Date: 2009-03-17 20:49 Subject: Random Life Dump Security: Public

On Saturday, I went to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, as usual. Asparagus, artichokes and green garlic, oh my! Peas and mache as well. I even rode my bicycle there, which was a bit cold on the way and really annoying on the way back, since Market Street was closed for the St. Patrick's Day parade. WTF, I thought Saturday was Pi Day. So I decide to my chagrin to take Howard as an alternate, which involved my hand (with bent elbow) colliding with the window of a Mercedes Station Wagon whose inept driver attempted to either collide with me or run me into a parked car.

After that brush with driving fail, I went to a wine tasting for Martine's Wines, an importer and distributor of excellent French wines. 20 wines were tasted, including bubbly, Alsatian, Chablis, Burgundy, Bourdeaux and Sauternes. To the detriment of my finances, I decided to buy my first 100 dollar bottle of wine (sort of, there was a discount at the tasting, which brings it just under), mostly because this Gevrey-Chambertin is really that good.

At some point, my roommate decided to burn some incense in the kitchen. I awoke to my kitchen and most of the rest of the flat smelling like a 5 dollar crack whore's perfume. As of almost 3 days later, the vileness lingers. I tried to not let it linger (stupid Cranberries song) by baking spring onion and parmesan drop biscuits and cooking pasta with fava bean sauce and a salad of artichokes and herbs, but it has not helped.

Oh yeah, some club called Death Guild had a sweet sixteen party. It was good to see the Melting Girl out and about and her shoes were excellent. Jake Ryan was a no show.

Thus life grinds on to its inevitable conclusion

Date: 2009-01-20 21:56 Subject: Oath of office Security: Public

Dear Barry,

Please retake the oath of office. I will apologize on behalf of the previous administration for appointing a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who is, apparently, illiterate. I realize the Constitution is a bit flexible on this particular aspect; however, please do it over.

Thank you.

Gratinier

Date: 2008-12-01 20:54 Subject: Being thankful, well sort of Security: Public

I contemplated writing some sort of post with seasonally appropriate heartfelt thanks for all of those random things in life that I take for granted. It was a lengthy list and not very interesting, not to mention almost boring me to tears with my own soul-searching. I can't imagine reading it. So instead, I bring a slightly less grandiose and significantly more trivial list of things I am for which I am thankful, or not:

Bi Rite Creamery Creme Fraiche Ice Cream: Words cannot express this deliciousness. Rich, creamy, not overly sweet; however, frequent consumption will likely lead to bypass surgery. Fortunately, it's expensive, so the temptation is lessened.

The Fillmore: Bands I like play there, even though it seems as if the sound is more often than not mixed by someone who is deaf which makes it hard to like the bands I like when they play there.

The Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative: Dante (aged sheep) and Mona (aged sheep/cow). Why must you make me choose? Thank you.

December 5, 1933. Thank you for repealing Prohibition. My liver may not.

Date: 2008-11-04 21:14 Subject: Breaking a rule, sort of Security: Public

So, I just watched Obama's speech. Saw McCain's as well. I'm not necessarily a fan of speeches. The part that interested me most were the crowds actually attending. Obama's crowd had diversity, racial and age. I cannot say the same about McCain's and I flipped through several channels of coverage to find some. Perhaps the media thwarted me, perhaps not; but I'm just saying...
As an aside, this was the first time I actually voted for a presidential candidate I actually liked and not necessarily as the lesser of two evils.

Update: I just heard that FDR inherited a war, although it was on KRON, but still...FAIL. Also, a pet peeve of mine about pundits is when people mispronounce Nevada, which is the only certainty when I watch these things.

Yeah, I'm just going to keep drinking this Cotes de Rousillon and cross my fingers that I don't hurl anything heavy at the television and hope that the Props I actually care about have the results I hope.

Date: 2008-10-01 21:09 Subject: Venting or Analysis Security: Public

My Bloody Valentine. Had it really been 16 years since I saw them last at the Palace in LA? At least I think it was the Palace; honestly I don't really remember where the show was (I'm pretty sure it was the Palace), but the show was transcendent.

So I, like many, decided to go see My Bloody Valentine at the Concourse yesterday. I have a rule about reunion shows, but it was My Bloody Valentine and my rules are always subject to the Gemini truth. I initially thought about seeing them in Glasgow, despite the fact that the U.S. Dollar is worthless, but the work schedule was not certainly not working at all for that, so I was relieved that they were playing San Francisco; at least until I found out which venue.

I have been to the Concourse for Deco events. From a strictly logistical standpoint, this show was an absolute disaster as far as how to execute an event. Many people have opined about this and, frankly, I am not going to rehash that. Essentially, it was an MBV show as I have seen three times previously. It was two people playing guitar, standing at opposite ends of the stage, occasionally singing in muted vocals; a drummer you only notice if you are paying attention and a lesbian playing bass in a style that is condusive to playing live rather than in a studio for recording purposes. Did I mention it was loud, because it will be, since I have seen a lot of shows and unequivocally the loudest are usually "shoegazer" bands. The loudest band I have ever seen play is MBV.

So, the sound mix was awful. It was also pretty much the same show I saw in 1992 almost to the playlist (okay, they changed the order). At the same time, I actually got to hear a song that should be played in an airplane hangar that actually got played in a venue that really is, for all practical purposes, an airplane hangar, especially when it is being played at a decibel level higher than that of a jet engine. Honestly, it was the only thing was went right and was appropriate about this particular event.

The actual review should just say the following:

I got to see MBV again. Woo hoo! The promoters/event planners should be tortured and thereafter summarily executed. Woo hoo! I was assaulted with sound and I felt it. That was my only expectation. In more ways than I wanted, I was absolutely correct in my expectations.

Date: 2008-09-21 21:11 Subject: Sunday Dinner for One and Errata Security: Public

Sunday Dinner for One has had a minor hiatus, but it made a bit of a comeback this evening. A good chunk of this has been the unseasonably warm weather in San Francisco. No matter how I dress it, it is simply underwhelming to describe having salad for dinner. Since this weekend was mostly about mundane life maintenance, it is only fitting that dinner was based on ingredients that really needed to be used lest they go bad. In any event, it was a theme. For example, that fennel I bought and sort of forgot about met the lovely summer squash I got at the Farmers Market and became a pureed soup thickened with egg yolk and olive oil. Those halibut cheeks I bought yesterday made close acquaintance with some chickpea flour and a hot pan with olive oil. Those yellow haricots verts (would that be haricots jaunes?) I needed to use met some canellinis, red torpedo onions and radishes, were dressed to kill and came along for the ride. Those prune plums I bought, intending to make clafoutis, were made into clafoutis (think of it as bread pudding, except you are using fruit instead; cherry is the archetype it seems). Best part is I have leftovers, which is better than buying lunch in the FiDi.

Basically, I am very full and totally over the earlier incident today in which somebody tried to parallel park through me when I was riding the bicyclette to go buy bread at Acme. I suppose I now know for sure that my brake works.

Date: 2008-09-08 22:08 Subject: Usual Wall of HeadNoise Security: Public

The bicycle (fixed gear, Windsor frame, custom build) that I bought is treating very well, thank you. There is a certain gratifying aspect insofar as that an old geezer (as far as riding this particular bicycle) can beat a car across an intersection off the line on a bicycle that warms the cockles of my coal black heart. I am still definitely not in shape at all, as evidenced by my experiencing calf cramps while riding in the Mission (which I am totally blaming on the previous evening's random Fernet shots at a venue which does not serve such things, officially) on a random trip to buy olive oil.

I am relatively excited about the Fall concert schedule. MBV, Stars, M83, Wire, Stereolab (BTW, their new album is really good), A Place to Bury Strangers... Too bad most of these are at the Fillmore. Sigh.

On an upside, tomatoes at the moment are the awesome. Melons are also really good right now; I had a weird Japanese variety recently: small, green flesh, cantaloupe flavor, it was totally cracktastic. Also, the current Farmer's Market recommendation is Philo Gold apples. The peak season is the next 3-4 weeks or so. It is a Golden Delicious heirloom variety but is crisp, with good balance of acidity and sweetness and not yet approaching the mealiness that turns me off. They make good pie/tarts/galettes as well. Also, figs are awesome this year (sadly the Adriatics are about done, but they are early and, sadly, my favorites), so I recommend anything you can get, since I had Brown Turkey Figs, Pierre Robert cheese and bread for dinner.

Date: 2008-08-18 23:09 Subject: Dear jukebox in my head and other musings Security: Public Music: The Chromatics

Dear jukebox in my head,

I can handle a lot of things, even Sussudio at appalling mental volume at 3 am, but seriously, Centerfold...Why? To paraphrase Viv, "Right, it's The Chromatics for you." Torturing the jukebox in my brain with neo-Italo-Disco covers of Kate Bush songs is only fair. (BTW, The Chromatics version of Running Up That Hill is really good.)

Sincerely,

Gratinier...

Also, I am a total whore for halibut cheeks. Seriously, I scored some at the Farmers Market this week. I pan seared them, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika and served them in a room temperature puree of the classic English peas with lettuce (and mint). Dessert was Mt. Tam and Adriatic figs (the big green ones). Bonus dessert was Walnut Sables, because I felt the need to make cookies for some reason and I have walnuts I should probably make use of before the new crop comes in. Also, should you have the time and inclination, go to the Ferry Plaza on Saturday, buy some plums of the varietal (hybrid, I think) Flavor Grenade (available from Hamada Farms). Silly name, but the plums are fabulous and absolutely worth every penny.

So jukebox in my head, The Chromatics and Flavor Grenade. Hit the deck and behave yourself.

Date: 2008-08-10 22:30 Subject: Beware, Sunday Dinner for one is in full effect yo Security: Public Mood: complacent Music: Air France: June Evenings Tags: sunday dinner for one, wine geekage

I suppose that Stuffed Eggplant with capers, olives and anchovies is not tremondously exciting. Neither is a salad of speckled romaine, japanese cucumber, avocado and herbs. Vanilla custard with peach compote is not exciting either. There is a unifying theme: the eggplant, avocado, herbs and peaches were all things I really needed to use.

About the salad, it is currently the house salad at Chez Gratinier. The only things that change are the herbs, which are entirely based on what I have on hand. My preference is for tarragon, chives and parsley, but sometimes I improvise. The vinaigrette is a constant dijon mustard, pasted garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Honestly, I hope the combo will be in full effect until I cannot get decent cucumbers.

Nothing else is really exciting (aside from my new bicycle), except the Air France EP I am listening to and the wine I am drinking (2007 Vi D'Agulla from the Pinedes in Spain, Chenin Blanc, effervescent, floral, a bit strange.)

Date: 2008-08-09 19:51 Subject: Is it possible have a pre-mid-life crisis? Security: Public

In a sad confession to the greater universe, I have indeed (possibly, maybe) joined the Dark Side. I bought a bicyclette. Did I mention it's a fixie? Let's see (brings out checklist)...

Skinny Jeans (yes I own them, but (signal of denial) hey I'm little and they fit!!!)

Ironic 'stache (Nyet! I'll grow one for charity and the right cause, only because I can.)

Fixie (already admitted guilt)

Ironic T-Shirt (Nyet! My t-shirts are not ironic, except for the one with fighting robots, but that's fine because they are fighting over my chest. The one on my right is currently losing.)

Cardigan fetish (Nyet! No male of the species would wear a cardigan voluntarily)

Drinking grandpa's beer (Guilty. Enough said, except that grandpa made the Budweiser.)

Record Collection (Nyet! Too much industrial, too much 4AD, despite the copy of Billy Ocean's Suddenly.)

Conclusion: Have not yet joined the Dark Side. Win?

Date: 2008-07-08 23:46 Subject: Umm, I exist in the world of the interweb Security: Public

In the spirit of Inigo Montoya, let me sum up.

Somebody I've known for a long time has passed away. Sadly, I think he still had a lot to offer the world, but I shall revel in the memory that he was one of the genuinely good people in the world.

I have celebrated my country's anniversary (as well as the death of a certain former senator on the same day). Things were grilled, beer was drunk, explosives were detonated, croquet was played. It was good times. Apparently, I provoked the first bitch alarm, which is what I get for speaking my mind (this instance was entirely appropriate and proper in the context, I promise.)

Lord H has aged. There was grilling action in his honor. Beer was drunken. Avocados were discovered. It was good times.

So what is left? I have discovered I can only eat 14 squash blossoms stuffed with sheep ricotta and spring onions (that would be battered and fried). That's what happens when you become old enough to run for president, apparently. Frankly, it's a bit unfair, if you ask me. I have also been roped into an Iron Chef-style dinner (in honor of Bastille Day), at which I am cooking the soup course. I am going Provence, out of respect for the Marquis de Sade, who was transferred from the Bastille to an insane asylum 10 days prior to the storming (for the express reason that he was shouting out for people to do precisely that, and the fact he he came from money). It probably is influential and ironic that I am reading a biography of Georges Bataille, who had a big thing for the Marquis, who happens to be from Provence (specifically from Luberon).

Date: 2008-06-09 21:41 Subject: Have you ever wondered? Security: Public Location: Chez Matthew Mood: quixotic Music: the 6 Parnassus Tags: sunday dinner for one, wine geekage

What happens when your roommate replaces a real tomato with one of those "vine-ripened" hothouse tomatoes? Well, since those so-called vine-ripened tomatoes are about as ripe as a green tomato, what happens when you let one sit and age for 3 weeks? The seeds sprout. That's what happens. A real tomato will actually rot beforehand. To be honest with my limited readership, I was curious to see what would happen. Consider that curiosity assuaged and please don't buy that crap unless you are desperate for a "tomato," or I you are actually going to cook it. Since I wasn't, I was a bit ticked off.

The Sunday dinner for one chronicles continue, despite sprouting tomato seeds. So, I actually made fried squash blossoms stuffed with sheep ricotta and spring onions for an appetizer. This can only be described as cracktastic. There should be photos, but the batteries are dead and my fried goodness was only getting cold. I only had a half dozen of these. I could have easily eaten 2 dozen. Myself. Main course was fresh pasta (hand cut linguine) with a fresh tomato sauce (barely cooked, with olive oil) and a side of Broccoli di Ciccio. Oregon Pinot Noir was the wine of choice (Jezebel 2006, Daedelus' second label from the Willamette Valley).

Dessert was more wine. I know how to live, sort of.

Date: 2008-05-28 01:15 Subject: Documentation of fail Security: Public Music: Lush: Deluxe Tags: hair issues, restaurant wars

So I actually had a holiday weekend. It started out all well and good with a trip to the DMV (happy birfday, your license is about to expire) which took less time there than it took to actually get there from work via public transportation, although the homeless-esque contingent was immensely entertaining, especially the guy who was trying to sell his artwork, titled among other things, Oprah Winfrey on Crack. Saturday's trip to the Farmers Market was a score of amaranth greens, raspberries, giant-sized artichokes for mom and sashimi-grade hamachi. Sadly, dodging the tourists triggered back spasms. Fortunately, I could still stand reasonably erect and make hamachi crudo and pasta with fava bean sauce. Sunday brought relatively the same level of painful incapacitation, but I managed to drag myself to Bar Jules for brunch. It was excellent. On the way home, invigorated with scrambled eggs with peas and ricotta and coffee, I managed to hit the Capsule festival to blow my hard-earned cash on T-shirts with cool things on them.

Now comes the fail... Hair appointment postponed (my stylist and I are friends, so being his last appointment and the fact he was wiped out (I could hear it in his voice), I was happy to reschedule at his convenience) and the Chromatics show sold out, simply because I was too stupid to buy tickets in advance.

But the upside to the fail is that I got my hair cut this evening. It looks awesome. Props to Gene, since he has the skills. I only grow the stuff.

Date: 2008-05-20 22:31 Subject: Let's do a dance called the Ian Curtis Security: Public Location: Chez Gratinier Mood: Laughing Music: M83: Kim & Jessie Tags: restaurant wars, wine geekery

Sunday marked the passing of Ian Curtis Death Day. We all know the sordid details and usually I listen to a Joy Division album or two and wear black or something. It being Sunday dinner for one night as well, I thought I might cook something, but I had friends in from out of town and a motley crew of four descended on Bar Bambino.

Bar Bambino is an oasis of sorts on 16th between Capp and South Van Ness, specializing in Italian wines and cuisine. They make their own charcuterie and pickles. I have been there previously with lalalydia and once by myself in a moment of fiending for a nice glass of wine and a nice meal I didn't have to cook. Both times have been fantastic. This third time was no exception. The motley crew included me, a wine bar owner, an out of town guest from New York, and a catering chef who looks like a cherub, but his soul belongs to Satan. This group definitely knows the eats and the drinks, but warning to the wise...

Beware of our table conversation. Nothing is sacred with this lot, including the frustration of watching cooking shows after having cooked professionally, the virtues of being a google contract employee, Hell's Kitchen (said catering chef used to work a restaurant in town at which the chef is universally known in the industry for being a bit overbearing), whether or not chicken is the new chicken, a separate thread that shall be henceforth know as the "poop omelette," and many more.

Do let the wine bar owner order the wine for the meal. If the wine bar owner is torn between two selections and the table is undecided, a coin flip is entirely appropriate to decide the outcome. Don't worry, with this crew, we will wind up getting the other bottle as well and, to be honest, either one was sublime.

Another visitor from New York joined us for desert (wine), having embarked from familial obligations in the wine country and in a state to be roused back to world of reality. He was, in no time, he was conversing like a pre-adolescent, just like the rest of us.

There is more but, needless to say go to Bar Bambino. It is wonderful, with company, a small group or alone. And for Ford's sake order the squash blossoms if they are on the menu because they are seriously cracktastic.

Date: 2008-05-13 22:10 Subject: As if I don't drink enough Grenache Security: Public Mood: ack thppt Music: The Prids Tags: wine geekery

There is a Sardinian wine tasting at biondivino in Russian Hill. That means Cannoneau, Sardinian for Grenache. Damn fine Grenache for the most part and (more or less given the dollar's current value) affordable. The tasting is Friday between 6 and 8. I will be there even if I have to pay a tasting fee of 10 dollars. If I plan ahead, I can actually wear my real clothes and not the business casual uniform I have to wear to work everyday, except on the weekends I have to work.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is coming up in July. For the first time in recent years, there are a couple I want to see enough to brave the ticket prices, which are a bit steep, but live accompaniment is expensive in this day and age.

Date: 2008-05-11 23:20 Subject: Mayfest Security: Public

So, there comes a time, when we heed a certain call... (a song which absolutely should have covered by Laibach)

This is not a post about Myanmar. Anything I could possibly say violates my edict of not discussing politics in this particular place. However, it would be suffice to say that Camus' observation that officialdom cannot cope with anything truly catastrophic is applicable.

Actually, the certain call was me having a personal disco freakout and getting the heck out of Dodge. So I ran away, to Seattle. I was in in Seattle for all of 12 hours, during which I met some fabulous new people (you all know who you are) and had cocktails and sushi at Liberty in Capitol Hill.

I then got whisked away to Leavenworth. In the Cascades. A tiny tourist town trying to be Bavaria, not unlike Solvang tries to be Dutch. It was Mayfest, not unlike Oktoberfest, only less drinking. In short the highlights?

Lederhosen (lots of lederhosen)

Buggy Whips (I got to watch buggy whip practice as executed by men in lederhosen, I could only think it was Bavarian S&M, which only sounds good if I say it will pump you up afterward)

Random middle-aged German woman in the beer garden (called Munchen Haus, I think) who seemed to only say nein, nein, nein to her friends. This scene was re-enacted the next day. I sat in her exact seat the next day for lunch doing pretty much the same thing.

The same place had vegan sausage and schwarzbier. Neither of which is Bavarian, but thank Ford for its presence.

Driving by snow on the side of the road in the Cascades in May. That was cool, since I'm not used to seeing that being from California, unless I was backpacking in Duck Pass in June or early July, but that's +10,000 feet.

So much wine tasting. For free. My palette is totally shot, since Washington wine seems a little too New World for me, but there was some good stuff.

A new phrase was coined: "Hot damn, paint my weenie." Seriously, you to be there to understand this. In a similar exchange of colloquialisms, one of the people working at the cheese shop is now determined to use the word "cracktastic." That would be my fault. The aged English cheddar washed in whiskey that they had there truly is cracktastic.

Johnny V: he plays accordion, he's been playing the area for years. Seriously, there cannot be a polka this guy can't play, as long as he stops talking to the people gathered around. The man is a genius.

I managed to spend exactly 12 minutes going through security on my 2 flights. 6 of those minutes were spent either taking off my boots or waiting for the person in front of me to fetch his/her boarding pass out of the bins that had passed through the detector before I could proceed.

The lowlight is that I have to go to work tomorrow, but the trial that may have ruined my birthday has been vacated, but I only found out by checking my work email at home.

I can only finish by saying: Hot damn. Paint my weenie.

Date: 2008-05-05 22:00 Subject: No Cuervo Here Security: Public Mood: disombobulated Music: M83: Saturdays=Youth Tags: allez cuisine, art, wine geekery

Okay , since I will not speak of work because it corrodes my soul (thank you Steven Patrick), I will instead talk of Sunday's dinner for one. I had some leftover poached skate wing from the night before, which was lovely in a salad with mache and orange. Course two, which was a stew of potatoes, carrots, artichokes and green garlic braised in water, lemon juice, flour and olive oil (4 cups of water to .5 cups of olive oil, give or take, it's a lot of olive oil, but the Turks know their artichokes and braised dishes). Dessert was a strawberry-rhubarb crisp in an homage to the Midwestern cooking tendencies of my mother. The scary part is that without the skate and the butter in the crisp topping, I could have totally made this vegan, and the vegetable stew (the only vegan part of the meal) is serious crack.

Now for the hard part of balancing work and life: how do I hit a wine tasting in Russian Hill (Italian wine at biondivino, from 5-7 more or less) and an art opening at the FecalFacedotGallery (in Hayes Valley, more or less, from 6-9 more or less) without having to work late and having to go from Russian Hill to down the street from my house on a budget. There may be a good enough time lag so I can walk, which is pretty much all I can hope for to appreciate interesting art after wine tasting.

Date: 2008-04-27 23:58 Subject: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Security: Public Music: M83: Saturday=Youth, still

I got a weekend. I got to have brunch at Canteen, which is my brunch cathedral, except that their coffee isn't as good as it used to be, but the omelettes are perfect (and they can poach eggs perfectly). I found a new reliable source where I can get good Cannoneau, which is in Russian Hill, so it makes me cringe but the proprieter is a good egg. She is having tasting on May 7 (her next one) and the place is Biodivino and it's on Green between Polk and Van Ness. Although LJ is completely useless for herding anything, the tasting is from 6-8 I think and there is a very good restaurant (1550 Hyde) about 3 blocks away. If anyone is interested, I can do a little schedule manipulating to ensure me showing up despite the current trial preparations (different trial, easier to handle).

I'm in the market for bicycle. Something in the 56cm range that's not a fixie and doesn't have more than 3 gears, preferably one. I'm not a big fan of moving parts, so the fewer the better.

In cooking news, I had albacore (seared) with green olive tapenade accompanied by a farro, wild arugula and asparagus salad yesterday. Dessert was a glass of wine and the Land that Time Forgot. Say what you want, Doug McClure is steampunk as all hell.

Date: 2008-04-22 22:08 Subject: Ninth Wind Dumpage Security: Public Music: M83: Saturdays=Youth

I am a bit haggard after prepping for a trial all weekend and for the better part of the last 2 weeks, but I did manage to sneak out and see A Sunny Day in Glasgow at Edinburgh Castle last week. They were good and I can only say they are from Philly and essentially sound like Tweegaze. Is tweegaze even a genre? I suppose it ought to be since a new genre of music seems to be born everyday, not unlike the cream filling in Twinkies. The opening bands were not to my liking, including one that rivaled the Electric Hellfire Club for complete lack of listenability.

Bitter cold aside, one of favorite my harbingers of spring appeared this week - rhubarb. I did not make pie, but did blind oven steam it (it's in a covered container, which cannot be considered roasting, because it's basically steaming) and put it on a rice pudding tart, the entire recipe for which I poached from the Chronicle food section. The instructions were not entirely accurate, but it's the Chronicle after all. I ate stuff like this in Italy (mostly in Venice, because actual good food has to be found) and despite having three distinct components, is relatively simple and I get the added bonus of eating desert for breakfast every morning. It's a hard knock life.

I posted recently about Bar Jules and have subsequently returned for a couple of meals which have been disappointing. I want to like this place with it's daily changing sustainable menu and location in what used to be the laundrette in which I did my laundry for a year and change, but I am confounded by issues with seasoning (oversalting especially) and weighing what I am paying versus what I can get elsewhere for a similar outlay of cash if I decide not to cook for myself. That being said, they do have brunch on the weekends so I may give that a whirl, because it may be like the departed Val 21 which tended to be inconsistent for dinner, but was fantastic for brunch. I am not getting my hopes up, but it would be nice to have an interesting brunch place in Hayes Valley since there hasn't been one since Paul K stopped doing it about 7 years ago.

The M83 album I am listening to is new. It's really low-key and has dispensed with the (increasingly to the point of annoyance)epic grandiosity of its predecessors. To make an oblique baseball reference, their full-lengths are like Brett Saberhagen (he was a pitcher in the 80's and 90's and had a bizarre and somewhat perceived trait of being exceptional in odd-numbered years and not so exceptional in even-numbered years) except the even-numbered albums are the better ones in my opinion.

Date: 2008-04-07 23:13 Subject: The last vestiges of freedom Security: Public Music: The Mosquito Fleet

So, I bought more halibut cheeks. What to do, thought I, on Sunday, when the wind was blowing, there was no fog and I was cold. Self thought to self, "How many steps can it possibly take to make dinner for one?" The answer is a lot. The meal is oven roasted halibut cheeks in fig leaves, sauteed dandelion greens and kumquats, asparagus sformate and walnut shortbread for desert. 3 different oven temperatures at 4 different times, 3 washings of the food processor, glorious knife-fu, waterbath and ramekin action and the side benefit of my flat smelling of toasted walnuts and coconut (that's from the fig leaves). The best part is that I had enough for lunch today, which beats eating in the FiDi anytime, unless somebody is springing for lunch at Perbacco and would deign to take me, a prospect which is tremendously unlikely. Therefore I shall bask in the glory of this meal and the inevitability of eating walnut shortbread for breakfast until it runs out.