Lunch With Beth–SAM WO!

Sam Wo is back in business! We're so excited. It's been a long 3½ years without our raw fish salad and B.B.Q. Pork Rice Noodle.

We tried last week, but by the time we got there, they had run out of food and had to close lunch service early. So this week we went earlier, and after a short wait we were escorted to table 8, in the back. With the upstairs dining area closed, this was a perfect  place to sit, away from the bustle of the front and behind the foot traffic of the other tables.

Our Table 

We are partial to duck, so we ordered the duck dry mixed noodle.

Unfortunately, they had run out of Chinese broccoli, so we ordered stir-fried string beans.

 And for dessert, the famous B.B.Q. Pork Rice Noodle Roll! Yes, we know it's an appetizer, but they had run out and we had to wait for the kitchen to catch up with the orders.

The new space is light and modern, and the food is as good as we remembered, which is the most important thing. Tea Time is looking forward to extended hours and, we hope, an extended menu. We'll have to go at dinner next time to get the raw fish salad.

Have you checked out the new Sam Wo yet? What do you think?

SF Swappers Event 10/15

Fall's a swappin'! It's been a while since Tea Time has adventured to a Swap together. SF Swappers slipped this event in just before the craziness of the Holidays begins. Everyone was happy to stand, chat and sample the evening away at the Sports Basement. Let's mosey among the offerings, whaddaya say?

J.K.'s gingerbread cookies–Halloween themed of course! Two big cookies for swapping and mini shapes for tasting.

Also on the offer from J.K. Chocolate cake in super cute shapes.

Homemade chocolates hit the spot, Bon Bons and Bars in several different flavors.

A little spice is nice... there always turns out to be a semi-theme among the goodies on offer and this October we're all ready for our food to feel the burn.

Two flavors of hot sauce–fruit gives the bottles on the left their lovely color.

Do you know about Togorashi? This spice can have a little kick. This version is perfect for onigiri (the food, not the game) and the samples of it sprinkled on rice showed that off to a T.

Perfect homemade tortillas are always a most popular item. Especially if you feature them in a homemade taco as your sample/potluck contribution. Delish.

Hostess Aimée offered up a savory treat of crumbly sesame bars. Tea Time suggests that if you were lucky enough to swap for some that you let them crumble onto your ice cream and then drizzle a little caramel on top. Or you could simply stir them into Aimée's other swappable treat–homemade yogurt!

Angela came back to the swap with big ammunition. Four options!
Left to Right, cashew butter, medium spice salsa, drunken cherries, fresh raw almonds
Sample Sample Sample, plenty of crackers to try them all.

Pickled grape tomatoes? Don't mind if we do... Or if you're feeling cheesy, check out the parmesan dip.

Here comes our theme again, featuring Hot Pepper Jelly. (Feeling smelly? try some homemade soap) Samples of hot pepper jelly were on the potluck table, poured over cream cheese with bread on the side.

So many spreads at this swap, good that there's a bit of bread to take home too.

Who could resist homemade crackers and pimento cheese spread? This was a popular and tasty item which turned into the perfect snack instead of dinner for Angela one night.

A last minute swapper showed up with a big bag of these North Bay Heirloom Apples. Scavenged from his Mom's tree just for SF Swappers.

That's quite a hunk of cheesecake! Or if you're in the mood for savory there's Jalapeno Cheddar Bread, tomatillo salsa or even a fruity nectarine salsa.

Somehow we misplaced our photo of Co-hostess Stephanie's Walnut inspired goodness, but rest assured our resident Chef had an inspired recipe to share. Have you ever attended a Food Swap? The Holidays are coming and this is the perfect time of year for a cookie or dessert swap. Everyone brings a few dozen cookies in bags and everyone gets to take home some of each kind. A perfect mix and match.

Lunch With Beth–Noodles and Company

October 6 is National Noodle Day, and also happened to be Noodles and Company's 20th Anniversary. In honor of the occasion, they held a Lucky Bowl Giveaway, with a peel-off card given with each purchase. Beth and I both won a Free Rice Crispy, to be redeemed on our next visit. Also, there is an online customer satisfaction survey, with a free appetizer code awarded for finishing it.

  

  

A staff member noticed me taking pictures, and offered to take one of the two of us. She even managed to get one of me with my eyes open!

The menu is extensive. Way too big to get a picture of it. In addition to the noodles and their optional protein and other add-ons, there is a choice of sandwiches, soup, salads and appetizers. Of course, we chose noodles for our first visit, but we will be back to try the rest of the menu.

Beth chose the Regular Indonesian Peanut Saute.

 I had the Penne Rosa, and ordered the Small, so I could get a topping of Oven-Roasted Meatballs. It was still a lot of food, and I couldn't quite finish it, although there wasn't enough left to take with me.

UPDATE:

Monday, January 4 was National Spaghetti Day. In honor of the occasion, Noodles and Company offered us a free bowl of spaghetti with purchase of an entree.  This was the perfect opportunity to sample the sandwich menu but not miss out on some noodles for lunch.

The spaghetti was plain, so we got our protein fix from the sandwiches, which come with a side of either soup or salad. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with salad dressing on the side. That's the vinaigrette on the lower left, and dipping sauce for the sandwich on the upper right.

Beth chose the Wisconsin cheesesteak, also with the tossed green side salad. The salad on the lower left is a dressed salad they made for me by mistake, so our waiter brought it to us, rather than throw it away.

With the gifted spaghetti, this was a very substantial lunch!