Prepping for San Francisco

 

It's my course map for my 1/2 Marathon this weekend.  It's exciting!  I've never done a race outside of Texas.  I'll be gone for the next week and a half, so stay tuned for exciting tidbits of my trip in the amazing city of San Francisco!

Thanks to the wonderful Natalie and David for watching Lola and Susan, Kirk and Spencer for watching Cody!  I always feel comfortable leaving my babies with you.  I know they're well taken care of and they love staying with you.  <3

Korean Festival

I heard last year, this event was not so great.  As I'm walking in, my friend, Rebecca, who went last year, says it looks about the same.  I think all festivals are like somewhat the same, right?  Eat, walk around, and music entertainment.  This festival had all those pieces, but I understand what she meant, it feels like it's missing something.  Overall, I still thought they did a good job.

They had huge tents set up for food and the concert section.  It's true, there's not much to do but eat and sit around, but I guess when you're with good company, it gives you a reason to get out and spend time together.  I was impressed.

Texas Cupcake Co.

I just love when people drop off cupcakes at our office.  These were actually not bad and so festive!

Haven (Upper Kirby)

I read Haven described as "Texas centric", so, I was expecting something similar to Rainbow Lodge.  It's that cabin in the woods type feel, woody, built on logs possibly, rustic, very Texas, you know?  When I arrived, I thought, hm...a pretty modern and sleek design, not what I was expecting.  It's even nicer once inside.  Low lit lighting, warm colors, cozy, nice patio, pretty fancy.

Our server was horrible.  Thank God we had Patrick, who was training, recently moved from Masraff's.  He was helping the servers, cleaning our table and suggesting dishes   He had more personality in his pinky than our assigned server.  I don't think our server said 2 words to us.  We ordered:

Torn Greens Salad $9
Akaushi Steak $32
Gulf Fish, Jumbo Crab in Coconut Curry $32
Bread Pudding
Chocolate Mousse Cake

I thought my steak was a bit bland and I tried some of Janice's Fish and thought it was tough.  She said the same things, flavorless and overcooked.  They suggested the Bread Pudding, said it was the most popular and best, but Patrick also suggested the Chocolate Mousse Cake and so we got both.  We thought the Chocolate Mousses was better.  The Bread Pudding was nothing special.  Janice noticed how fast our food was coming out and commented how it was the fastest dining experience she's ever had.  I don't think she meant that in a good way. 

I still think it's a nice place to go for a special occasion.  I'm sure not all their food is blah.  I hear they change their menu or rather make variations to the menu every month.  Their ingredients are locally grown.  It's a nice atmosphere for sure.  Though my steak was flavorless, the sauce was nice.  I've noticed when I take steak home that is blah, eat it later, it tastes much better as leftovers.  Maybe we just expect too much when we're dining out.  Although, I have had great steaks in restaurants as well.  Del Frisco's being one of them.  Overall, I thought the atmosphere was nice, the food was okay.  

Antidote

My goodness, Antidote gets a good crowd during the day!  Great place to work remotely or study...if you can ignore the funky music.  Their Cappaccinos are super duper strong and their Chocolate Hazelnut scone, not so good.

Canyon Creek Cafe (Washington/Wescott)

It's about time, I know.  Canyon Creek Cafe has been opened for almost a year, I think, and I'm just now visiting.  If you've been to one, you've been to them all.  Everybody knows, Onion Creek, Cedar Creek, Dry Creek, all same owner.  I like this one...it's really dark outside, the lights are just right and gives off a really cozy vibe.  It's pretty big, but narrow, I think even bigger than Cedar Creek. 

I get a Michelada and I ask the bartender if he can make it a specific way.  With Micheladas, you get every gamut from horrible to good.  He suggests I try his recipe and yeah, I totally loved it!  Better than my recipe.  His name is Matthew, if you want to try his version.  Very tangy and spicy, exactly the way I like it!

I wasn't hungry for dinner, so I just got the hummus and pita and Stu got the turkey burger with sweet potato fries.  The sweet potato fries were good, but he said the turkey burger was just ok.  The hummus and pita were good, but different from the usual hummus and pita from their other cafes.  Actually, their entire menu is different.  They had a $5.50 cupcake.  I was slightly tempted, but I'm sorry, there is no way I'm paying $5.50 for a cupcake from a place that doesn't specialize in cupcakes.

The outside patio is large and narrow, cozier than Cedar Creek, I think.  I like this cool mural on the patio outside.  It's of the Austin scene.  My photos came out a little dark, it's actually better lit than my photos portray.  Isn't it cozy looking?  It is!  It's bit dead tonight, but it could be an anomaly.  Ok, cheers to trying new things!

Felix 55 (Rice Village)

I was told there was something here previously that wasn't very good but always dead, but the name won't stick in my head...Paul, something?  My roommate is moving to D.C. for a job at the FDA...different, isn't it?  She's a former Rice area resident who's informed me of the history of Felix 55's new home.  So, she picks Felix 55, which I keep meaning to try because of the buzz about it...it's more a soft buzz, and I'm glad she reminded me, great pick!  It's in between D'Amico's and Baker's St Pub.

I like the atmosphere inside and out.  Outside is more casual, with this arbor and even porch swings, which I think is more of a decroative piece.  We tried the swing, softly, but ended up hitting the chair in the next section.  It doesn't seem like it's an approriate behavior to engage in, I think we got a few funny glares.  The interior is more upscale, but with this weather, you have to sit outside!  

We shared the turkey panini substituted fries for the truffle fries, seared tuna salad, and the chocolate cake, which they brought out for free for Diana's birthday.  I love sharing food by the way, it's such a fun way to dine and try a variety of foods.  People that don't like to share ever, scare me.  If I don't know them, I guess I question if this person is just not adventurous, uptight, what??  It's also a great way to see how comprimising a person is or how much in common you have.  I mean, it's one thing if you love something so much you want to eat that, and that thing only.  That's the way I feel about the Corsica at Empire cafe.  I absolutely love that dish.  I don't care to try anything else there because I've pretty much tried everything worth trying there.  If someone asked me to share another dish with my Corisca, I would probably, thankfully decline.  That's different.  But, if you're trying a new place....why not?  I totally digress, back to Felix 55...I thought all the food was good.  I wished there were more greens with the salad, but the sauce and amount of tuna was spot on.  Or maybe it seemed like a lot of tuna in comparison to the greens.  We thought, oh, they gave us a lot of tuna!  The panini was good, kind of uninspiring, but still fine.  Prices weren't totally outrageous, but not cheap either.  Our salad was $13 and the panini was $10.  I was told the dinner menu is something to try.

Ok, that's really all I have to say.  I do recommend going, great outdoor seating.

Pinot Pallete (Galleria)

I was invited to Pinot Pallete for pasta, painting and pinot...three great things in one place, of course I was going to go!  I invited Uyen and I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did, but it definitely inspired me to pick up a hobby.  Ok, what's the next hobby?

This was in a great location, galleria, really close to the Galleria mall.  I'd definitely recommend trying it, it's different and fun!  Thanks Jodie for inviting!

Yale Retail Going Up

Oops, correction, this is not Walmart, but a retail shopping center on Yale officially starting.