David Rio Chai Bar

I was walking the Fancy Food Show on the second day when my cell phone buzzed.  I looked at the screen and saw "Free shark!"  When I opened the message, it added "go tell David Rio 'Carl the Shark' and he'll give you a t-shirt.' So I raced back to the other hall and said "Carl the Shark." They were surprised to get a response to their tweet so quickly, but Angela, who had to work, was monitoring Twitter so I had a lifeline. 

J.K. and Scott

I received not only the t-shirt, but a whole canister of delicious White Shark Chai and a White Shark Chai Lip balm. Angela and I enjoyed the Chai so much that we paid a visit to David Rio's Chai Bar. More information can be found at David Rio.com.

Tiger Spice Chai

White Shark Chai with a side of
homemade chocolate shortbread shark

Most of the savories are prepared and in a refrigerated case, but Thursday's special is made-to-order Onigiri.

Canisters of chai powder to brew at home

Lots of choices  to take back to the office

J.K.'s Birthday Party at Lovejoy's

The Chocolate Meetup group took me to Lovejoy's to celebrate my birthday. We all share a love of chocolate, and Stephanie and I share a love of owls.

Starting front left:
Mel, Angela, Beth, Stephanie, Candi, J.K.

The Table was very crowded, so we couldn't keep the three-tiered trays for long. But here are two pictures of the Light Tea.

One Sandwich, a Scone with Preserves and
Devon Cream, Fresh Fruit and a Tea Biscuit

Close-up of the Scone

When our waitress heard it was my birthday, she gifted me with a petit four. Chocolate, of course!

As they say in the small-town newspapers, a good time was had by all. 

Pollly Ann Ice Cream

We headed over to Polly Ann Ice Cream after enjoying our pizza at The Pizza Place on Noriegahttps://teatimeadventures.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-pizza-place.html. We haven't been going all the way out there lately because Polly Ann's ice cream is available at Genki Crepes & Mini Mart on Clement Street. Angela knew what she wanted right away–black sesame ice cream on a cone. Genki occasionally has this flavor, but she can't count on it.

J.K. had to read the menu and think about it, but quickly settled on a scoop each of Deep Chocolate and Dutch Chocolate, in a cup.

If you're undecided, the staff will let you taste as many flavors as you want, but, as the sign says,

so be pleasant!

You can also bring your dog, who will get his own, free doggie cone.

Lots more flavors than Humphrey Slocomb!

And plenty of choices of how to order them!

The Pizza Place

Beth's friends Denise and Miriam, who live in the Richmond, recommended their favorite pizza place, eponymously called The Pizza Place on Noriega. The owners are from Boston, so it's not quite New Haven pizza, but it's good nevertheless.

Angela couldn't resist the cherry pomegranate Italian soda. J.K. was content with a frosty glass of water.

We started with a wilted baby spinach salad, which kept our stomachs from rumbling while we inhaled the aroma of our neighbors' pizzas.

A warm spinach salad with mushrooms, red onion, dried cranberries,
 feta, toasted almonds, and Zoe’s bacon in a balsamic vinaigrette

We kept it simple with a margherita pizza. The cheese covered the whole pizza, but this is not the charred, chewy crust you would get in New Haven. The pizza was still delicious, and, of course, those who didn't grow up in New Haven or New York might consider that crust burned.

Tomato sauce, fresh basil, and cheese

We decided to forego eating the last two slices, since we were only a few blocks away from Polly Ann Ice Cream, and our waiter cheerfully packed them up for us to take with us.

Net Neutrality Panel at the Internet Archive

On September 18, Mozilla and the Internet Archive hosted a panel discussion on Net Neutrality, co-sponsored by Mozilla and Sonic and moderated by Gigi Sohn, Mozilla Fellow and former Counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom  Wheeler. Panel members, in addition to Chairman Wheeler, were Representative Ro Khanna, Mozilla Chief Legal and Business Officer Denelle Dixon, Amy Aniobi, Supervising Producer, Insecure (HBO), Luisa Leschin, Co-Executive Producer/Head Writer, Just Add Magic (Amazon), Steven Renderos, Organizing Director at the Center for Media Justice and Dane Jasper, CEO and Co-Founder of Sonic.

You can watch the whole panel here.

Before the panel, there was a reception catered by Bi-Rite Market and La Mediterranee Catering.

Sandwiches on Focaccia Flatbread

Sandwiches on Focaccia

Chicken Skewers

Sandwiches on Baguette Slices

La Mediterranee Party Platter

Panel

Lunch with Beth at Melt

This time, Beth had the BOGO, for MeltBurgers. The best Melt could do for me was medium rare, but that was good enough, considering that the price was right! We both got the same MeltBurger cheeseburger, except Beth's was with sauce and jalapeños, and mine was without those two items. These were too messy to cut in half for a side view, and the sauce doesn't show, so here are some slightly different views. We had to look very closely to figure out which was whose. Not quite as good (to me) as the Kronner burger, but I'm sure that has to do with it actually being cooked.

Angus & Wagyu beef, chopped and grilled with melted cheddar, mixed with jalapeños, pickles, and Melt sauce, on a toasted, artisan bun.

KronnerBurger

KronnerBurger in Oakland is famous for the latest veggie burger, which is reputed to taste exactly like meat. J.K. would like to taste this, but KronnerBurger also is known for serving its real burgers extremely rare, a treat she just couldn't pass up.

There are other sandwiches on the menu, and an extensive beverage list, both alcoholic and non.

 

 Our waiter brought us water with our menus, and left the bottle, so we didn't have to wait for refills.

 Angela chose the fried chicken sandwich, and we got a side salad (arugula ) and a side of fries. Both sides were generous servings.

Burger with fries

Side view of extremely rare burger.

Fried Chicken with Arugula

Eat Real Festival 2017

I helped with the set up again this year for the Eat Real Festival at Oakland's Jack London Square. All the volunteers get an apron to wear as a uniform.

Then I went back on Friday for a late lunch. Jack London Square is easy to get to. It's a short (15 minute) walk from Oakland's 12th Street BART Station. There's also a free shuttle bus that runs about every 15 minutes. I usually walk to the square and take the bus back.

After walking the whole festival and tasting a few samples, I decided on fried catfish from the Roderick's food truck. All their offerings look delicious, but catfish isn't offered very often so I didn't even think about getting anything else.

You can't miss the bright red truck

Fried Catfish and Cole Slaw
What more can I say?

Rare Photo of J.K.

with her eyes open

The Festival runs through the weekend and there will be even more to choose from on Saturday and Sunday. 

Lunch with Beth--Noah's

I usually get a bagel, lox and cream cheese at Noah's, but they sent me a BOGO for egg sandwiches so we decided to take advantage of the bargain. They were out of plain pumpernickel bagels so we got the ones topped with sesame seeds.

We both chose two eggs with bacon, avocado and tomato. Noah's offers a choice of 1 egg, 2 eggs or egg whites only (also one or two).

Side view of cut sandwich

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2017 Writing For Change Conference Banquet at Gourmet Carousel

San Francisco Writers Conference board member Harvey Pawl continued his tradition of treating the Writing for Change speakers and volunteers to a Chinese banquet at Gourmet Carousel on the corner of Pine and Franklin. Several attendees also joined us, for a very reasonable fee.

We started our meal with Egg Flower Soup and Scallion Pancakes.

Egg Flower Soup with Mixed Vegetables

Scallion Pancakes with Mustard

 These were followed by a heaping platter of Chinese Chicken Salad,

Chinese Chicken Salad

 Next was Honey Walnut Shrimp.

Honey Walnut Shrimp

 And Beef with Ginger and Scallions.

Beef with Ginger and Scallions

 Of course there was a large bowl of fluffy rice to accompany the meal.

 Tea Time favorites pea sprouts and seafood in a nest of crispy fried potatoes.

Pea Sprouts with Garlic Sauce

Seafood Birds nest 

 Then Pork with Tofu.

BBQ Pork with Tofu

 A final dish of birthday noodles for good luck.

Birthday Noodles and Vegetables

 And a beautiful display of orange slices to accompany our fortune cookies.

The proprietress told us she has only two more years on her lease, so if you want to experience this restaurant, don't procrastinate!