Sisterly weekend

Whenever Jeanne comes to visit, we do an inordinate amount of eating (and, this time, drinking). There’s so much eating going on that one wonders where all the food has room to get squeezed into our bodies. This weekend’s short visit was no different.

Jeanne and Stevie showed up at the house a little after two in the morning Saturday. We stayed up until after four doing who knows what and eating microwaved chicken and pork buns that our mom made. They were a little chewier than usual, probably due to the microwaving, but at three in the morning and being oddly hungry, anything will taste good.

We woke up late the next morning to make preserved duck egg and pork congee. I made a request to my mom that she make this for me and have Jeanne drive it up, but she didn’t. Instead, she sent up the necessary ingredients—pork, preserved duck egg, dried scallops—so that I could make my own. Jeanne started the pot off with three cups of rice and nine cups of water, a proportion that we would later learn was short on water. Dressed in our pajamas and still with crusty eyes and crooked hair, we stirred that pot of rice and water, sliced and seasoned pork, and watched as a miracle was about to happen. The rice kept soaking up water and we kept pouring more in. We dumped in the dried scallops that had been soaking in hot water. We dumped in the pork slices seasoned with fish sauce and sugar. And, at the very end, we dumped in the pieces of preserved duck egg. We seasoned it with some salt and a little more fish sauce. And, each individual bowl was topped off with a couple grinds of pepper, some chopped cilantro, and sesame oil. It tasted almost like Mom’s.

After breakfast, we headed over to Frjtz’s for a second breakfast, or first lunch, however you wish to see it. Jeanne and I split a crepe with crème fraiche, smoked salmon, and chives. As seems to be the case with almost all the savory crepes I order from Frjtz’s, this one was a little salty too. The fries, however, were yummy, as always. And, I think I’ve found my favorite two dipping sauces: pesto mayo and peppercorn ranch (yum, fat!).

We made our way to the Mission to do a little thrift store shopping (Jeanne found a cute pair of shoes, Stevie bought a pair of tiny shorts, and I scored with a top for $1.74) and a round of nachos at one of the taquerias on Valencia at 16th. Jeanne, Stevie, Eli, and I split a large plate of nachos with what seemed like fake cheese, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, chicken and steak, and topped with a healthy squirt of hot sauce. It was messy and deliciously satisfying.

It was almost time for dinner but we had enough time before our reservation for drinks, so we went to Badlands in the Castro, where they were having two for one specials and where some strange music videos were playing on the several TVs hanging from the walls. Jeanne and I split a couple of vodka tonics.

For dinner, we ate at the Sausage Factory on Castro and 18th. We stupidly filled up on bread as we were waiting for the rest of our party, and decided to change our two entrée order to the caprese salad and spaghetti with spicy meat sauce to share. I’ve had better caprese salads. This one had salty, squishy olives, iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes that weren’t at the peak of freshness. The large plate of spaghetti was smothered with a red sauce that held up to its spicy description. I could feel my stomach gurgling with the pangs of spices churning in gastric juices as I put bite after bite of garlicky sauce covered noodles into my mouth. I was beginning to wonder how much spicy food my stomach could actually handle.

After dinner, we made our way to the Transfer for drinks. Jeanne and I were beginning to really feel the exhaustion of staying up until four in the morning the night before hit us, and after a round of vodka tonics and three sessions in the photo booth, we made our exit. We went over to Safeway to buy picnic supplies, and went home to eat ice cream and make rice krispie treats (one batch with marshmallows and one batch with marshmallow cream for our vegetarian guest).

We woke up early Sunday to prep for our picnic at Stern Grove, where Ozomatli would be closing out the season. We heated up some leftover congee for breakfast, packed up our wine and snacks, and left the warm house for the overcast San Francisco summer outdoors.

We met up with Gabe and some of my other coworkers and their friends, and squeezed our way onto a spot on the ground. It was eleven o’clock (the first band wouldn’t go on until two in the afternoon) but the place was packed (people apparently had started arriving at seven in the morning). All the lawn seating was taken and people were crowded onto the tree covered slope as well. We settled in, pulled out our roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayonnaise, our New York Cheddar Kettle Chips, and rice krispie treats, and had a morning picnic. Our neighbors shared their juicy and succulently sweet watermelon and their crumb cake. We shared our New York Times and marshmallow treats. By the end of the afternoon, we finished our bottles of the rose, the Riesling, and the chardonnay, danced until our bare feet were dirty and bruised, and ate until our bellies were full. It was time to pack up.

We drove back toward the house to meet Stevie and Eli for dinner. After going to Tu Lan to find out that they’re closed on Sundays, we met them at another Vietnamese restaurant in the Tenderloin on the corner of Larkin and either Eddy or Ellis. We shared the fried spring rolls, which were crisp and tasty. I ordered the extra large bowl of pho, only to eat three bites of it and took the rest home. I felt like I had failed, but I think my body telling me I had to stop eating. It was getting to be too much. The waitress kindly packed up my noodles as I said thank you in Cantonese, and we headed home.

Jeanne and Stevie packed up the rest of their stuff and made their way to the freeway to drive back to LA. I did some dishes and passed out. Yet another good visit.