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"Ham & Cheese"

Jamon serrano infused vodca, with manchego cheese and jamon. Tastes.... like ham & cheese. Weirdly good.

Pseudo-"Dutch Baby" Pancake

Christmas Day Dinner

From top to bottom: stir-fried veggies and tofu; rib roast; roast goose; stuffing; three-types of roasted potatoes; gravy.

Sent from my iPhone. Please ignore typos.

Cookies in the Oven

Based on Ruhlman's Ratio Sugar Cookie recipe.

Sliders @ Burger Bar

Currently Obsessing: Taco de Lengua - Tacubaya

OMG, every weekend for weeks (I say weekend because I travel during the week, but sometimes even more than 1x a week) when I've been in town, I've gone to Tacubaya on 4th St. in Berkeley... ordering up a couple of tacos de lengua. Yes, beef tongue tacos.

Tongue is not necessarily one of my favorite beef cuts - texture can be a little weird - but here it works in the taco's favor... super moist and tasty chunks, with a green tomatillo salsa, and covered in onions and cilantro. Plus a little squeeze of lime. It's like going to taco heaven for me. Ok, upscale taco heaven. Yum.

Pizzaiolo

On our anniversary this year we had dinner @ Pizzaiolo in Oakland - our first visit after I heard lots about them. We actually really like that neighborhood, which also has the great yarn store Article Pract, Dona Tomas, etc. I've been teasing Gus that we should have bought a house over in Oakland since so many of our favorites seem to be over there (e.g., Camino, Dona, adesso, Wood Tavern).

And Pizzaiolo did not disappoint - serving up the kind of daily menu and fresh ingredients we love. We will go again soon. Just look at the crust on that pizza. And I loved the tagliatelle with the pork ragu. That may have been my favorite. And did I mention the avocado toasts with pancetta? Did I show you a photo? We will be back. Soon.

sebo

Currently my favorite place in SF to go for a good sushi experience. Here, one of the owners shapes some of the rice up for a piece of nigiri. Below, I love the expression on his face as he blow torches some daurade.

Sebo is like going to a neighborhood sushi joint in Japan, except slightly more upscale than most of what you'd find down-the-block in most neighborhoods. Also priced similarly to sushi jn Japan, which is to say, steep but worth it (ok, and it's actually still less expensive than you'd get similar quality in Japan).

Sit at the sushi bar (I have never sat anywhere else) and ask the chef to give you whatever he wants for the best experience. I've managed to enjoy many things I hadn't before by letting them guide me. And if you get a "white guy" sushi chef? Never fear. One is co-owner, and I'd be surprised if you could tell blindfolded which sushi was made by whom. Nice short list of good sake too. Offer your sushi chef a drink (on you) and have a toast.

They also have izakaya (pub food) nights on Sundays. I haven't been yet, but I will. As soon as I get a local project again.

Currently Obsessing: 4505 Chicharrones

Yes, they're deep-fried pork rinds. Not exactly health food (although the lady giving out samples did say they do the best they can to get all the fat off...). But, they are like little pillows of melt-in-your-mouth crunchy goodness. In the East Bay, they are get-table at The Pasta Shop on 4th St. In the City, they're apparently findable in plenty of the usual suspects. And on twitter. And grilling up meats at the Ferry Plaza Market building sometimes. I have to find a way to get there. Until then, I have to get over to buy myself some more Chicharrones.

Quickie review of Corso

Early dinner tonight at Corso (skipped lunch). The Bellini al Corso was great, quite sweet though, so avoid if sweet is not your thing. Mozzarella burrata was creamy -- the filling was different than I expected, not the best I have ever had, but went well with the pinenuts and oil on the plate. The t-bone steak (they didn't have the fried rabbit, which is what I was dying for) was expensive, large, and overcooked. Menu said medium rare, but it was definitely more like medium or even medium well except for close to the bone where it was ok. I did bring the extras home, but it's too bad Bellodawg can't eat them anymore. The polenta with marscapone was great though... not even really heavy at all, light fluffy airy and creamy somehow all at once. I still like Corso, thumbs up, but I'll be passing on the steak next time in favor of a pasta, a pizza, or maybe the rabbit, if it's there.