Too Much Eating Out!

By Monday of last week, Sumie and I had to put a moratorium on eating out.  Even Mimi agreed.  She wanted to make sure she could still fit into her new Beatles shirt (it's her favorite).

We've been pretty good since arriving in San Francisco.  Back in NYC, we'd eat out or order-in at least 2-3 times a week, but here in SF we decided to cut back (the selection of restaurants in the Richmond district made this a bit easier).  This past week, however, we completely fell of the wagon.  Well, more like fell off the wagon and down a cliff.  Was it worth it?  Take a look.

About 10 days ago we hit Oyaji with my friend John and his girlfriend Jen.  They were down from Washington and we wanted to share a good meal with them.  We also wanted to eat at Oyaji's (it's rather amazing just how easily we find excuses for eating there).  We don't have any pictures because we were so transfixed by the food.

That wasn't the end of our Japanese food adventures, though.  On Saturday, Michelle, another friend of mine, this time from college, came down from Sacramento with her husband Paul, her son Owen, and Rin, a Japanese exchange student visiting the US for two weeks.  We decided to try a new ramen shop on Geary.  All ramen was half price, so why not?

I'm afraid I can't quite remember the name of the place (it's on Geary between 16th and 17th avenues).  It was their first day and the food was a bit hit or miss.  The ramen, while quite tasty, wasn't really traditional.  I didn't mind so much but Sumie pronounced, "Too much garlic!"  I definitely want to go back, though.  There's some real promise there and a few weeks may make a big difference.

The best part of the day, though, was catching up with an old friend and getting to know her family.  Rin, who is a freshman in highschool, was particularly outgoing for a Japanese boy and fell in well with both the kids and the adults.  Mimi and Owen hit is off almost instantly.

I don't know what it is about my little girl, but she loves playing with older kids, and, for some odd reason, older kids don't seem to mind her following about.  It's really cute now, but I worry what this is going to mean when she gets into high school.  Hmm.  Maybe it means she'll be going to an all-girls school. 

Here's the full group, sans Sumie and Michelle, who were busily taking pictures.  

Having had our fill of Japanese food, but not of eating out, we decided to go for brunch on Sunday morning.  We left the house early (for San Francisco) and arrived at Ella's shortly before 10:00.  It was already pretty packed, but we secured a seat within about 15 minutes.

We'd been trying to work our way into Ella's for the past month or two and it was definitely worth the wait.  Safe to say it was the best breakfast I've had in San Francisco so far.  The ambiance, noise, food, and price (unfortunately) reminded me of the nicer diners we'd frequent back in NYC.  As we finished off our massive plates of chicken-hash and omelets, savoring a meal in which Mimi was sufficiently distracted by all the commotion for us to eat, San Francisco began to feel just a bit more like home.  

We were fit to burst, we figured out eating out days were over, but then we received a call Monday night from Kae and family.  Could we meet them for Chinese in the Sunset district?  Sure, go ahead, twist our arm.  We were there even before Kae, Ed, and the rest of the family.  

We met at an old favorite of Ed's family's: Ming's Diner.  It was fantastic.  And reasonable!  If only they delivered.  The thinly sliced pork chops were, quite simply, a revelation.

But the best part of the dinner was the spontaneous train Nana, Lilly, and Mimi decided to make halfway through the meal.

It was a rather gluttonous long weekend, I have to admit.  Sumie, as a result, has been on a bit of a vegetable kick this week.  We're learning that this city, once you really start digging into it, can be a pretty dangerous place when it comes to food.  One thing is for sure: Mimi loves eating out.  She'll eat twice as much in a restaurant than she does at home.  I'm not sure if that's an indication of how much fun it is to eat out, or just how bad our cooking is.  I'm hoping it's the former. 

San Francisco Highs and Lows

New York City is a town of extremes.  San Francisco, its west coast, hipster, low-key cousin, is a city of highs and lows.  All the same dichotomies are present - rich and poor, old and young, native and transplant - but SF just seems a little less on edge, a little less likely to randomly shoot you in the head and throw you in the East River should you step out of line.  In SF there's more parking, larger apartments for less money, more smiles, and less screaming (except by the homeless).  This comes, however, at the price of fewer fantastic restaurants, less vibrant and more suburban neighborhoods, and less diversity.

Having lived in the extremes of NYC for 10 years, we'd become numb not only to the trials and tribulations, but also to immediate access to the best the world has to offer.  This made our first year in SF a bit difficult.  Granted, having parking, a room for Mimi, and a backyard was fantastic, but we sorely missed the "vibe" of Manhattan.  Only now, a year later, are we really beginning to settle into SF and feel that it's home.  Part of that, I think, has to do with my new job and the fun of working downtown (tall buildings and easy access to great food makes for a happy Papa).  Part of it must also be tied to time.  We've adjusted and we're building memories, happy memories mostly, here in our new town.

Today I'm sharing some of our recent "highs" here in SF and my own personal "low."  They're not all particular to the city itself, but they've all occurred here, so, at least in our minds, they're a part of this great city on the bay.

First off, our daycare situation with Mimi just keeps getting better and better.  One month ago I was worried that we'd be entering a new stage of Mimi daycare meltdowns: NYC Daycare 2.0.  But no.  The daycare centers we've found here in SF have been phenomenal: small, home-based, education-centered, and incredibly caring.  Basically, it's the kind of care we'd be giving as parents if we stayed home and had six kids (only infinitely more patient).

Mimi now straddles two daycare centers each week and has more friends than ever.  At her new center she's spent a lot of time playing in the backyard...

...hanging out in the park...

...and even taking the occasional field trip!  

Though both Sumie and I are a bit more tired in the evenings than we used to be with just one of us working, we've been having a great time with Mimi after work as well.  Last week (or was it the week before?) I shared a picture of a tunnel I built with Mimi's Japanese vocabulary cards.  She knocked this down in less than half an hour.  I knew I could do better for her.  I went back to the drawing board and built her a house.  This, despite Mimi pushing it over 3 times, lasted for several days which, of course, caused its own problems.  I was proud of the house lasting so long, but it did take up half the living room.  This morning we finally broke down and packed it away.  Mimi helped us destroy it.  That's her special talent.  

It's July now, which means we had to break out the sweatshirts and light jackets.  SF is odd when it comes to seasons.  Still, it's more comfortable than those insufferably hot and humid mid-summer nights in Manhattan and still plenty warm enough for Mimi to play in the backyard.  Here she is with her brand new duckie water-gun. 

Within a few minutes Mimi discovered the most inefficient way to water plants ever devised.  

Access to great food has been one of our biggest challenges with the move to SF.  Yes, I keep hearing that the food in SF is fantastic, but honestly (and I may get a lot of crap for this) the selection and quality doesn't hold a candle to NYC.  It's good, sure, but rather hit and miss and definitely expensive for what you get.  In short, Sumie and I have been a little frustrated on the food front for months now.  However, things are looking up.

The first development came with my new job downtown.  SOMA is food truck heaven.  I've found great burritos, amazing pork belly buns, and succulent Vietnamese sandwiches.  It's not cheap, but it's good.

Sumie and I have also made some serious headway in terms of Japanese food.  SF is just not good when it comes to authentic Japanese cuisine.  Again, many will probably try to argue this point.  Let's just say that I don't give a damn what you think of the spider roll or the rainbow roll because if that's what you're using to determine the quality of a Japanese restaurant (and 90% of Yelp reviewers do), you obviously have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to Japanese food. 

Anyway, we found a passable place for ramen and okonomiyaki: Genki, in the Richmond.  It doesn't seem to be Japanese owned, but the taste is fairly Japanese and the plates are tasty, if not authentic.  We have a go-to place for noodles.  Finally. 

 It reminds me a bit of the Chinese owned Mexican restaurant we'd order from in NYC.  That definitely wasn't authentic, but for some odd reason, it always hit the spot.

The other Japanese food development has been our discovery of "Oyaji," also in the Richmond district.  This is a traditional, old-school, Japanese-run izakaya (pub-style restaurant) that serves savory, delicious, authentic Japanese food that you can't find anywhere else.  For New Yorkers, this is the closest I've found to NYC's Yakitori Totto.  The taste isn't quite a subtle (it's definitely saltier), and the variety isn't as impressive, but it's good.  Damn good.

I think it was the pork belly that did it.  Braised pork belly is one of the dishes I use to gauge the quality of a real Japanese restaurant (if they serve it).  If it's "right," chances are most of the menu is right as well.  And Oyaji's pork belly was right as rain.  Granted, it wasn't the best I've ever had, but it took me back.  I felt a great weight leave my shoulders that night as I tucked into Oyaji's Japanese deliciousness.  Finding food like that here had a way of cementing San Francisco's potential as "home" like few other experiences.

We've covered some of the highs.  Now, the low.  And it is the the lowest low of the lows that I know.  It is the antithesis of all we hold dear as humans.  It is the steel beast that brings untold agony to millions.  It is the three-way bastard stepchild of neglect, idiocy, and poor personal hygiene.  It is San Francisco's MUNI system.

I ride one of their buses everyday to and from work.  Apart from the logo, which I have to admit is rather endearing...

...the rest of the system is a festering, puss-filled sore on the face of an otherwise wonderful city.

The MUNI system is antiquated, disorganized, bloated, inefficient, incompetent, mired in corruption, evil, sadistic, lecherous, and flatulent.  If it were human it'd be the type of guy who would never have cash when you go out as a group to eat.  And would never pay you back.  And would hit on your 12 year old sister when his girlfriend went to the bathroom.  And then would have too much to drink and drive home drunk.  As pictured here.

I'll save my serious rants and raves about SF MUNI for a future post.  It deserves many, many paragraphs.  For now, let's just say it's awful.

Despite the horrific daily presence of MUNI in my life, this city is still growing on me.  I'm happy to say that the highs, at least for now, are definitely outweighing the lows.  We're beginning to really enjoy this city, despite it's challenges, and it's feeling a bit more like home each day.