Hello, again!

Ooh, it's been a while. As pointed out by my devoted followers, I have been holding out. True. The end of the quarter brings with it a lot of work... but fun, too, apparently. Well, luckily for you all (devoted or not), I've got quite a few stories to share!

Let's go, first, all the way back to Thanksgiving.

I never did a Thanksgiving food post. Rest assured, it was delicious. Not to toot my own horn, or anything, but my pumpkin pie was the best. Perhaps more importantly, I went to the top rated ramen spot (according to Yelp) in LA: Santouka.

Spicy miso ramen with pork bowl combination.

I have to say that I disagree with Yelp. Although Santouka has quite a few options to choose from, Daikokuya is better. The soup base was good, the noodles were good... everything was good. The pork bowl was also good, but Daikokuya's pork bowl obliterated this one. Himawari in San Mateo is also better... the egg alone in the ramen is perfection, and blew this one out of the soup. Still, ramen the day after Thanksgiving is the way to go. I approve of the wait time at this place, however: some 10 minutes to stand in line and order as opposed to the 45+ minutes for a table.

Moving on quickly to brunch in San Francisco: The Sycamore, Mission District.

Pork belly donuts.

Lots and lots of pig consumed in this post; I apologize if this offends, but it's delicious. A new brunch joint started up a few months ago, The Sycamore will quickly develop a following thanks to their incredible brunch offering, which includes pork belly donuts. A donut batter outside of fatty pork belly, fried and drizzled with their signature maple Makers' Mark syrup. That picture features what the inside looks like. About the size of a donut hole, this bite of happy hits so many spots: fat. meat. sweet. savory. salty. alcohol.

Next, my first meal at a restaurant with a Michelin star: Saison, Mission District, San Francisco.

Petaluma chicken; whole rosted, wild herbs, artichokes, olive

An 8 course meal transformed into 10, with wine pairings? Yes please. I was demolished, food- and drink-wise. The meal and ambience was unpretentious, something I really appreciated. The dishes made sense, with nothing too crazy that I wondered why I was even eating such a thing. I knew the meal was off to a great start when I was given a cloud from heaven. Literally. A roll, fresh from the oven. This is what a cloud from heaven would taste like.

I would post pictures from each of the courses, but it would bore, I have no doubt. So, if you're interested, let's have a protracted conversation about the virtues of the meal. And the wine.

Yet another brunch in San Francisco: Zazie, Cole Valley.

Challah French toast stuffed with caramelized bananas and walnuts; bowl of hot chocolate; a single poached egg with lemon hollandaise, bacon (see? more pig), and tomatoes provençales. And home fries.

Mmmm. This was happy times in the morning. What I enjoyed the most about the restaurant: eating on the back patio, where it seemed as if we were dining in someone's backyard; the drink served in a bowl; the whole cloves of garlic roasted alongside the home fries; the option to order one of exactly what I want (one piece of French toast. one egg). I love brunch.

So, aside from the food, what am I up to? Good question: not much of anything. I've been biding my time until I fly home for break, by way of New York. I have started to read Ian McEwan's The Child in Time, which is a nice way to do it, aside from watching shows online one after another.

I finally wrapped up the quarter with grading, and the fall is officially behind me. A good way to end the quarter: my paper is finally being published! My dear fish, you've been great.

I'll do my best to keep this updated with my goings-about-town: food, drink, or otherwise.

Ciao bellas~