Espadrilles!

While wandering around Madrid, I stumbled upon Casa Hernandez, an alpargateria… Which is apparently what you call an espadrille maker.

They have tons and tons of materials (for custom orders) and shoe style samples in the window.

Once you’re in (after the crazy line), you order (all in Spanish) and try things on. In my case, by showing the clerk pictures of the styles I want and babbling in broken Spanish with lots of hand gestures.

Purchased:
1 pair of denim espadrilles, €5.75
1 pair of black crochet espadrilles, €19.50
1 pair of beige heeled wedges, €25

…crazy.

Tapas at Luzia

It was 11pm and I needed dinner… Luzia was nearby, so I thought I’d give it a shot. They have a huge menu — from burgers and pasta to “tapas” and pizza. The pizza we tried wasn’t bad, though the crust was more of a crisp tortilla than what I expected from pizza dough.

Other than what’s pictured below, we also ordered the potato omelete (meh) and the fried artichokes (not bad, but on the oily side).

Tuna sashimi over corn “pancakes” (I think they mean chips) with avocado & some other stuff — pretty tasty!

Pizza with cheese, arugula, bresola — not bad, but not quite a pizza.

Conveniently located, but once again, nothing spectacular.

Dried Meats

Jamon iberico.

Dried tuna? (I didn’t know this was a thing. But apparently it is!)

Some razor clams, in butter. Just because. Lunch, or the meal that loosely filled the role of lunch yesterday was at a Ciudad Comal. Razor clams, fried fish, veal and some desserts. Not bad, but nothing spectacular or particularly interesting.

Barcelona: Market

After doing no updates for weeks due to too much homework, I’m on vacation!

I’m currently in Barcelona adjusting to jet lag and eating way, way too much… Including,

Caviar out of the jar with a wooden stirrer, because I’m classy like that. (And too lazy to find a spoon)

Our haul from a trip to the market. Figs are super cheap, 3 euros for a kilo, so we got half a kilo.

AND JAMON. EVERYWHERE. SO MUCH OF IT.

so tasty.

Banana Pancakes

I found the original recipe somewhere on Pintrest as “omg paleo pancakes,” or some such title. The original recipe is 2 eggs, 1 banana. I found that concoction rather eggy, much like banana scrambled eggs.
So instead —

Banana Pancakes
1 ripe banana, well mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon of flour
a pinch of baking powder (optional)

Mix everything, cook the pancakes at low heat. Low heat means the banana cooks more and caramelizes slightly.

Eat!

Great use for mushy overripe bananas when you don’t have enough for banana bread.

Sutro Baths

We wanted to photograph Sutro Baths, thinking that a full moon would provide great lighting… Apparently not, if it’s overcast!

Duende

the menu!

jamon de cordero=cured lamb leg+green almonds+pickeled green strawberries

pebrots farcits=stuffed piquillos+lamb+currant+cumin+pine nuts

canalones=black trumpet mushrooms+spinach+engish peas+mint

fideua=toasted fideos+duck+wild nettles+olives+balsamico

tcho dark chocolate tart

I think of all the new restaurants I’ve tried lately, I enjoyed Duende the most. For example, the lamb ham wasn’t particularly interesting… But the flavor combination with the almonds and strawberries was unique. The canalones and fideua were both on the large size, portion-wise, but both delicious.

I can’t wait to come back. Actually, reviewing these pictures is making me super hungry. :< I guess I could drive up to Oakland now…

Dinosaurs & Cacti

The cactus on my desk, when it was blooming.

Kids toys through the window. Not creepin’, I swear.

Dog park!

Post work dog parking from a couple days ago.

Oakland’s Ramen Shop

This weekend, I went to Ramen Shop. I showed up at about 5, and was seated immediately. By about 6, there appeared to be quite a wait, though they serve cocktails in the waiting area. The wait pales in comparison to that of Orenchi.

I enjoyed their menu — more choices than just ramen.

Asparagus, fava and avocado salad. Very Californian, quite tasty and fresh.

Their kitchen! I felt a little weird taking photos of them cooking….

The decor is hip and interesting, without exposed filament bulbs or reclaimed wood…

Tonkotsu ramen with spit roasted chashu, shoyu marinated egg, pickled ramps and a carrot. Including the carrot’s greens.

Veggie miso ramen with maitake and king mushrooms, salt cured eggs.

Black sesame icecream sandwich

First of all, it’s hard to take attractive photos of soup, particularly since everything was swimming in the broth. But, excuses, I need to work on this.

Second, the food. The appetizers were great (I also got two to go, but not pictures…) and the dessert icecream sandwich was interesting, but I really, really like black sesame. But the ramen? Not bad, but nothing great. The veggie miso was a little too salty, but probably the richest veggie ramen I’ve ever had. The tonkotsu pales in comparison to other more “traditional” ramen places I’ve been to. Overall, I don’t know much about the availability of ramen in the East Bay, and Ramen shop is open late… So a good backup. But if I really wanted ramen, I’d stick to the south bay places. (Also Orenchi, Ryowa, Maruichi and Santouka are cheaper. $16 for a bowl of ramen with one slice of meat is pretty steep)

raccoon*

adventures of a cosmic procyonid