were perfectly light and delicious.

Plums Wrapped in Bacon

I've done figs, but haven't even heard of warm plums with bacon! Mmm--divine! And, c'mon, you can't really go wrong with "wrapped in bacon"!

Eggplant & Fresh Tomato, Goat Cheese

I always love eggplant. It was served like a tartare, which was so interesting! I've never had eggplant prepared like that, but it makes sense and is visually quite nice, too. The warm goat cheese added a nice punch of flavor and smooth texture.

Piperade with Sautéed Serrano Ham & Poached Egg

This was the dish I was most curious about. The mix of peppers was light, the ham was a bit lost, but the poached egg was a nice addition.

Stuffed Calamaries in Ink Sauce over Spanish Rice

This was my favorite. I LOVED it. The stuffed squid was soo succulent! I can't wait to go back and get this again. :)

Fondant au Chocolat Raspberry Coulis / Selection of Cheeses from Les Pyrenees with Membrillo

The chocolate cake was fresh out of the oven and was chocolaty, without being too rich. The cheese plate didn't have anything too robust either, but was a fine mix.

We also had the Baked Spanish Tortilla with Caramelized Onions & Chorizo, and I don't know how I missed photographing it..

Mattin (Chef/Owner of Iluna Basque, Top Chef contestant and friend.) hosted a fantastic dinner to a packed house, and all for a good cause. The deal was spectacular, too: 4 courses (2 tapas, one entree and one dessert) plus a flight of 4 wines, and some good karma for $40. Even if you missed this dinner, you really must go try the food!

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