One Month

Apparently I logged on to blogger to post about her one month and it saved my blank post so here it is...

Quick 3 week recap

Week 1: Welcome to the world, G! She's 6 lb, 13 oz and 19 inches at birth (Feb 25, 2 wks early). Had lots of visitors at hospital on Day 1. Checked out from hospital evening of Day 2, had a two nite sleepover at friend R's house (R is 6 wks older than G, thankfully, her parents were gracious to let our new family stay over while we were homeless). Grandma (S's mom) arrives on the scene Day 4 and family moves to another friend's place that is currently empty. Nursing is painful, nights are getting more managable, going thru lots of diapers, especially trying to wake G up for her every 2-3 hr feedings. S is learning how to multi-task nursing and being on the computer (typing w/ one hand).

Week 2: Still not moved into our house yet, thanks F for letting us stay at your place, it's so nice! Nursing is getting better now that we went to a lactation consultant (now S just has to heal!). At G's two week checkup, she's past her birthweight (7lb, 5oz) and we get the go ahead to feed on demand now instead of having to wake her up.

Week 3: G has her first outing that's not a doctor's visit! Grandma's birthday is Monday, so E & S take her to Korea House. G slepted thru the whole thing, lucky for us! However, the next day lunch at Todai (Great-Grandparents finally meet G, Uncle J & Aunt A come too) was not as good, had to keep pushing G around the buffet to keep her sleeping, and was 30 min late to lunch b/c of changing diapers and feeding her. Finally move into our house, it's a mess, boxes everywhere, minor construction still going on. G's slowly getting used to her new home, but she tends to stay in Mom & Dad's bedroom b/c that's where her bed is, along with the air purifier and portable heater. Grandma is staying in G's room, which still has no crib or anything. Oh well.

The last few days, G's been in a bit of a growth spurt, lots of cluster feedings and shorter naps. We are also discovering she can sleep an hour or two longer if someone is holding her. And we had our first (tho, sadly not last) explosive "up the back" poopy diaper... sigh. Another chance to practice bathing her, I guess! I'll have E come back to post pics (yes, I took one of above mentioned diaper too).

New Title & Format

As you can see from our new format and title, much has changed in our lives. As E posted last, we are trying to move into a new house that we purchased back in December... it's been a long journey, but we should be moving in this weekend. But the bigger news is that our newest edition finally arrived!! G was born 2 weeks early, arriving Feb 25, just two days after her baby shower. It's been almost 3 weeks now, and such a whirlwind. Every day seems like a totally different schedule with a totally different baby. I'll leave it to E to post pics, but for now, this is the update.

Our new blog will be more about G, for all her friends and family, far and near, to keep in touch with her latest goings on! But we will still try to post about food and other things when we can...

Happy New 2008!

So, S and I bought a house in the south bay, so our adventures in SF will be drawing to a close. Reflecting on this period, I don't think I've ever seen so many blonde people before in my life. Actually it's the fact that there are almost no Asians/blacks/Latinos/minorities, and everyone else is white. That was until a friend corrected me: "No, everyone there is blonde." And then I looked around and realized that he was right.

Among the places we like are the small, intimate restaurant-bars with tons of atmosphere. We went to Brazen Head tonight - you could drive by Greenwich a thousand times and not notice it -- a total hidden gem with awesome pepper steak, seafood chowder, french onion soup. I realized it was good when I dipped into the cheesy top of the french onion soup, went deeper, and it got better and better. You know food where the first bite is the best? Doesn't leave you wanting more does it? I believe the best food experiences get better and better, bite after bite, from the time the dish or dessert first arrives, leaving you with a sweet aftertaste that leaves you smiling. Nothing less will do. I was happy to find the steak the same way.

Another happy find recently is the Elite Cafe - it's a Southern brunch place on Fillmore (ok not quite our district, but we've been exploring), with biscuits with strawberry butter to die for, beignets, and more intimate high-back booths with slow fans in the ceiling.

We've been quite lucky to live in this beautiful area for 8 months, watching the Golden Gate bridge in all of its glory through the seasons, being able to walk to the marina, and more, and we'll be treasuring the experience for a long time.

- "Mr. Calamari"

The Best Pasta, and other recommendations

We've gotten busy, so it's time to catch up. Last night we went to Caffe Puccini's, a top-5 "Best Pasta in North Beach" recommendation. When I dropped S off, she went, "Are you sure this is a restaurant? They just have drinks..." but boy are we glad we stayed. I had a pasta with orange duck sauce, and S had a mushroom one, and the sauces were just amazing! Plus, they're just across the street from our favorite pastry cafe Stella's, where the Sacripantina is still a taste of heaven.

Other awesome recent experiences include Chez Maman's on Union - very inexpensive French .. try the steak!!! Also, Laiola's, a Spanish tapas restaurant, just newly opened, was so fabulous we took home 2 biz cards. However, despite all the good food, we've actually gotten tired of trying out places in our neighborhood.

We drive by Citizen Cake on Gough on the way to 101, so one day recently we decided to try it. It's a block from Davies and a huge theatre crowd favorite, so reservations are recommended, esp for 7 or earlier seatings. The chef's been on Food Network, and the food does not disappoint. Entrees like steak are mixed with a hint of dessert - mushroom-flavored ice cream, which melts over the steak for unbelievable flavor. We also had rosewater-flavored Creme Brulee, the best S has ever had. We had to try 3 different desserts!! The portions are small but very distinct.

While we'll be planning return trips to the above places, we definitely won't be going back to Marina Pizza. Bleh!! Can anything good be found on Lombard St.? The pizza was soggy, very greasy, and gave both S and I knots in our stomachs!!

With house hunting and other things occupying our time, not sure when we'll write again, but happy eating in the meantime!

And the ones to avoid

OK, here are the places I really don't like. Left at Albuquerque -- very bland food, even worse than Chili's. What's it doing in Cow Hollow??? That's the worst dining experience I've had in this whole area. Also, the bar restaurants in the 3 corners - Eastside West Cafe, Balboa Cafe, City Tavern -- are all bad in their own way. We had brunch at Eastside West. The food was extremely oily, not particularly good, and the service horribly slow. The popular local bar Balboa Cafe is filled with smoke and people, too much of a bar scene, and the food really not that good. The City Tavern was similarly unimpressive. If you're in the neighborhood, skip on by these places.
-E

Naked Fish fills the stomach and fits the budget

When you go out to eat all the time, two things happen: 1) you break your dining out budget easily, and 2) you get tired of eating out. Which is why it's nice to find a place like NAKED FISH, closeby, inexpensive (most plates/rolls $10 or less), with an inventive menu, and tasty. $4 for Nigiri brings you huge chunks of silky fish over tiny balls of rice, and there's the standard rolls like spider, rainbow, etc., but try the Hawaiian-influenced long list of tapas, such as the $8.50 kalua pork with Maui onions wrapped in lettuce, with a side of unagi fried rice. Yummmm! And then there's the relaxed bar area where one can catch Giants night games on a widescreen TV, plus lots of beautiful people around. I saw an Asian guy with 3 blondes... score! This place'll definitely have me coming back. We also went to JUDY'S CAFE recently -- they have very crispy eggy french toast, yum.

So, to make our dollars last longer, there are several strategies: first, don't order drinks -- S and I already do a good job of that. Second, skip the dessert and appetizers -- that one I have a harder time with, especially when all these restaurants make such great tapas and desserts. Finally, don't order too much, because often times left overs are wasted and aren't eaten. This is where places like Naked Fish help. Having the flexibility to order a bunch of smaller plates lets us control portion size easier.