Labor Day Lunch with Herrick

Herrick and I get together for a meal at least twice a year, usually to celebrate our birthdays, but this year has been a little off-kilter, so we met on Labor Day for lunch in the Mission, at Taqueria Pancho Villa. This taqueria is not the fanciest in the Mission, but it is arguably the best. Everything is fresh and cooked to order.

There are house-made tortilla chips and salsa to keep the aroma of previous orders cooking from driving you insane with hunger.

Chips!

And then there's your meal! Herrick likes spicy food and ordered the Hot and Spicy Prawns. His meal arrived before mine, so I swiped a prawn. And regretted it. Do not order hot and spicy here unless you mean it!

HOT & SPICY PRAWNS al chile de arbol

I like my food spicy but not hot. I ordered the snapper dinner, which came with guacamole instead of avocado slices. I don't know about substitutions, but the slices are available as an extra.

HUACHINANGO SNAPPER a la plancha

As you can see, the portions are huge. The staff cheerfully provided a substantial container for the leftovers. The menu is extensive, so check it out before you go. You order at the register, pay for your meal, then sit down and a waiter will bring your order to your table. There's usually a line, which gives you a chance to peruse the menu on the wall, but it moves quickly.

Lunch at the Beach Chalet

Tea Time had such a good time at the Pokemon crawl that we decided to enjoy another Pokemon outing, next to Ocean Beach, where there are lots of Pokemon to be captured. We started with lunch at the Beach Chalet, which is more expensive than our usual haunts, but well worth the expenditure due to delicious food, conscientious service and a classic San Francisco view of Ocean Beach. This lunch adventure included a big crowd of Poke Hunters outside the restaurant who always keep the lures on so the critters are attracted to the area.

After catching some critters we wandered upstairs to the Beach Chalet and even managed to catch a table for two next to the window! We perused the menu and decided to start with an heirloom tomato appetizer, which was a so good, it attracted some attention from our prey. (Eventually we'll get over taking photos of Pokemon in our food, but for now it's fun.)

Voltorb eyeing our appetizer

The bar had Margarita mix but no plain lime juice for her drink of choice, the Tequila Gimlet, so J.K. ordered this excellent Margarita, while Angela enjoyed a tall glass of their signature Pacific Punch cocktail. Tea Time Tip! Happy Hour at the Beach Lounge and Bar is M-F 3-6 and 9-closing. A great place to check out after dinner since most restos host happy hour only before the dinner hour.

  

J.K. ordered the lobster roll for her main course, but although our waiter told the kitchen she didn't want mayonnaise, they went ahead and served her a Massachusetts-style roll, made by mixing the lobster with mayo. In Connecticut, where J.K. grew up, lobster rolls are soaked in butter. Unfortunately, all the lobster at the Chalet is mixed with mayo in the morning, so while the kitchen made her a tuna tartare sandwich, the waiter brought her a bowl of New England claim chowder. Which meant Angela didn't have to share her soup in a bread bowl. Yes!

Tuna Tartare Sandwich with house-made potato chips

We were pretty full after all that food, but we couldn't resist the chocolate castle for dessert. Angela first tasted this delightful dessert at a Dark Dining event hosted by Taste TV. Tea Time always has room for Chocolate! The view at the Beach Chalet is also a classic. Ocean waves and a sandy beach just across the highway, so if it's a good day for walking you might even hatch an egg (or just get in some exercise).

All in all it was a great day for lunch and Pokemon hunting. The lures are almost always on at the Park/Beach Chalet and we overheard some hunters say it's even popular with the 2am crowd who can't sleep. You'll surely be able to be entertained, even if you're not into Pokemon Go. This little Squirtle is ready to share a smile and maybe even leftovers from the Beach/Park Chalet if you're willing.

Squirtle hanging from a car bumper

Fisherman's Wharf Pokemon Crawl

We're very sorry we haven't been posting lately. We got caught up in the Pokemon GO craze and although we haven't yet caught 'em all, we're giving it the old college try. J.K. has upped her walking to 6 miles a day, and hunting Pokemon makes the walking a lot more interesting.

Tea Time decided to sign up and participate in the Fisherman's Wharf Pokemon crawl on July 28. For three hours, all 70 poke spots at the Wharf had lures going, and many businesses had special offers for Pokemon trainers. Plus if you went to the visitors information center you could get a free Pier 39 coupon book. Tea Time started the evening with drinks and half-price appetizers at Hard Rock Cafe, a tourist draw at Pier 39. There were lots of other options, but we picked the Hard Rock because of timing and taste.

There were a LOT of Magicarp around.

Angela opted for a signature drink, a pink lemonade and vodka delight, while J.K. stuck to her usual Tequila Gimlet, which was very popular with the Pokemon inside the Cafe.

We didn't anticipate the enormous size of the appetizers, so we ordered two, nachos and potato "skins." Another table saw the size of our order and decided to order just the nachos! After we noshed down and checked the time (still thinking we *might* make it to Ben and Jerry's in time to cash in on their Pokemon GO coupon) we went walking. Or training. Either way we caught a lot of those little guys!

Close-Up of Potato Skins

Close-Up of Nachos

We were well fueled by our giant appetizer meal at the Hard Rock (donating the leftovers to someone else) so while we did walk around the pier and then down the street past B&J's, we didn't stop in for ice cream after all. The wind started picking up and it got a bit chilly so we decided to head to our respective homes after it got dark. Tea Time Pokemon Tip: This Halloween season you can catch a lot more ghosts and get extra candies! Don't know what the heck we're talking about? You can download the app. Or just read about it online. Either way fuel up and get out for a walk. Winter is coming, so let's enjoy our time outside now!

an Oddish

An amazing number of Magikarp!

P.S.  A Warning: if you do download the Pokemon GO app, you may find you're addicted. Just ask J.K.

Connecticut J.K., Pokemon Hunter

AfternoonTea with a theme at Charles Chocolates 4/16

We arrived early and had time to check out (and sample!) the chocolates before the tea began. Charles Chocolates always features a fun, seasonal "chocolate box." Yes, the box is created out of chocolate too! Delicious. As far as Tea Time can gauge, Chuck designs a new box for whatever holiday is coming up, then the old ones go on a slight discount. When you attend their afternoon tea, you also get a discount on cafe goods including bars and confections. Score!

 

Chocolates In A Chocolate Box

J.K. couldn't resist the Chocolate Covered Matzah. This is so much better than the supermarket brand! Our honorary Tea Time member Emily bought chocolate to take to her Mom that afternoon. It was time for sweet treats for everyone!

After we browsed the cafe and shop we went to sit out on the patio. The heat lamps are helpful, though the sun was out and it wasn't too windy the day we enjoyed our tea. We spent the time before tea chatting and our tummies were rumbling by Twelve. (Our one suggestion is to have water glasses and carafes on the tables–unless they can get the tea out faster. That would be most ideal.) We didn't get an announcement that tea would be starting late, but we started seeing platters arrive in front of hungry guests at about 12:15. Chef Vijitha gave us a verbal description of the menu, so we ate with our eyes before digging in with our forks, knives and hands. We have a bit of description from Chef Vijitha herself with the appropriate pictures.

"Masala Chai is an integral part of every Indian's day. Chai means Tea in Hindi, the most popular language of India. Since it is flavored with spices, it is called Masala Chai." Angela sometimes finds Chai flavored too strongly for her taste, but our group agreed that this tea was smooth and delightful. There are many types of Chai, so keep shopping around until you find one that fits your palate.

Steamy cup of Indian tea flavored with
cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and fennel seeds

Cheers to Chai!

Here's the lovely platter of Afternoon Tea we were served at this Guest Chef event.

"Sundal is nothing but boiled beans/lentils/legumes seasoned with South Indian spices and coconut. Marina beach is the second longest beach in the world and it is situated in Chennai, Vijitha's home city. The beach is popular for its food–the fire roasted corn or spicy green mango slices or sundal or bhaji. For this sundal, the Chef paired boiled green peas with green mango, carrots and cucumber along with South Indian spices, curry leaves and shredded fresh coconut. This dish truly captures the essence of Chennai."

Marina Beach Manga Thengai Sundal 

  

Iyengar Bakery Style Vegetable Puffs
Caramelized onions + potato+ paneer baked over puff pastry 

"Kara Paniyaram with Chutney. Rice dumplings are  seasoned with onions, curry leaves, ginger, cashews and mustard seeds. It will be made in a paniyaram chatti (appe pan)."

"Masala Vadai is a popular tea time snack from South India. It is very similar to falafel. Crunchy and delicious!" We all enjoyed this tasty cracker like treat a lot. It was especially good with the Chai.

"Gulab jamun, a popular Indian dessert, gets a makeover with cream cheese.: We were happy to take a few of these home when the plate of "leftovers" came around to our seats and many of our co-diners mentioned that they would love the recipe." Lentils are the main protein source for vegetarians in India. A lot of Indian dishes are made with lentils, legumes and beans. For the dessert on the bottom, Chef Vijitha made ladoos with paasi paruppu (mung yellow lentils), cardamom, sugar and ghee."

Gulab Jamun Cheesecake (top) and

Paruppu Ladoo (bottom)

Semiya payasam–A dessert with milk and vermicelli

Time to dig in! No more waiting...

Tea Time enjoyed the information provided by Chef Vijitha although it was at times hard to hear over the chewing as we enjoyed her delicious creations. This region of India features well-balanced and flavorful foods. If you'd like to try recreating some dishes, check out spicesandaroma. Don't feel like dirtying up the kitchen? Look for Chef Vijitha at her next pop-up. 

Guest Chef Vijitha. Check out her delicious recipes at her blog.

Chuck Siegel of Charles Chocolates fame in the blue t-shirt on the right.

Emily, J.K. and Angela enjoyed the unconventional afternoon tea and take home chocolate. We left satiated and thinking new thoughts about the array of Indian food on offer in the Bay Area. Keep your eye out for Afternoon Tea events all over the city and let us know if we've missed any! You can find Charles Chocolates Afternoon Tea events on Eventbrite, Sundays at 12 p.m. Of course, you can stop by the Cafe and tasting room during regular business hours to get a chocolate fix.

Day 17-the road to Hana

This vacation has featured a lot of driving. You'd think that being on an island would limit your carbon footprint, but since it's our holiday we're trying to catch a bit of everything to see (and snorkel). So today we drive the Road to Hana. If you're interested you can pick up a cd to listen to as you drive along, one that tells about hotspots and local info. We chose instead to follow along with our old guidebook, new map and eyes, stopping wherever our fancy took us.

Our conclusion was that the Road to Hana is pretty touristy. We got to dip into a few waterfalls, which was fun, but it was a lot of driving to get to Hana. The best part was the drive on the back road around the tip of the island through the lava fields standing in the jeep and feeling the breeze in our hair. There is always someplace beautiful to see on these islands, and Maui doesn't disappoint. If you don't have a lot of time to drive, skip the Road to Hana and go get another shaved ice while you watch the sunset.

Lobster Me

I was searching the food court at the San Francisco Centre for something interesting to eat when I spotted Lobster Me, a fast food lobster restaurant. Lobster Me serves Maine lobster in many different forms. And they are really fast! My lobster roll was ready in less than five minutes.

You can see the menu more clearly on the website,
but some items are not available in some locations

I'm from Connecticut, so I like my lobster roll with butter, not mayonnaise. The rolls are served with coleslaw and house-made chips. The platters at Jimmies of Savin Rock come with cole slaw and fries, but Jimmies is a little out of my trade area these days. Lobster ME provides the closest to an authentic experience as I'm going to get, and I will definitely  be returning. Besides, if I'm in Connecticut in the right season, I order the soft shell crab platter at Jimmies.

And for dessert, a scoop of Belgian Chocolate at Haagen-Dazs. This flavor is available only at Haagen-Dazs shops.

UPDATE:  Belgian Chocolate is now in stores as part of the Destination Series. If you don't see it, ask your shopkeeper.

Kitchen Table Bakers at the 2016 Fancy Food Show

If you've ever made Cheese Crackers at home, you know they can be delicious. Great for salads, Crudite platters, and whenever you're feeling snacky Cheese Crackers are a hit! Kitchen Table Bakers brand crackers are popular because they are Gluten free and have a good cheesy taste.