Archive for Chris’ life
The SF Food Scene – Changing Weekly
Posted by: | CommentsEditor’s note: Saw THIS interesting article in SFGate the day after I wrote my post. They mention that almost 300!!! restaurants and bars have opened in san Francisco in the past 2 years – wow:
San Francisco’s Dining “Golden Age” Lifts Retail Real Estate
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The number of new restaurants opening in San Francisco on a monthly basis is overwhelming. On many blocks, the site of a restaurant that has just closed, along with a sign saying ‘coming soon” can be found.
What would you like? Modern dishes with a comfort food spin reflecting fusion of culinary styles? LaFusion just opened in the Financial District (and was told a Mediterranean deli just closed there). Want no-nonsense food without pretense? American Joe’s will be reopening in Washington Square (replacing a steak house with ALOT of pretense:).
fries with 4 tasty sauces from LaFusion
In addition to the countless new restaurant openings, there are plenty of long-standing establishments as well as some chains both big (Olive Garden, Cheesecake, Jack in the Box) and small, like Gordon Biersch. I’ll be the first to admit that the food at GB isn’t 5 star, but they added a veggie burger recently, which I found enjoyable. What I like most is their beer sampler – John Harvard’s Brew House does this as well – which allows me to taste all of their beers without getting drunk:
Beer Sampler aside mobile office at GB
Their Hefewiezen is excellent as is their Golden Export. But I like the full range of flavors including their current seasonal Octoberfest.
The obvious risks to having all of these creative and tasty food options are to one’s wallet and to one’s waist. Thankfully, the San Francisco is quite the walking city. When in the city, I will average 30-50 miles per week walking on top of my regular exercise routine. Couple that with the endless healthy food options, many offered for a very low price, and the risks drop immensely.
If you plan on visiting the city, please find a local who can give you an insider’s take on the food scene. if you only consult the newspapers and magazines, you might end up only finding trendy, lots-of-hype-low-on-quantity food that leaves you broke and hungry. You would never end up in a dirty-looking Chinese restaurant on Clement St that offers excellent food that way or at a great Vietnamese restaurant in the Tenderloin.
And don’t forget the food trucks! An exploding phenomenon that has spread nationwide. There are some unique ones here in SF…Enjoy!
Working on the Road
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I’m not in Medford, I want to make sure my office is fully operational. with my fantastic client manager/office manager Lauren holding down the fort in Medford, I set up this on the go:
Notice that I have my laptop (thinkPad) and my iPad (which I use for email feed and news) set up and a handy notepad for my thoughts and projects. This whole set up weighs around 5 lbs and can come with me anywhere, giving me full office-like operations.
By the way, I put this photo on my Posterous feed. Posterous is a simple blogging platform (like Tumblr and others) that make it easy to blog. I use my Posterous feed for random photos in my adventures – check that feed out here:
how do you work when mobile? Do you take a laptop or can you work from a tablet or phone? Comment below!
Your Diet Can Eliminate Heart Attack Risk
Posted by: | CommentsExcellent video forwarded to me by Dr John McDougall from CNN, featuring Dr Dean Ornish. President Bill Clinton, among others, has likely eliminated risk of a heart attack through a clean diet. Enjoy:
“Dark Tide” – About the Great Molasses Flood of 1919
Posted by: | CommentsI’m about 3/4 of the way through an interesting book called DARK TIDE, by
Stephen Puleo, about “the great Boston molasses flood of 1919.”
What the heck was the ‘great molasses flood?’
In a nutshell: before the North End was a swank hangout for yuppies with high income and an aversion for feasts going beyond 11PM, it was a gritty industrial part of town.
One large feature of the waterfront was a large molasses tank built in 1915 to store molasses that was refined by a large chemical company (USIA) into weapons grade alcohol – used extensively during World War I.
In 1919, the tank suddenly burst open unleashing 2.3 million gallons of molasses that flowed like a massive brown tsunami 25-35 feet high and traveling initially at 35 miles per hour. The accident claimed 21 lives and injured scores more.
My grandfather told me about this
I had heard bits of the story from my grandfather on a few occasions so when I saw that he had a book about the incident, my first thought was “wow, interesting!” and my second thought was “how does someone write 250 pages about this one incident and make it interesting?” This second question ended up being a dumb one as the author, Stephen Puleo, did a nice job of outlining the historical context behind the situation, the people involved, the incident itself, and the legal wrangling in the aftermath.
I recommend this book as a fascinating analysis of the event and the people affected and involved in the story. I swallowed 3/4 of the book in 2 days so it’s an easy read and the story makes it enjoyable to take in.
Have you read this book? Do you know the story and did you know anyone involved in this incident? Please share.
For more about the author and book, go to his website HERE.
Coincidence
And by the way, I was at the Somerville Health Day at Somerville High School on Saturday April 2, where not only were various health entities there, but also some purveyors of natural/organic foods.
One of the vendors was JoAnn Marsh of Burnin’ Love Sauces. Interesting, she sells a molasses-based BBQ sauce called 1919 Molasses BBQ Sauce which was quite yummy by the way:
Check out all of Burnin’ Love Sauces HERE.
