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Back in Time in California

posted under: Friends, Life on Thursday, April 10, 2008

I’m back from a weeks vacation in California to visit my friend, Reed, who has finally returned after a two-year stint teaching in Japan. Luckily, I was able to visit with my friend Nicole too who was also back from Japan while she prepares for her next trip to Korea.

Reed and I have known each other for over twenty years now. I’m getting used to his international ventures but it was great finally catching up and hearing of his travels and just hanging out and relaxing before we both jumped back into our daily routines.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to visit my mom, dad or sis in the central valley as we didn’t have a car most of my visit to the bay area. We stayed with Reeds parents, Roy and Rachel, who are always inviting and inspiring. Rachel treated us to some amazing home-cooked meals as always and we were even lucky to be served a couple traditional (and non-traditional) Japanese meals courtesy of Reed and Nicole.

Which brings me to the real focus of this blog entry. Food.

After landing in Oakland Reed and I drove to San Francisco and had lunch at this french restaurant in the Marina District called La Boulange. I had the salmon frittata and Reed was kind enough to let me try his french toast brioche which was the most delicious french toast I’ve ever had. It cut itself under the weight of my fork and with a dab of yogurt sweetened with honey and the consistency of sour cream created an explosive flavor that I’m determined to either recreate or find here in Seattle.

We met up with Nicole and she took us to Haight St and over to Amoeba Music where I bought a CD for my kitty, Jack. An album by artist Andy Mullen titled “I wish my name were Jack”. It turned out to be a pretty folk album that Jack and I didn’t mind at all.

Our music hunting over and after a little education on J-Rock from Nicole (thanks for the recommendations!) we went into a cafe which seemed to be constructed from an old theatre. I have a dream of owning my own black box theatre and this was such a cute and odd space that it got me excited thinking about the possibilities. It had a raised stage and only one wing stage right that could be used for light/sound board as well as a second entrance aside from upstage.

While crossing the Golden Gate Bridge heading towards Santa Rosa we saw a Delorean with a license plate BCKNTYM (Back in Time). In retrospect it was such an appropriate symbol of my trip since it had been over two years seeing my best friend. It felt like old times and it was great to pickup where we left off as if no time had passed.

Perhaps one of the best reasons to visit Santa Rosa is to visit Susan’s wonderful coffee cart Centro Espresso on 4th Street in downtown. Her coffee has always been amazing and though I’m spoiled with great coffee in Seattle hers rivals the best. It’s always fun chatting with her and her unique sense of humor and attitude. She’s just like her coffee, one of a kind.

I took Reed into my old work, Arrigoni’s Cafe where I was able to converse with my old friends who are like family to me. Charles, a retired actor, Raja a seasoned online poker player with millions in play money, Gregg who has the craziest stories but is always funny as hell and Deb who is the sweetest woman I know with her heart in Montana. We both enjoyed a Californian Omelette packed with lots of avocado. Avocado! I can’t believe how much I’ve missed really great avocado. Miss you Arrigonis, say hi to Jakob for me.

I was also able to visit other great friends I’ve known for quite some time, Jack and Larry. Jack was a radio dj for years as well as electrical whiz and it’s always a pleasure to see him and hear his stories. Larry is a yoga enthusiast and mac guru.

But I digress. The true reason for my visit to California was to eat as much mexican food as I possibly could. Don’t get me wrong, Seattle has some good mexican food but it’s just not California. At a local farmers market there was a taco truck making their own tortillas and serving fresh Rock Cod. We also visited a favorite mexican restaurant of mine, Mazatlan, for an al pastor burrito. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit Cotija but I’m afraid if I did I would never forgive Seattle for it’s lack of amazing mexican food. So it was probably for the best.

Don’t worry folks, to burn off all the amazing food Reed and I made sure to play plenty of Wii. I got my ass handed to me in Wii Boxing but I own in Wii Tennis. Just try and hit my serve.

It was a great trip and I really enjoyed the little amount of time I spent in San Francisco. Can’t wait to visit in the city again. And now it’s back to my crazy work schedule.