A Great 3 Days

California living is really starting to grow on me. The weather alone is enough to sell me, but there is so much more. Many people take a ferry to work. How cool would that be? From where we live, San Francisco is a short-beautiful boat trip over and back.

My nephew Martin came to stay with us the last few days from L.A., so Mitzi and I decided to take him EVERYWHERE! We went to Napa one day, San Fran the next, then to Muir woods and Sausalito. Yes, everywhere was beautiful, but a big highlight for me was China Town in San Francisco. It is so interesting because the stores are so different than the ones most people shop at everyday, there seems to be amazing restaurants ever 10 feet, and the street sign are even written in Chinese.

I appreciate the element of surprise (if it’s good!). Many times it doesn’t matter to me if I see the menu or not when we go to a good restaurant. I ask the wait staff to just bring me what they think is great, or what the chef wants to cook. Restaurant chefs get a little bored cooking the same menu items over and over, so a change up to create something new is very exciting. Some of the best meals I have ever cooked are when people ask me to cook them something with no restrictions. Try it some time if you get a chance, just for a meal or two. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Mitzi, Martin and I had lunch in China Town and ordered what seemed like one of everything from the dim sum menu and shared it all. I had to try the roasted duck too because the cooked ducks I saw hanging in the window looked so appetizing. I am not crazy about how the chef cut the duck after it was cooked, but the flavor was perfect. I like to make food very easy to eat when I cook. I would like to have the same duck dish with the bones removed. With as many Chinese restaurants lining the streets, the food has got to be great for the restaurant to survive. I am very excited to return.

We ate out everyday day and would make it back to the house every night for a home cooked meal. The first night was BBQ chicken with roasted potatoes and a great salad. The next night was homemade spaghetti and meatballs with a slight bit of black truffle in the sauce. Last night we were in a bit of a hurry, so we had BLTs on homemade Tuscan flatbread with aged cheddar, avocado, fried eggs and some fresh arugula (we planted it last month when we moved there.) Oh yea… and homemade fries with tatziki.

As I am writing this, I think Martin is going to have to come back soon He’s so inspiring!

I hope everyone has a save Memorial Day weekend and let me know of Facebook if you are cooking anything interesting.

Enjoy!