Sunday, March 7, 2010

Date Night!




Saturday night was date night with Kathy. We are on a roll of getting out of our neighborhoods and went all. the. way. to Noe Valley (only in SF is 4 miles a journey). We started the night at Fattoush, an amazing, cozy Middle Eastern restaurant on Church Street. The food (appetizer sampler, freshly baked pita bread, beriani with chicken, potatoes and garbanzo beans) was amazing. Unfortunately the only dish I took a picture of was the one thing we didn't exactly love - a ground lamb filled doughy thing (technical term) with date sauce. It was a sweet and savory mix gone awry, but doesn't it look pretty? We found the place here. I highly recommend joining the mailing list for your city, if available. The great deals are fun, but even better is reading about restaurants you'd never come across otherwise.


We saw the J run past the restaurant a few times and decided instead of taking the same route we used to get to Noe Valley we'd jump on the J and see where it took us. We're crazy girls like that. We ended getting off in the Castro, where an urge for ice cream hit me hard. I decided I wouldn't look for ice cream, but if a sign appeared, it was meant to be. As we moved from the Castro to the Lower Haight in search of a bus to get us back to Yuppyville, I literally almost ran into a sign screaming "Organic Ice Cream". Not really sure it could have been more meant to be. I have no idea why Kathy turned right as I snapped her picture (to point at the sign I had determined was our sign to stop and eat), but the resulting photo is hilarious.



Next up was finding a way home. It was 10:00, AKA the time at which I turn into a pumpkin. We decided to walk off our ice cream a bit only to realize we were walking straight into the ghetto. We are independent women, but we're not dumb. So we rerouted ourselves and walked towards a different bus line. We ended up at the bus stop only to turn around and find the KK Cafe. Kathy had actually read about it (I'm convinced she now googles her initials to find places) and claims it has the best vegetarian burger in SF. We've got a location for our next date night! 

Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy Birthday, AZ!


We celebrated the beginning of Alyssa's 33rd year with a very pink party on Saturday night. She went all out decorating her apartment and we all got creative bringing red and pink appetizers. Cupcakes and cookies were quite the most popular item. I started my day with a 20 mile run and decided that gave me leeway to try both types of cupcakes and the cookie. Luckily we were all so full we didn't even slice the cake. (Yes, we need to plan better. I didn't even get into the savory selections, but rest assured I tried them all.) Side note: If you need an easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer, try this mini version of a Caprese salad. Slice mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes in half and add both to a toothpick along with a basil leaf. If you use marinated mozzarella balls, you're done. If not, toss in a bit of balsamic, olive oil, and salt/pepper.

Like all Girls Nights, it was a lot of fun. I hobbled home smiling after a great night with a group of awesome women.