Norcal, my love, how many miles will I drive around for you?

Alright, I left Los Angeles on Tuesday @ 111,000 miles and today is Thursday and I'm already @ 111,600 with $9 dollars in bridge toll receipts already with 3.5 days to go. There are still trips planned across the bay with St. Patties Friday in SF @ O'Reilly's in North Beach, sleepover @ Mell's, San Tung Chicken Wings andpartying at Medjool for Lance's Goodbye SF, Hello LA festivities on Sat Nite, seeing childhood friend Sandy on Sunday as well.

This "relaxing" week off in the Bay is much overdue - last relaxing vaycay was in November to see the Cactus Gang in AZ. This week will provide a glorious preview of life to come in the near future as big plans are pending and waiting to be solidified in the coming month. Everytime I venture up here I fall in love again with my baby, Norcal. Norcal is like that old love, maybe that first love that you can't help but want to revisit...then again love for me is a lil foreign at times, as those of you that know me best are very clear knowing. Maybe making a food comparison would be better? Norcal is like cookies'n'cream ice cream or red velvet cupcakes from Toast or butterfish from anywhere or blue crab handrolls from Echigo - so good, you wanna go back for another scoop, cupcake, slice, roll and then another. (Note to self: all the foods I listed are actually found in LA....I have a LOT to learn about the Bay, shame shame.)

There are many reason why the Bay is so great but I love my Socal as well....so don't yall worry out there - I love it all. I'm equal opportunity when there's good food =)

To recount some of the gastro-related delights is a must, so lemme get on with the play-by-play:
Tuesday night Ramen in San Mateo's 3rd St. Area - FORGETTTTABLEEEE
Tuesday night 2nd Dinner Stop in SF @ Zushi Puzzle(?)
I dragged Kat along with me to meet up with 3 fabulous girls of the old school 2651 Ellendale Place (our old apt when all of us went to SC) after ramen. It was incredible to see Mell, Amelia and Vicky all together - a mini reunion of sort. We did the usual talk shop at 110 mph, shooting off various topics at the same time yet understanding everything. I love it! Amelia, a med student in NY, was over in SF since her fiance was here for a conference - she just found out today she's be going for her residency at LA Children's Hospital.....we are all verrry happy for her since she'll be back on the West Coast once more!! Back to the dinner, we all discussed the game plan for Friday- St. Patties @ O'Reilly's and all the suspects that will be showing up to have fun, drink or be setup with Mell or myself. HAHAH. It was a hysterical discussion which I will save for those that were at the dinner on Tuesday.
Wednesday Lunch: GOOGLE CAMPUS LUNCH
Recap: Fraud Specialist Mell welcomed heffers Libbi, KittyKat and Jess to eat at not just ONE cafe on this huge campus but two. As Mell said, "Why deny ourselves?" A couple obstacles had to be conquered before food could be poured down to our bellies - the fun NDA forms we had to sign at the vistor's lobby. Only in Silicon Valley. While waiting for Mell we ooooogggled at the Snack Room - complete with espresso machine servin illy coffee, a million snack bins, health snacks, cereal and everything else under the sun. We Noted To Self: Ask Mell to ransack us some GOODIES before we leave.
First Cafe Stop: Pacific Cafe - serving slow-roasted trip-tip with maui onions, ox tail kim chee soup, ahi poke, seaweed salad, assorted boxed sushi, guava, and a pina coloda fountain - virgin of course. Oh, also a fully-stocked fridge filled with Asian and Hawaiian drinks - all the pass-o-guava for you til your bladder bursts in tropical delight! Oxtail kim chee soup was fab, ahi poke was lovely - all them chunks of fresh fish...mmmm....as we paced ourselves knowing we had other places to go, we checked out the scene -- lotsa intellectual folk, socializing, talking about logarithmic problems, server issues, etc. ---just kidding, I had know idea what they were talking about. Onto, stop 2.
2nd Cafe Stop: Charlie's Cafe -- I believe 5 ethnic cuisine bars - we picked chicken pesto pizza, pepper and goat cheese pizza, beef tenderloin, vegetarian chow fun, roasted chicken, broccoli and one double chocolate chip cookie. Faves? THE BEEF TENDERLOIN as did the CHOW FUN. Mell was sweet enough to tell us, "This is how everyone gets the GOOGLE -25." Google-25 you ask? Similar to the Freshman-15 you get in college, 25 is the avg. amount of weight you put on thanks to the organic, natural, yummy food that is cooked for you twice a day if you work @ Google. I believe her - the food is so good and diverse, how could people not eat it?!
While we noshed we checked out the HOT MEN of Google.....mmmm....I'll just say, I'm sure it was just an off day or all the hot ones already ate. Mell - if you're reading this, I'm sure all the Hot Ones were just shy that day cuz they knew we were gonna be there! But nonetheless, we love everything google so we appreciate all the folk that are hard at work each day and night to bring us great user-friendly products! So lotsalove for the Googstersssss...holllllaaaa!

Wednesday Dinner: Michael Mina @ the Westin St. Francis Hotel
Recap: OMG. Yes it was everything Libbi told me and more. Libbi has been chums with Chef Michael for a few months now and we've heard many many many times how she has been treated to such amazing gastrodelights at the Michael Mina restaurant. Since the sisters are such food whores, we've been waiting patiently for our at-bat. This trip was my at-bat and whatta grand slam it was! On each of these at -bats, there is a ritual preparation involved- we execute a time honored tradition, a ritual practiced by true female foodies! The name of our clandestine operation: Boobs for Food. What is Boobs for Food? It starts with a 6pm costume change (5:30pm in our case because we had to drive from Mtn. View to SF in traffic for a 7pm rezzies) in the office ladies room at your chosen 9-6 workplace, followed by opening your bag of tricks that you packed the morning of the event - we busted out Lib's curling iron, our makeup, junk in the trunk jeans and sophisticated boobie tops. Then it's all hands on deck with the pedal to the metal as you primp to the 9's . After that's all done, it's smooth sailing to livin' large at your choice feeding ground - ours happened to be Michael Mina. So, don't be jealous - we WORKED for our free foood. In a nutshell, please remember, the breasts that show up at any dinner do not only have to be those of the duck and free-range chicken persuasion. So, cockadoodle-doooo, BRING IT! =)

The dinner consisted of many glass of Krug champagne, Hanger One Vodka Tonics, caviar parfait, lobster risotto, black cod in consomme, kurobuta pork, a triple cheese plate and bonbons!!!! Yes, peoples, wipe that drool off your keyboard! Not to mention, the bill was taken care courtesy of one lovely chef. Thanks a million, MM!!!!!

Another highlight of dinner was meeting a family of men en route to the ladies room. Turns out, these gentlemen do exactly what I've been wanting to do for a longggtime - PR for food. The dad and his two sons (all looking young and to the 9's) have a PR firm for restaurants (fyi: Rivera PR) and it reminded me back to a conversation I had with my older sister last week about pursuing food PR together as sister's as a side venture. Of course, our conversation last week was wishful thinking yet this week I meet a family team involved in Restaurant PR.... meant to be? Possibly.

The Norcal trip continues and I will be back soon with more pictures and more stories for you to live vicariously through.

Lust often. Love Food Always.

The following are Memorable Quotes so far on this trip (they did not all come out of my kosher mouth):

"Straight-edged razored balls is required. Don't know what that is? Ask my ex-boyfriends."
"He looks better than you described."
"Let's call it Blue Balls Blogging when someone blog's with only a phrase like, 'I had the worst day.'" (In reference to bloggers who will only blog that and keep you waiting for more but more is not provided. i.e. no happy ending)