What's for dinner (6/28)?

My sister and I have been going back and forth about Ferran Adria lately...I'm still mesmerized by his creations (not to mention the works of others such as Grant Achatz), and find myself more and more tempted by a career change.  I often think that there are a number of "great engineering challenges" that I'd like to solve first, but that's a finite set that slowly grows with time as I become more invested in my career.  Conceivably, if I made a conscious decision to change, I could happily toil away on those problems and no others as I transition to a life of culinary magic.  I suspect, though, that the glamorous life of a chef, complete with smoke breaks, late hours, and rushing around madly in order to fulfill orders promptly, would never agree with me.  I'd have to take the slow food movement to a different level entirely, or else learn to work differently.  So, to make a long musing short, don't expect to see me switching careers any time soon.  However, do expect to see me start to have some fun in the kitchen now that I'm happy with the repertoire of recipes at my disposal (which includes Thursday night's dinner)...

Thursday night I had Mark over to watch the US Track and Field Olympic qualifying championships.  Given the short notice and late departure from work, I fell back on one of the old standards that I developed in grad school.  General Tso's chicken (or as Mark called it, General Matt's chicken since I pretty much just made up the recipe to be what I wanted it to be), is one of those dishes that can be a lot of fun with two people...one getting their hands caked with so much egg and flour batter that they look like bad props from a 60s era movie, and the other person whisking and stirring the sauce before it decides to burn or settle out of suspension.  In all, it's a relatively quick meal to do...about an hour...and usually has great results:

General Tso's (Matt's) Chicken

Chicken, sauce, broccoli, and whole grain rice.  Yum.  I generally judge the success of a dish by how quickly it gets eaten or by how many bowls full my dinner guests take.  And while dinner was successful in that regard, dessert was even more so.  I finally got around to using the last of my home made green tea ice cream to make green tea almond milk shakes.  After I gave Mark his, I turned around to frame and take this next photo, then turned back around and sat down, at which point I noticed that Mark's milk shake was empty.  So, by definition, that is a resounding success.  Sorry everybody, there's no more green tea ice cream left in my freezer, and I'm going with a very different flavor for the next venture into ice cream  making land...

Green Tea Almond Milk Shake

BBQ - Williamsburg Take #2

(June 25th, 2012) In case you didn't pick up on my last food-related post, I have a soft spot in my heart for soul food.  I suppose that's the Southern upbringing in me coming out, or perhaps it's more rooted in shared bonding experiences with my father.  Whatever the case may be, I planned on breaking up the drive from DC to Kitty Hawk with a stopover at Pierce's Pit BBQ for lunch.  Pierce's is a, well, used to be a tiny, road side dive off of I-64 in Virginia near Lightfoot (the first Williamsburg exit if you're headed East from Richmond).  Now, as you can tell from that website, it's grown into something a bit larger and fancier, but the soul of the BBQ is still there.  Nothing aesthetically fantastic, it's simply some good eats.

Jumbo sandwich (coleslaw on the bottom, out of sight), and sweet potato sticks.

What makes it so good?  Well, what makes any great pork dish so good?  Slowly cooking the meat for a looooong time (and sometimes in a scrumptious sauce).  Isn't that the secret to a good carne adovada?  For this BBQ, it's no different.  And, as this is a Southern institution, it's complete with coleslaw hiding on the bottom side of the sandwich...the contrast of the sweet, hot tender meat is met perfectly by the cold, crunchy, crisp taste of the coleslaw.  Paired with it was a side of sweet potato sticks.  I broke one open in the photograph for you to see how the insides are, essentially, molten sweet potato just waiting to ooze out.  So good.

Training Log, 6/18-6/24

Travel week.  Typically, these are my favorite weeks for running - an opportunity to try new trails, run to new destinations, and enjoy the insanely abundant amount of oxygen present at sea level!  This week, however, was a bit different.  It took me all week to figure out that the seats in my rental car were exacerbating an IT band problem that I've been having...something that normally would work itself out during the first quarter mile of a run was now persistently bugging me for six, seven, or even eight miles.  Just not fun.  On top of that, the heat and humidity were oppressive...how did I ever manage to grow up in that climate?  There's no question about it, I'm totally spoiled by New Mexico.  Last, but not least, my watch had no idea what was going on either.  By the time I got to DC, so running along forested trails with highly overcast skies, it just kept telling me that I was running a minute a mile slower than I normally do...was I getting sick or injured?  I just couldn't figure it out, so I did a loop that I've done dozens of times in the past and, lo and behold, my watch said it was magically a mile shorter than it normally is...so maybe I'm not going crazy, or I've just gone so crazy that it's reached the point where I don't know where that reality line is anymore...I'm guessing the former though...

Aside from all of that neurotic/incessant worrying about how I was feeling and running, it was a nice trip.  I gave myself a thorough tour of the game trails of William and Mary's campus in Williamsburg, VA, in addition to seeing some old, familiar haunts of yesteryear.  It'd be really nice to revisit that area during the spring or fall (and with a rental car that does not make me cringe at the thought of sitting in it...).

Now, without further adieu:
M: Pole line Pennsylvania loop on base (9.9)
Tu: The stables - golf course run on base (8.4)
W: Tramway from Academy to County Line and back (6.1)
Th: Around colonial Williamsburg and William and Mary (13)
F: Around William and Mary's campus trails (7.9)
Sa: Holmes Park Run in Alexandria, VA (7)
Su: Off
Total over 7 days: 52.3
Last 365 days: 3115.3

A little low this last week due to no long run, but my legs feel a lot fresher as a result.

Dining in DC

(June 23rd-24th, 2012) Stop three of my whirl wind tour of the East coast (stop 2 was back in my home town of Culpeper, VA! to visit the God parents) is in our nation's capitol, Washington DC.  Why do I always find myself describing life as whirl wind-esque?  Now, Kafka-esque...that'd be pretty surreal, but whirl wind-esque?  I do enjoy taking a moment in life to catch my breath and watch the clouds pass over the mountains...but it just seems that the opportunities for that are growing fewer and farther between as the years pass.  It's not been active decision on my part either...just the way life develops, or so I'd like to think.  Who knows, maybe if I were to sit down and apply the standard psychobabble to my condition, I'd see a deep seated pattern of restlessness within the physical confines of work that I felt a strong an intense desire to abandon.  Maybe I really did miss my calling to be a chef?  Well, I'd like to think that it's not too late to become a gastroengineer.  I think I'd want to do an internship with one of the chefs like Ferran Adria (Matt, what do you mean one of?  There is only one Ferran Adria! But, for your edification, there are two links...) before I could go down that road completely, and the chances of that happening are pretty low...would need to probably learn Spanish, move to Catalonia, somehow convince him to take me on (probably as a dish washer at first, then slowly work my way up), and, well, yeah...

Anyways, where was I?  Oh yes, DC.  Isn't that the whole purpose of this blog, to answer that simple question: where was/am I?  I don't even know half the time.

Contrary to what y'all might think, not every restaurant that I give my patronage to owns a Michelin star or James Beard award.  Just most of them. ;-)  Friday night was focused on getting me some good ol' soul food.  So, right after coming into town, I found myself sitting down at King Street Blues.  For all of you in Albuquerque, imagine the Range if it did ribs.  That's right, include the paper machee and all.  Nothing spectacular, but good, soul food, complete with hushpuppies and other fried goodness.

King Street Blues.  Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Saturday was a bit more culinary-centric...I started off by going to the farmer's market in Olde Towne Alexandria.  A few tempting morsels, but since I'm traveling the temptation was never too great (save for the seasoned and cured pork side meat that didn't need to be refrigerated).

Farmer's market in Olde Towne Alexandria.

Following that, I met up with Jeb Bernabucci, whom I've known since second grade.  Our original plan was Ethiopian food, but we felt inspired by a German beer garden by the name of the Standard, so we happily diverted ourselves to enjoying landjager (German jerky), brats, beer, and corn on the cob.  Good, simple food.  Oh what I have to look forward to in just a few months!

Hofbrau, Mexican-style corn on the cob, Bratwurst with kraut, and stone ground mustard.

From there, to continue cooling off from the hot and humid day that seems to be so prevalent on the East coast right now, we continued down 14th St. to Pitango Gelato Company.  I think that my visits into DC are either harried (by the nature of my company), or constricted (by the nature of the function, e.g. a conference), so I never have an opportunity to just *be* in DC.  Well, this time was different...we were just walking around DC and having a chance to enjoy city living.  It seemed a heck of a lot better than I remembered it being from yesteryears, but not enough to pull me back...

Mmmm, gelato.

As Saturday night rolled around, I found myself headed to Cheesetique, over in Del Ray.  Just picture what you think a restaurant/specialty grocery store called Cheesetique would be like, then double the amount of cheese.  And yes, it *is* that good too.

Some of Cheesetique's selection...

As you can imagine, we had to start with a cheese plate...a smokey/ashy soft cheese called Humbolt Fog, a pair of harder, milder cheeses called Montasio and Ossau Iraty, then a stinky blue cheese (the best!) called Valdeon, followed by a stinky brie-like cheese called the Stinking Bishop.  Scrumpdiddlyumptious!

Cheese plate:  top row: quince, olives, cherries.  2nd row: Valdeon, Humbolt Fog, black olive tapenade.  3rd row: Montasio and cornichons. 4th row: Stinking Bishop, Ossau Iraty, and bruschetta. Last row: grapes.

For the actual meal, I ended up with a grilled caprese sandwich, topped with pancetta and accompanied by a Duchesse Sour Ale.  Have I mentioned before that I love pancetta?  Especially when it's fried in duck fat and truffle oil?  I think that I have.  This pancetta was not prepared that way, but it was pancetta, served on tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil.  So pure and delicious.  And the sour ale...wow...that had quite a bit of a sour kick at the end.

Duchesse Sour Ale

Caprese Sandwich with pancetta added and potato salad.

Sunday saw a trip to Virtue Feed and Grain for brunch.  The previous time that I had been there was for their normal menu...think pates, plowman's meals, shepherd's pie, etc.  Terrific, though whole-hog type food.  The brunch menu, sadly, was not as adventurous, but still good.  I ended up with Eggs Benedict, Chesapeake style, which meant crab instead of ham.  Mmmm, how I enjoy being on the East coast again to enjoy sea food regularly.

Eggs Benedict, Chesapeake style.

Previous visit: Shepherd's Pie, with Engine Oil to drink.

Last stop for the DC dining experience was somewhat unexpected (at least from the stand point of including it in this blog).  Sunday afternoon I went into the city for Fr. Steggert's (my old biology teacher from high school), going away celebration.  After the mass, we moved into the school for a couple hours of finger food.  Well, the finger food selection was amazing as you can see below:

From left: lemon meringue in a lime, cake pop, cheesecake in a strawberry, caprese (yes, those are balsamic filled pipettes!), and pulled beef slider.

In case I didn't emphasize it enough in the caption, that is a tomato stuffed with mozzarella, basil, and *A BALSAMIC VINEGAR FILLED PIPETTE!*  Not shown were the bite sized crab cakes, vegetable shots, chicken kabobs, shrimp skewers, beef tenderloin sliced ontop of croutons with blue cheese and tomatoes, a soup spoon filled with water mellon and balsamic vinegar, amongst many other delectable treats.  I think these dishes are going to revolutionize how I do caprese salad from now on!

The Fat Canary Sings in Williamsburg

(June 21st, 2012) Southern Virginia, land of magnolias, colonial architecture, and constant reminders of the war of Northern aggression...ah, how the sweet memories of childhood are coming back to me.  I'm in Williamsburg today for a conference...that in and of itself is a bit of a fiasco, but that's another story not for this blog.

Colonial Williamsburg is a charming though odd juxtaposition of historical relics and modern finesse.  Interspersed throughout the town are pastures, ponds, and barnyard animals.  In the middle of the historic district, though, is the college of William and Mary as well as an ouppie (as opposed to yuppie) shopping area, complete with a Talbot's, Williams Sonoma, and the types of stores that sell the gaudy clothes that I can only imagine my grandmother's friends donning...one positive to this commercialization is the presence of a few unexpectedly divine (yes, divine) restaurants.

But first, let me take you on a three minute walk around part of Colonial Williamsburg.  Starting with the end of Scotland St (could I start anywhere else, really?), we come to this picturesque meadow, pond, and a few barnyard animals running around out of sight of the camera:

East end of Scotland St. in Colonial Williamsburg

On the other side of those trees, we find the aforementioned shopping district.  The Fat Canary, which I'll get to shortly, is just off to the left.  Williamsburg must have imported a few Englishmen, because there was an astoundingly large number of English gardens per capita...

Colonial Williamsburg's shopping district

Then turning around 180 degrees and walking two blocks (past more meadows filled with barnyard animals) brings us back to the colonial architecture.  Cannons are off camera to the right.

Colonial architecture, how I miss thee.

My sole culinary foray into Williamsburg found me dining at The Fat Canary.  After having my high expectations for places that are supposed to be good shattered by my lackluster visit to the Boulevard two weeks ago, I had reasonably low expectations for this dining experience.  Having learned another important lesson in San Francisco: always ask for the chef's table if dining alone, I was slightly let down that they had no idea what I meant by a chef's table.  After explaining, they did their best to try and accommodate me, but still...no view of the food being prepared let alone chances to talk with the chefs.

For starters, I had rabbit fricassee, with wild mushrooms, leeks, sage, and a buttermilk biscuit.  Oh, what a delightful surprise!  With flavors reminiscent of my Southern childhood, but in combinations hitherto unexperienced - the way the biscuit melded with the savory sauce, which could best be described as a buttery gravey with hints of savory.  The rabbit, succulent and falling off the bone into my belly. Mmmmm, so good to start.  I fear that this set an unattainably high bar for the next course though...

Rabbit fricassee over wild mushrooms, leeks, and a savory sauce with a buttermilk biscuit.

The fish of the day, a flash fried grouper, was a dish about contrasts...the tender Carolina shrimp playing off the semisweet tomato basil garnish, the asparagus giving the crunch and flavor to compliment the succulent jumbo lump crab, and the grouper itself providing the mellow flavor to balance out the strength of the lemon and pesto sauces.  Alas, though, it couldn't meet the bar set by the rabbit fricassee as the sauces too quickly dissipated into the tomato garnish...everything in this dish was fantastic, save for the grouper-sauce pairing.  With the sauces not holding together on their own, the grouper was left standing at the prom without a dance partner.  Poor lonely grouper, you had such potential...

Fish of the day: Grouper.  Maybe I should have set about eating that yellow sauce before it went poof instead of photographing it...

And this brings us to the dessert, the defining moment of the meal.  The dessert, Amish cake with goat cheese ice cream topped with a huckleberry sauce, was simply exquisite...the cogs in my head are still spinning relentlessly as I try to figure out how to make the goat cheese ice cream.  I think that I've finally found the incentive that I need to empty my tub of green tea ice cream so that I can start the goat cheese experiments!  Nothing in the dish was particularly sweet, save for the ring of honey drizzled around the edge, but that's what made it just right. Ahhh, I shall sleep happily tonight with visions of goat cheese ice cream covered in huckleberry sauce dancing in my head.  After the rabbit fricassee, I didn't think that anything could top that, but this dessert proved me pleasantly wrong.

Amish cake with goat cheese ice cream and a huckleberry sauce.  Divine.

I feel that I have only just begun to crack the delicacies that exist within the Fat Canary.  Too bad I've no clue when I'll be back by this area to try a round two...

What's for dinner (6/18)?

Every so often I get asked what I normally cook for dinner.  I generally am pretty ho-hum about my response...some type of pasta with my home made arrabiata sauce and maybe chicken parmesan with home made bread sticks, or unagi-don or some other rice based dish, etc.  I suppose I have a warped definition of what's a quick meal (I mean, heck, I have two dinners a night - the first to tide me over, and the second two hours later when I finish in the kitchen), but I enjoy it and that's what's important.  Anyways, since my meals rarely are aesthetically pleasing (if it's just for me, the taste is all that matters), I don't normally feel like sharing, but last night was yummy enough that you get to see it anyways:

Pancetta, andouille sausage, basil, rosemary, porcini oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh grated mozzarella, colby jack cheese, my arrabiata sauce, and a whole wheat crust...I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight already!  One lesson that I always struggle in learning (i.e. I've yet to learn it despite experiencing this dozens of time) is to throw the basil on when the pizza is almost done.  You can see in the photo that it's wilted from being baked for 10 minutes...one of these days that lesson will sink in...until then I'll enjoy it all the same.  As a side note, my new favorite guilty pleasure is pancetta fried in duck fat and porcini oil.  I need to start working that into more dishes...if it every lasts that long!

Training Log, 6/11-6/17

Recovery week...sort of.  I fear that I've become too impatient in terms of resting after races.  I just feel, though, that the last month has been resting and recovering from races...starting with tapering for Acoma, recovering from Acoma, tapering for Valle Caldera, and now recovering from Valle Caldera.  I'm ready to start putting some serious miles back on my legs now!  But, the first obstacle is to actually try to recover from Valle Caldera before I do that.  I know that I like to use the excuse that 'I train to recover quickly,' but I think that both you and I know what two letters best describe that...

As usual, Mark and I did far too many runs together.  At some point you'd think that we would run out of things to discuss, but there's always the easy topics of food, women, spirituality, weekend plans, week night plans, etc. etc., and, biggest of all, running.   Just in case we don't get sick of it, we talk about it ad nauseum.  'Dude, where'd you get those kicks? Do they come in a color other than neon orange?' or 'What type of track work out do you want to do tomorrow?'  Of course, that last question I ask every day to myself...if only I could go to the track that often.  And yes, I do know that I have a sickness about that, but I've got it under control!  Honest!

Of course, our latest conversation topic was the diatribe on whether we'll run out of things to say...just in case that possibly happens, I now have a plan.  As inspired by Shirley Jackson's short, "The Lottery," one person each day from our 823 running crew will be selected (presumably by casting lots or some other semi-random but totally fixed methodology) to run with us at our pace and to provide conversation topics in case we run out of them.  I don't think it's come to that just yet, but any runners from 823 can consider themselves warned!

Anyways, on to the weekly log:
M: Off
Tu: Aimlessly running around base (5.3)
W: The stables - golf course run on base (9.1)
Th: The Truman gate run on base (9.5)
F: The Eubank-Wyoming-Gibson gate loop (8)
Sa: Tramway: Montgomery/Manitoba - County Line loop (9.1)
Su: Bosque from Alameda south, with 2x2.5 mi at 6:20 pace (17.1)
Total over 7 days: 58.1
Last 365 days: 3134.9

I don't think that I did a very good job of taking it easy...

Weekend's Culinary Excursions

Another weekend, and another trip to Santa Fe.  You may be noticing a bit of a pattern here...it seems that just about any time I have a craving for sushi, I seem to concoct an excuse to travel north to Santa Fe.  Granted, growing up in the DC metropolitan area, it felt like everything was a 45 minute drive away - going ten miles to school, traveling up to Maryland to visit a friend, or even just a short two mile jaunt to the dry cleaners as my mother would always find ways to tack on extra, unannounced errands (oh, the church is only a mile out of the way, and CVS is just across the street...).  So, the drive up to Santa Fe (all 50 miles of it in a 75 mph zone), always comes across as pleasantly fast...especially when you know what's waiting for you.

One of the things I love about Santa Fe is how extensive and pedestrian friendly their old town is.  There're only a few things that I enjoy more in town than walking around while people watching and window shopping.  And Santa Fe never seems to be short on either, especially with festivals just about every other weekend.  This past weekend the whole plaza had been cordoned off for local craftsmen to sell their wares - about 100 stalls in all.  And while walking past their booths often leaves me with a puzzlement over who would buy a turquoise and red corral pinkie ring featuring a fertility spirit carving or matching shade hats and pillow sets for your favorite pooches (I wish I was joking about that one...), it's still fun to see the creativity and skill that goes into the goods on display.

Street festival on the plaza in Santa Fe.

 

More of the festival and the plaza.

After a brief stop at Marble's taproom, I made my way down to Shohko where I met Kim and some of her family.  In writing about Shohko, I fear that I'll eventually run out of ways to say really, really, really frickin' good sushi...perhaps words such as fantabulous, spectagrific, or awerockinating will become the norm as I exhaust my SAT fed vocabulary.  Our order consisted of sea bass nigiri, high toro nigiri, smoked pike nigiri, the house sashimi plate, the Alaskan roll, the chef's choice roll, and that night's special, the lobster roll.  I fear that I still am lamenting the fact that I didn't get a photo of the lobster roll...in addition to it being a special that I can't order every time I go back!  The lobster-filled sushi yumminess was, simply put, to die for.  And, to complete the aesthetic aspect of the plate, the shell of the lobster where the meat came from was placed to frame the roll perfectly.  The chef's choice roll I do have a picture of...this time around it was wild salmon and avocado on top, with asparagus, yellow tail, and something crunchy inside.  The crunchy ingredient was pure genius as it provided the perfect contrast in texture to the rice, fish, and avocado.  To think, the first few times I went to Shohko I wasn't impressed with their rolls...maybe this was due to being spoiled by Noda's, and maybe this was due to just not knowing what to order...

The chef's choice roll.

My culinary excursions for the weekend did not end there, no sir!  Sunday afternoon found Mark and me headed down to Casa Rodena Winery in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque where we met our running buddy Liz and her friend Sam.  When I first moved to the land of enchantment (or entrapment, take your pick), the wine festivals left me sadly dissapointed - the Merlots didn't taste like Merlots but rather something fruity, the Zinfandels tasted dry (did they just mislabel those two?), half the wines were gimicky (re: red chile, chocolate, etc.), and the Snozzberry wines tasted nothing like snozberries...okay, maybe my memory is a little fuzzy at that point, after all we are talking about wine *festivals*, but you get the picture.  Lately I've been learning, though, that some of these wineries actually know what they're doing!  Imagine that...  After going through a complete tasting, we settled on a bottle of the Vigonier (not quite as sweet as I was expecting, so it really hit the spot for a hot, summer afternoon!), which we enjoyed over the picnic of cheese, hummus, fruit, and other delectables that Liz and Sam brought.  For those of you that haven't ventured that way yet, I highly recommend wine and a picnic as Casa Rodena...very pleasant atmosphere; and, as you can see below, it has four things that the majority of New Mexico is sorely lacking: water, shade, trees, and greenery (note that the presence of trees in New Mexico does not necessitate the presence of greenery)!

The grounds at Casa Rodena.  So much green!

The Valle Caldera Marathon, and training log

The Valle Caldera Marathon, 26.2 miles of running along jeep roads in various states of being, a climb from 8,000 feet to 10,000 feet, and two killer hills at miles 20 and 23.  This is, undoubtedly, the toughest marathon that I ever do, and quite possibly the most demanding race that I'll ever do, assuming that I don't give in to the ultra-running temptation.  So, why would I subject myself to this painful ordeal?  Quite simply because of the natural beauty of the Valle Caldera.  As a runner, this is the easiest, and one of the only ways to see the entire expanse of the Valle Caldera.  From the high point on Redondo Peak, the expanse of the caldera stretches out before you, dotted with green meadows and dense forests.  For those of you familiar with New Mexico, you understand that these can be rare sights around here.  Totally worth it.

Some of the Sandia running crew: Erick, Me, Diana, Charles, Patrick, and Margaret before our races.

 

This year's race proved even more spectacular than in years past for several reasons.  Right from the start of the race, I found myself out in front, and after the second mile I found myself alone in the woods running through the caldera.  Never having been so uniquely in front and isolated on this course before, I was the lucky person that got to startle all of the animals off of the trail as I came through.  First an elk at mile 4.5, then a large black bear near mile 10.  While I've run into small black bears in the Sandias before, this one gave me momentary pause due to it's immense size.  Luckily, for my sake at least, the bear took off through the woods upon seeing me.  The next 8 miles proved to be rather devoid of sensory inputs other than the scenery, but as I closed on mile 18 and struggled through the first 'wall' of the course, I was rejuvenated by running into spectators, including Kim, who cheered me on.  New this year, the preserve officials arranged to transport spectators out to the middle of the course to cheer us on.  On a marathon that is otherwise devoid of people outside of the aid stations, this was a god-send.  Especially with having Kim there to cheer me up and make me forget the pain that was fast approaching with the hills at mile 20 and 23.

Elk passing through the Valle Caldera near the marathon course.

One aspect of my racing is that I'm rather paranoid.  I hear the sound of my breathing and foot steps, and constantly think that it's someone coming up behind me.  With this motivation I kept forging ahead, determined to break my goal of 3:30.  After coming off the last hill, I started to realize that even running conservatively (fat chance that I was going to do that on a down hill so close to the end!), this goal wouldn't be a problem at all.  So, I'm pleased to report that I finished in 3:27:45, good enough for first place overall by about ten minutes.  That elusive first overall finally has been achieved.  I've been racing strong this year (or at least I'd like to think), but up until now it had frustrated me with several second place finishes and age group placings.  It's nice that things seem to have come full circle by achieving this goal on the course of my first ever marathon from three years ago.

Me with my 1st place trophy!

And, by request, my training log for this past week.  Since it was a taper week, low mileage, lots of resting, and nervousness in anticipation of the marathon.  For my trip to San Francisco, while normally I'd do a long, long run to check out the city on foot, I was constrained to just a short jaunt around the waterfront of South San Francisco in order to rest up. There was a gorgeous 1000 foot hill ripe for running behind our hotel, but I managed to resist its call this time...

Miles this week:
M: Pole Line - Pennsylvania loop plus 1 mile of strides (9.4)
Tu: Tuesday Handicap race route on base, plus 3/4 mile of strides (7.7)
W: Short loop around the base golf course, plus 1/2 mile of strides (7.4)
Th: To the Fartlek course through the arroyo on base, plus 1/4 mile of strides (5.9)
F: South San Francisco waterfront (5.4)
Sa: Rest
Su: Valle Caldera Marathon, plus warm up and cool down (28)
Total over 7 days: 63.8
Last 365 days: 3136.8

Update 6/19:  Results!  Apparently 3:27 is the 4th fastest time ever on that course...the course record is just 3:19:47...maybe I need to run it again next year...

Decadence in San Francisco

This past weekend found me traveling to San Francisco with Kim.  Since she was going to be busy with work-related activities all day Friday, I set out into the city for a self-created culinary tour of San Francisco.  Armed with my new phone, the Michelin Star List of San Francisco restaurants, and too much energy for my own good since I was tapering for a marathon on Sunday (um, yeah...more about that in the next post), I set out in search of whatever delicious morsels I could come across.

First up on my list were pastries from Stella's Pastry and Cafe.  It was a surreal feeling, getting there, because as I emerged from the light rail in the middle of San Francisco, I looked around to get my bearings and immediately knew and recognized where I was.  All of the memories from the one real trip that I had made to San Francisco some eight years previously came flooding back to me.  So, as I set off to collect a box of pastries to share with Kim later that evening, I detoured to Cafe Grecco, where I fondly remember sitting with my sister while taking in the sights of San Francisco's Little Italy.  This visit to Cafe Grecco was no less charm filled as well...once I grabbed a latte, I plopped down outside and proceeded to be entertained by a lively conversation between three old Italian gentlemen who would pause their conversation long enough to flirt with any young woman that walked by.

Making my way across the street to Stella's, the smell of pignoli's, baci di darma, and other Italian treats wafted through the air to consume my attention.  More memories rapidly surfaced, though this time from visits to New York's Little Italy.  The only things missing were the rainbow cookies that I used to enjoy there.

Second on my list was the Ferry Plaza and farmers market in the clock tower building by the bay.  After leaving Stella's I hiked back across town to see what ingredients would tempt me.  Luckily, since I was traveling, I didn't have to worry too much about emptying my wallet, but the markets still managed to find my kryptonite: salt.  I'm never quite sure how, anymore, but whenever I run into another salt-loving kindred spirit, we can talk for hours on end.  Friday's excursion, luckily, resulted in me only buying one bottle of Murray River Pink salt flakes....the type that melt in your mouth, not in your hand, with a very delicate, almost floral taste.  Mmmmm, salt.  Other food stalls, which normally would have been very dangerous for me to wander through, included mushrooms, whole hog style meat, artisan cheeses, California wines (though I did pick up a bottle for enjoyment that night), and more pastries (which, of course, I felt obligated to buy for consumption later that evening). 

Mushrooms galore!

After leaving the market, it was time to head to my first lunch reservation: The Boulevard.  Admittedly, I had high hopes heading into this restaurant as it holds a Michelin star.  The food itself was very creative and artfully done, but my expectations proved too high to overcome.  The appetizer that I ordered, tuna tartar, had a colorful garnish/salad across the top that provided a welcome contrast in texture to the tuna; however, the tastes of the garnish just blended in with the tuna and weren't able to provide a contrast or accentuation that you'd expect.  The three pieces of crisp, flat bread that you see in the photo, on the other hand, had a blend of Mediterranean herbs that, in a greater quantity, would've been perfect for pairing with the tuna...

Tuna tartar at The Boulevard.

The main course that I ordered was wood oven roasted Kobe Beef, served with an arugula salad, Bruno del Rosso Tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar.  The ingredients couldn't have been better - everything was taste perfect in my head, but the way that the dish was tied together (i.e. sauces), were just too mild to the point where the question came in to my head as to 'why bother?'  Maybe it's just me...anyone reading this probably knows that I always need overbearing flavors to be happy, though I was perfectly happy savoring the flavor and texture of the beef itself.  One other side note from The Boulevard is that I really need to make more of an effort to sit at the chef's table in the future.  Watching how the kitchen operates is always fascinating - some are well oiled machines in which each chef has his/her own role in the preparation of dishes, while others are chaotic scrambles with little semblance of a coherent plan.  The Boulevard definitely fell into the former category, so much so that the temptation to leave the engineering world behind to return to a life of cooking had never been closer...

Kobe beef with an arugula salad.

In case I hadn't splurged enough for lunch, I decided that what I really needed was oysters for dessert.  I mean, I'm a stone throw away from the Pacific...I had no real excuse for not indulging in some sea food during my short visit. Thus I found myself heading back to Hog Island Oyster Co. in the clock tower building.  Always believing that variety is the spice of life, especially when I can't remember what my favorite variation of oysters is, I opted for the mixed platter.  It never ceases to amaze me how much variation there is from one oyster to the next, from a briny, salty flavor to a smooth succulent butter.  For the record, my favorites of the six that I had ended up being the Kumamoto and the Kusshi (the other four were the Hog Island Sweetwater, Hog Island Atlantics, then two more flown in from Washington).  What type of oyster eater are you?

The oyster bar mix at Hog Island Oyster Co.

After taking a break from dining, I met back up with Kim where we were able to start enjoying the goods that I had accumulated (macarons, Italian pastries, California wine, etc.) before heading out to meet Nate and Mai for dinner at One Market Restaurant.  Like The Boulevard, this also had earned a Michelin star; however, unlike The Boulevard, this easily exceeded all expectations that I had.  While I only have one picture to share, the food was simply amazing.  We started off with more oysters and then hand-picked dungeness crab, which had a mild crab flavor and an almost melt in your mouth buttery quality to it.  For the main course, as is the case many places, I saw duck on the menu and couldn't bring myself to look away.  The roasted duck breast was served with foie gras sausage, farro, nettles, and an Earl Grey sauce.  The duck was that amazing type of duck that's crispy on the outside but pink and succulent on the inside.  One of my greatest failings as a chef is not knowing how to prepare duck this way.  I'm setting this as my next goal in cooking as I've had enough with not being able to replicate this.  The farro (green rice like things in the picture) added the contrast that I so desperately had hoped for with lunch, and the foie gras sausage was, well, simply incredible as foie gras should be to justify it.

Roasted duck breast served with foie gras sausage, farro, nettles, and an Earl Grey sauce.

The other entrees at our table were fabulous as well...Nate went with a four course lamb meal (that's right, four!!! courses of lamb), and the other two dishes were scallops and steak.  There's definitely more on the menu that I'd love to explore, so after I finish the other restaurants on my Bay area dining list (topped by the French Laundry and Chez Panisse), I'll have to make my way back to One Market.  The thought of living out in that area and being able to enjoy food like this all the time is awfully tempting...

The last leg of the trip, from a gastronomical perspective, was lunch on Saturday.  We stopped in at the House of Nanking in China Town.  The food was simple and delicious, as you'd expect from a stop in the middle of China Town.  We started off with a noodle soup complete with whole fish (which we of course picked apart and devoured!) as seen below, followed by the "Scallop Tower," which was a nice stack of eggplant, lemon, and scallops.  The meal was rounded out by the Bao Bing wrap (think rice tortillas, so kinda thick, with a sweet and spicy beef and fresh veggies), and the house noodles.  Luckily, by the time the noodles came out, everyone else was a little full, so I was able to finish my carb loading for Sunday's marathon in style as I gobbled up everything that was left.  The noodles really hit the spot, a definite must for anyone visiting (in addition to everything else we got, of course...will have to go back with more people so we can eat even more dishes next time!), as they were a type of buckwheat or whole wheat noodles coated with a soy-garlic sauce. 

Soup at the House of Nanking.

And, just like that, my short stay in San Francisco came to an end.  It seems that I've taken longer writing this post than I spent awake in the city...already looking forward to my next visit, whenever that may be!

Updated 6/17: my fact checker caught a few mistakes.

Elizabeth in the news

As many of you have heard by now, my sister has recently published her first book, "Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law."  Well, for those of you that want the one paragraph synopsis, you can find it at New Books in Philosophy, and for those of you with much more time on your hands, you can watch her interview on Philosophy TV.

I think one of the things that I like about her book the most so far (and admittedly I haven't made it very far yet as I'm trying to finish up another book first), is the example that she uses to frame the start of her arguments.  Growing up, there were two little old ladies (widows I think) that lived across the street from us.  They weren't related, they weren't in a romantic relationship, but they provided support and care for each other.  If one of them had an accident or disease and ended up in the hospital, then the other would have none of the rights given to family for visiting even though they were essentially all the family that the two of them had in the world.  It's this type of argument that she explores in her book for why we should be able to grant rights to people in relationships that are not necessarily romantic or heterosexual depending on the context...But, as with all philosophical discourses, this does open a slippery slope.  You'll have to watch her interview or read the book to get all of the details.  If you want a signed copy, let me know, and I'll see about how arrangements can be made to get you one.

Update 6/13/12: Now in Italian!

Update 6/15/12: Cal Poly book of the month: "Elizabeth Brake's "Minimizing Marriage" is one of the most interesting, well-written, and well-argued books about the future of marriage written in a long while."

Update 11/1/12:  Glowing reviews: "it is by far the most sophisticated and challenging discussion of marriage known to me by any contemporary political philosopher. It should be  required reading for every political philosopher, and for every philosopher who is seriously interested in marriage."

Training Log, 5/28-6/3

By request, believe it or not, I'm including my training regimen for each week now.  I know, really?  But this has actually been asked for.  Anyways, without further adieu...

Training this past week was a bit contorted.  The Sky City Seed Run was on Monday, and, for a change, I certainly felt it come Tuesday.  That's always a great sign that you ran hard enough in a race.  As a consequence, though, I spent half the week recovering and then, lo and behold, it was time to start tapering for the Valles Caldera Marathon, which is this coming Sunday.  So, to make a long story short, this was an unexpectedly easy week.  My body could certainly use the rest, though, as this past training cycle saw new highs in mileage with a seven day high mileage of about 87 miles since my last half marathon.  Strangely enough, I'm actually pretty eager for the next cycle to begin as I set out to try and set a big PR at the Frankfurt marathon.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Trying to keep focus on Sunday's race.

Miles this week:
M: Acoma (10.4 miles total)
Tu: Tramway: Montgomery/Manitoba - County Line loop (9.4) - This has become my default from home it seems.
W: Pole Line - Pennsylvania route on base (7.4) - The default Monday run with Mark...
Th: Past Cedric's house and back (7) - Cedric, if you're reading this, it's 3.2 miles door-to-door
F: Tramway: Montgomery/Manitoba - County Line loop (9.4)
Sa: Hyde Park - Waterfall and Circle Trails (4)
Su: Sandia Crest (13.1)
Total over 7 days:  60.7
Last 365 days: 3125.3

Dining Santa Fe

Santa Fe is one of those cities that I think that I could spend a month in, and still not try all of the fantastic restaurants that it has to offer.  Since my sister was visiting this week and it was just the two of us in New Mexico for the first time, really, taking her out for a day in Santa Fe was non-negotiable.

We started the day off at Shoko for lunch...you can never go wrong with the sashimi and the chef's choice roll there.  As I've heard many people exclaim, including several Japanese business men, Shoko is one of the best sushi places that they've ever been to in the US.  Kinda hard to believe given our lack of ocean here, but the taste buds don't lie!

Golden Eye Snapper

Chef's choice roll

Getting ready to bite down on some Unagi!

Next on our tour de food was the Kakawa Chocolate House.  My sister, especially since she became sick last year, seems to have a never ending craving for sipping chocolate.  This provided a wonderful excuse for me to visit the Kakawa Chocolate House, an establishment that I've been meaning to visit for several years now.  They had eight varieties of sipping chocolate - four Euro-centric, and four Mexican-stylized (which tend to be a higher percentage cacao, and thus slightly more bitter...yummm).  One could almost fill up on the free samples that they were more than happy to provide, but in the end I decided to go with some of the chile chocolate. 

Following the Kakawa Chocolate House, we eventually made our way down to the Marble tap room located right off the plaza.  The beer that I had been craving, which I enjoyed a few weeks back the last time I was up that way, was a double black Belgian style ale.  Scrumpdidlyumptious!  Alas, they had already rotated it out of their selection, so I was left to choose either my default standard, an Oatmeal Stout, or break with my normal beer rule and drink something that's not opaque and black.  In the end, I settled on a double white Belgian ale, and was pleasantly surprised at how crisp it was and how it was extremely refreshing for a warm summer afternoon.  I think that I'm going to have to revisit my beer rule now...

That's my sis!

The food themed events of the day are still nowhere near over.  Eventually, after Marble, we made our way down to the Spanish Table where, much to my mock dismay, I discovered my kryptonite - salt.  Once upon a time, I was a naive Matthew, and thought that salt was salt.  Little did I know that there was a whole world of subtle (and some not so subtle sulfuric variations) tastes amongst the different varieties of salt...from the eggy taste of black Himalayan rock salt to the crisp Nectarine after taste of Korean Sea Salt.  Coming out of the Spanish Table, I feel as if I had about two pounds of salt...I had no will power to resist.

Luckily, from there, we made it to our last culinary stop of the day, the Coyote Cafe.  As I close my eyes to write this, I can still imagine how the food melted in my mouth - from the appetizer of spring rolls filled with goat cheese and papaya to the smoked haddock that my sister enjoyed to my entree of Scottish salmon and scallops over a bed of rapini, mushrooms, lobster ravioli, and a light cream sauce.  Truth be told, I wasn't wild about my salmon and scallops...the scallops were succulent, and everything you'd want in a scallop, but the flavor just didn't mesh with everything else.  The bed of vegetables and lobster ravioli, on the other hand, is something I could make a week's worth of meals out of and still not have had enough.  My sister's haddock (another good Scottish fish) was just right too.  All in all, the Coyote Cafe lived up to our expectations.

Goat cheese and papaya spring rolls.

Smoked haddock over tomato grits

Scottish salmon and scallops over a bed of rapini, mushrooms, lobster ravioli, and a light cream sauce.

Thus, as the day drew to an end, five Santa Fe gastronomical experiences had been crossed off of our list, with only about four dozen left to go...

Acoma Seed Run

Those of you that know me, and I'm presuming that's most anybody that'd be reading this, know how much I vocally support the Acoma (Sky City) Seed Run.  It's one of the few times that you can visit a reservation and feel heartily welcomed into the community.  Even though the race fees are but a pittance in the grand scheme of things, the people of Acoma are just extremely grateful to have you there with them on Memorial Day.

This year was no different.  I went, I ran, and I, along with everyone else, reflected on why we had that day off as a holiday.  The running bit worked out pretty well...I was healthy for a change (as in previous years I had been suffering from one ailment or another leading up to this race), and managed to finish second while setting a P.R. on the course by five minutes for a time of 54:24ish.  It was a good day to run.

The gang from the Albuquerque Road Runners.  I'm second from the right sporting my Dukes Track Club shirt.  Everyone goes home with pottery it seems.

I think that if I move away from New Mexico, the one race that I'd come back for every year would be the Acoma Seed Run.  I can't stress enough how rewarding of an experience it is to interact with that community and to see how much they appreciate you being there.  If you're interested in joining me next year, just let me know and I'll sign you up!

San Pedro Peaks Wilderness

May 25th, the start of the Memorial Day weekend, what better time to go camping?  On a whim, Mark and I headed off to the Northwest corner of the Jemez to an area where satellite images claimed that there'd be water.  Surprisingly, for New Mexico at least, we ended up in a lush, creek and swamp filled wilderness situated at some 10,000 feet.  I almost hesitate to say where this is - similar to finding a true gem of a restaurant, there's the distant urge to keep it secreted away so that you never have to find yourself waiting for a table...though at least in the case of a restaurant, the desire to see them take off trumps and so you tell all about it. 

We put in at the Clear Creek trail head late in the afternoon since we both decided to work on our off day.  Clear Creek was true to its name as idyllic, clear water flowed constantly beside us during our whole journey up to the San Gregorio Reservoir, then up along the upper Clear Creek trail. 

San Gregorio Reservoir

One thing that constantly struck me was how devoid of people this wilderness was.  I mean, water in New Mexico?  I had a hard time fathoming why it wasn't ten times more crowded than it actually was (this wonderment was quelched when we hiked out and discovered about 100 people - I kid you not as we counted - at the reservoir fishing for the day).

The truly marvelous aspect of this backpacking trip, though, was that after just 2-3 miles, we were able to find a dozen beautiful camp sites that afforded privacy and the constant babble of the creek to lull us to sleep.  That, coupled with the runnable trails that Mark and I took advantage of the next morning, made this experience something that we'll be looking to replicate later in the summer with more crazy friends that'd be willing to backpack and run for a weekend.

Dinner in style: curry over brown rice with Tecate.

And, let's not forget how the trip ended.  After getting lost on our trail run (turning a short five mile jaunt into a muddy 9 mile adventure), we were able to wash off in the creek by our campsite (thank goodness for camping towels!), then pack out.  Once on the road, it was just a short 25 minute drive back to Cuba and El Bruno's.  For those of you that haven't been there yet, you're missing out!  El Bruno's is one of the few bright spots along 550 that I look forward to when driving between Bernalillo and Bloomfield/Farmington.