Post-Wedding Photo Shoot

Josh and I scheduled a post-wedding photo shoot back in January, setting it for a day during Josh's spring break. We felt that we didn't have much time to take formal photos with the craziness of our schedule and Josh's wish not to see me in my white dress until I walked down the aisle. By the time the ceremony even started, it was full dark outside, so we didn't have the opportunity for outdoor pictures.

We were so lucky with the weather today. There were a few snags on the way to the shoot, the big one being Josh forgetting his wedding ring, but luckily we weren't too far away from home to turn around to get it.

Josh had wanted to take our engagement pictures in Central Park, and I wanted to take them in Grand Central Terminal, and we couldn't agree, so we wound up doing them in Battery Park instead. For this photo shoot, we figured we'd go to Central Park so Josh would get what he wanted several months ago. We started the shoot at Bethesda Terrace, one of the prettiest attractions in the park, and ended with a shoot on a crosswalk outside of the park, with our photographer practically standing in traffic. I didn't realize that the cherry blossoms were already blooming, so we got to take some gorgeous pictures underneath a stand of them.

I think we got some really great pictures. I can see why a lot of couples do their formal portraits before the wedding. It was nice to take our time, and not have to worry about getting to the 120 guests waiting to spend time with us.

I also didn't have to worry about keeping my dress clean for a ceremony, because it was already done!

Chicago: Day 4

Lake Michigan

We started our day with lunch because we slept so late (the bed was so much better than sleeping on a floor, and I needed to catch up on lost sleep from the past couple days). We set out to tackle the two remaining food goals on Josh's list: Chicago hot dogs and Chicago deep dish pizza. First, we headed over to Portillo's Hot Dogs. My cousin had warned us that there would be more condiments than hot dog in a Chicago hot dog, and he was right. A standard hot dog, for less than $2.50, comes with mustard, relish, chopped onions, sliced tomatoes, pickle, and sport peppers on a steamed poppy seed bun. It was a messy meal, but very, very delicious!

After that, Josh and I walked up the Magnificent Mile, which is really just like Fifth Ave in NYC, lined with stores that have way-too-expensive products for sale. We went up to Giordano's for pizza, but the place was PACKED. Absolutely insane. There was no way we were going to wait that long for pizza when we had dinner reservations at 6. So we swung over to Gino's East, figuring it wasn't as popular as Giordano's, and hell, there was a LINE to get INSIDE. So we called in an order to Giordano's and walked around until the pizza was ready (about half an hour because it's so deep). We picked up our small pizza, which weighed a few pounds at least, and brought it back to the hotel to eat. After all that anticipation, we thought it was going to spectacular, but it turned out to be very disappointing. The best part of the pizza was the sauce. The cheese was this very thick layer under the sauce and so bland. The crust was very thick, but not tasty. I thought it was a dough lasagna.




Dinner was at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion. They're not just in Chicago, and actually have locations all over the country. I had the prix fixe, and the best parts were the appetizer and dessert, not that the short ribs were bad, in fact, they were extremely tender and yummy. The ahi tuna sashimi was amazing. It was umami on a plate, sweet and savory and salty all at once. It was so so good. I could have eaten six plates of the stuff. The dessert was a strawberry cheese cake with kaffir lime essence. The crust was amazing, and the cheesecake was so light. Josh had the Alaskan halibut, which came with a vegetable roll. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing spectacular either. I thought my meal was better!



And so ended our culinary adventures in Chicago. We had a really great time, and the city and its people were so incredibly kind. The architecture of the historical buildings we saw was gorgeous (see above). We had the nicest bartenders and servers at all the restaurants we dined in, and we would be happy to eat and visit Chicago again!

Chicago: Day 3

We spent the second half of our trip to Illinois in downtown Chicago, staying at the Hotel Sax in the River North area. The hotel was really great, a boutique establishment with fantastic staff and lovely decor. We booked our room through Priceline and got the lowest price, the "run of the house" rate, which meant that we didn't get to choose what type of room we got. We would be assigned any room that happened to be available. When we got there, we were going to be placed in a room on the sixth floor, but the clerk changed it to a higher floor with a river view without our asking. After a couple days of sleeping on the floor, a real bed was a very welcome sight for us!

We took a walk in the lovely warm weather that afternoon to scope out the area, and walked by Frontera Grill, only to find a line of a at least 30 people waiting for the restaurant to open. Josh didn't want to wait for a table yet because he wasn't hungry. We went back to the hotel, and Josh didn't feel hungry until nearly 7:30, which meant a 2.5 hour wait at Frontera. We put our names down and went to check out Roy's Hawaiian Fusion in the meantime, figuring that if there wasn't a wait at Roy's, we'd go there and try Frontera the next day. The wait at Roy's was an hour, so we went to a great wine and cheese bar/restaurant called Bin 36 in our hotel. They had an extensive cheese list, with prices starting at $2, and a great wine selection. A couple bucks would buy you a tasting of the cheese, enough for two people to split. It's not a lot of cheese, but if you want to try a bunch of cheeses, it's better to stay small and spend your money on a variety. There's a wine market inside the restaurant too, so if you like a wine, you see its bin number in the menu and find the number in the market, where each wine has an information card that you can take with you to remember for the future.




We wound up waiting just under two hours for our table at Frontera, and managed this by taking seats at the chef's bar, which is pretty much a bar in the area where food gets picked up. You don't actually see much cooking, and we did not see Rick Bayless either. Aside from that, our experience was excellent. You get a little dish of assorted roasted/spiced nuts (bottom left pic) and they're so wonderful. Spice, with a little kick, but no lingering burn. We ordered three appetizers, the Flautas de Carnitas de Puercocrispy (rolled tacos filled with Maple Creek pork carnitas, caramelized onions and black beans), serviced with spicy tomato-arbol chile sauce and arugula salad; Trio Trio Trio (a tasting of three ceviches: blue marlin, tuna, and shrimp & calamari); and Tostaditas (warm, just-made tortilla chips) served with two salsas (garlicky three-chile and roasted tomatillo with serrano and cilantro). They were all tasty, and generous portions. We did not come close to finishing the chips, and I wound up taking them back to NYC, and they were still crispy and tasty a couple days old.



For our entrees, Josh had Pato en Mole de Xico: red-chile rubbed Gunthorp duck breast with Xico's famous fruity, dark-chile mole served with Gulf-style white rice (studded with plantain and raisins), quick-cooked spinach, and plantain tostada (pic on left). I had Tacos al Carbon: wood-grilled chicken sliced and served with roasted pepper rajas, two salsas, frijoles charros, guacamole and homemade tortillas (pic on right). It was the first time we had mole, and it was fantastic, a mix of sweet, smoky, and savory flavors perfectly balanced to turn into a totally new taste.

For a celebrity chef who commands lines down the block for tables, the pricing wasn't bad at all. The bill came to $110 for all our food plus the three cocktails we had. We didn't have room for dessert because we were so stuffed!

Chicago: Day 2

Our second day in Illinois started with brunch at a place called Wild Berry. They had these decadent dishes, such as strawberry cheesecake pancakes. I wasn't feeling like having something really sweet, so I got a skillet dish instead. It was really good, and Josh tried to be all slick, telling the waitress to bring him the bill at the end, but everyone heard him and started the "who's paying the bill" argument way early. In the end, I grabbed it and we wouldn't let it go.

After brunch, we took a walk around this large park/nature conservancy. If you're a resident of the county, your party gets in for free, but if you're from outside it, you have to pay $5. It was really gorgeous and sunny that day. However, the sun tired Josh out and he took a nap when we got back to my aunt's place. He napped for about four hours. My cousin and I went to Gurnee Mills, once famed as being a two-mile long outlet mall. It has changed since we last went there, and it's a hybrid of regular mall stores and outlet stores. I got a good deal on sunglasses at the Banana Republic outlet (Josh and I were squinting rather terribly at the park) though.

We went out for Chinese food that night, which turned out to be very mediocre. The regular chef was on holiday because of Easter and they were very short-staffed.

Chicago: Day 1

My cousin's baby girl and a gigantic remote that is probably intended for the near-blind.

Josh and I took a trip to Chicago to visit my relatives and his friend from college. We planned to spend the first two days of our trip staying with my family and the last two days of our trip staying in a hotel in Chicago to see some sights and hang out with his friend while accomplishing some specific food goals.

1. Have a Chicago hot dog
2. Have Chicago-style pizza (NOT from Uno's, because those are all over the country)
3. Have steak from a steakhouse that is local to the Chicago area
4. Have dinner at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill

We wound up accomplishing goal number 3 our first night in Illinois. My aunt and uncle took all of us to The Backyard Steak Pit in Gurnee. Apparently, my dad really liked this place when he visited a couple years ago, saying it was as good as this other place (the Corner House) we used to go to when my relatives lived in Wisconsin.

I ordered a ribeye steak, medium rare, but I think it leaned more towards medium. Josh's hickory-crusted bone-in ribeye steak was perfect though. The steaks did come with accompaniments, and it was a very casual place. I didn't think it was the best steak ever, but it was a pretty good deal for the price.

No excuses

Now that the wedding is over, there is no excuse for my crappy blogging!

I will start blogging more frequently; maybe that should be my New Year's resolution. Currently, I'm in California visiting my cousin and her family, most importantly their new baby girl who is absolutely adorable. I missed out on the blizzard by a day, despite the way I was tempted to accept the offer to take the next flight out for a first class ticket and $600 towards my next flight.

I miss Josh and the kitties though. I can't wait to go home!

A wedding in Flushing

Josh and I attended our friends' wedding last night out in Flushing. The traffic was horrendous. A trip that should've taken only half an hour took an hour and a half. Josh kept saying that we were going to miss the ceremony, but we got there just in time to see the bridal party lining up.... from behind. As they departed, I realized that I should take some pics because there was no one else with this perspective of the bride and her father.

It was my first traditional Chinese wedding banquet for someone NOT related to me, and it was a lot of fun. I loved the ways they incorporated modern ideas, and it was so cool that their dog was allowed to walk around the ballroom during the reception. I do think that our waitperson was looking down her nose at us for not eating all the very traditional dishes. Hey, I did my part, eating double portions of jellyfish and shrimp in Japanese mayonnaise, but I draw the line at abalone.

The bride did stop by our table quite often and when she took a picture with us, she said, "You're neeext!!" and also shared the tip not to let the small projects slip by the wayside, or it will bite you in the butt closer to the wedding. I think I'd better get started on knitting Josh's yarmulke.

Surprise!

I'm engaged!

Now to figure out how to have a wedding without going bankrupt.

SF: Day 6

When we first visited SF a few years ago, we didn't get a chance to visit Golden Gate Park, so this time around, it was a priority on our list. However, it took forever for a bus to come, and when one did, it was too full to even stop, so we wound up waiting for Jessica to get to the condo so we could all drive there. At that point, I was really missing my NYC subways. The park is huge, and we spent a lot of time at the Japanese Tea Garden because a lot of the other sites were closed.




Our last dinner in San Francisco came from a recommendation we got at the farmer's market. Actually, the craft market outside of the farmer's market. We were buying some photographs and the vendor told us about this non-touristy steakhouse that we had to try.



So Jessica, Janet, Josh, and I went off to Izzy's Steaks and Chops, located (appropriately) in the Cow Hollow neighborhood. It's a fun, casual place, definitely not one for hushed voices and dinner jackets. I went with the filet mignon medallions au poivre in a pepper cream sauce. The steaks come with two choices for sides and I went with Izzy's Own Potatoes (potatoes au gratin), and felt guilty about the unhealthiness of my meal, so I went with steamed broccoli as my second. Josh went balls to the wall and got the bone-in ribeye. Unlike me, he didn't care about the guilt factor of the meal, and went with Izzy's potatoes and the creamed spinach.

The steak was fantastic, and those potatoes were divine; I wished there were more. Josh was determined to finish his huge steak, and he did it. However, our plans to visit Crepes-A-Go-Go were thwarted by our overly full tummies.

SF: Day 4

The day started off slowly, as we didn't really have anywhere to be until the evening. Josh graciously allowed me to go shopping in Union Square as I needed a scarf for our evening out. Breakfast consisted of one bowtie from Happy Donut, which claimed to be have the best donuts in SF. While I can't say it was the best donut in SF, I can say that it was one of the best donuts I've ever had. It was so fresh and tasty with the perfect glaze.

After shopping, we made our way down to Fisherman's Wharf so Josh could stare at sea lions for a while. I wandered around the wharf while Josh got his fill of sea lions, and finally hunger brought us to Boudin's Bakery. We ate at the restaurant upstairs, which is pretty pricey in comparison to the street vendors, but then again, it's a beautiful restaurant with nice views of the bay. The soup in a bread bowl is larger here, as it should be, with a cost double to that of the $6 ones outside. But being able to sit down and eat in peace rather than standing in the gutter with discarded half-eaten bread bowls made the cost worth it. Speaking of the leftover bread bowls, I wonder why all the city's homeless don't make their way to the wharf and eat all the sourdough.

After lunch, we snuck into the Boudin museum. Okay, maybe not "snuck," more like there was nobody at the ticket counter and I heard an employee tell someone it's free because there's no tour guide speaking. The museum smells of dough, which is appropriate as Boudin likes to toot its mother dough horn. Every day, bakers use a portion of mother dough (dating back to 1849) to mix in with the day's baking. The mother dough is refreshed with new dough too, so don't be too grossed out.

In the evening, we had tickets for the Giants vs. Nationals at AT&T Park. The stadium is beautiful, but a lot smaller than I'm used to at Yankees Stadium. It's right on the water, and home runs get hit into the bay. I was hoping to see the feat, but none went out that way. The evening was very, very cool, making me very happy that I'd bought a scarf (actually I bought two because I couldn't decide) and worn layers under my long coat. Josh was wearing a hoodie and a fleece jacket and we were still cold, but loving it! Just think: wearing jackets at a baseball game in July and shivering!



Because we weren't that hungry, we shared an order of famous Gilroy Garlic Fries. Click on the picture above to see better, but those fries are liberally sprinkled with bits of chopped garlic. They weren't the best fries I've ever had, but the garlic flavor was amazing. Each order comes with post-garlic mints. We followed that up with Ghirardelli hot chocolates and it was a fantastic night out.

SF: Day 3

We spent most of the day at the Ferry Building, starting with SF's famous farmer's market. I found that the market there is mainly produce, whereas the Union Square farmer's market in NYC has a wider range of items.

I saw varieties of fruit I'd never seen before. We bought a bunch of strawberry peaches (pictured left - white flesh, very sweet) and were tempted to buy these HUGE peaches called sugar giants. However, we would've had way too many peaches to consume. Another cool thing at the market - the fruit vendors would have sample stations and they really made us want to buy everything. After the market, we browsed the shops inside the Ferry Building, buying fancy chocolate at Recchiuti Confections. While Josh was figuring out which box to get his parents, I bought a dark milk bar because I love dark and milk chocolate (even though dark is supposed to be better) and a small package of their fresh marshmallows. I've had a fondness for good marshmallows ever since my first one at City Bakery, where I find the only good thing is the marshmallows. I also whined a little when Josh was buying a big box for his parents and he gave in and bought me one fleur de sel caramel. It was great, just the sweet/savory hit I was looking for.

Lunch was at the San Francisco Fish Company, also located inside the Ferry Building. I had the oyster po' boy and Josh went with the jambalaya. The food was so good and we sat on stools in the small eating area enjoying the vacation happiness. Josh's jambalaya was perfect with chunks of seafood sprinkled throughout and a spicy kick at the end. For dessert, we shared a gelato from Ciao Bella Gelato. One scoop of a Mexican (or was it Aztec?) chocolate and one scoop of strawberry.

On our way back to the condo to unload our bag o' peaches and relax before dinner, we stopped at the artists' stalls outside of the farmer's market. One photographer recommended a steak house, off the tourist path, and it became our mission to eat there during the week. After buying a bunch of pictures that we probably don't need and will probably procrastinate on framing, we stopped at a Peet's Coffee on the way home. We shared a jasmine lime iced tea and I wondered why we don't have Peet's Coffee in NYC. Josh tells me they were edged out by Starbucks. How sad, because Peet's also sells Recchiuti chocolate!


Dinner was at the Slanted Door, one of SF's most popular restaurants. I started with the manila clams with thai basil, crispy pork belly, and chilies. Josh went with the much more subtle sweet white corn and dungeness crab soup, which was surprisingly tasty. I thought it was going to be too mild, especially after I saw Josh's bowl, but behind the mild-mannered exterior, the flavors seem more complex and I wanted to get my own bowl! The clams were good, but the soup was more special.




For our entrees, I got the cellophane noodles with fresh dungeness crab meat and Josh went with squid stuffed with a mixture of cellophane noodles, pork, and maybe mushroom. It's not on the menu anymore, so I can't verify. That's what I get for waiting around to do my vacation blogging. The Slanted Door gets really mixed reviews, but even non-enthusiastic reviews would recommend the cellophane noodles with dungeness crab. Maybe it's the crab again, but this is not a dish that punches you in the face with bold flavors. It tastes really fresh, and little bits of noodle have browned, so you get these layers of flavor. Josh's squid dish was pretty good, but I could sit around eating the cellophane noodles all day.

For dessert, we shared monkey bread with peaches and apricots. The first time I heard of monkey bread was Alton Brown's "House of the Rising Bun" episode. The monkey bread at Slanted Door had the texture of something I'd expect at breakfast, crispy on the outside and chewy/tender inside. It wasn't very sweet, but the natural sweetness of the fruit was more than enough. Josh and I shared my pot of Hong Kong milk tea, which was only $5 and was more than enough for two people. Actually, my lychee-infused black tea, at $2.50, was served in a glass along with a half carafe more! Seriously good deals on the tea!

We had a great time and the bill was surprisingly reasonable considering all the food we ordered. Josh said he'd be more than happy to go back again.

SF: Day 2

For our first full day in SF, I figured it'd be the best day for wine country because we're still on east coast time and it won't be so hard to get up early. When planning our vacation, we thought we'd rent a car, drive out to Sonoma or Napa, rent bicycles, and then bike to wineries from there. Then when you think a bit, you realize it's a bad idea. Riding bikes in the sun, drinking wine, and then having to drive 1.5 hours back to SF after a bunch of tastings? Not smart.

We chose Wine Country Tour Shuttle for our trip to Napa. You are driven to Napa in a shuttle bus and visit four wineries, get a coupon for lunch, and then take the ferry back to SF, avoiding any of the afternoon traffic. You don't have to worry about drinking and driving an can fully relax, unless you have obnoxious tourmates like we did. Fortunately, the idiots didn't get fully obnoxious until they'd gotten a good deal of wine in them. Anyways, the tour group meets at the Ferry Building, which is a temple of deliciousness. Josh and I got there early because we're fast NYC walkers. Our friends told us to take the bus to the Ferry Building because it's over a mile, but we walked it anyways and it wasn't so bad. We had delicious ham and cheese turnovers from the Acme Bread Company. I was eying the pain au chocolat, but I figured I'd need a better base for the wine tastings. The turnovers were so crispy on the outside but tender and flaky on the inside, chock full of gooey cheese and cubes of ham. Every time we went to the Ferry Building after that, I wanted another turnover but I never had another one. I guess it's time for me to start another food quest for a good ham and cheese turnover in NYC.

We started our tour at Domaine Chandon, which produces sparkling wines. It was the most educational part of the tour, as we got to go through the wine making process. When we actually got to the tasting portion of the tour, I really wasn't in the mood to drink because it was just shy of 11:00. I was the only one who disposed of tastings in the "pour bucket." I'm not a very sophisticated wine drinker. I go for white wines of the sweeter variety, like riesling and chenin blanc. The sparkling wines we tasted at Domaine Chandon got drier and drier with each one.

Our second, and favorite, stop was V. Sattui Winery. We were given free reign there, but only had about 1.5 hours for lunch and tastings. The winery is lovely and I wish I'd taken pictures of the grounds, which look like an old Italian farm. The wine tour provided a $10 coupon per person and with that, Josh and I were able to get a lovely picnic lunch with an herb bread, salami, cheese, foie gras mousse, and fruit salad. The weather was slightly warm with cool breezes and the sun was shining; it was heaven. We later did tastings and loved the wine so much that we ordered several bottles to be shipped home.

Our third stop was at Rutherford Ranch, but it was very unimpressive in comparison to Domaine Chandon and V. Sattui because there really weren't any grounds to explore. It was a store and a tasting room, which felt like the living room of a contemporary house. The last winery was Andretti Winery, of race car driver fame. It was gorgeous and we did the tasting in the backyard, which was strung with globe lights, like you could have a huge party at sunset. The grape vines are adjacent to the backyard so we could actually walk amongst them, something we couldn't do at any of the other wineries.

After the ferry ride back to SF, we walked all the way to Fisherman's Wharf for a quick dinner of soup in a bread bowl. On the way over there, we saw Boudin Bakery, home of SF's famous sourdough bread. They have a huge window at the front of the building where you can watch the bread makers at work. You can smell the sourdough when you walk by, and there's also a museum inside, but we were too tired to go that day.