Nine four seven something

Now that I am shifting into moving mode, I have decided that the kitchen is closed until I have moved. That's OK though. There's lots of food in Berkeley to which I must say goodbye. Yes, I know that I'm not moving that far away. But all of this yumminess will no longer be within walking distance -- or a quick drive.


I guess you could say that it all started the minute I signed that huge stack of papers. To make up for being out of the office for half a day, I stopped at Love at First Bite Bakery and picked up mini cupcakes for the office. Oh, and a couple of regular-sized red velvet cupcakes for the Commander and LaLa Bean. (And a thank you to Zoomie for pointing out this gem in my neighborhood.)

Then later that evening I headed to Poulet to pick up dinner for the Zombie family as they had been moving that day and were not equipped for dinner preparation. There will be at least one more trip to Poulet before I move. And the folks there, upon learning that I would be moving, asked if I would come back to visit them occasionally. Of course.

Saturday I dined on the short end rib dinner from KC's. Sauce on the side of course. And they still serve it with white bread instead of the wheat that so many places have changed over to.

Sunday afternoon I hit Cesar with Emerald and her little girl. I'm a bit worried about her daughter who is now 14 months. She spent most of her time trying to chat with the other patrons. To the point that she turned her back on us almost the entire time. The only time she turned around was when she heard the bartender shaking some drink at the bar. Emerald and I made jokes about what her daughter's order would be. Emerald decided on, "I will require some whole milk. Slightly warmed. Shaken, not stirred."

Last night I had to make a quick change in dinner plans. I found myself at home and a little hungry. (The free pizza from lunch had disappeared. The pizza was courtesy of the president of the company because he won the March Madness pool. I ended up in 5th or 6th place.) What to have? Gregoire's!

Grilled Ecuadorian shrimp with harissa sauce


Grilled beer and lime marinated beef skirt steak with carmelized onion cream

There are so many other food experiences to say goodbye to. Mayflower. Mint Leaf. Perhaps T-Rex. Fonda. The Cathedral of Coffee. And of course, there will be a stop at Beckett's at some time in the coming weeks.

Possibly Still the #1 Bitch

And yes, this is coming from a woman who rarely watches sports. But I have a dad who is a sports junkie. I've also sat next to the man at a blackjack table. He understands odds very well.

So I just finished reviewing the results of tonight's NCAA championship games. Nat, that would be American college basketball. The rest of y'all? March Madness.

Before the whole thing started, I submitted my bracket based upon my father's recommendations. Seriously. Five minutes or so on the phone with my dad and then I laid my money down. And going into this round, I was in first place in the office. That's right. The chick who doesn't watch basketball was in first. But I understand the game. And I understand statistics. And I grew up around a bunch of guys (my dad's family) who treated me as their intellectual equal in just about everything and they still do. Sure. I may not have firsthand knowledge of the topic but they have always believed that I had the ability to understand. Even if they feel the need to sit on the front porch to ward off potential suitors who just may see a pretty face. These guys, just like my mom, taught me that pretty gets you in the door; it's the rest of what you have to offer that allows you to stay. (And on a tangent, the older I get, the less makeup I wear. Some friends have said that I am pretty enough to pull this off. But that's not my point of origin. For me, it's all about, "This is who I am. Accept it.")

My mom will tell you that this is why I am still single. She will tell me that I am just like my aunt -- waiting for a man who well measure up to the men in my family. Because they are good-looking, intelligent men. Who know that I can dish it out just as fast as they do. But whom I also know will always have my back. Because even though they may occasionally try to tell you otherwise, they do think of me as a princess in need of their protection in their minds. And the guys with whom I work? It's just like being around family. Huh. I just realized that every one of the guys at work is either exactly like one of the men in my family personality-wise or the amalgam of two family members.

But yeah. Dad made only one mistake today. He chose Memphis over Missouri. And now I just might be fucked. Because I had Memphis in the final two. *sigh* It's a good thing that the idea in the office is that the winner buy pizza and/or drinks for everyone else. But no more pomegranate margaritas for me. Unless it's a Friday night.

Feel the burn

Today I got all kinds of wild and crazy for lunch and finally headed over to Wing Stop to give them a try. I've been curious about this place for a number of months. I mean they offer a flavor called "Atomic."

I don't know if that's the right word but I did think they were hot. Didn't stop me from eating them though. Of course, I did split my order -- half Atomic, half Original Hot. The Atomic left my lips tingling for at least a good 20 minutes. Good stuff.

After dining, I called my dad. He had not heard of the place but apparently there is one in his neighborhood. He's hoping to try them out this weekend.

And now I must go back to see how things are going in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Since right now I'm tied for the lead in the office pool. And no, I did not make my picks. My dad told me who to pick when I called him earlier this week. The guys at work say that I have to buy them drinks if I win.