In preparation for Gloria’s visit i poached a big filet of wild local sockeye and stuffed the refrigerator with fresh okra, large yellow crookneck squash, and superb yellow corn on the cob (from Glenn Tanimoto at the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market). Not to mention having on hand nectarines, heirloom tomatoes, and way more other stuff than we could possibly eat.
So of course a major agenda item for me was to show her some of the new restaurants i’d discovered. Like Gilberth’s, where we went for her first lunch. She had the Chicken Salad, which i’d reviewed last May, i had the pork belly sandwich, which was delicious, and we split an order of their superb fried Brussels sprouts, about which i’d previously raved and of which i finally remembered to get a pic. They taste much better than they look, as they are not burned.
The next lunch was at SoMa StrEat Food Park, which i was lucky enough to visit when they’d been open only a week. It’s taken off now, and perhaps thanks to glowing reviews in the SF Chronicle (and, ahem, here) there were long lines at some of the trucks. We tried the Little Green Cyclo, and their truffle oil garlic noodles were the best. noodles. i. ever. ate. Never thought i’d use “chewy” as praise, but they were and it is.
For one of the evening meals, i drove us down to Pacifica and we got a whole slab of pork ribs from Gorilla Barbecue, about which i’ve raved repeatedly. It’s take out only, but it’s worth driving to Pacifica for. At home, Gloria cooked some yellow patty pan squash from her garden with garlic and turmeric and something else delicious, and we made a meal on squash and ribs.
Eat at all three of these places, folks.
Oh, and to be fair, here’s a shot in the other bathroom at Gilberth’s, both of which are open to everyone regardless of your sex, real or imagined.