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Restaurant Review: Mama's
Yesterday, I finally convinced Paul that we should go to The House for lunch because I've been craving the sea bass for awhile now. But when we passed Mama's on the way and there were only two groups in line, I jumped at the chance to finally try this place since I'm not willing to deal with the usual wait (easily an hour or more). I got the prosciutto and tomato benedict and to be perfectly honest I wasn't overly impressed with it. Paul got their classic benedict on his only other trip here (I was at my parents so he braved the line on his own) and he says it's better than the prosciutto and tomato so maybe if hell freezes over again and there's no line I'll try that. Paul tried the Vince's Chicken this time and said said it was pretty good but not worth waiting in the usual line for. All in all, I'm not totally sure why this place is able to stay in business with its ridiculous wait times. It's mostly hype and truly not worth the wait. If it's a Sunday, go to Moose's across the street, their food is better quality and only costs a few dollars more anyway. If you happen to see a short line, it's worth trying but don't wait for it. Labels: Restaurants (SF)
Last Sunday Paul and I went to Alice 97.3's Now and Zen Festival in Golden Gate Park. Peter Bjorn and John, Gin Blossoms, Joss Stone, James Blunt and the strangest crowd you've ever seen - a San Francisco crowd. The first really odd thing I noticed was an abundance of old people. This lady sitting next to us literally looked like she might be someone's grandmother and, yes, that IS butterscotch! The weirdest part was that about halfway through the concert she was joined by a younger woman who kept smoking cigarettes and was wearing black lipstick and swearing a lot. In contrast, on the other side of us was this young couple with their maybe two year old baby. Poor kid got pulled out of his stroller for Joss Stone's performance and immediately commenced crying his little head off because all he wanted was a nap. Despite the fact that this was supposed to be a Zen festival, there was actually quite a lot of negative energy. Mainly due to the fact that where all these people are standing and blocking the view? That is where people used to be sitting on the grass until latecomers came and tried to stand in the bare patches of grass and ended up forcing the whole front area to get up. There was much cursing and yelling and threats of bodily harm. Not very Zen. Just your average hippies, though, I guess. By the end of it, you either had to stand or get a lovely view of everyone's bottoms. Does this remind anyone else of the "What doesn't belong" game we used to play in elementary school? Or how about this dude who looks like he fell out of another decade? And then there was Random Nacar Dad. Of course there were many old hippy couples everywhere. And old hippy ladies...you'll just have to take my word for it that they are old because from the back you can't really tell. That reminds me, the other day Paul and I went to this burger place in the neighborhood and there were these three old ladies (in their 60's) in tie-dye shirts talking proudly (and loudly) about the days when they used to smoke black tea. WTF? Only in San Francisco. By the way, I am now major-ly in love with Joss Stone. *Swoon* Finally, was close enough to James Blunt to tell him how I think his Beautiful song makes him sound like a complete loser - but I chickened out =( Paul and I came to the conclusion that only in SF would you see such an eclectic crowd at a concert featuring these artists. What do you expect from a city full of aging hippies who can't let go of their youth? Labels: San Francisco
Monday, September 17, 2007
So...yes. I lied. It's been two weeks and no blogging >< Last week work went back to being a little nutty and two nights in a row I slept at 7:30. That's pm. Yeah, I'm like ninety now. You know what though? My life is really...dull. I wake up, I work, I walk home, I sit around and watch TV and contemplate the day I will begin to study for my Series 7 & 63 (tomorrow, I swear!). Then Paul comes home, we eat, play some DOTA or watch more TV, then sleep, rinse, repeat. Not very interesting to write about. Or read about, I imagine. I am probably lying again because I seem to do that a lot when it comes to what I plan to do with this website, but maybe I'll start trying to write more reviews of restaurants/things to do in SF. Paul and I are working on being all cultured and as such we have tickets to Mama Mia this Thursday. (Of course this means I will be asleep at my desk on Friday morning). That's about all we got going on here. Labels: blogging, Life, the grind
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
I just hit the six week mark at my new job and I thought it might be a good time to reflect a bit. For the most part this blog seems to have dropped off my radar since I started working and I mean to correct that. The first several weeks I was so slammed with the crazy markets and trying to learn everything and my coworker going on vacation only four weeks after my start date that I had no energy to do anything computer-related when I got home in the afternoons. Now that I'm finally getting into a groove at work, hopefully I can pick up my hobbies again...like reading all my favorite political blogs! I have to admit though, it's tough being a red girl in a blue city (my new blog title). It was hard for me to imagine a city more liberal than Los Angeles, but yup, here I am in good ol' San Francisco, home of Nancy Pelosi. Ugh. And even though I'm working for an investment bank which you would think should lean to the right, most of my coworkers are decidedly, uh, blue. Maybe not dark blue, but pretty damn blue nevertheless. Even though the boss is probably one of the coolest bosses I can imagine and has made it perfectly clear that he wants everyone to speak up whether or not their opinions are in the majority, I still feel it wise to keep out of politically heated discussions until I've been around awhile...After all, we all know I can get pretty passionate about certain topics. My recent lack of interest in politics has also been tied to work-related exhaustion. After using my brain every minute of every hour for 10-12 hours straight, there was just nothing left in me to expend on thinking about politics. I finally understand what people mean when they say there is just too much else going on to think about that stuff. But you know me, I can never stay away for long. So anyway, work. How is work? Let's give it six more weeks because history shows that three months is the big test for me, but so far? I'm loving it. I work hard, but I'm paid well. I'm appreciated, I'm learning, my coworkers are awesome, my manager treats me so well and the big boss is, as I've already mentioned, super chill and approachable and very interested in improving the office and team building. The only problem I can foresee is that I'm not sure that the "next step" in this position is appealing to me, but regardless it's a great position where I'm learning about the business every day and working for a big name resume builder. Oh yeah, and did I mention they are actually paying me well? This still shocks me sometimes, but I'm actually making more than what I made at my first job (fund-raising) and last job (recruiting) COMBINED. Including my bonus and all the perks (401k matching, etc.) I will probably come very close to making more than all three of my previous jobs combined. Sad. Well, I guess not sad anymore, but sad about my previous jobs. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself, but I'm really loving my life. Paul and I have really settled into this whole domestic thing (as you can see from our Labor Day weekend). I'm used to my work schedule and actually like the fact that I get out at 3pm on most days and can stroll home amidst the hubub of the city. I've started taking a slightly more hilly route home as opposed to the very flat and direct I used to take. It takes me through a much busier part of the city including Washington Square Park (and plus I could use the exercise). The more strenuous route also takes me down into one of my favorite views in the whole city. Which also happens to be my own street! I wish I had a better camera so I could really capture the amazing-ness of it. I must look like a tourist with my camera constantly out but I find that in this city you need it! Labels: San Francisco, the grind
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Paul and I are spending our first long weekend in the city... My parents came over for dinner yesterday and Paul, being the awesome host that he is grilled up some skewers. I made the corn. A take on one of Paula Dean's recipes - mayo, salt and pepper, wrapped in foil and tossed on the grill. Yum. After the parents left we enjoyed some Moscato d'Asti from our neighborhood Italian market Molinari's. We both agreed it was the best Moscato d'Asti we've ever had. Which is saying something cause we've had a lot of it. And I tossed in some cherries for extra deliciousness. This morning I woke up feeling ambitious and prepared a cheese (smoked fontina) and salami (also from Molinari's) plate for Paul. Of course it wouldn't be complete without a glass of red wine. Even if it was nine in the morning. I was in the mood to cook so we walked to the Safeway and got some tortillas so I could make some smoked fontina quesadillas to go with more of Paul skewers. And of course, since we were firing up the grill, more corn was in order. After lunch we played about 5 hours of DOTA before heading up the street to reservations at Mangarosa. We've passed this place a billion times already and finally decided to try it. I'm torn on how I feel about this place. The water was served without ice which really doesn't bother me since I got pretty used to that in France and actually kind of prefer it if its not a super hot day. They also didn't serve us any bread, so for a long time we were just sitting there with our drinks as we waited for our main courses (we didn't order any apps or salad). We found out later you have to ask (possibly pay?) for the bread which put me off a bit. It made me feel like this place was just a bit too pretentious. Despite consuming copious amounts of steak in the past 48 hours Paul opted for the Brazilian Steak Rechaud. The boy just can't get enough of grilling. Even when he has to pay $30 to do it. I opted for the "Frango Assado" (crispy chicken with aged balsamic vinegar). It was absolutely delicious and made me feel better about the overall experience. The side of mashed potatoes (which you have to order separately) was only ok. We decided to stop by Trader Joe's on the way home to prepare for another big day of eating tomorrow! Labels: Bon Appetite, San Francisco
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