So, as you may or may not be aware, Ngoc and I recently added Tivo to the list of cool stuff we own. Perhaps unbeknownst to her, I plan on recording Cyclism Sundays along with every televised stage of the Tour de France this year. Dave FTW!!!111 This is sure to spell trouble as I stay up late watching "boring" races into the morning twilight. I better step up my game to soften her for the inevitable blow. Flowers, candy, lots and lots of shrimp for dinner.

Also, I thought I'd entertain you all with a little bike porn. Always classy, a little sassy, enjoy:


Magnesium seatpost clamp. delicious.


One piece drop-outs. tantalizing.


A cold shower. what i need right now.

Wow, a lot sure has been going on lately. Today, Susan and Ngoc and Alfred and I ventured on over to Indian Rock in Berkeley for a late afternoon jam session on some area classics. Also, how can I forget the post-climbing gorge-session at T-Rex. Here are some photos for your enjoyment. Mop up after you're done...







The prize of the day goes to meeeee for solving this desperate sit-start bulge problem which smacked me down last time I was at Indian.

By now you must think that all we do is have fondue parties and hang out w/ JFire. More gratuitous food shots below. Make sure the kids are in bed...




Also, much thanks to Quin and Laura for a great afternoon climbing and some awesome table company at Pizzaiolo

Earlier this week, I received a nifty plant and personalized gift card from one of our vendors at work. I felt pretty special for about 6 seconds until I saw the next round of plants being delivered to the other consultants as well.

However, in light of our upcoming move from one San Francisco office building to another (literally, we are moving across the street, if that even), I thought I'd archive some images of where all the magic really happens. Enjoy, if possible...

O Chame

This last Friday, Ngoc and I went to O Chame over in the Fourth Street artisan district. Michael Bauer sings praises about this quaint Japenese-American fusion restaurant, and he does so with good cause.

So often do contemporary restaurants claim to produce "Asian fusion". So much so that I'm automatically turned off to the restaurant before even giving their food a chance at the mention of such a description. O Chame is a good exception. The menu is short and sweet, with a number of Japanese-ish appetizers, five or six Udon/Soba bowls, and three trademark French-Californian (tm) mains with misc. Asian accents. I recommend steering clear of the main courses, at least for your first visit. Not that I don't have anything against skirt steak or roasted salmon...definitely great choices. However, as an O Chame neonate, you want to graduate first from noodle soup. This, in my opinion, is where O Chame really does things right.

Ngoc and I started w/ the Seared Ahi Sashimi...which, is kind of an oxymoron, since searing fish makes it not-sashimi??? Irregardless, it was delicious, with a wonderful savory-saltiness seared into the bite-sized chunks of premium fish, served on bitter greens w/ a horseradish sauce. A technicolor dreamcoat of flavors. Next, Ngoc and I ordered Udon dishes, with roasted oysters and roasted pork tenderloin, respectively. I can't speak much for the oysters, but the pork was incredibly flavorful, considering that the slices of tenderloin were fully submerged in fish broth. Super smokey, tasting almost marinated. Impressive. For dessert we tried their wagashi and caramel balsamic gelato, which, as it sounds, was made w/ caramel and balsamic vinegar. The combination hits you awkwardly w/ an olive and corked-wine (that sounds ridiculous, i know) sourness at first that deliciously melts away into smooth caramel. It took some getting used to, needless to say.

Dopo

Been a while since you've last heard from me. Summary of my life in 12 seconds: work has been reeeally busy, I *almost* lost my jacket last night, and Ngoc and I hosted an uber succeful poker night last Friday. Now that all that is out of the way...

Yesterday evening (a Tuesday, no less!), Ngoc and I not-so-randomly decided to venture out to Dopo in Piedmont. I say "not-so-randomly" because earlier in the evening I had discovered that I had left my jacket in the Ironworks spin room on Monday night, and, defeated and discouraged that I'd never see it again, decided I needed some comfort food.

Dopo, in case you've never heard of it, is Italian for "Awesome". Off-continent-only wine list, along with good firsts, seconds (pasta exclusively), and Neopolitan style pizza.

Ngoc and I rang up a bill that included (1) their Pork Trotter Terrine, thinly sliced pork pate that had been pickled for a few weeks and borderline dredged in straight olive oil, (2) Monterey Bay Squid stuffed with artichoke puree and served atop watercress drizzled with fabulously delicious aioli, (3) their Pancetta Pie w/ black olives, and finally (4) a dessert double-feature consisting of Espresso Panna Cotta and almond Cannoli.

I think Ngoc and I had a slight difference of opinions on the Terrine, suffice it to say that we're thankful it came first and not mid-meal. The Squid hit perfect scores for us both, combining creamy, savory, and bitter flavors quite well, not to mention cooked to perfection. The pie, well, we liked the pie. It was one of our only options w/ some sort of animal-based topping, which is really a necessity for us. Lets just say that Pizzaiolo edges Dopo out in this category ever so slightly. I could have wished for a slightly chewier and sweeter crust. The desserts did nothing less than firmly convince us that Italians know what the fuck they're doing when it comes to sweets. Oh that Cannoli!!!

This weekend and next weekend is the Russian River Wine Road's annual Barrel Tasting. Due to the great weather and the fact that this event is absolutely ridonkulously awesome, we made the trip up today with Dan'l, J-Fire, Ngoc, and Dan'l's friend Julie.

So we promptly roll up to Passalacqua at 11:15, the quintessential first-stop every year (due to their massive amounts of scrumptuous (and free!) paella, and are shocked to find out that they are no longer participants in this year's barrel tasting! Instead, they're charging $20/head at the door for the same old barrel sample, tasting room, and paella table goodness. After a little more investigation, we discovered that this unfortunate turn of events was due to last year's massive turnout and uber-crowd, which all of us who attended last year could attest to. Luckily for us, they were exempting the entry fee for wine club members and customers who had recently bought a bottle of Passalacqua wine. It just so happened that last time we were in Dry Creek, I picked up a bottle of the '04 JR Passalacqua Cab, which saved us a cool $100, collectively. The day was saved, and massive amounts of paella were had by all (3 helpings for Dan'l!)







After chilaxing on the deck at P for a healthy hour or so, we jammed over to Ridge Lytton Springs winery. This spot turned out to be more of a snoozer than anything else, even though I waltzed in with high expectations. If nothing else, the precariously stacked barrels drew a couple oohs and aahs from our group.







We left Ridge after only 45 minutes or so, bound back for Dry Creek Valley proper. However, on the way back, we passed an unknown winery and spotted a huge cloud of BBQ smoke hovering over the front lawn! I slammed on the parking break and fish-tailed into the crowded parking lot, dodging infants and cripples, hungry for a slice of that BBQ. Mazzocco turned our to be quite a find! In between half-guilty return trips to the grill, we sampled some of the most delicious Zinfandel I've had in a while. And I don't mean the generic "delicious", I mean the I-could-drink-two-bottles-of-this-on-a-cool-Sunday-afternoon-and-still-want-more type of delicious. This was thick and luscious with just enough spice and not very dry at all. I ended up grabbing a bottle of the '05 West Dry Creek Zinfandel, a bottle that will hopefully be enjoyed after sitting in our wine rack for at least a year.







Finally, it was time for the mandatory Bella visit up at the top of Dry Creek. Crowds were much more under control compared to last year, and we didn't have to wait in any crazy line to get our paws on Zin's fabulous pulled pork and grits (although the semi-nazi'ish food ticket system they're now working was kind of lame. No seconds!). All the oldies-but-goodies were on the tasting menu, including both Lily Hill and Big River Ranch Zinfandels ('06 and '05, respectively). We rounded the day our with a particularly sweet pour of the wonderful Late Harvest Zin.







Thanks again to all for a wonderful time!

All driving courtesy of this guy: