DAVID CHANG

Top:  Homemade butternut squash soup

Bottom: Homemade red lentil & brown rice soup

Both topped with Australian goat cheese

Horrifying.

Cupcakes For Life

Despite my better judgment and the long to visit with good friends, I went to the talked-about Mission Street Food on Saturday night. Here’s how it weighed out:

Pro(s):

1. All proceeds go to some sort of charity, or good cause.
2. New, upcoming and local chefs are allowed to try their hand at whatever they please.

Cons:

1. I paid $6 for a salad of mushrooms and peanuts. I can respect the idea of what the salad wanted to do. I was far from satisfied.
2. Timing of the food for our party of four was off. Each dish came out separately; one was forgotten entirely.
3. Small portions.
4. The greens accompanying one dish tasted like gasoline.

I had a hunch going into the dinner that it wasn’t going to be the most amazing dining experience of my life, but I had hoped that the pessimist in me  (which was saying that MSF is just somewhere to be seen and to take photos of your small-portioned-over-priced-food with your iPhone) would be wrong. Perhaps the chef had an off night or the specific menu being served then was not top notch? I am not sure. Pretentious, white-people food. Sorry.

Map of McDonald’s locations throughout the United States…apparently the location which is farthest away from another Mickey D’s is somewhere in South Dakota, measuring out at 107 miles from one to the other. Ouch.

1. U-lock
2. Jar of coffee
3. Box of homemade banana-blueberry scones
4. Sleeping bag

Since receiving a nice, sturdy, Nitto rack for my bike, I’ve managed to carry home a lot, A LOT, of things. Cupcakes, a large picture frame, a new pair of shoes, copious amounts of cheese, a lamp. Last Saturday I rode from my house in the Sunset to a friends’ house in the Mission, with an ice cream cake on the front of my bike. I of course chose one of the hottest days San Francisco has seen this summer to carry it across the city, but I’m creative, resourceful even. I took a large glass baking dish, filled it with ice, placed a rectangular aluminum foil tin on top, next came the cake, to which I had frozen a wet cloth around. Another bag of ice and aluminum foil tin, sandwiched together with duct tape completed my makeshift cooler. I used almost an entire medium-sized bag of ice and I have to admit, sharp turns were not something that happened AT ALL, during my ride.

Anyway, thinking back to this made me want to keep track of all of the oddities (and everyday items) which my bicycle is nice enough to lug around for me. Thus begins: Things I Carried On My Bike.

Things I Carried On My Bike (9/02/09):

1. U-Lock
2. Small canvas bag (with wallet, jacket & passport)
3. A paperback book (“The Third Policeman” by Flann O’Brien)
4. Medium-sized bag of all purpose flour
5. Two jars of jam (raspberry & blackberry currant)

Also, in case you were curious, the ice cream cake made it safely to it’s destination.

Miriam Makeba, Oxgam.

Kevin turned twenty-four on Friday and in celebration had a picnic the following day. Complete with T.A.L.T.s (Tofu, which was roasted, Avocado, Lettuce and roasted colorful cherry Tomatoes), smashed cupcakes made by yours truly and an appearance of THE jam-box. Part two coming this weekend!

This new 2010 release from Moleskine truly tempts me to utilize a planner this coming (only six more months to go!) year. This photo doesn’t do it justice; the “Color A Month Daily Diary Box Set” comes bound in a hard, leather cover, complete with the infamous Moleskine elastic strap to keep all twelve months bundled neatly together.