Memorial Day 2006: Renting a house with friends along the Russian River.
Memorial Day 2007: Painting AT's baseboards.
Ha! Okay, it's not THAT dull. But we did paint most of his baseboards. :)
What else did we do?
Friday afternoon, we stumbled across a new restaurant just a block away, called Bar Bambino. We went back for dinner that night and had an AMAZING meal. This is an adorable little (and I do mean little) wine bar/restaurant on 16th & Mission that just opened 3 weeks ago. They have their own salumi chef guy (who carves meats & cheeses), an extensive and tasty tapas-style Italian menu (with plenty of veggie options, so we'll be taking Stefan there when he comes to visit!), and a great wine selection. We were happy with everything we got, and can't wait to o back to try even more tasty morsels. YUM!
On Saturday Sherri got acupuncture while AT played tennis. Then we went out with Rob & Heather to try another new restaurant in our neighborhood, Weird Fish. It was weird. And it was fish. But I don't think we will be going here again. Lots of fried stuff. Nothing special. Oh well, it was fun exploring a new place. Man, oh man, we need to re-implement the Mission food moratorium and get out to other parts of the city for nourishment!
On Sunday we spent the morning watching the Carnivale parade. The Mission, our neighborhood (or barrio, if you are so inclined), is a predominantly Latin-American neighborhood. Carnivale is the annual parade and festival that celebrates the heritage of our residents. In the parade, you will find a float from nearly every Latin American country (no matter how large or small the population in the Mission), dancers in traditional costumes from each country, kids from local schools playing in their band or singing and dancing in costumes, (some choreographed, some quite freestyle), and other fun things like the SF Garbage Men (for real) doing a synchronized garbage can drill. It's a very family-focused event, with a lot of liveliness, energy and fun. And food. How could I forget the food?! For the Festival part of the event, they blocked off 8 long blocks of Harrison street and filled it with food vendors offering cuisines from around the world, multiple stages with live music, people selling arts, crafts and other wares, games for the kids, and.. of course.. Diageo booze (Cuervo and Crown Royale were sponsors). And you know what festival food means, right? MEAT ON A STICK! Yum. A personal favorite.
We ate:
- pupusas (El Salvadorean soft corn shell stuffed with beans & cheese)
- Jamacian fried chicken
- funnel cake (to soothe Sherri's PA dutch roots. fried dough! mmm!)
- lumpia (Filipino fried meat rolls)
- Filipino BBQ chicken (on a stick)
- pancit (Filipino noodles)
Adorable girls dressed in blue:
Traditional Bolivian costumes:
Traditional.. uh.. errr.. uhhhh. I have no idea.
FOOD!
A.T. says, "This is the ONLY time you're going to see a Starbucks in the Mission" (referring to the mobile cart they brought in for the festival.)
Sunday afternoon, Sherri went on a SF City Tour of the Victorian Houses with Allison. (Happy Birthday Allison!). We had a fantastic time. Not because the tour was good, but because the tour guide was so freaking funny (in an incompetent kind of way). Despite it all, we did end up learning the difference between an Italianate Flat, Italianate 5-side/slanted bay, San Francisco Stick, Queen Anne tower, Queen Anne Row house, and an Edwardian house. And, of course, we now have a trained eye that can quickly call out the many "misguided improvements" that have mangled original Victorian architecture.
Sunday evening Sherri talked A.T. into a fine dining experience at Red Lobster. (I wasn't supposed to tell anyone). I thought it would be fun to do a little Central-PA-Role-Play and go out for a big meal at the Lobster. Plus, A.T. had a gift certificate to burn. We put it towards our tasty and bottomless basket of CHEESY BREAD. Yum. AT, as a former manager at Legal Seafood, had a hard time walking in the door, but the food was actually okay and we got to try the Parrot Bay coconut shrimp. (AT's company makes Parrot Bay rum). So technically, we can say that this was a work-research trip for A.T.. That might make him feel better. Tee hee.
Later Sunday evening, we were joined by Rob and Heather for an excursion to a tiki bar in Alameda. This was the third time that A.T. and I left the city this weekend (a record!). But this was a fabulous little find, and was absolutely worth the trip. Forbidden Island is the name. They have phenomenal drinks. Lots of foofy girly drinks for Sherri, and a rum selection that made at drool. Rob and Heather thoroughly enjoyed the adobo beef rolls and the delicious coconut shrimp! This place is so fun, we will definitely cross the Bay Bridge to visit again, and soon!
Monday morning we went sink and bathroom fixture shopping (AT's favorite pastime. Kidding!), then we painted the baseboards throughout most of his house. After our old, creaky, achy backs couldn't take it anymore, we called it a day (the bedroom and office can WAIT!), and dined on delicious Mediterranean food, and watched a really stupid movie.
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