Everett Street Bistro

After checking out the Monique Lhuillier Trunk Show today, which resulted us swaying our bride-to-be friend away from a dress that would have cost five times the amount of any average bride's gown, Allison, Lydia, Tram and I headed to Everett Street Bistro in the Pearl for some brunch.

Whether day or night, this European-style charcuterie always seems to have a nice comfy crowd of people who seem to really know how to enjoy their food.

Since Tram and I usually each order one sweet and one savory dish to share, we agreed on the Eggs Benedict and the Grand Marnier French Toast. But once we heard the Special of the Day - Danish Aebleskiver, we quickly reverted to these pancake balls from Denmark, topped with fresh fruit, powdered sugar and creme fraiche! The Grand Marnier French Toast will have to wait for another day :) Both Lydia and Allison ordered the breakfast panini, made up of fried eggs, Black Forest ham and Tillamook cheddar, served with a hashbrown casserole.

Everything was good except I thought the hollandaise sauce on the eggs benedict was a bit too salty, but it was nothing a nice, spicy bloody mary wouldn't have taken care of. I'll have to order one next time - I secretly believe you can judge the quality of most brunches based on its bloody marys and mimosas :) Allison, a frequent guest at Everett Street Bistro, recommends the Wild Mushroom Scramble, which features roasted wild mushrooms, leeks and goat cheese. I didn't realize until after we'd eaten there that, that particular dish has been highly rated on countless reviews and as one girl from California on Yelp.com commented, it sent her on a "humming/moaning chair dancing taste bud orgasm."

Wow. That just might be enough reason for me to start eating mushrooms!

Turkey Day

Growing up, my folks always made an effort to ensure I had the experience of a turkey on Thanksgiving and even at times, on Christmas as well. But something happened as the years went on (I think everyone in my family would fighting over the turkey legs) and so one year, my aunt decided to just make turkey legs! A whole platter of turkey legs! Something about that practice turned me off of turkey from that moment on. Yech.

But that was probably a relief for my parents since they never had to worry about making me turkey ever again. And once I moved away, turkey was last thing I wanted to eat when I came home to visit. I didn't care what holiday it was - all I wanted was Vietnamese food! Vietnamese food for dinner. Vietnamese food for lunch. Vietnamese for breakfast! I had resolved that I was simply not a fan of turkey, no matter the occasion, no matter the form - I didn't even care for turkey deli meat... until I met Michael. He waits all year to eat his uncle's turkey and thought it was pretty ludicrous that my family didn't have turkey at all on Thanksgiving.

This year, I finally had my first taste of his family's renowned turkey... and man, it was deeeee-lish!!! Now I know why he rants and raves about it all the time! Not surprisingly, there were no leftovers. The meal was accompanied with a honey baked ham (from Chi Chau), stuffing, scalloped potatoes (from Kathy), mash potatoes (from Kim), gravy and variety of other side dishes, topped off with a pumpkin creme brulee (from Anh Minh). I looooooooooooove creme brulee - it's my favorite dessert!

Per Michael's request, I made spicy cheddar biscuits (from Martha's book) and non-spicy for the kids, which sadly, were not that spicy or cheesy :/ Everyone was nice enough to extend their compliments though :) At least they looked ok! haha I think it's time I steadily move on from looks to taste!

Pre-baked kids' cheddar biscuits.

We also made Rice Krispy treat turkey legs for the kiddies! I'd been planning to make something a little bit more special for them from my cousin My's book of recipes, but after running around town, I could not find all the ingredients for the finishing touches, so unfortunately, they will have to wait till next year!

Already, I am looking forward to my next turkey!

Julie & Julia

My friend Tram never ceases to amaze me at how she crafts and cooks so effortlessly.

FYI: There is a Tram and a Tran - it's not a typo - it's two different people. I know, gosh darn those Vietnamese people huh?! We all have either similar names (Tran & Tram), same names (Yen & Yen) or names that rhyme (Huong & Phuong) and we all have the same freakin two last name (Nguyen & Pham)! Trust me, I understand your confusion :)

For Tram, cooking is a stress reliever. For me, it's anything but!

So this past Tuesday, Tram invited me over for dinner and a movie. We watched Julie and Julia, a film based on two true stories about blogging and cooking! How fabulously appropriate! The night started off with some delectable olives and cheese, complimented with a bottle of pinot gris, which she picked up while wine tasting at Anne Amie Vineyards in Carlton, Oregon. I eat pretty much everything except for eggplants, mushrooms and until recently, olives. I know that sounds insane since everyone I've ever known loves mushrooms, but I can't stand the texture of the aforementioned. However, I believe it'll only be a matter of time before I start liking them since over the past few years, I have a acquired a taste for many other things I use to hate i.e. onions (where have you been all my life???), fresh mint, basil and cilantro in my pho (I use to eat pho like a 5 year old), tofu and as of two years ago, olives (while at a bar in Ibiza, Spain - there was nothing else to eat)! More recently, I discovered that I loved these bright green (see pic), Castelventrano olives, which were introduced to me by Tram.

So while I munched away and drank to my hearts content, she waltzed around her kitchen and made a Venetian squid linguine (that she bought from Pike's Place in Seattle), with smoked salmon and clams in a creamy vodka Sauce, served with a side salad and crab cake, topped off with some parsley which she plucked from her own garden!

Note to self: Start buying seeds to plant an herb garden (I already asked my Dad to section off a piece of land for me to garden in our back yard this Spring. He did a double-take, as I'm sure many of you would. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself wanting to dig in the dirt for "fun." Especially while living in New York, I thought I'd be perfectly content living in an 800 square foot apartment forever, with no yard work to ever worry about or cleaning to ever do (everyone had a cleaner - even if you lived in a studio and could barely afford rent, you had a cleaner :) But they say as you get older, you feel closer to the earth.

After dinner, Tram brought out dessert, which she picked up from the gourmet bakery at Freddy's on her way home from work (we can't expect her to hand make it all - the girl works too)! I've been reading up on how to take better food pictures. See me practice?

After finishing our bottle of wine, picking away the last of our desserts, and watching our flick, we ended the night in high spirits. Prior to the movie, all I had known of Julia Child was through re-runs of her show with Jacques Pepin (that French chef that doesn't seem to have very clean hands and spits in his foods all the time) and she never seemed to do anything besides hover over him and talk real high pitched. But Meryl Street did a wonderful interpretation of her. Who knew Julia Child was such a sanguine soul, with a certain liveliness to her that made her all the more interesting and a pioneer in French cooking for Americans?! She was nearly 40 years old when she went to cooking school in France, basically stumbling upon her talents and empire. That gives me and Tram some hope in our lives. Maybe someday I will start cooking! And like the other main character in the movie, Julie, maybe one day Tram will start blogging!

A New Hobby

My second cousin My in Texas, who is my age, is the mother of a toddler, works full time, attends grad school for her MBA, plays the piano, has 4+ dogs, takes photography classes, and runs an online bakery!

So it shouldn't be much of a wonder that I feel the need to pick up a new hobby :) Especially during these more boring winter months.

With the inspiration of My and after my faltered attempts of baking during Gourmet Dinner Club, I decided it was time I learned to properly bake. After all, with Michael quickly becoming quite the cook, what did I have to contribute in the kitchen (besides clean dishes)?

As a kid, I tried my hand at baking, if you call Jello's No-Bake Oreo Cream Pie "baking." I've also attempted to make brownies and cookies a few times, but always with the help of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker. At the time, I didn't even know there was a difference between baking from scratch and baking with pre-mixed packages - wasn't adding an egg to them enough?!

So to begin my endeavor, I decided I needed a mixer. After hearing from Kathy that I'd need a stand up mixer, preferably the KitchenAid one, I thought, Shoot, I have to have it! For those of you that don't know, I feel the need to have any and all possible equipment before taking on new hobbies :) Take for instance...

Exhibit A: my snowboard
Exhibit B: my softball cleats
Exhibit C: my shin guards and soccer cleats
Exhibit D: my $500 golf clubs (and that does not include any woods)
Exhibit E: my $99/month gym membership in New York... to support my $80/hr personal trainer. Oiiiiii, I regretted that one.

So barring my snowboard (which I now no longer have an interest for) and maybe my golf clubs, everything else has gone virtually unused. So I can certainly understand as my friends and family looked at me with a hesitant eye when I exclaimed I wanted to spend $300 on a stand-up mixer! My friend Tram (bless her) wasn't even sure I should spend $40 on a hand-mixer, much less anything more!

But after I wouldn't shut up about it, Michael went and surprised me with one last week. Woohoo!!! He also bought me all the basic pans and this totally awesome Martha Stewart recipe book (corny I know), but it's great for beginners and experts alike and it has a super helpful section on basic baking techniques. I love it!

Thus, I'm gonna' bake at least one recipe out of that book every week! They say if you tell people about your goals, you are more likely to accomplish them (since you don't want to disappoint anyone). And already, I've used it twice yesterday - a simple oatmeal raisin cookie and pumpkin bread recipe. Sorry, no pictures since my next task is to learn to take better pictures of food :)

Sweet Treats

As my dental bill would prove, I have a major sweet tooth.

I'm not kidding about the dental bill either. A few weeks after I moved home this past summer, I had a toothache and ended up spending $1k on my teeth. Of course, I didn't have it taken care of while living in London where I had universal health care. Why would I do a sensible thing like that?! It's in my cards to spend ridiculous amounts of money on dental hygiene the second I become unemployed and uninsured. In fact, every time I move or am about to move somewhere, I end up spending obscene amounts of money on my health - circa February to April 2008 when I spent $1800 on a root canal and that's WITH dental insurance (goddamn NYC dentists), when I could have waited to get to London to have it taken care of for close to free. I swear I brush my teeth religiously at least twice a day and floss daily!!! I even use a prescription toothpaste! Why me???!!!

Macaroons at Two Tarts

But despite all that, I still think it's worthy to mention a few of Portland's sweet treats that I've discovered recently (especially since I wrote a whole long blog on savories), starting with my favorite boulangerie, St. Honoré, a lovely bakery & cafe where I went for the first time right when Autumn began when the air was crisp and sunny for some coffee. Michael and I sat outside reading US Weekly :) next to a group of stay-at-home moms and their BMW station wagons. Close by is Two Tarts Bakery, a hidden goodie on NW 23rd. My friend Tram took me and Michael there on a Saturday afternoon, right after we had just eaten, couldn't possibly eat anymore and were each on our way to various dinner parties to eat some more! Yet, we couldn't resist picking up a selection of bite sized treats! Then there's Bakery Bar where I got Michael's last birthday cake. They've got 2 locations (NE & SE) and are my favorite when it comes to clean and bold cake designs. With free wi-fi, I like chilling out at Bakery Bar (especially on sunny days when you can sit outside) with a cup of joe or some breakfast! For my own birthday, I got 3 treats! It's tradition in my family to get a Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (I'm not even gonna' bother hyperlinking that one :) but Michael also got me cupcakes from Cupcake Jones and Allison & Tram got me a super delicious chocolate cake from JaCiva! Yumm, so divine!!!

I think Cupcake Jones' cupcakes might slightly be more fluffier (although I can't say for sure since I've only had it twice), my favorite place for cupcakes is actually St. Cupcake. I discovered them years ago when I was looking for a creative Valentine's Day gift for Michael. At the time, he was still living in Portland and I was in New York. After a lot of Googling, I found St. Cupcake, who for the occasion, had a Valentine's Day special where if you ordered a certain amount of cupcakes, the owner himself (I think his name is Matt), would deliver the cupcakes straight to your Valentine (within various zip codes) and sing a song you chose from his list for like $30 (not including the cupcakes) or something totally worth it like that :) It's like a singing telegram, but with a sweet treat at the end! Matt sang "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You" (I was tempted to choose Britney's "I'm a Slave for You," for the comedic factor but we all know that's not true :) and Michael later reported that Matt surprised him by showing up in a pink t-shirt, cupid wings, and entertained his entire (and usually quiet) office by singing at the top of his lungs in a capella! For his reaction, I would have paid that amount three times over! Not only does St. Cupcake hold a special place in our hearts for that particular occasion, but my best friend was proposed to earlier this year by her boyfriend, using six of their cupcakes (also her favorite) in the form of "Will You Marry Me?" Of course she said Yes! For your sentimental moments, go to St. Cupcake :)

And finally, in the midst the frozen yogurt craze (I love you Pink Berry), I recently discovered Tart, which serves a delightful frozen custard! But other than the neat take on this frozen treat, they don't have anything on Skinnidip. Skinnidip has an unbeatable selection of toppings, all of which are freshly cut (not frozen, ugh) (my favorites are pomagranate, cream puff and cookies n' cream) and they take great pride in making their yogurt from unadulterated products (not artificial flavors like those other guys - bleh). Eh, perhaps I'm biased since I know the owner, but hey, with or without my recommendation, they're still rapidly growing! Check out their third and newest location downtown (opening right before Christmas) by Nordstrom, across the street from the Max line!

Beaker and Flask

When old friends Tran and Vi decided we were to meet up for long overdue drinks at Beaker and Flask, I half wasn't expecting anything (since I didn't have time to read the reviews beforehand) and half expecting a dusty, old school, wooden paneled bar with cowboys sipping whiskey (based on the name of the place). I know that scene is unlikely in Portland, but with my limited vocabulary, that was the closest I could get. Although I should have known. Not only is that scene unlikely, but it's especially unlikely when it's a recommendation from Tran :) The place oozed chi chi chic and maybe more so due to its inconspicuous location, sitting on an obscure corner lot and appearing out of nowhere on the SE end of (none other than) Sandy Blvd! I wish I got a picture of the building's exterior. It was kind of fearless and very now. I liked it!!!

What meant to be happy hour became dinner with two bottles of wine, which should not surprise you to hear the night flew by, with much of it a distant memory for me. So I couldn't tell you if their drink menu was extensive or not or whether there was any bourbon ( though I'd be really surprised if there wasn't) or even cowboys. But the food! The food was unforeseeingly delicious (I only remember this because it was on my camera - see below) and the wine even better. Did you know 2006 was not a good year (for wine)? Boy, the things we learned from Vi that night! If you can begin to fathom a girl that is more high strung than me, add in a bit of dynamism, sprinkle on some spirit and you've got Vi. Funny thing is, she claims she's anti-social!!!

Ricotta Gnudi, Leeks, Squash, Cream

Grilled Alaskan Spot Prawns, Millas, Fall Vegetables

Maple Braised Pork Belly, Creamed Kale, Delicata Squash, Apple Relish

Panna Cotta, Bruléed Peach, Aged Balsamic

Mojo Crepes

Ok, so I looooove crepes. My love of crepes started in college when I use to hike, yes, hike down to a crepe stand at the end of the PSU park blocks (that is far for campus standards)! I think it was across the street from Bush Garden and behind Nordstroms... does anyone remember that? Is it still even around? Ok, I just googled it. It's still around and it's called Snow White Crepe Cart (has it always been called that?...right over my head).

Anyway, I realize there are a few other creperies in town, but the one that I think deserves the most attention right now is Mojo Crepes on SE Division. Have you heard of it? I'd be surprised if you hadn't, since I heard about Mojo's from three different people on the same exact day! My friend Tran has already beat me to the punch by posting a blog on her experience there. They've only been opened for a few short months and already, their reputation far precedes them! Owners Mo, Jon (rumored to be from San Fran) and their mascot Mojo are quickly becoming the talk of the town.

And like with any town, you get tired of the usual fillers. You meet up with friends for a quick hour or two to catch up, but you're not in the mood to drink, it's too late in the day for a coffee, it's too cold for frozen yogurt (sorry Skinnidip), you're not hungry enough to eat a full on meal, but you want something more satisfying than a tapioca pearl.... the new alternative on the east side?! Crepes!

I dragged my friend Yen (yes, this is Yen blogging, not Michael and in case you guys didn't know already know, we have a friend who's also named Yen) there today since we needed a place to hang out while she did some reading and I (pretended) to job hunt. Their menu consists of a variety of fruit toppings, spreads and ice cream flavors where you can make your own, but if you're feeling indecisive, order any of their signature crepes and you won't be disappointed. Like Tran, I ordered The Mojo, which had strawberries, bananas, vanilla ice cream, and nutella topped with a chocolate Pocky! As if that combination isn't already mouthwateringly blissful, they allow substitutions and even have complimentary coffee (with the good kind of creamer)! To top it all off, they're very moderately priced. You can hang out there as long as you want (well, Yen and I did anyway), play board games (Scrabble, Connect Four, Othello, Battle Ship, etc.), take sticker pictures (for free), post them on their wall, then chat it up with the owners who are super friendly and laid-back (not that I'd personally know since I'm anti-social and just grunt at everyone, but that's what I heard from Yen ;) which in this day and age, joints with that sort of leniency (substitutions and free coffee???) are pretty far and few in between (they're so nice there, you'd want to pay for the coffee)! So if you're in the neighborhood (doing your weekly shopping at Fubon next weekend - you know you are), make sure to swing by, grab a crepe and say hello!

Noble Rot

Voted Best Wine Bar of 2009 in Sunset Magazine (yes, yet another award... I am contemplating on creating a blog label just for "awards"), Noble Rot is quite the little gem on E. Burnside and from its fourth floor locale (plus it already sits on a hill), has magnificent views of downtown Portland - the only place I know of on this side of the river. If you know of any others, please do tell!

I'd never been to its previous location (on Ankeny St.) but this newer location has a rooftop garden which produces all year round (their seasonal food menu changes depending on whatever is ripe at the moment)! Happy hour is literally just an hour (5-6PM M-F), which is kind of lame for Portland standards, but for a wine bar, their menu is very generous. The place has a smooth, urban, cozy feel to it and the u-shaped booths are perfect for a close group of friends... or better yet, a first date! I really like it!

Zell's Cafe

Being unemployed undoubtedly has its perks. You sleep in, you take naps, and you eat leisurely breakfasts on weekdays. But unfortunately, 12.2% of Oregon is in the same boat as us and they all seemed to be at Pine State Biscuits yesterday morning!

I suppose it didn't help that the place was dinky and it was also Veteran's Day. People were jam packed in there. Usually, I wouldn't mind waiting for a seat (if the place is packed, it must be good right??) but we were starving and it didn't look like we had much hope of getting a seat even before dinner time!

So we whipped out an old issue of Portland Monthly we had in the car, which had a feature on breakfasts and found the next closest restaurant on the list - Zell's Cafe, known for their omelettes and corned beef hash. There was a wait, but not nearly as long. I was disappointed we couldn't eat at Pine State Biscuits, even though I'm not a huge fan of biscuits, but the place had great reviews, so I had mentally prepared myself for it all morning. And when I have my heart set on something, it isn't so easily reconciled with an alternative. But Zell's was a pleasant recourse, making amends with me by serving us complimentary fresh, hot scones as we sat down. I don't even usually like scones, but I like them at Zell's! I wonder if Pine State will make me feel the same way about their biscuits...

Bombay Cricket Club

I heard about this restaurant years ago, but recently, my friend Allison was raving about it. After reading reviews on Citysearch and Yelp however, I wasn't so sure what to expect. It seemed like diners either hated it or loved it, but the reviews were split almost evenly down the middle. Nevertheless, I was craving Indian food and with such limited choices for Indian cuisine in Portland, a few bad reviews weren't about to stop me (so long as there was an incremental or equal amount of good reviews too). If anything, bad reviews have helped managed my expectations so that I'm usually pleasantly surprised afterwards! Plus, I really liked the name of the place :)

So we ordered a greek salad (dunno' what that was doing on the menu, but it was good so who cares), chicken tikka masala, fish vindaloo and jhinga jalfrazi (prawn curry) with garlic naan. It wasn't bad (I think I'm having a hard time straight-up dissing a restaurant since I'm new to the food blogging scene), but if I'm honest, it wasn't great either. Please bear in mind however, my last few Indian food experiences have been in the two most Indian populated cities of the world (outside of India of course), so I have certain expectations. And while I've not been to India (I'm dying to go), I did eat enough of it in the last year to know the difference between masala and marinara <---- yep, that's what the fish curry tasted like. Good thing I was with great company, so I didn't mind the food so much at the time :) So what. They didn't knock my socks off (like Indian food is suppose to), but let's put it this way - if it was horrible, I probably wouldn't bother blogging about it.

Po-po-po-porno

I should be so lucky to have a boyfriend who enjoys spending hours on the internet looking at porn.

FOOD porn!

Sometimes we'll be hanging out at home and I'll look over at Michael, who's staring at his computer screen and smiling. A few minutes later, I'll hear him moan, "(y) uummm..." So I'll dart over to see if I can catch him in the act!

Looking at...

... a picture of a juicy gourmet burger!!! Or something of the like :)

Michael saves on his favorites, a bunch of food blogs which he reads daily. Too bad a lot of the restaurants we want to try are in New York, but it also seems that we've been lucky enough to move home just in time for a very up-and-coming Portland. Well, we knew Portland was cool for ages :P but now it's getting publicity all over the nation!

But even as Portland grows (at a terrifying rate - I know this because there is always traffic on I-84, even on Sundays), it still embraces the best of both worlds - staying true to its smaller, friendly city roots, while demurely adding big city conveniences - one of which is its amazing spread of restaurants.

When we started this blog earlier this year, our agreement was that Michael would blog on food and restaurants, while I would blog on... well, everything else! But since Michael is so busy reading other people's blogs, I have (grudgingly) begun taking over that duty as well :) I'm not as good as writing about food as he is, but I'm learning, so please be patient! With all the time I have on my hands and regretful that I did not give London the same opportunity, I am making it a point to blog more often about Portland's ever expanding variety of fantastic restaurants.

I thought about reviewing them on Yelp or Citysearch, but rather than get lost in the mix of hundreds of other reviews, I figured it was more important to illustrate to our own friends and family (especially those far away) what Portland has to offer.

But before moving forward!!!... there are a few notable mentions that I've tried within the last few months that I don't want to leave out. My most favorite being Screen Door, for its take on Southern comfort brunch. I loved (and will continue to love) their fried oyster benedict, along with their fried chicken & waffles and basically everything else on their brunch (<--- my most favorite meal of the weekend) menu - especially from their griddle! While we're on the topic of breakfast foods, I also very much enjoyed Cricket Cafe (with my newlywedded friend Uyen) and Helser's on Alberta (with my dear dear friend Anthy). I had no idea until this recent return that NE Alberta has developed into such a cool pocket of Portland!

Fried Chicken & Waffle at Screen Door

Moving on. Happy hour in Portland is like no other. While other cities stick to the traditional theme of offering discounts on alcoholic beverages during the slow hours of a weekday, Portland has famously taken it to a whole other level. Not only are the drinks cheap, but restaurants and bars compete with each other on offering a ridiculous array of foods. So much so, people these days go to happy hour in place of dinner! A combination of food, drinks and the friends that accompanied me make a few of these (off the top of my head) favorites: Pambiche - Cuban! Great atmospheric, outdoor seating and the happy hour starts at 2 PM! Go for a late lunch! Gold Dust Meridian - somewhere on SE Hawthorne. For some reason while here, I felt like I was on a boulevard in L.A! The Observatory - finally, a hip, hot spot in the SE 82nd / Stark area. Biwa - Japanase yakitori. I went with my Dad to drink it up when my mom was out of town :) 23 Hoyt- one of the sleekiest joints on 23rd with equally stylish outdoor seating. Owned by the same guys as Saucebox and Blue Hour, so you can't go wrong! The Original - Mr. Te's regular stop after work (when he use to work at the US Bank tower :) Try their daily hot dog specials! I dig their modern diner decor. Salty's - go for the riverview (and margaritas) like Tram and I did! Urban Farmer - all I can say is, "ooOoooHhhh." Candy - so cheap for the amount of food they give you! Tempura green beans - yum! Too bad it'll probably go out of business soon, judging by the club/lounge trend in the Pearl.

Which lead me to bars! I can't even begin with the bars! So I won't ;P

And then of course there are the staples... the ones that have been around since even before I left, but still persevere amongst the ever-changing competition i.e. Saucebox for swanky, pan-asian fare, Esan for Thai food and Portland City Grill, not only for its happy hour and views of the city, but a summer lunch with Kathy and Elaine revealed they had a pretty decent crab sammy! Oh and the sushi!!! It's so good to be surrounded by fresh yet affordable sushi! There's Suburo's monster sushi. And then there's Sinju in the Pearl; Sinju in Bridgeport; and more recently, Sinju in Clackamas. They're all empty as hell - you can't expect people to pay those prices in this economy (though it's still pretty darn good if you're up to go) when you can get a steal at Mio and Sushiland (talk about fast expansion)! But the spot of the moment is Miyomoto on SE Stark. I love fine dining (who doesn't), but I am a bigger fan of hole-in-the-wall dining and Miyomota is just that (thank you Tram & Yen)! It's so teeny (hence, hole-in-the-wall) that we befriended Wes, the sushi chef who promised to make a "YenYen Roll" if (the other) Yen and I became frequent customers :) I'm tempted to delete this recommendation because I'm unsure I want to spread the word about this place and risk it becoming too crowded :p but hey, if you've taken the time to read this long ass blog entry, maybe you deserve to know!

Enjoy!

Halloween 09'

After changing our minds about four times in the span of one week (the week before Halloween), we finally decided to settle on a Sesame Street theme - just in time for its 40th Anniversary! Michael went as Oscar the Grouch (so appropriate :) and a bunch of his friends went as Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie (although Bert and Ernie decided a steak dinner was more important than Halloween and did not show - so lame)!

Have you ever noticed that most of the Sesame Street muppets are male!? There's only three (Rosita, Zoe, and Abby Cadabby) that are female and of course, none of those characters had adult costumes for Halloween, so I had to improvise! I chose to be Abby Cadabby - apparently, she's quite popular with girls these days, but if you haven't watched Sesame Street recently, you wouldn't know who she was (I had to Google her myself) and subsequently, no one knew who I was suppose to be (it's hard to be a muppet when you don't have pink fur)!!! But my costume had LED lights on it, so by the end of the night, I just went as an eclectic fairy (ec-lectic, not electric :) Who cares! I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Elmo was the designated driver.