My First Lenten Friday

Fuego and I are carnivores, but we really wanted to observe Lent this year. We knew that not eating meat on Friday would be hard. So how did it turn out? Pretty good.


Shrimp Chicarrone Sandwich
from Fresca Peruvian Cuisine on Fillmore
So filling! They didn't use dinky little shrimp either. Very tasty. I would order this again.


Brioche with Pastry Cream
from La Boulangerie on Pine
It ate like cake. =) But I didn't finish it.


Vanilla Pot de Creme
from La Boulangerie on Pine
I tried this after the XO sauce post, so if I didn't have the XO as my Friday Favorite of the Week, this would have been it. SO GOOD. Like a thick vanilla pudding, but 100 times better.

Friday Favorite of the Week - Chapter 6

hehehe.

I am laughing because this weeks favorite will be somewhat ODD to most of you out there. One of our patients brought us a jar of this:


What the heck is it? It's "XO Sauce." And wtf is XO sauce? According to this Wiki article, "XO sauce is a spicy seafood sauce. It was developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine."

The list of ingredients was so amusing to me: soybean oil, dried shrimp, dried scallop, dried garlic, shallot, chili pepper, shrimp roe and oyster extractions (whatever THAT means.)

The ingredients alone should have turned me off right away, but I was so intrigued! I had some fried rice with me that day and according to my coworker, that would be an ideal food to add the XO sauce to...

TELL ME WHY IT IS THE BEST STUFF EVER! I just added maybe a quarter teaspoon to my rice and mixed it in. Liked it. Then I realized I wanted more, so I did. I have an Asian tongue so the pungent odor and strong fish taste may be a bit too much to you, but I liked it very much. Reminds me of the fish and other weird, preserved, fermented foods that my iron-stomached Inang would eat and feed me. A little spicy and a little salty. Loved it.

Who woulda thunk that dried seafood and EXTRACTIONS would be so good?

The Full List of Friday Favorites

I {heart} The Big Eat SF 100 List

** See what I've tried so far **

The Elite Café - Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Restaurant: The Elite Cafe
Address: 2049 Fillmore St. at California, Pacific Heights, SF
Phone Number: (415) 346-8400
Cuisine: Southern
Date Last Visited: February 24, 2009 - Mardi Gras
Dining Partner: Rox

Hey everyone! How was everyone’s Mardi Gras? After what I ate, I feel fat. What does a heart attack feel like? Just so that I know when it comes. =X Anyway, since it was Mardi Gras - basically the last day to indulge before giving things up for Lent, I broke my own rule of not going to anymore dinners until I got home from the Philippines. Rox met me up again and off we were to The Elite Café - which was less than a 10 minute walk from my work place.


We actually took his picture after dinner, when it was already dark out. Fuego (my coworker) and I have walked Fillmore many times in the afternoon during our lunch hour and I have never really noticed this sign. Then again, everything looks different at night. We’d pass by this place and not really pay attention to it until I stopped and checked out the menu. Elite has a Southern-based menu with menu items like pulled pork, gumbo, and fried okra. I never been to a place like this before and thought that Mardi Gras was the perfect day to do so.


I made a res on OT for 5:45 and when we got there, it was sparsely filled. The bar is GORGEOUS. It seemed like they had every liquor ever made. I didn’t make a visit there since Rox isn’t of age yet, but one day…one day. =) When we got to the restaurant, the host was bombarded with phone calls that we had to wait a couples minutes before we were seated. That was alright - it was Mardi Gras after all. As we were perusing the menu, I looked around and wasn’t quite charmed. The tables were covered in white table cloths, the wall had an earthy, dark beige color on it, the chairs were wooden and the railings over the booths were decorated (poorly…sorry) with Mardi Gras beads. It would have been nice to have other decorations like masks or something. Guess not. Speaking of those beads, I felt bad for the servers who ran into then when they were serving. They looked a bit irritated. Maybe they should consult another decorator next year?


Keeping with the booth-tangent - I really liked the booths. It was like the four-tops were in their own little rooms. Each “room” has coat hangers and a little lamp on the wall. It would have been great if we had two other companions so that we would be in possession of a cute booth, but we had to settle for a two-top in the middle of the dining room.


Once we made our order with a lovely lady for our server, I noticed that the silverware were mismatched! Most places would die if they saw that, but I thought it was incredibly charming and sweet. Reminds me of going to an auntie’s house for dinner - her utensils NEVER match! I loved it. It added a comfortable and homey feeling to the place. That was the first glimpse of personality I saw.


Two glasses of water and a candle. What is so special about this? THEY ARE WONDEFUL with the water refilling. My glass was never empty. As cramped as the space was, there were always a couple of servers with the water jug ready to pour. I love that about a restaurant - never having to ask for more water. As for the candle (which really wasn’t a candle because it was a light bulb which flickered like fire), I mentioned to Rox that as the sun was setting and the room grew dimmer, that it felt a lot more sexy and mysterious - kind of like that vibe that New Orleans exudes. =) Nice. Now onto the food!


Meetinghouse Biscuits - 4 for $5
My Facebook status all day was: Joanne wants BISCUITS and JAMBALAYA. Did I get them? Yes indeed. Wow, these were so buttery. I was only able to eat one - Rox ate the other three. =D I was surprised because Rox is TINY. She must have a great metabolism. Off topic. Okay, the biscuits were hot and fresh. VERY good. You can actually pick up some raw ones and bake them at home! Frozen and Raw Biscuits - 24 for $28.


Elite’s Infamous Deviled Eggs - 3 for $3/6 for $6/12 for $10
Deviled eggs are so easy to make, but I wanted to try their’s. They were tasty, but again, something you can SO make at home. They were very pretty and had a generous dusting of paprika on them. Good, but nothing to write home about.


Shrimp, Duck Confit & Andouille Sausage Jambalaya - $25
Isn’t the presentation just adorable? I adored that pan!

So this is what I was waiting for all day long. It was so worth the day. There were huge slices of the andoullie sausage and duck confit shreds running throughout. There was also a healthy amount of bell peppers. It wasn’t as red as other jambalayas I have had nor did it have the OA heat that some chain restaurants do (I’m talking to you BJ’s). You need to eat this with a spoon. They gave me a fork at first, but there was so much good sauce that I had to eat with the spoon. That’s another thing - though there was rice, the rice didn’t suck up all the sauce. The rice was perfect, and the amount of sauce was perfect. Very good! It is also a huge portion. I took more than half of it home with me, but there are smaller portions. Mine was the large, which was way more than enough. Now I have lunch for tomorrow. Yay!


Smoked Chicken Pot Pie with Cremini Mushrooms - $15
Rox’s chicken pot pie was beautiful. They used more of a puff pastry as a crust. There wasn’t a crust on the bottom of the dish. I had a small bite and it was very tasty. The mushrooms added a lot of earthy flavor in the gravy. I didn’t have much of a chance to have another bite. Rox ate the ENTIRE thing. You would be so surprised if you saw how Rox looked, but she did! She liked it very much!


Beignets with Triple Espresso Bean Ice Cream
and Chocolate Sauce - $7.50
How much more Naw’Lins can you get for dessert? One beignet each was more than enough. I actually was stuffed when I have only half-way done. I loved the ice cream - rich espresso flavor that went well with the warm beignet. Rox basically drank that chocolate sauce. =) I actually did a prayer before eating dessert asking God to keep me safe from a myocardial infarction or a cardiovascular accident. So far so good. Great dessert and perfect way to end the meal.

By the time we reached dessert, the room got darker, more crowded, and louder. I was happy to leave by then. So what did I think of Elite? I thought that the service was great. They made sure we had a good amount of water, that we had clean silverware at the beginning of each course, and I appreciated them for all their work with it being a busy Tuesday for them. I did myself have shortness of breath when I saw the check. I wasn’t expecting to spend the amount of money I saw on the bill, but hey, it was Mardi Gras. I don’t think I would come back here simply on the fact that it’s too rich for my blood. Other than that, it was a good meal and it was nice to share the evening with people in the Mardi Gras spirit.

Another good reason why we came was that it was The Annual Elite Café Mardi Gras Benefit which meant that 10% of all sales will be donated to Katrina Relief funds. So that’s always a good thing.

Overall, a good meal for a good cause and for a fun occasion.

P.S. You best believe that I copped myself some beads!!!

Ash Wednesday

So it's Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

GAH. That means no meat today. =(

So for lunch, I am eating a less-than pleasing egg salad sandwich from the cafe across from our office, some BBQ Lays potato chips, and apple juice.


Sorry for the crutty pic - took it with my camera phone.
*sigh*

I'm about to go insane.

-edit-

Okay, things are looking a little sweeter.



=)

Beretta - Italian for the Grown and Sexy

Restaurant: Beretta
Address: 1199 Valencia St at 23rd Street, The Mission, SF
Phone Number: (415) 695-1199
Cuisine: Italian
Date Last Visited: February 20, 2009
Dining Partner: Star

It was about time to have a catch-up dinner with Star. She suggested dinner from one of the places listed on the Big Eat SF 100 list. I wanted to make sure I picked a place that was vegetarian-friendly. I skimmed my list, found the caponatina, and thought PERFECT, Beretta was where we were going. Beretta opened not too long ago and has already been a go-to spot for their innovative cocktails and Italian small plates and pizzas. It’s in the middle of Hipsterville (aka The Mission), so you know this place would be swarming on a Friday night.

With that said, let me tell you about Beretta’s reservation policy, or lack thereof. Beretta only accepts reservations of parties of 6 or more. You can call the restaurant within 45 minutes of your arrival and they will add your name to a list. Once you make that call, the wait is up to 45 minutes max. You do want that extra time because we all know that parking is a biz-natch in the Mission. Lucky for us, the parking goddess was on our side and we found parking right away. We got to hostess and we were seated immediately. Yes, our timing was awesome.

Beretta, which has taken over The Last Supper Club’s space, is not a very big restaurant. The bar seemed to be the main stage and where people were flocking. There is a long communal table down the center of the room, with stooled two-tops along the walls, and a banquette with lower tables lining the window. We were seated at a lower table and it was fun seeing people walk around the corner and watching them stare at our food with a glossed over sheen on their eyeballs. Yes, quite fun.


Eggplant Caponatina with Burrata
$9/$6 without the Buratta
So here it was. What came out of the kitchen and onto our table was completely different from what I had expected. Tell me why I was thinking of a more homogenized dish - maybe I was thinking Baba Ghanoush? I know Baba Ghanoush and caponatina are two different entities, but I really didn’t know what a caponatina was, quite honestly. Turns out, it is more of a salad. Let me tell you, I got scared when I saw all of those olives. I don’t do olives, but tell me why the dish was clean when it was taken away. What made this dish outstanding was that OOZING buratta cheese. Oh dear, it was so fresh and so creamy and incredibly delicious. The contrasting flavors from the briny olives to the milky cheese and varying textures from the crunchy celery to the tender chunks of eggplant was incredible. There were also pine nuts, tomatoes, and capers in there which made it truly a complex little salad. Awesome. That cheese. I can eat it all day. I dream of slathering it on a toasted, garlicky, olive-oiled piece of crusty bread. That’s the big O.


Grilled Vegetables, Tomato, Pesto & Mozzarella - $12
The couple on our right side had a great-looking pizza that looked like it had sausage (most likely the pizza with Spicy Italian Sausage, Panna & Spring Onions - $13), and I thought it looked divine with its thin-crust and beautifully arranged toppings. The pizzas are in the heart of the menu, so we knew it was a good idea to get one for ourselves. We decided on the one with grilled vegetables, tomatoes, pesto, and mozzarella. The veggies they used included eggplant and zucchini - what a wonderful medley. The toppings had the perfect balance of freshness and heartiness. Me being a meat-eater, I didn’t miss the meat. The crust was everything a Neapolitan pizza crust should be - thin, charred, and crispy. One mistake I made was trying to eat the pizza when it was still very warm. I picked a slice up and all the cheese and toppings slipped off the crust. So if you want to enjoy everything in on the crust, let it sit for a couple of minutes - long enough for the cheese to set up a little. That should solve that. Great pizza. Yes, me and Star finished the entire thing with us having three (huge) slices each. He-FAHS!


Saffron Risotto with Osso Buco - $14
Something that we noticed was that there were absolutely no pasta dishes on the menu. Instead the main starch featured here is risotto. I ordered the saffron risotto with the osso buco because it’s one of those classic dishes that embodies the soul of Italian cooking. Now the texture of the risotto was something to get used to after a few bites. I am used to arroz caldo in which the rice is silky on the outside without the bite in the middle, as the risotto does. Once I got over the “bite,” I began to like it very much. I don’t remember seeing any strands of saffron in the rice, but it was very flavorful.


The Meat Off the Bone with Gremolata
The osso buco itself was tender as can be. They made it very convenient for me because there was no bone to pick out. The chunks of meat were lip-smacking good - surrounded by that sticky collagen that melts when it is cooked for a long period of time. It was great taking some of the meat with a spoonful of the risotto and enjoying it in one bite. The osso buco had a great tomato-based sauce and was topped with a gremolata. The flavors really reminded me of some Filipino food - kinda like if adobo had a love child with kaldereta. Something like that. =) GOOOOD stuff. Incredibly flavorful.


Butternut Squash with Rosemary & Crescenza - $12
Star ordered this and it was lovely as well. I had a bite and it was a little more flavorful than my saffron risotto. I guess because it didn’t have a stew on it like mine did, they had to pack more flavor in the rice itself. I liked the addition of the cheese a lot. They added the cold cheese to the middle of the hot risotto and upon contact, the cheese started to melt. When I had my bite, the cheese was still cool and the contrast of temperature was pleasing. Star enjoyed it very much - her dish was spotless at the end of the meal.

So it was dessert time and when the dessert menu was presented to us, Star and I sort of freaked out because we didn’t know what anything on it meant. A lot of it was in Italian and it had words we did not know. Finally we asked our waitress and she graciously explain everything to us. She’s awesome. One was a Japanese beer float and another was gelato with Italian bitters (vanilla affogato with amaro averna - $8). Come to think of it, all of the desserts had gelato with it. After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, here is what we ended up getting:


Warm Chocolate & Pear Budino with Pear Gelato - $8
SO GOOD. I usually don’t even like raw pear, but having them cooked is exceptional. They get sweeter when cooked, and it paired (ha, no pun intended) well with the chocolate. A budino is a type of bread pudding. The bread was luscious and the pear added a nice fruity, juicy, tender texture. I was most surprised with the pear gelato. It was refreshing and had a slight tang to it. I liked how it cut through the richness of the whole dessert. It actually was like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise deep dessert. Great.


Panna Gelato with Vin Cotto - $7
Now this dessert was the surprise of the night. Panna gelato is just a gelato with no flavorings. No vanilla, nothing. The sweetness of the cream is allowed to come through. It’s awesome. Vin cotto is a sweet wine reduction and it is TO DIE FOR. When wine is cooked down, it becomes this syrup with an incredible berry flavor to it. INCREDIBLE. I mean it’s just cream and wine. Doesn’t that sound like soft porn to you? The simplistic nature of this dessert is what makes it outstanding. This is a dessert for the grown and sexy. Take caution before eating. You will be making noises that will sound funny to the person next to you. I WILL order this if I am given a chance to come back. It is so good. One of the best desserts I have ever had, quite frankly.


All Gone!
You can probably tell that we really enjoyed ourselves here. The atmosphere was a bit loud, but it was Friday night and the evening was all about life, laughter, and liquor. Can’t get mad at that. Take my advice, the best time to come is around 6:30, but be sure to call in advance. While we were seated, a line grew out the door. People were hanging out right outside the window…spying on our food. You don’t want to be one of those people. Call beforehand! This is a place that I sincerely want to come back to. I say that all the time about other places and never go back, but I mean it this time. Everything about the place rocks. I didn’t have one of those cocktails everyone is talking about, but there will be a next time and I will have my chance then. Until then however, I want to express my complete joy in coming to this place. Bring a friend, eat some great Italian food, and enjoy the space. It’s dim, sexy, and full of life and wine. Overall, a winner in all aspects of the word. GO NOW.

They Keep On Coming!

** See what I've tried so far **

Friday Favorite of the Week - Chapter 5

*trumpets*

This week, my favorite bite came from Bi-Rite Creamery on President's Day when I went with BanYo. I made my own sundae which consisted of Salted Caramel, Brown Butter Pecan, hot fudge, and whipped cream.


We all know everyone loves the salted caramel, but I found it to be a bit too "burnt tasting." I've had it a few times already, and this particular time, the color was a deep shade of amber and the flavor was too bitter. You can see it on the left.

Anyway, I think that the Brown Butter Pecan is my new favorite ice cream flavor. It's awesome. Sorry the whipped cream covered everything, but trust me, it was so good. Not too sweet and the pecans added some nice texture. =) Loved it.

The Full List of Friday Favorites

Jo's Restaurant Week and Lent

So I decided to do all my "dates" in one week. Why you ask? On March 15, Bubuh and I are flying to the Philippines! YEE! It's the farthest trip from the Bay Area that we will ever take. I am so excited! BUT I really need to save up money to go. I don't want to show up in the Philippines with empty pockets. It's awesome that it will be a paid vacay (Thank you God), so I won't be too broke when I get back. BUT it's not going to hurt if I just get all my dinner cravings over with!

This week, February 16-21, is my own personal "Dinner Week" where I have dinner dates with the people I wuv. After that NO MORE DINNERS until I get back from vacation. I hope to the Lord above that I will have the will-power in myself to not give into temptation. I guess you can call this my LAST HOORAH before heading to Asia.

February 16: Limon Rotiserrie with BanYo
February 17: Dosa on Fillmore with Ate Di
February 18: La Mar Cebicheria with Cuzzin Rox
February 19: House of Nanking with my coworkers
February 20: Beretta with Cuzzin Star
February 21: Momo's with Bubuh

I'm going to be good for the next week and pay all my bills with the little money I have left. EEK. It's going to be a great week that's for sure. And it's probably a good idea not to go anywhere new after this week so that I can catch up with all the reports I haven't gotten to finishing yet. I have a major case of ADD. Once I start one report, I get bored after the first paragraph and start another one...and it continues that way. I have 15 started reports, but none of them are done. This will be my time to get them all finished!

So for the three weeks after the 21st, no more dining out for dinner. I'm sticking to cheap-o food like Subway. Hey, maybe I'll even lose weight! Ha! That reminds me!

LENT IS COMING!
Lent in 2009 will start on Wednesday, the 25th of February and will continue for 46 days until Saturday, the 11th of April.

I'm not by any means a devout Christian, BUT it's kinda good to test yourself and your will-power. I think this Lent, I will be giving up:

- soda especially orange soda (omg...*cries*)
- McDonald's Chicken Nuggets (I'm addicted to them)
- white chocolate (my favorite sweet!)
- taqueria burritos (I can't believe I said that)
- French fries (they're evil)
- chocolate candies (they're evil also)

PLUS! I will not eat meat on Fridays. Ha! Wish me luck!

SO WHAT ARE YOU GIVING UP?

More to Add to the List...Or Should I Say "Deduct"

** See what I've tried so far **

Bub...

Happy 5-year-2-month anniversary.

Love you.

Thanks for the bahn mi and surprise at work.

Made my day.

*muah*

Maverick and El Tonayense Bonus - Valentine's Day 2009 - Plan B, Damn You, OpenTable

Restaurant: Maverick
Address: 3316 17th St. b/t Hoff St. and Mission St., the Mission, SF
Phone Number: (415) 863-3061
Cuisine: American, Southern
Date Last Visited: February 14, 2009, Valentine’s Day
Dining Partner: Bubuh

So it was Valentine’s Day and I made a reservation on OpenTable a few days prior to Laïola, a Spanish restaurant in the Marina. There were times available on OpenTable for lunchtime, and that was perfect because we didn’t want to have dinner out for fear that it was going to be cold and rainy. I didn’t get a call from Laïola for a confirmation, so I called Valentine’s Day morning, and the answering machine said it was best to call after 2:00 p.m. Great, the res was for 1:00 p.m. I checked the website and they only open at 5:30 p.m. for dinner. GREAT. OT messed up again. I frantically looked for another place to have lunch/brunch, and good thing Maverick in the Mission was able to take us.


Maverick was extremely easy to find because it is right off of Mission. I was so surprised that parking was a cinch to find also. I didn’t get a picture of the space, but there were rich chocolate browns from the main wall and table sets in the dining room and deep oranges on the opposite wall. It was very warm and cozy. It was a good thing that I called in the reservation because Maverick is not big at all. I only saw about seven two-tops and only one was a four-top. The room where the entrance was had the bar and kitchen. Very tiny space as well. By the time we were seated, it was a full house.


Pomegranate Mimosa - Segura Viudas Brut Reserve - $9
How could I pass this mimosa up? Beautiful red tint and tangy flavor. Loved it! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!


Maverick’s Doughnut Holes
Five Doughnuts Dusted with Cinnamon and Sugar - $5

Those are the biggest donut holes I have ever seen. I am used to those little glazed donut holes that my grandpa used to buy me, but these were humongous. I did find them a little denser than my usual donut holes. They were a bit bread-y, and that coating of cinnamon and sugar was too generous. I don’t like that feeling on my teeth after eating cinnamon anyway. Bub liked them a lot, but they were too much for me.


Andoullie Sausage "Benedict"
English Muffin Topped with Grilled Andoullie Sausage,
Crayfish, Poached Egg, and Jalapeno Hollandaise Sauce - $14

I love Benedicts, no matter what is on it. I’ve had one with avocado, one with fried green tomatoes - you can really get creative with it. Now this was awesome. The sausage was not too spicy, but it added some great savory flavor. I also liked the little crayfish that dotted the hollandaise sauce. Speaking of the hollandaise sauce, even though it was seasoned with jalapeno peppers, it was spicy but not hot. Then when I broke that egg and the yolk combined with the hollandaise - omg. SO good. I also appreciated how the English muffin was crispy on the bottom. You can tell that it was well toasted. Overall - great.


Maverick Brunch Sandwich
Fried Egg, Nueske Bacon, Cheddar Cheese,
Youk’s Hot Sauce, Ketchup, Butter Lettuce,
Sliced Tomato on an ACME Torpedo Roll - $11

I had a bite of Bub’s sandwich, and I found it, of all things, SWEET. I don’t know why. It could have been the roll or maybe they cooked the egg in some sweet butter. Whatever it was, it was rich in flavor. I would not order it for myself, but Bub certainly liked it.


House Potatoes
These potatoes were almost “too perfect” that sometimes it made me think that they came from the frozen section at Costco. They were cut perfectly, browned perfectly, crisped perfectly…What I liked was that all I got were potatoes. No onions, no peppers or anything like that. Pure potatoes. I know that they make everything fresh in this place, but it felt too good to be true. But hey, maybe I have found the PERFECT house potatoes.


Youk's Hot Sauce
Now it’s kind of funny how we got this bottle of hot sauce on our table. Bub and I love ketchup, so of course we asked for some to go with our potatoes. After we asked the server for the ketchup, he asked, “Hot sauce?” We said no. Tell me why he brings out the hot sauce and not the ketchup. Hmmm, condiment dyslexia, I guess. But! It was some good hot sauce, so I have nothing else to complain about it.


The Billfold and Bub’s Valentine’s Day Card to Me
Overall, this was a good brunch spot. Easy to get to and the food was very filling. I had to ask for a box to bring home the food I didn’t eat. I was stuffed after just one of the English muffins. The service was a bit spotty. It took us a while to get the service we needed. The server forgot Bub’s beverage order and had to come back and ask. Took a while to order. We all know about the condiment mix-up. It also took a while to get our check. Our server passed our table and backtracked realizing that he had the bill under his arm. But I guess in the end, it was alright. They got us in and out in under an hour. I would love to come back for dinner. They have Southern style dishes like buttermilk fried chicken, St. Louis-style ribs, and pork chops. AY. I think you will find me here again. =)

_____________________________________________________
El Tonayense Taco Truck - BONUS!

Restaurant: El Tonayense Taco Truck
Address: Next to the Best Buy Parking Lot on 14th Street and Harrison, The Mission
Cuisine: Mexican

Since we were in the neighborhood, Bub and I went to Best Buy to check out prices for a new television for my new and more spacious living quarters. After walking around for twenty minutes and purchasing two new games for my Nintendo DS, we decided to pass on the television for now to see what other deals we can score elsewhere. Conveniently we were parked almost right in front of the taco truck - so what the hell? Why not?


El Tonayense’s taco trucks are well-known in the San Francisco Bay Area. They went as far as being featured on “Check Please, Bay Area!” Bub said he had a burrito here once and it sucked, but since they are known for their tacos, we knew we had to get those.


Four Carne Asada Tacos
Two with Hot Salsa and
Two with Mild Salsa Verde - $1.75 each
We waited until we got home to eat them because they were extremely juicy, plus it was starting to rain. Though each kind was very good, I favored the mild ones. The red sauce had too much of an Indian food taste. I don’t know which spice it was particularly, but it reminded me of curry. Maybe, it was cumin. Not sure, tough. VERY good tacos. I’ve been to places where they include beans on the taco, but this is how I like it: meat, onions, cilantro, salsa and lime That’s it! Great stuff!


Bub's Gift to Me
So it is Valentine’s Day after all - the day of unconditional love. What did Bub get me? Honestly, I was not expecting anything from him because he is HORRIBLE at getting me gifts. I was assuming that I was just going to get a homemade card like I do each year. Actually, I did get that, so I was only partially right. So we were in the car driving to brunch, and I asked him what he got me, anticipating another bi-folded card. He asked me, “Do you really want it now?” Of course, I did. He ends up pulling over in a nearby parking lot, gets out of the car, and brings out the box you see above from the trunk. SO WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT.


I remove the box top and tissue paper and see the Ed Hardy box. Was I dreaming? For real? WAS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?


He got me an Ed Hardy fragrance set I had been eyeing for a long while now. I always stop by the Ed Hardy counter at Macy*s in an attempt to buy the set myself, but for some reason, no one comes to help me, so I end up leaving. This probably happened at least 3 times. My sister even tried getting me an Ed Hardy set for Christmas, but they were sold out by the time she went to purchase it. I guess this time’s the charm. Literally, I was in Macy*s with my Mom earlier that week sampling the lotion and spraying it. I even walked around the counter to let the employees know I was in the vicinity, but no luck. Bub really outdid himself. I was in the car gushing to myself and was in disbelief. BUB DID THIS? Haha! I felt bad that I didn’t get him anything except a card that I bought him a game from Best Buy instead. Ha, I felt bad for underestimating him, I guess. Anyway, t’was the best Valentine’s ever, and I meant what I wrote in his card, “I hope on VDay of 2059, we’re still celebrating.”


Double chins signify how much in love you are.
As our love grows, so do our waistlines.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Bubuh. I love you.
xoxo