Turning 35!

My birthday was at the beginning of this month ,Aei number thirty-five. It was a perfect birthday, truly, in every sense of the word. I flew to San Francisco, and Carrie organized a birthday celebration, with my amazing friends Suzette and Drew, Tricia and James, and Emil.

We started at the Elite Caf/(c), a New Orleans themed restaurant that pulled off Creole and the South so much better than Nola in Palo Alto; limited tack, much elegance and what looked to be very tasty food. I settled into Sidecars, and Carrie ordered a plate of horseradish deviled eggs, the creamy egg yolk spiked with horseradish.

After a quick stop at another bar (can,Aeot remember the name), we hit SPQR for dinner. I was really excited ,Aei the new "it" place in Pac Heights had just opened, run by the same folks behind A16, one of my favorite San Francisco restaurants. The appetizers were good ,Aei shelling beans, sweetbreads, sunchokes and mushrooms, olives and a few others. Sadly, I chose my main dish wrong, one that was primarily oddly shaped pasta mixed with a bit of tomato, tuna and capers; it could have been good, but was just mediocre. Suzette,Aeos calamari was delicious, Drew,Aeos pork was fabulous and Carrie said that her carbonera was also tasty. Win some in the food world, you lose some. The table shared a slightly underwhelming dessert, something resembling a grilled cheese sandwich. A birthday song was required - I made a wish and blew out the candle.

35 is a nice, sturdy, in-the-middle celebratory number. Not like 30 or 40, which tend to be life markers, but still, solid. In the third grade, I had to memorize the multiplication tables, and since, have always been fond of 5 and 7 as multipliers (along with 7 and 8). I thought the equation was pretty to write, pretty to look at, especially once I adopted the European writing standard for 7 (with the line through the stem). I may have been a slightly twisted elementary school student, come to think of it.

I told Aimee - we've known each other since we were 4 - that I realized I was alarmingly close to 40, and am now saying that I need to go to Betty Ford at 50, rather than the previously stated 40th birthday. She wondered where we,Aeove gone wrong, ,AeuI,Aeom pregnant, you,Aeore a drunk,AeP,Aeu Truly something to ponder.

The Bounties of Harvest Vine

Carrie came to visit for a long weekend, in part to see my new home and also meet many friends at the housewarming party. Her flight was delayed by several hours, and to her credit, she managed to spend the time wisely, drinking martinis and catching up on the latest celebrity gossip in the airport bar. I,Aeom so proud.

After arriving, she rallied and we dined at Harvest Vine. I,Aeod been once before, and remember enjoying the meal so very much. My second visit did not disappoint ,Aei it was amazing and I really can,Aeot wait to return.

Small plates kept arriving, each just as delicious and beautifully presented as the last. We began with a charcuterie plate, contained translucent thin slices of Serrano ham, copa, spicy salami and air dried pork. Boquarones, tasty marinated sardines arrived next ,Aei this may have been one of my favorite, if it is possible to choose a favorite. We then went a bit extravagant, with crispy seared scallops atop a bed of caramelized onions and seared foie gras with caramelized pumpkin. For dessert, we shared a square of flakey puff pastry stuffed with almond paste and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla caramel sea salt ice cream; I think that caramel and sea salt is now one of my favorite combinations. A nice tempranillo went well with the meal.