I had no particular plans for the 4th of July this year, so when a friend called me up the night before and asked if my bf and I wanted to go hiking, we were all for it.
The particular hike we did was the Matt Davis/Steep Ravine/Dipsea Loop in the Mount Tamalpais State Park. It started at Stinson Beach, climbed up through the trees and the hill (mountain?) side, up and up...before looping around and descending again. The total loop was 7.3 miles of moderate hiking - enough to test my lungs and burning thighs on the ascent, and to stress my knees on the descent, but not challenging to anything except my fitness level.
The hike was quite nice. The initial part of the day was foggy and damp, with the trees periodically crying on us, and the views almost nonexistent in the shifting layers of fog and cloud. That actually worked quite well, though, since it coincided with the climbing part of the hike, so we didn't get too hot or worn out. Also, that part of the hike went up and up through trees and forest that at times felt like the Costa Rican cloudforest (lots of moss and ferns and twisted trees..not enough ephiphytes) so the clouds through the trees looked quite neat, while there wasn't much of a view (I don't think) because the trees blocked the way. We eventually broke the tree line (or something) and ended up hiking across what seemed like golden (yellow) fields (or ridges) of wheat (not actually wheat), periodically broken by stands of trees. We chose to lunch around 2pm in a flat spot on one of these sections, breaking out the various sandwich making goods, salami, trail mix, fruit, and other stuff we'd carried along, and taking a nice long rest. After lunch, the day started clearing up, and on our descent we found ourselves going through sun and bright blue skies. For a while, we were still in the woods, which were charming with the babbling brooks, fallen trees lying picturesquely across the brooks (or the paths, where they had been sawed off to allow people to pass), and tall trees. At one point, we had to descend a ladder along the side of a brook to get to the next part of the trail. Eventually we came out of the woods to descend down a gentle hill that sloped back towards Stinson Beach, with beautiful views of the beach and the bay behind it.
Overall, the hike was a beautiful one, though tough on my weak knees, and it was a nice way to spend the day. Of course, we were pretty well wiped out by the end of it, and ended up staying in and not seeing any fireworks. But that was totally fine with me.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Biscuity goodness
For the longest time, I've wanted to go to Brenda's Soul Food Cafe. The only time I actually physically got to the door, I found out they weren't open on Sundays. This week, since I'm not working, I've been determined to get myself to this restaurant to try out their "beignet flight," but discovered that it's now open on Sundays but *not* open on Tuesdays, my original planned day to visit.
Argh!
*Finally* I got myself there today, after deciding to postpone my workout until the afternoon and forget all the other projects I was hoping to get done today.
Was it all it was hyped up to be? Well, I can't completely answer that, since I only had the beignets and a biscuit, and none of the other food people rave over (po'boys, croque monsieur, gumbo, pancakes, french toast, grits and grillades, etc etc). The wait wasn't nearly as bad as people made it sound - I was there at 1pm, had maybe 5 people ahead of me, had to wait maybe 10 minutes, and then was quickly seated at the first available table (to my feeling of guilt - there was a couple behind me, yet I was one person seated at a table that could fit 3 - they later very apologetically asked if I'd be willing to move to a 2-person table, and I happily did so). The place seats 30 max (I counted) at several tables and one counter. The service was very friendly - all 3 waiters/waitresses had smiles whenever they walked by, and were very nice.
As for the food? Well I've only had beignets once before, at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, and actually wasn't all that impressed there. I think beignets are not really my thing. To my surprise, my very favorite beignet was the first I ate - the savory crawfish beignet. It wasn't at all spicy, but it was warm, salty, cheesy, and tasty, and I enjoyed every last bite. I didn't at all expect that b/c I'm a sweets lover and not a huge crawfish fan. As for the rest of the beignets... the Cafe du Monde beignet was fluffy and soft and spilled powdered sugar *everywhere*. The ones at Brenda's were fried in a more crispy way, and a couple of them had somewhat hard edges. This helped them to retain their structural integrity *and* keep the powdered topping on, but did change the texture somewhat. The plain beignet with sugar on top was fine, and made better by adding the homemade jam on the table. The chocolate one was all right, the apple cinnamon one was all right..neither was particularly special. Not bad, mind you, just not amazing. If I were to go back and order beignets again, I think I'd order the crawfish one...and maybe not the others. But like I said, I'm not a connoisseur of beignets - I didn't even like the one at the source of supposedly the best beignets ever in New Orleans.
After I finished my beignets, I wrestled my conscience a bit and then ordered a biscuit because people had raved about them and the photo on the website: Brenda's Soul Food looked delectable. Turned out to be a very good decision for my taste buds, if not my stomach. That was the best biscuit I ever had - warm, flaky, buttery, oh-so-subtly sweet, and delicious. I added a little bit of jam at one point but it was so very good by itself. Didn't need the butter pat at all. I was stuffed when I was done but so happy to have gotten the biscuit. Wow that was good. I also got the watermelon sweet tea, and despite not being the hugest fan of watermelons *or* tea, really enjoyed it. It's a subtly sweet, refreshing drink.
All-in-all, I'm kind of wishing I got the croque monsieur or the bbq chicken po'boy on the specials menu instead of the beignets, but I'm glad I tried them to satisfy my curiousity. The food seems as good as advertised, and I'd love to try something else there... BTW by 2pm (it closes at 3) there was pretty much no wait. They're open 8-3pm every day except Tuesday. Must try them again...
Argh!
*Finally* I got myself there today, after deciding to postpone my workout until the afternoon and forget all the other projects I was hoping to get done today.
Was it all it was hyped up to be? Well, I can't completely answer that, since I only had the beignets and a biscuit, and none of the other food people rave over (po'boys, croque monsieur, gumbo, pancakes, french toast, grits and grillades, etc etc). The wait wasn't nearly as bad as people made it sound - I was there at 1pm, had maybe 5 people ahead of me, had to wait maybe 10 minutes, and then was quickly seated at the first available table (to my feeling of guilt - there was a couple behind me, yet I was one person seated at a table that could fit 3 - they later very apologetically asked if I'd be willing to move to a 2-person table, and I happily did so). The place seats 30 max (I counted) at several tables and one counter. The service was very friendly - all 3 waiters/waitresses had smiles whenever they walked by, and were very nice.
As for the food? Well I've only had beignets once before, at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, and actually wasn't all that impressed there. I think beignets are not really my thing. To my surprise, my very favorite beignet was the first I ate - the savory crawfish beignet. It wasn't at all spicy, but it was warm, salty, cheesy, and tasty, and I enjoyed every last bite. I didn't at all expect that b/c I'm a sweets lover and not a huge crawfish fan. As for the rest of the beignets... the Cafe du Monde beignet was fluffy and soft and spilled powdered sugar *everywhere*. The ones at Brenda's were fried in a more crispy way, and a couple of them had somewhat hard edges. This helped them to retain their structural integrity *and* keep the powdered topping on, but did change the texture somewhat. The plain beignet with sugar on top was fine, and made better by adding the homemade jam on the table. The chocolate one was all right, the apple cinnamon one was all right..neither was particularly special. Not bad, mind you, just not amazing. If I were to go back and order beignets again, I think I'd order the crawfish one...and maybe not the others. But like I said, I'm not a connoisseur of beignets - I didn't even like the one at the source of supposedly the best beignets ever in New Orleans.
After I finished my beignets, I wrestled my conscience a bit and then ordered a biscuit because people had raved about them and the photo on the website: Brenda's Soul Food looked delectable. Turned out to be a very good decision for my taste buds, if not my stomach. That was the best biscuit I ever had - warm, flaky, buttery, oh-so-subtly sweet, and delicious. I added a little bit of jam at one point but it was so very good by itself. Didn't need the butter pat at all. I was stuffed when I was done but so happy to have gotten the biscuit. Wow that was good. I also got the watermelon sweet tea, and despite not being the hugest fan of watermelons *or* tea, really enjoyed it. It's a subtly sweet, refreshing drink.
All-in-all, I'm kind of wishing I got the croque monsieur or the bbq chicken po'boy on the specials menu instead of the beignets, but I'm glad I tried them to satisfy my curiousity. The food seems as good as advertised, and I'd love to try something else there... BTW by 2pm (it closes at 3) there was pretty much no wait. They're open 8-3pm every day except Tuesday. Must try them again...
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