Sunny Table at Stable

Stable Cafe is as groovy as it gets. A beautiful space, once a carriage house, now home to a collective of local businesses; the old hayloft houses an architecture firm. You can eat upstairs or down, or in a small garden outside. Today we had brunch by the window, admiring the cool space and artful plates. JP had the Pomba, which is a huge slice of home-made bread with a hole cut in the middle; said hole is filled with scrambled eggs (which, judging from adorable photos tacked up nearby, come from happy local chickens). Draped across the top is melted Brie and crisp bacon; the bread hole is served alongside, so you don't feel cheated. Me, I had the bowl of oatmeal, which is topped with granola, maple syrup, chopped pecans and bits of fruit: banana, apple, blackberries. It filled me up, and what better to eat in a stable than a steaming bowl of oats? Giddyap.

Plums and Potions

My lady-friend at the Juicy Lucy stand (mentioned previously) saw that I could not decide on a juice. So many to choose from. She advised me to try the Vitality, and, well, Lord knows I need all of that that I can suck down. Beet, carrot, celery, all sorts of fresh-that-day greens, green apple and ginger got blended into the mix. Yes, it was divine. Kick of ginger to counter the sweetness. Almost like a blood transfusion, without the icky needles and stuff.
Not long after, while getting my other vital fluid at Ritual, I tried the vegan plum bread. Kimster and I split a piece, because it looked generous. Little did we know how amazingly moist it would be, how very plump with fruit...Half a plum cake slice is better than none, but two slices, now, that would've been genius.

Twofer

I meant to write about Tuba; really I did. It's been almost a week since I ate there, but they don't have an up-to-date menu posted online, which made it difficult. See, Marc and I got the appetizer platter which has a little of everything. And in the case of Tuba, that's everything Turkish. And it's all vegetarian! Going from memory, there was hummus, thick yogurt, roasted eggplant, white bean salad, dolma and...I think a dip made with fish roe. Maybe more. I know we used the puffy warm bread to mop it all up. It was very satisfying, and while I have no idea why the place is named after a huge brass horn, I like their food just fine.
Tonight I had dinner with the hens, aka Robin and Michelle. They live in the Haight, so to Citrus Club we went (after a detour to Backseat Betty). After sharing a towering pile of garlicky edamame, we each had a nice big bowl of noodles. Mine was the yellow curry with tofu: rice noodles, julienned carrots and cucumbers, peanuts, garlic and a sweet/savory sauce. The creamy coconut milk makes it impossible to stop slurping. I ate most of it, which was too bad for the Haight kids who wanted leftovers...Dudes, if I had 'em, they'd be lunch for tomorrow.

Umami on a Plank

This from our friends at Wikipedia:
Umami, popularly referred to as savoriness, has been proposed as one of the basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human and animal tongue. Umami (旨味^?) is a loanword from Japanese meaning "flavor" or "taste" (noun).^[1] In English, however, "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternative translations.^[2][3] In as much as it describes the flavor common to savory products such as meat, cheese, and mushrooms, umami is similar to Brillat-Savarin's concept of osmazome, an early attempt to describe the main flavoring component of meat as extracted in the process of making stock.
If you want to have your specialized receptor cells excited, swing by Ebisu and order the cedarwood planked salmon with miso sauce. It's listed as a small plate on the whiteboard behind the sushi bar. And while it may take awhile for the kitchen to fill your order, when it arrives, you can revel in its beauty: pink roasted salmon on blackened cedar wood, the top crispy and melting with miso. Sweet, salty, rich and smoky...your tastebuds will rejoice.

What Ales Ya

The best ginger ale can be found at Gracias Madre; this I have determined. On my second visit, I was assured by our perky waitress that this stuff kicks the proverbial ass. It does. Made with lots of fresh ginger, not-too-sweetly sweetened with agave, garnished with a lemon slice: this is the ale of your dreams.
Also, you might want to try the guac, creamy and chunky, served with hand-patted corn tortillas that arrive all warm and cozy in a woven basket. And the roasted butternut quesadilla was the right mix of sweet and savory, topped with vegan crema and pumpkin seeds. My pal Rachel - who also teaches a mean pilates class - was in heaven. Rachel, I'll do hundreds of hundreds for you if we can come back here soon.

A Vegi Goes to Houston

What to eat in Houston, TX, where even the 'vegetarian' food includes chicken? A few places I liked:

La Madeleine: it's an OK place for lunch. I had some decent vegetable soup, and a yummy flatbread topped with hummus, melted feta, olives and red pepper. I mean, they seem interested in offering healthy stuff overall, so kudos for that.

Anvil Bar: no way! This bar is in Houston? It looks like they airlifted it straight outta S.F. What a cool place. Great anvil logo and cool font on the menu, which included some nice bites, pizzas and suchlike. At the end of the bar was an actual anvil...nice touch. My drink was fantastic, altho my dude friend felt ordering it would be emasculating: I say get the Queen Park Swizzle anyway! It's like a mojito, with bitters added, served in a tall frosty glass. Best drink I've had in awhile.

Giacomo's: comfy little Italian restaurant. You order at a counter and sit down, they deliver things like a cheese plate, pastas, salads. We got a great assortment of antipasti: broccoli with ricotta salata, tuna and white bean salad, and ratatouille. My pal's ravioli looked lovely, and we dipped our bread in some decent, slightly peppery olio. Also, the cute dog pictures on the wall by the exit made me happy. Points for that, Giacom-owners.

Firefly's Flaky Filo

Again, Firefly. Filling a need for comforting, elegant food in a cozy spot. Kimster and I sat at one end of the communal table and shared three plates. While the starters were old favorites, our entree was new: a vegan creation of filo stuffed with maitake mushrooms and chard in a creamy, aioli-esque cauliflower puree. It sure tasted buttery, but it wasn't. We both oohed and ahhed alot as our forks shattered the flaky pastry. Spanakopita? IMHO, this was better.