Woodhouse Fish Co, you won me over.

This past weekend my aunt and uncle were in town, so I brought them to Woodhouse Fish Co, on Fillmore Street. I had already been there a couple weeks prior and hadn't been hugely impressed by it, but had decided to give it a second try. And am I glad I did! The first time I went there we started out with the appetizer special of the day, which was cooked asparagus. It was plain and pretty much tasted exactly the same as when I cook it at home. The only difference: at Woodhouse it costs $8. For dinner I had the crab BLT, which was dry and unexciting. My boyfriend had fish, veggies and potato cooked in parchment paper, which he said was good but nothing special. The second time I went back, I had one of the best meals I've had in a long time! It was the stuffed artichoke. Basically they took an artichoke, cut it in half and grilled it with some seasoning I can't put my finger on. Then they stuffed fresh crab into one side and shrimp into the other. It was on top of a bed of lettuce, tomato and beets with a light dressing. There was cocktail sauce for the shrimp and a creamy sauce for the crab. It was light, yet filling. I will be going again and again for this dish, but I probably won't ever get anything else on the menu again. 

A weekend at the theater

With the arrival of Memorial Day comes the releases of the better movies of the summer. There's so much out there that I want to see right now, so we had to hit the movie theater twice over the long weekend. The first movie we went to see was "Hangover 2." I loved the original movie. This one was your typical sequel. The plot was exactly the same as the first: bachelor party, wake up amid madness the next morning with no clue, someone is missing, retrace steps, etc. Baby Carlos is replaced by a smoking money (see predictable PETA backlash here). This could have been a horrible movie had it not been saved by an excellent cast. Ed Helms plays his character of a nerdy dentist with "a demon inside" to perfection. Zack Galifianakis is so socially awkward it's hilarious. Bradley Cooper even fits his character. But the best part of this movie without a doubt is Ken Jeong as Mr. Chow. He made this movie for me, I am so glad they gave him a more significant role. Justin Bartha gets shafted again with only a few speaking lines. "Hangover 2" made $86.5MM at the box office for its opening weekend.

The second movie we saw was my favorite of the two. Last night we went to Kristen Wiig's "Bridesmaids" and it was hilarious! Maya Rudolph joins her old SNL pal Wiig (who co-wrote and starred) as the best friend getting married. Wiig feels upstaged and replaced by Rudolph's new friend, played by Rose Byrne. With this movie and "Get Him to the Greek," I am so amazed with Byrne's transformation from small screen drama actress on "Damages" to big screen comedic gold. If anyone hasn't seen this movie yet, you have to go see it. The scene at a snotty wedding dress shop has me laughing so hard I almost cried. Melissa McCarthy, who I love from my "Gilmore Girl" watching days, was definitely a highlight of the movie as one of my favorite bridesmaids. Watch through the beginning of the credits and you'll get a bonus scene with her. Jon Hamm from "Mad Men" was great in his cameo and I hope to see more from Chris O'Dowd, the cop who becomes a love interest. In three weekends this movie has grossed a little over $89MM.

A Caturday start to a long weekend

To the Greek!

Last night I stayed up later than I should on a "school night" and watched "Get Him to the Greek." Can I preface this post by saying how confusing it is that California has two Greek Theaters? One is in Berkeley and one is in Los Angeles. I haven't been to the one in LA yet, where the movie takes place, but the Berkeley one is an awesome place to see a show. Anyway, I love this movie! It is hilarious. It's Russell Brand reprising his role as the rockstar, Aldous Snow, from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." I usually think Russell Brand is annoying and overrated (I mean, did anyone actually go see "Arthur"?) but this character almost seems like he's playing himself. Rose Byrne from "Damages" plays his estranged girlfriend and is also hilarious. The other main character is Jonah Hill, who fits the role perfectly. The movie is all about Hill's character trying to get Brand from London to LA for his show. P. Diddy (or whatever name he's going by these days) plays his boss, and brings to the role what Tom Cruise did for "Tropic Thunder." The movie has so many witty parts, it's hard to say my favorite. Jason Segel was actually one of the writers on this and I think the only way this movie could have been any better would be if Segel's character from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" had a cameo. I'm considering buying this movie because I think I could watch it multiple times and still find it funny. Definitely see it if you haven't already.

Movie recaps of the week

Recently I watched "The Next Three Days" with Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. Apparently Olivia Wilde is in it too. I thought it looked decent and that it might turn out to be an exciting action flick. I was wrong. Three fourths of the movie is Russell Crowe's character plotting to get his wife (Banks) out of jail for a murder she didn't commit. Whoever decided this movie was a "thriller" may need more life excitement. Liam Neeson is in it for 5 minutes and is the best part of the movie. They should have given his character a bigger role. Crowe's character comes up with this plan so elaborate that it would never actually work. Multiple things go wrong and spoiler: it still works. It got a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes and most people agreed with me, boring and seemingly unplausible.

 The other movie I watch recently was the third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." I've said it before and I'll say it again, the BBC miniseries of this is so much better. Yes it lacks at the CG digital effects, but they fit so much more in and stay truer to the book. This new version has lots of snazzy effects and looks cool, but they changed and left out a lot. Liam Neelson is once again in this one for about 5 minutes, as the voice of Aslan, and it once again pretty much the best part. Ben Barnes, who plays Prince Caspian, is an English cutie. That's about all this movie has to offer us older viewers. So maybe this movie would be good if you were a kid and maybe I should stop watching children's movies, but most have a little inside joke or two for the adults in the room. This movie also got a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Given the choice to watch one of these two movies again, I'd go with Narnia.

My new site obsession

I know this website has been around for a little while but I just found out about it and am obsessed! It sparks ideas with my inner craft nerd self. :) It's called Instructables and it has a project for everyone. For example, one of the coolest dads ever made his son an interactive Angry Birds birthday cake. I've already informed my boyfriend that next time he gets me flowers, I want bacon roses. I wish I had know about this site last Halloween because they basically have a how-to on every crazy costume Lady Gaga has ever worn. And for people like me, who are constantly frustrate that IKEA puts all their furniture assembly instructions in Swedish, there's video examples. For my next birthday I plan on making Rainbow-Cupcakes-in-a-Jar. So if you have some free time and feel like a craft, definitely check this site out! I could spend hours on here just looking at the cool stuff people make.

Oh yay, it's almost Caturday!

TGIF.. time for some Friday tunes!

My song obsession of the week has been "Around My Head" by Cage the Elephant. I don't think there's an official video yet, so this is the best recording I could find: Around My Head

 They remind me of someone... maybe White Rabbits with less drums? I just can't put my finger on it... whatever it is, I love the beat and have been rocking to this song all week!

Exploring the food on Divisadero

In our neighborhood (Lower Pac Heights), there are two main streets that have the majority of restaurants. One is Fillmore, which I've already expressed my love for via this blog. The other is Divisadero Street, which is less upscale than Fillmore, but still has a lot of restaurant options and most are more affordable than Fillmore. Tortilla Heights from my taco review is on there. In the last few weeks, we've tried a couple other restaurants on Divisadero St. worth mentioning.

The first is Frankies, an American and European cuisine restuarant. The have hard cider on tap, which is hard to find in this city. The interior is very warm and cozy, with a real homey feel. The owner, a super nice man from some other country (I'm not sure which), greets everyone who comes in and seems to know most of the patrons on a first name basis (he's in the pic below, I assume he's Frankie). I had one of their chef specials, the chicken cordon bleu. The portions in this place are nothing to scoff at. My chicken was crispy on the outside, with gooey warm cheese on the inside. It also came with fries and a salad, neither of which were anything special but decent tasting. 

The second place is Godzila Sushi. It's a smaller place, which lots of Godzilla memorabilia as you would expect. The sushi is very well prices. The more basic maki rolls are around $5. We got the spicy tuna, philly and spicy california. All were pretty good. I liked how they put a dollop of siracha on each of the spicy california pieces. For nigiri, we got the spicy scallop, which was my boyfriend's favorite thing by a long shot. For a specialty maki roll, we got the pink dragon, which has fresh crab on the outside of the roll and was my favorite. Drinks are also very cheap here, with house wine at $3 per glass and a large hot sake for $5. While it's not the best sushi I've ever had, it's fairly good and the prices will bring  me back there again.

Also, if you want a walk that will get your legs burning, one of the best views is from on top of the hill on Divisadero. The Minnesota driver in me still gets a little anxiety from driving such a steep hill during rush hour though. I'm so afraid I might roll back at one of the stops...

Moment of Zen

I am so worn out this week. Work's kicking my butt and my kitties have decided 3am is the perfect time for some cat WWF sumo action. Sometimes I wish I could sleep someplace like this...

I think the cats would enjoy the scenery as well. And hey, you can get the matching sink!

So I watched a strange movie yesterday...

Last night we watched the documentary "Catfish," which was very strange and oddly interesting. It's made by a couple artist hipsters in Brooklyn. It chronicles the correspondence and friendship of a twenty-something man named Nev and an eight-year-old artist named Abby. After correspondence with Abby, Nev also begins Facebooking, calling and texting with Abby's mom and 21-year-old sister Meg. I won't ruin what happens because the discoveries and twists are what makes this movie worth watching, but let's just say things happen that result in a roadtrip to meet the family Nev has only had phone and Internet contact with. The subject material is definitely relevant to today's times, where important things happen via online only all the time. Look at Chris and I, we thought we'd found an apartment in San Francisco online and almost wired someone we'd met on Craigslist and only talked to via email and phone $1,300. The only issue I have is that the end discovery is a little drawn out, making it super awkward. Overall, worth the rental. A documentary that won't bore you.

I went to a movie this weekend. And hiked around.

We went to the movie theater Friday night with the plan of seeing "Bridesmaids," which everyone is saying is super hilarious. Unfortunately it was sold out when we got there, so we had to go see "Thor." The only thing that made it halfway decent was that we say it in 3D and it had some components that looked pretty neat. Other than that, the plot was boring and predictable. The acting was sub-par. There were portions that didn't make any sense. Somehow Thor and Natalie Portman's character fell in love even though they cumulatively spent about eight hours together total. Anthony Hopkins is getting old and I didn't even recognize Rene Russo as the queen. And maybe I have my mythology all wrong, but I though Loki was more just a mischievous trickster and not actually a bad guy. I'm curious to see what will happen to Chris Hemsworth, the guy who played Thor. He was perfectly suited for that role but I have trouble seeing him in anything else because he's so distinctive looking. There's a random hidden scene after the credits teasing upcoming comic book films. Thor killed it at the box office this weekend, but I think that was mainly due to an excessively large advertising campaign.

The other movie I saw this weekend was our rental, "Knight and Day." I realized 15 minutes in I'd already seen it. That's how memorable it is. So that's my review on that.

Other than that, I fulfilled my nature quota for the week with a hike in the Marin Headlands/Sausalito area. The trail was gorgeous, running along the ocean cliffs. You could go up the hills and explore all the old bunker/bomb shelters, which were super cool but creepy. And somehow we ended off the normal trail (which was rated an easy hike) and on a small path through bushes and shrubbery. My legs got super cut up. Then we scaled a rock pile. It was definitely not for beginner hikers. That will fulfill my nature quota for quite some time.

A Caturday of Contributions

People have started sending me contributions for Caturday, which I love, so keep 'em coming!

 (Thanks Christine!)

 (Thanks Mom!)

Movie reviews of the week

In the last week I've seen two movies that are worth reviewing. The first was "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which I saw a while ago in theaters and remembered loving so I watched it again. I loved it just as much the second time around. It's based on the book by Roald Dahl. I'm not sure what the animation technique they used is called, but it looks really cool (like a mix of clay and paper). George Clooney as Mr. Fox is the perfect fit, which his sauveness and confidence exuding in the character. Meryle Streep voices his wife. Other famous voices include Owen Wilson, Jason Shwartzman and Bill Murray. The movie is so funny and clever, with humorous bits for kids and adults. I like that every time they want to swear, they say "cuss" instead, like, "oh cuss that."

Last night we watched "All Good Things," the true story of an unsolved crime. It stars Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. It's the story of an heir, David Marks, who is mentally unstable and is suspected of killing his wife, and then years later in a different state having his best friend killed and then killing the man who did it. In real life, Marks served 9 months in jail for "improper disposal of a body" (which seems like it should carry more then 9 months) and is now a real estate investor in Florida. He was never convinced of killing his wife and she is still a missing person. Gosling was amazing and was able to morph with age as the story progressed. This movie kept me interested the whole time. And Frank Langella, who played Goslings father, also acted very well. Dunst did better than she usually does and fit the role. This movie was just recently released for rental. It only got a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, cited for being underwhelming and ambiguous. So I guess to each his own (I have a weakness for sensationalized true crime stories).

Tacos, tacos, tacos!

I can't even begin to explain to you how much better the Mexican food is in California than Minnesota, but I'm going to try. I have been on a serious taco kick since arriving in San Francisco. So far I have three places that I would highly recommend. The first place is TacoBar on Fillmore. This small little joint whips out the best tacos that have some very unique flavor profiles. I had a duck confit taco with mango salsa that was amazing. They also do brunch food, quesadillas, burritos, soups, salads and desserts. The sangria looked amazing, so I will definitely be going back to give that a try.

The next taco place apparently has kind of a famous reputation for it's tacos. A friend of my boyfriends recommended Nick's Cripsy Taco on Polk in Nob Hill and we were not disappointed. They stuff a crispy taco shell full of goodness and then wrap it in a soft tortilla shell. The trick is to get it "Nick's way," so they stuff it with cheese and guacamole. They are pretty sizable so I got a carne asada and a carnitas one and was full (and satisfied). The taco line is cash only but the bar accepts cards. The ambiance its not what you'd expect from a taco bar, with lots of red tones and chandeliers, but I guess it turns into nightclub later in the evening.

The last place has an interesting tie to Nick's. It's Tortilla Heights on Divisadero and they also serve taco's "Nick's Way." I guess the two owners use to work together, had a falling out, and when they split bitterly, the guy who owns Tortilla Heights took the recipe.Well, they're equally good at both places. Tortilla Heights has a larger menu though and more options, so you don't have to get the tacos. My boyfriend got a steak quesadilla that was pretty good, but not as spectacular as the tacos. The drinks are tasty! I had some sangrita (sangria mixed with margarita). It's a loud atmosphere and lots of fun.

Atmosphere outside of Minneapolis

One of my favorite artists of all-time is Atmosphere, a two-man hip hop group coming out of Rhymesayers in Minneapolis. I love seeing Atmosphere at First Ave in Minneapolis because they always give their hometown a lot of love. I've seen them in Milwaukee and Chicago and so far no show has lived up to the Minneapolis ones. This Saturday Atmosphere played the Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA. It's the largest show Atmosphere has ever headlined according to this article. I kind of wonder about this stat because he's the headliner at Soundset, which seems a lot larger. Anyway, the Greek Theater is amazing. This stone amphitheater is nestled in the hills next to the Berkeley campus. There's really not a bad view in the place. You can stand in the pit, sit on the stone steps or sit on the grassy hill above. Greives, a newcomer to the Rhymesayers family was the first opener, and my favorite by far. His CD is releasing later in June and promises to be a unique sound with horns, keys and guitar. Blueprint was up next and I've never been a huge fan of his sound. After that was Aesop Rock, who I really haven't followed recently and only knew his old school stuff. Finally as the sun set it was time for Ant and Slug to take the stage. They actually had an artistic set this time, which I have never seen them do before. The backdrop was very Minnesotan, a portrait of snow, birch trees, a cardinal and barn. Then they had 3D birch trees that glowed different colors set up on stage. It looked super cool, so I hope the continue with set design. Slug started out with some older material, getting the crowd going before he segmented into some songs from the new album, "The Family Sign." It was a little slow for my taste as his newer material is more deep and personal. But after that he went right back into some energetic tracks. He had the crowd going and I love the dialog he has with his audience. Of course he came out for an encore, as he always does graciously. I would say outside of his Minneapolis shows, this is the best show of his I've seen.

This was probably the only time I will meet Californians who will be envious that I am from Minneapolis....

Pizza in Lower Pac Heights

The other week we were exploring Fillmore (which is probably my favorite street in the city so far, I'm so happy we live near it) and wanted a casual place to eat with reasonable prices that had TVs so the boyfriend could watch the game. Pizza Inferno on Fillmore and Sutter fit the bill perfectly. It was a very open restaurant in a prime location. The local art on the walls was cool and I was tempted to think about buying until I saw the price. They have hard cider, which made me happy! They also had a broad selection of beers at reasonable prices. The wine list was shorter and the prices were a little high. For food, we started with the foccacia garlic bread, which pretty good although it could have been a little more garlicy. For the main pizza, we wanted to build our own but quickly figured out if you want more than two toppings it can get expensive quickly. So we went Italian meatball pizza, which is a fancy way of saying sausage. It was pretty good but nothing amazing. And it's a little small for two people to split. If we hadn't gotten an appetizer we would have left hungry. Basically, it was worth the money but not a deal. I think it'd be a fun place to drink and watch a game put I'm not sure if we'll be back there again for dinner anytime soon.

Thoughts on recent Netflix...

Sadly, work is so busy at the new job that I actually have to work, which doesn't leave much time for blogging! So, here are my thoughts on my recent Netflix mailings...

A couple weeks ago we got through the newest season of "Weeds" to come out on DVD (Season 6). I use to love "Weeds." The first four seasons were hilarious! In Season 5, it started getting a little more dark and twisted. Season 6 has very little humor and few lovable characters are left. I find myself hating Nancy. She's just a selfish, rude, horrible mother who is ruining the lives of her family and everyone around them without a care in the world.Shane is twisted. Poor Silas will never have a good life. I wonder how much longer this show is going to continue. Are others starting to despise Nancy like I am? I mean, you have to have someone to root for!

Last week we watched "Morning Glory," with Rachel McAdams. Yeah, it was not that good. I give it two out of five stars. McAdams was cute, as usual. And Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton were great. But that was it. The storyline lacked. They tried to insert sappiness into things that weren't actually sappy. It dragged on. The romantic angle was introduced but only randomly inserted and the viewer never gets fully emotionally invested. It got 54% of Rotten Tomatoes, which I think is more than fair.

Lastly, and this wasn't Netflix, it was a definite must-buy, "Harry Potter; Deathly Hallows Part 1"!! I love Harry Potter, so this is probably biased, but this movie was soooo good! It's dark and scary when it needs to be. Harry and his friends are grown up and so are the readers/viewers. There's the perfect amount of sexual tension between characters. Ralph Finnes as Voldemort is chilling. I loved every moment of it. They adapted those books as well as they could and did a good job of not leaving out too much. The scenery is amazing. I cried twice the first time I watched it in theaters. Part 2 comes out July 15th. I can't wait.

Mis-adventures in San Francisco

This past weekend, we had perfect weather in San Francisco. It was an excellent time to explore the city. On Saturday, we headed to Baker Beach, on the west side of the peninsula. This beach has the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The water was a really cool teal color and the sand was unexpectedly clean for a public city beach. There are also these infamous sand steps that go up the hill from the beach that are an intense workout to climb. There's just one thing wrong about this beach... that it has the option for nudity. We were strolling along, taking in the scenery, and all the sudden ended up at the end of the beach where all the old men sun naked. And they love to stroll around and let it all hang out.... ooooh the views at Baker Beach...

After Baker Beach we hiked the hills a bit, then headed over to walk the Golden Gate Bridge. On the bridge you get the most amazing view of the city. I was a little anxious on the bridge. I hate heights and the bridge is super high up, plus its gets extremely windy. Now, to preface this next story, my boyfriend likes to affectionately call me "a bull in a china shop." There are times in life when I lack a certain amount of grace and tend to crash into and break things. So, we're strolling along the bridge and I bump into a tourist, who is holding her camera up to take a picture. The camera, in slow motion, flies out of her hand, over the rail, and into the bay below. So, she's pissed, I feel horrible. I wrote her a check to cover the cost of her camera, making this probably one of the most expensive strolls ever taken across the Golden Gate Bridge.