Eaten The Fried Shrimp Po' Boy At Brenda's French Soul Food
"Creole is New Orleans city food. Communities were created by the people who wanted to stay and not go back to Spain or France."
--Chef Paul Prudhomme
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Tasted A Holiday Stollen
"There are certain things Germans do better than everyone else. Not incurring massive amounts of public debt is one of them. Christmas baking is another."
--L.V. Anderson, You're Doing It Wrong: Christmas Bread
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Eaten A Pastrami Sandwich From Katz's Delicatessen
"I'll have what she's having."
--Katz's Deli patron played by Estelle Reiner in When Harry Met Sally...
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Eaten An Authentic New York Slice
"...But then, in New York, I discovered pizza. It blew my mind wide f---ing open. I would buy ten or twenty slices a day. And then, when I realized you could buy a great big pizza all for yourself, I started ordering them wherever we went."
--Ozzy Osbourne talking about food in the 70's
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Made Egg Nog
"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
--Hamilton Wright Mabi
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Cooked Beef Kidney, Liver, And Heart
“Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods' roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.”
--James Joyce, Ulysses
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Eaten The Ahi Tuna Burger At Gott's Roadside
"If you ever want to eat a tuna sandwich again, don't go to a tuna factory. I visited one where they had two lines: one was the human food line and one was the cat food line - and they didn't look any different."
--Mark Mobius
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Carved A Turkey
"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues."
--Cicero
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Baked A Pumpkin Pie
"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."
--Jim Davis
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Cooked Brussels Sprouts And Bacon
"We kids feared many things in those days - werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School - but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.”
--Dave Barry
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Cured Bacon
“I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.”
--Thomas Jefferson
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Hosted A Coffee Tasting
"I don't need you to tell me how f**king good my coffee is, okay? I'm the one who buys it. I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping she buys S**T. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it I want to taste it."
--Jimmie Dimmick as played by Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction
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Eaten The Cellophane Noodles With Crab Meat At Slanted Door
"The bank wouldn't even give me a loan because they thought it was such a stupid idea."
--Charles Phan on starting the Slanted Door
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Eaten Lunch At Skywalker Ranch
"If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from."
--Luke Skywalker as played by Mark Hamill in Star Wars: A New Hope
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Mixed A Martini
"I am prepared to believe that a dry martini slightly impairs the palate, but think what it does for the soul."
--Alec Waugh
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Downed A KFC Double Down
"I'm telling you baby, you always double down on 11."
--Vince Vaughn as Trent in Swingers
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Watched Tom Naughton's 2009 Documentary "Fat Head"
"I have read the papers suggesting that 20 years of low-fat recommendations have not managed to lower the incidence of heart disease in this country, and may have led instead to the steep increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes."
--Gary Taubes, NY Times article What If It's All Been A Big Fat Lie?
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Tasted Wasabi Goat Cheese
"Many's the long night I've dreamed of cheese - toasted, mostly."
--Robert Louis Stevenson
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Eaten The Prather Ranch Hamburger At Serpentine
"You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars."
--Charles Kuralt
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Cooked A Flintstone Chop
Fred Flintstone: I know what you're going to say. I don't know anything about all of this, right?
Wilma Flintstone: Right!
Fred Flintstone: Has that ever stopped me from being an expert before?
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Eaten The Fried Chicken At Foreign Cinema
"A visit to a cinema is a little outing in itself. It breaks the monotony of an afternoon or evening; it gives a change from the surroundings of home, however pleasant."
--Ivor Novello
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Cooked A Dozen Eggs A Dozen Ways
"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."
--Bernard Meltzer
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Made Beef Jerky
Eaten The Meatloaf Sandwich At Fatted Calf
"Hey Mom! Can we get some meatloaf?!"
--Will Ferrell as Chazz Reinhold in Wedding Crashers
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Eaten Pork Kidney
"Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm."
--Ambrose Bierce
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Made A Beer Can Chicken
Baked A Paleo Lasagna
Elaine (grabbing Puddy): What are you doing?
Puddy: It's a long flight, Elaine. I had to get on with my life.
Elaine: By making time with some floozy across the aisle?
Puddy: Yeah, that's right. Well, what's going on over there with you and, uh, vegetable lasagna?
Elaine: This guy? He's an idiot. he doesn't mean anything to me.
Passenger (heretofore known as vegetable lasagna): I can hear you.
--from the Seinfeld episode The Butter Shave
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Eaten Black Chicken
"In China, the Silkie is called wu gu ji — black-boned chicken. It has been prized for its medicinal value since the seventh or eighth century."
--Yu Ying-Shih, retired professor of Chinese and East Asian Studies (Princeton) Read More...
Had Dinner At Flour + Water
Brewed Beer
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."
--Abraham Lincoln
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Cooked Food On A Car Engine
"Back in the thirties, Caddy offered a V16; find one of those and you're set for a whole Thanksgiving dinner."
--Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller, Manifold Destiny
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Eaten The Ginger Snaps From Miette Bakery
Eaten Liquid Nitrogen Frozen Ice Cream
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. "
--Arthur C. Clarke
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Eaten The Kimchee Burrito From HRD Cafe
Made Sticky Rice
"If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers."
--Linda Henley
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Eaten The Clam Chowder At Anchor Oyster Bar
Woodstock: What's the password?
Ace Ventura: New England clam chowder.
Woodstock: Is that the red or the white?
Ace Ventura: Argh, I can never remember that! White.
[door opens]
Ace Ventura: Yes!!!
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Poached Fish
“Finding a white wine suitable for cooking is more of a problem, I think, than finding a red. In whites, you are looking for a full-bodied dry wine that will not sour your sauce. The French Mâcon is my choice, but where do I find a reasonably priced bottle here?"
--Julia Child
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Eaten Korean Fried Chicken At Red Wings
"Korean-style fried chicken is radically different, reflecting an Asian frying technique that renders out the fat in the skin, transforming it into a thin, crackly and almost transparent crust."
--Julia Moskin, food writer for the New York Times
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Defined Myself Through Things I've Never Done
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
--George Bernard Shaw
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Gone To A Russian Restaurant
Eaten The Ma Po Tofu From Mission Chinese Food
Smoked A Beef Brisket
"Ah, will you look at this ah? The boys of Queens are in the market for some brisket!"
--Ari Gold (as played by Jeremy Piven), from the Entourage episode Return of the King
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Eaten The Morning Bun At Tartine Bakery
"The fine arts are five in number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music, and architecture, the principal branch of the latter being pastry."
--Antonin Careme
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Brewed Coffee With A Chemex
“With the Chemex, even a moron can make good coffee.”
--Dr. Peter Schlumbohm, PhD (inventor of the Chemex Coffeemaker)
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Purchased And Assembled A Barbecue Grill
“Grilling, broiling, barbecuing - whatever you want to call it - is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre and throwing on a piece of meat as a sacrifice to the gods of the stomach.”
--James Beard
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Baked A Deep Dish Pizza From Scratch
Grilled Baby Back Ribs
Eaten The Chicken And Waffles From Little Skillet
"The food in Europe is pretty disappointing. I like fried chicken. But other than that Europe is great."
--Donnie Wahlberg
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Gone To A Food Truck Party
"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." --Voltaire
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Made A Bacon Weave
Made Ginger Ale
Ishmael: Okay, you want to bowl for some big money, eh? But I'll lose my entire bonus check because I'm so *bombed*.
McKnight Bowl Bartender: You get that way from ginger ale?
Roy: Nah, he was sniffing glue in the parking lot.
--From Kingpin
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Eaten The Buffet Of Buffets (All Seven In 24 Hours)
“Know how to behave at a buffet. Take a clean plate for a second helping.”
--Marilyn vos Savant
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Eaten The Carnitas At Nopalito
“Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not commit adultery. Don't eat pork. I'm sorry, what was that last one? Don't eat pork. God has spoken. Is that the word of God or is that pigs trying to outsmart everybody?”
--Jon Stewart
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Cooked With A Pressure Cooker
“Pressure pushing down on me, pressing down on you no man ask for.”
--Queen & David Bowie, Under Pressure
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Had A Four Barrel Coffee And Croissant
"Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love."
--Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord’s recipe for coffee
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Made Croutons
"Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with."
--George Carlin
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Eaten The Duck Larb From Lers Ros Thai
Eaten The Super Special #1 At Lucca Delicatessen
"I'm going to marry a Jewish woman because I like the idea of getting up Sunday morning and going to the deli."
--Michael J. Fox
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Made Baklava
"Say what you wish, it’s yours! True dish! How about a little more baklava?"
--The Genie, Aladdin, “Friend Like Me”
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Eaten The Secret Breakfast At Humphry Slocombe
"Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time."
--Charles M. Schulz
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Made A Shooter's Sandwich
Eaten The Tortilla Soup From Chilango
Made Catfish Po' Boy Sandwiches
“The most important thing is that everyone comes from somewhere, and everyone has a story. When you understand the story and where the food comes from, you can cook it with more authenticity and soul.”
--John Besh
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Eaten The Cookies-And-Cream Cookie And Milk From Anthony's Cookies
“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”
--Barbara Jones
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Made Flan
Eaten Lamb Stracotto At Delfina Restaurant
I made a reservation for Delfina about a month ago with the intention of eating the Pork Sugo, another item on the 7x7 Big Eat List. Unfortunately, they weren’t serving it tonight.
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Grilled A Deep Dish Pizza
Today, Patxi’s had a special fundraiser. 10% of all their proceeds would go towards the JCCCNC for the Northern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. So, we decided to buy a half baked deep dish pizza, fire up the barbeque grill and cook the pizza on it.
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Eaten The Tuna Tostada At Tacolicious
One of the benefits of working near the Lombard Gate of the Presidio is its close proximity to the eating spots on Chestnut Street. I had heard about Tacolicious from a few co-workers and I wanted to give them a shot.
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Eaten The Burger And Fries At Spruce
The burger and fries at Spruce is number 38 on the 2011 7x7 Big Eat List. This is by far the fanciest place we’ve eaten this year.
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Made A Shakin' Jesse
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! After the parade and the corned beef and cabbage, it was time to celebrate the actual day.
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Prepared Corned Beef And Cabbage
On Tuesday nights, we have a weekly dinner with friends, and since St. Patrick’s Day is just a few days away, tonight was corned beef and cabbage night.
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Eaten The Breakfast Buffet At Farmer Brown
This morning, J, A, and I had a brilliant plan to go to Little Skillet to pick up breakfast. Due to a technical error by yours truly, I failed to realize that Little Skillet is not open on Sundays. So, Little Skillet will have to wait for another day.
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Eaten The Apple Fritter From Bob's Donut And Pastry Shop
Made A Paleo Friendly Pizza Crust
If you are unfamiliar with the Paleo Diet, it’s “a way of eating that best mimics diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors - lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.”
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Cooked Fish And Chips
Fish and chips are easily one of my favorite foods. So, it’s a little surprising that I had not ever made them before. I got this recipe from Alton Brown. To me, fish and chips should only be made with beer batter.
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Made Cake Pops
At SereniTea House, they make these delicious sweet treats called cake pops. A cake pop is a mini cake truffle in a candy coating, served on a stick (like a lollipop). They are a perfect bite of sweet deliciousness.
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Cooked Honey Walnut Prawns
Chinese New Year was on February 3, but because of a few scheduling conflicts, we were unable to have a family dinner until tonight. I volunteered to make one of the dishes, Honey Walnut Prawns.
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Surprised My Wife With A Four Course Meal
Happy Valentine’s Day! I love my wife, even more than the television program Lost and the San Francisco Giants. Although the naysayers will call Valentine’s Day a Hallmark holiday, I don’t care. It’s an excuse to treat each other extra special, and if you want to, you can make it really fun.
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Waited Tables At SereniTea House
Before I got out of college, I held a few jobs in retail (thrift stores in the Mission, Pier 39 tourist trap, the Apple Store), but one thing that I always avoided was food service. It’s not that the idea of waiting tables was beneath me, I just never wanted to be responsible for someone else’s meals.
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Drunk A Gallon Of Milk In A Day
For years, powerlifters have used the method of drinking a gallon of milk a day (GOMAD) to gain weight. Basically, a gallon of milk is 2400 calories and has a high amount of both protein and fat content.
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Hosted A Fondue Party
The French word “fondue” is the past participle of the verb “fondre”, which means “to melt”. Although the first known fondue was created in 1699 (called “Käss mit Wein zu kochen” or “to cook cheese with wine”), it became a Swiss national dish in the 1930’s as a way for the Swiss cheese industry to increase cheese consumption.
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Eaten The Coffee-Rubbed Pork Shoulder At Range
After tackling the first item on the “7x7 Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die” list, the coffee-rubbed pork shoulder at Range was next.
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Eaten The Roast Chicken And Bread Salad At Zuni Cafe
Continuing from my last post on the “7x7 Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die” list, I decided to try the first item, the roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni Cafe.
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Cooked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
I nabbed this recipe from Chef John Besh’s cookbook, My New Orleans. I knew the cooking time was over two hours, so I decided to do a bunch of prep work the night before.
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Been To A Ham And Oyster Bar
Tonight, J, A, and I decided to go out to eat before going to a friend’s birthday celebration. Dinner was at a restaurant called Hog and Rocks. They call themselves “San Francisco’s first ham and oyster bar.”
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Eaten Roadside BBQ's Pulled Pork Sandwich
This sandwich is #85 on the “7x7 Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die” list. 7x7 (the dimensions of San Francisco in miles) is a local print and web publication here in the City. On the menu, the sandwich is called the Memphis Pulled Pork Sandwich. “Memphis-style” is topped with homemade cole slaw.
Baked A Rhubarb Pie From Scratch
Rhubarb pie is my favorite dessert. Rhubarb has a unique tartness that when combined with a flaky crust and a little bit of sugar tastes absolutely amazing. Now, I’m not much of a baker, but I decided that when it came time for me to do some baking, this was an easy choice.
Judged a Mission Burrito Blind Taste Test
It’s not a secret. I love burritos, especially ones that come from the Mission District of San Francisco. Back in 1996, I worked at two awesome thrift stores in the Mission (called Nu2u and Nu2u2 that’s no longer there) for some time. So, I got to know several taquerias in the area, and I definitely have ones that I prefer to go to over others.
Eaten a Whelk (Sea Snail)
Tonight, my family went to Moonstar Restaurant (a seafood buffet in Daly City) to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. On top of stuffing myself silly with all kinds of Asian cuisine (sushi, fried rice, chow mein, a plethora of fried items, dim sum, etc.) and dessert (chocolate covered rice krispy treats, almond cookies, and cotton candy), J and I noticed this little gem labeled “Whelk w/ Black Bean Sauce”, a slimy looking thing hanging out of a sea shell.
Steamed Lobster Tails
I enjoy cooking, but one of the things I’ve never done before is prepare lobster tails. I found out that it’s not that difficult, and it tastes delicious. J bought a few wild lobster tails from Costco earlier in the day, and I was tasked with preparing them.
Made Fat Sandwiches
For my brother in law’s birthday, the family decided to take a page out of one of the food trucks we saw in an episode of Man vs. Food. If you’ve never watched this program, it’s about a guy named Adam Richman that goes around the country and tries different food challenges at different cities.