five months, going strong.

Clearly I'm not keeping up with my goal of posting every Sunday. From now on I'm just going to attempt to post once a week, at some point during the week (I'm sure that change). Since last Tuesday there were more visitors, new restaurants, more cooking and outdoor adventures. Although, possibly my shining moment was eating popcorn for dinner (only partly kidding).

On Saturday Maddy, our weekend visitor, Chase, and I drove down to Pacifica so he could surf. Before we headed out we stopped at House of Bagels for a little breakfast - bagel with lox, capers, onion, tomato, cream cheese, yum. It was a really cool little place and all kosher. Our destination was Rockaway Beach and were definitely weren't alone. Maddy and I posted up in a nice spot and watched the children and dogs run around in circles. We had a few 2-year-olds hit on us, which is always flattering. It's still amazing to me that in early February we were getting some sun. One fun fact about Rockaway Beach is that there is a Taco Bell...on the beach. It's probably the nicest Taco Bell in the country. Sarf - when you visit next, we're going.

The goal was to visit SFMOMA afterwards, but it was so nice out, the thought of going inside was just not cutting it. So what's the next best thing? Sitting outside drinking Bloody Mary's. I did a quick "best of SF" search and came upon Cafe Des Amis - though not in the ideal neighborhood (the Marina) it did make for great outdoor seating and good people watching. Solid Bloody's too, but I bet there's a better one out there.

That night the next visitor arrived - Leeeeeenster! We promptly headed for dinner close by to a place that my friend Brandon had recommended called Sushi Groove. The groove part of the title is no lie - the music was as if we had gone out to a club, which weirdly made the experience even better. After dinner we headed to The Wine Jar on Filmore. It had a really cool vibe and wasn't too crowded. It wouldn't have been a good night with Lena if something ridiculous hadn't happened. So when I knocked over a small table (while sober, nonetheless) and we laughed (rather loudly) we knew it was a good night.

Coy pond in the garden

On Sunday we ventured off to fulfill Lena's one request - visit the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. It was amazing. We walked around a bit and then we sat for some tea and sweets. Lena ordered us some of her favorites and since she'd spent ample time in Japan, I was excited to try everything. It was such a great place to go with the weather being so nice. On our way back through the park, we walked by a wonderful rendition of "Thriller" by a group of people on roller skates. If you know Lena, ask her to show you the video. Later in the evening we tried a Korean place called Coco Bang that I'd walked by a few times so I could get some bibimbap. Not the best I've had, but still solid and definitely worth a trip back. Afterwards we headed (actually ran) to Hotel Utah Saloon to see an amazing singer song writer and a close family friend of mine perform. The singer's name is Whitton and her voice is incredibly unique (as was the venue). My friend said that some bigger names had come through there, which doesn't surprise me.

Almost done, promise. On Monday, we continued the miso Monday tradition and made a baked tofu dish, thanks to Lena's ingenuity. The Monday night cooking is going to live on for sure. Tuesday, Lena and I headed out to the Mission to get food at a restaurant I heard mentioned multiple times since I moved out here - Gracias Madre. It's vegan Mexican food, which seems like an oxymoron, but they did it very smartly. Lots of cilantro, lime, avocado and then cashew cream (not so authentic). The food was great and aside from the fact that I was literally in pain after eating too fast, it was totally worth the trip out there.

Alright. I'm done. You've probably stopped reading. Caio.