Just Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous . . .

It's been over 30 days since the Bay Area has experienced rain and this week we finally got a downpour.  

After less than 24 hours of rain I was already over it.  The dry spell, though bad for snow pack and the drought was kind of making winter in San Francisco AWESOME!

Maybe it was a subconscious wish for dry warmer weather or just a desire to fill my sweet tooth's needs; but during one of the big downpours I found my way to Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous ice cream shop.

I have been wanting to try this hip ice creamery since it opened in 2010 and have just never hit it at the right time.

Located in the City's historic Dog Patch district it's clean aesthetic, minimal vintage decor, and daily evolving menu just may cause me to make a return visit.

On this rainy day I had the Caramel with Sea Salt.  It was quite tasty, but I couldn't help but notice they also had cookies, peanut brittle, and peanut butter malt balls.   Maybe next time.  I didn't want to over do it on my first time.

Just For Etta . . .

Cyndi Lauper performs At Last.

From the 2003 album At Last.

Just Mr. G and Celine . . .

From Summer Heights High.

Best Show Ever!

Just The NFC Divisional Playoff . . .

I went to my first San Francisco 49ers game and it just so happened to be the NFC Divisional Playoff!

It was an incredible game with lots of ups and downs and in the end the "Faithful" were rewarded with a win, because "Who's got it better than us?  Nobody!"

Fireworks Pre-Show

Let The Game Begin!

We Just Scored!

My Favorite Sign - Defense!

The Gold Rush Doing A Dance

Two Lone Brave Saints Fans In A Sea Of Red!

The Moment Of Victory 36-32, San Francisco 49ers Beat The New Orleans Saints!

The Aftermath Of Victory!

The Sun Sets On Candlestick Park

Eat More Cake Mix . . .

I seem to create the most dialogue on this blog when I talk about food, so here is my latest kitchen adventure.  

I volunteered earlier this week to make something "Sweet" for our "Post Holiday - Holiday Party" at work.  After a long day at the office I was not overly excited to have to start baking at 8 o'clock at night, but I didn't want to take the easy road by just buying something pre-made at the store.

I opted to whip up a batch of Aunt Barbara's Graham Cracker Toffee Bars.

Loyal Readers may recall the last time I made a batch of these I won the Cookie Category of the Holiday Bake Off at work.

The cookies were just as popular this year as they were in the past.

I had some extra graham crackers so I thought I would try crushing up some graham crackers into pancake batter for some extra texture and sweetness.  

I used:

• 2 Crushed Honey Graham Crackers
• 3/4 Cup Bisquick
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Milk

The "Grahamcakes" should be cooked on a slightly lower flame than what you would typically cook a pancake on to avoid burning the graham.

The end result was a tasty variation on a standard pancake.

The Song Of The Day - Kandi (Eat More Cake Mix) by One Eskimo

Meet Me . . .

The streets of the downtown Financial District in San Francisco are filled with office towers that reach towards the heavens creating a beautiful and unique skyline.  These office towers are filled with the headquarters of numerous large corporations.

The City by the Bay is also known for restaurants run by world renowned chefs.   So it is not a shock that the cafeterias of these large corporations can become the "hot" lunch meal ticket.

At one point the Gap cafeteria which is also known as the "Gapeteria" even had its own Yelp review. (A link that has mysteriously disappeared off the Yelp site.)

Why is the Gapeteria so popular?  

Well, first there is the view.  The largest of the Gapeterias sits on the seventh floor of their headquarters overlooking the Embarcadero.  On a clear day the view from the outside terraces is nothing short of spectacular.  The second reason the Gapeteria is popular is because of the reported high percentage of young professional single females that work for the company.

In recent years the Gapeteria faced competition from Google who allegedly offers free lunches to their employees.  One campus of these major corporations sit on opposite sides of the same street on the same block.  The Gapeteria is located on the North side of the street and the Google cafeteria is on the South side.  Both cafeterias face the Bay.  These two "G" cafeterias, Gap and Google, are now equally highly sought after invites from individuals who have building security clearance.   

Last month while walking down the street facing the Google headquarters I looked up and saw a series of signs hanging in the windows.

"Hi Gap!  Lunch On Your Deck?" said one.

Other signs had faces drawn on them with thought bubbles; but they all included a request for an invite to the Gapeteria.

This request seemed rather puzzling since the Google employees allegedly get free lunch. 

I turned around to look up at the Gap building to see if anyone had responded to the request and there were no postings.

This week as I went to meet a friend for lunch, I was walking toward the Gap building and there they were; responses back to all the Google requests for a lunch dates.

Notice that the Gap took the time to actually draw Google's rainbow logo on their sign.  Nice touch!

I am looking forward to see what next week's signs will say.

Hopefully the lunch date on 1/3/12 went well.

The Song Of The Day - Meet Me Halfway by the Black Eyed Peas

Baby You're A Firework . . .

Happy New Year from the fireworks display in San Francisco, CA Jan 1, 2012!

The Song Of The Day - Firework (Glee Cast Version) by Glee Cast