red is the color of the day!

Red. Rouge. Pula. Rojo. In any language, this color brings out the fire in us.

art? really? ugh?

The phone rang the other night and it was from SF MOMA telling me that it's time to renew my membership. This woman, who was either drunk or drugged, slurred her way through her script. I let her do her spiel and she even pretended to look at her 'computer' to check when the last time I visited the museum was. After a few minutes, I cut her off and told her that I would not be renewing at this time and hung up the phone. Why should I? The last time I went there they had an exhibit that really incensed me even to this day. I forgot who the artist was but I distinctly remember several pieces that had basic 'drawings' that one expects from a pre-schooler to do. There was one of a squiggly line about three inches long drawn with a red pencil and somehow highlighted in yellow and another with a piece of thread somehow attached to sheets of paper with periods on them. I clearly understand it was a 'period' that the artist was at that time but was it worthy of a large retrospective?

Is this art?

what a difference a day makes

It's been so beautiful that I've been doing lots of walking lately. California Street (between Van Ness and Fillmore) have very beautiful Victorian houses and an ultra-interesting house.

here comes the rain again...

Today's forecast calls for 60% chance of rain. It was really nice to have sunshine all around and to be able to open windows and doors. I was hoping to do a bit of gardening but if it rains this weekend, I will have to forgo it. Our garden is looking like a jungle!

painted doors

I wonder if I can find door #3.

dining out big time

DISCLAIMER: I borrowed these pictures from other sites.

Late Friday afternoon, Emmanuel and I went to Zuni Cafe for lunch. The nice thing about Zuni is that they're open all day. The last time we were there, we were utterly disappointed with the food. The aioli that they used for the burger was crap - it was oily and there was not a hint of garlic. This time though was a totally different experience. We started with some oysters and the endive salad. The burger was astounding and the pork chop was moist and juicy. We both noted that we really enjoyed our meal this time.

Saturday evening, we went to La Provence with a couple of friends. We shared three appetizers: La Pissaladière (A savory Provençale pie, garnished with caramelized onions, bell peppers, olives, along with (or without) anchovies), Rillette de Canard (Home made duck pistachio “rillette” with fig reduction & marmalade), and Piquillos farcis á la brandade (Skinless sweet pepper, stuffed with cod “brandade”served with a cold yellow pepper coulis). For entrees, we had Daube à la Provençale (Red wine beef stew, perfumed with orange zest, garlic, onions, olives, carrots, and thyme), Lapin Roti au miel de lavande (Roasted rabbit with a lavender honey, rosemary jus and Noilly Prat reduction), and Filet de porc à la Niçoise (Grilled porc filet mignon marinated in “Espelette” pepper, served sliced with a black olive sauce). The daube was excellent served with a few sautéed vegetables; the rabbit was a tiny bit dry but it's as expected. What they do best are the sauces. The sauces that were served with each dish were really well executed. As an added bonus, the owner poured us some sherry after dinner.

Tuesday night was going to be a night of debauchery that the incessant rain could not stop. My friend Nelson (whom I have not seen in awhile) met me at Martuni's for a couple of Mandarin Orange cosmos before heading out to Mecca. We shared TONIGHT'S OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL with ASIAN PEAR MIGNONETTE and 14-HOUR SMOKEHOUSE SPARERIBS with CRISPY GARLIC. Shared is a strong word as Nelson ate most of the oysters and I ate most of the finger-licking good ribs! We both had the same entree: GRILLED LIBERTY FARMS DUCK BREAST with SWEET PLANTAINS & SPICY LENTIL, JAPONICA RICE. The lentils and plantains combo was unexpectedly good. Funny, I don't remember any rice. (I wonder if the bottle of French wine we drank impaired our memory, as well as the cosmos beforehand and the cognac afterwards.)

Earthquake Refugee Shack

Throughout the monh of April a free exhibit can be viewed on Market Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. These shacks were built to house refugees of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The rent was $2 a month and the shack had no toilet, kitchen or insulation.

graffito: Austin Alley

Pretty funny especially since we live in a city overcome with Starbucks.

ring, ring, ring went the trolley

I cringe when I hear people refer to a cable car as a trolley. This to me is a cable car

and this is what I call a trolley.

This trolley is originally from Milan and this line is more commonly known as the F-Line which runs on Market Street. The cablecar has two lines, the California and the Powell Street lines.

blue skies

The sky this afternoon reminded me of a Magritte painting. The luminescent clouds against the blue skies.

shoot that bow and arrow

This was taken on the bus crossing the Bay Bridge. Everytime I see this I'm reminded of a song from the '80s: Poison Arrow by ABC.

Tour Eiffel

It's sad that the tower was closed yesterday due to protests.

This was taken in October 2005. No wonder they call Paris the city of light.

april shopping bring may flowers

Saw these at www.out.com and I especially like the LV bag. The guy's not bad either.

17th Floor

Went to my dentist yesterday at 450 Sutter and this is what I was looking at while waiting. You can see Coit Tower in the background and the tip of the Transamerica Pyramid building in the second picture.