I saw this interview mentioned in passing in a tweet by Michael Pollan. Clicking through, I was expecting something a bit fluffy and pretentiously foodie, but whoa! I was really surprised by David Chang’s depth and honesty in this interview. He covers a few of my favorite topics: failure, loyalty and risk. Oh, let’s also not forget love, truth and honesty. Wow, he’s worse than Dear Sugar 🙂
Seriously though, it’s well worth 17 minutes of your time. Watch it all!
I figure since I used to blog about food all of the time it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention Thanksgiving.
I had two Thanksgivings. One at work, and one at home. OH BOY
At work I decided to make collard greens and sausage. It was potluck style, and since there were so many people, the spread was really magnificent. It was fantastic, but finishing the rest of the day’s work after that meal was difficult.
Not to be outdone, the 14th street crew whipped up quite a frenzy on Thanksgiving. This year my Thanksgiving family was my roommates and Ryan. Everybody made a dish or two.
My roommates relaxing with Astor.
Ryan made his first roux for the mac and cheese. He was pretty nervous, but in the end it all worked out. It’s kind of hard to mess up cheese.
I made roasted garlic mashed potatoes and collard greens (again). They were very quick dishes, so I was back to work while I waited for lunch… Yes, I worked on Thanksgiving. Yes, I know that’s sad.
A bit of the spread. Simple salad, cheese plate, mashed potatoes, collard greens, truffles, and persimmon pie.
Patti grated some fresh nutmeg for our vat of homemade eggnog.
Mulled wine and green bean + bacon casserole. Note: we mulled the wine with the same batch of mulling spices I bought from Trader Joe’s a year ago. It’s a total value for like 4 or 5 bucks. Highly recommended!
Brussel sprouts and bacon
Oh look, it’s another pie. This time it’s custard.
Cornish game hens, mac n cheese and stuffing. So much stuffing.
Everything was pretty smashing, but the real standout was Joseph’s green bean casserole. It didn’t sound appetizing at first but WOW. So savory. That Julia Child knows her casseroles. Also- I loved Patti’s persimmon pie. Normally I hate persimmons because I just can’t seem to find a good one, but Patti’s pie was amazing.
And of course, the other Thanksgiving tradition: rest.
I went to Los Angeles to see my folks a few weeks ago, and all in all it was a pretty good trip. Normally trips to LA overwhelm and depress me (being surrounded by 5-20+ kids at all times will do that), but this time I stuck to the essentials- good food and honest conversation with my family. I managed to have a good time in spite of myself.
First up, pork and pumpkin dumplings and the mysterious sounding “BEEF ROLL”. 
My uncle said that beef roll was kind of like a Chinese burrito, which is why I wanted to try it. As you can see, it’s not quite true. I mean where’s the aluminum foil? It was still incredibly good, however. I am interested in trying SF variations if I can find them.
The beef roll was followed up by a stop at Half and Half for some pudding boba. 
The portions are approximately the size of my cousin’s head.
Later that night my mother and I went to President Thai. She’d read about it in the paper. I was impressed that she’s keeping up with the (non pho-related) food scene. She is so restaurant obsessed.
Tom yum, of course.
Oops.. it’s a papaya salad, except DEEP FRIED.Not what I was expecting when I ordered this.
These are some really great chili paste clams. 
The next morning my grandmother made banh xeo, like she normally does on “special” occasions. I saw her make the batter, and she used Heineken??? Odd, no? I’m definitely going to ask for the recipe.
My aunt wanted to take me to Huntington Library, followed by a swim at CalTech (er… I don’t have any pictures of that).
Don’t I look just like a bonsai?
Then I had my mom’s pho for lunch…
And a Brazilian guarana drink for the drive to the airport!
I am almost looking forward to going back to LA for the holidays, if it means I can have pudding boba and beef rolls again.
When I heard the buzz about Sushirrito a few months back, I knew I had to check it out. Still, the lines were said to be legendary. I bided my time. Today I met up with Tristan for a quickie lunch, and man, the lines are still brutal!
We were in line at least 30 minutes waiting just to order, and we ended up getting the same thing: the Crispy Ebi roll. From the website:
Crispy Ebi $10.50
Crispy Tempura Shrimp, Melted Pepperjack Cheese, Shredded Crab, Plantain, Avocado, Cucumber, Green Onion
Sauce: Sriracha Crema
Sounds yummy right? I got mine with a side of rice chips and chimichurri sauce (the green stuff).
I gotta say, I’ve heard mixed reviews about the service and the food, but I enjoyed my roll. It really hit the spot and filled me up without being way too heavy. It is in NO WAY a burrito, like say the Curry Up Now Tikka Masala Burritos, or the Korean Burritos at John’s Snack and Deli. It is just a giant awesome sushi roll that likes to fall apart.
So, not worth waiting 30 min in line for, but that is easily sidestepped I hear if you come early or late. Also the sushirrito is perhaps not worth 10+ dollars, but hey, where else are you going to get this? It’s so San Francisco it hurts.
I really love Luna Park and its silly drinks and solid comfort food so I thought I’d throw this coupon out there for my San Francisco friends.
For the next 24 hours, Yelp is offering $50 of food for $25! Spend it on mini corn dogs, vegan cassoulets, smores, or you know, you could blow it all on fancy cocktails.
