Amazing Italian fare in North Beach

Last night we went to North Beach in search of some authentic Italian food. They have a big Italian community there, so there were plenty of choices. Thanks to the recommendation of a friend, we went a little of the main path and to the small Trattoria Contadina (1800 Mason St). It was delicious and one of the best Italian meals I've ever had. The restaurant is warm and cozy and you can tell it's authentic the moment you walk in the door. We started out with a yummy local Pinot Noir from nearby Russian River in the Sonoma Valley. For an appetizer we started with a Caprese salad. The mozzarella was fresh and the basil and light dressing made it perfectly balanced. For dinner, I got the Valdostana, which is chicken layered with smoked mozzarella, prosciutto, oregano, sage and a wine sauce gravy. It came with sauteed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes. Everything was so juicy and flavorful. Every bite was wonderful and I definitely cleaned my plate. My boyfriend got the pasta special of the night, penne with Italian fennel sausage, onion, spinach and kalamata olives covered in a light creamy tomato sauce. All the flavors worked really well together and the sauce made it a lot lighter than a typical heavy pasta dish. Everything was priced very reasonably. They try to get all of what they serve from local shops around town. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for good Italian food in San Francisco. 

Movies of the week

The first movie we watched was "I Love You Phillip Morris," starring Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey. Carrey played a gay con man who ends up finding the man of his dreams in prison. He has to keep conning himself in and out of prison to stay with his lover. This sounds like the premise for a terrible movie but it actually wasn't that bad. It had some quality funny moments. Both actors did a good job playing their respective characters and making it believable. Some have called it the best performance of Carrey's career. It's definitely a different take on the traditional romantic comedy.

"Casino Jack" was the movie we watched earlier this week. It stars Kevin Spacey playing notorious corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Abrahoff was a lobbyist in D.C. who boasted ties to the Bush Administration, especially Tom Delay. Barry Peppar played his sidekick and Jon Lovitz aided them hilariously in the plot to purchase a casino illegally. Abramoff and his pals bring hypocrisy to a new level, scamming everyone out of money, even the Native Americans. It's amazing how government scandal barely has to be altered to make a good Hollywood movie. Spacey was brilliant in this, as he is in most roles. His monologue in the bathroom at the very beginning was hilarious. He was nominated for Golden Globe for his performance in this.

Tonight we watched "Never Let Me Go," starring Andrew Garfield ("The Social Network"), Carey Mulligan ("Wall Street 2") and Kiera Knightley. This sci-fi drama centers around three students who think they are just sheltered students at a boarding school but make the horrifying discovery that they're nothing more than clones created for organ harvesting. It's based on the book by Kazou Ishiguro, which I hear is much better than the movie. It seems like the movie missed a lot of the back story/explanation. Instead it is slightly confusing and gets pretty boring. Even the excellent casting can't make this movie more interesting. Luckily it's only an hour and 45 minutes long. Chris thought it was one of the most boring films he'd ever seen in his life, although it got a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Date night at Solstice

Last Monday we stayed in the neighborhood and went to dinner at Solstice, on Divisadero. The inside of the restuarant is very cool, it almost has a 1920s vibe to it. The food on the menu sounded pretty fancy but the prices looked reasonable, so we were excited. For an appetizer, we started with the ahi tuna tartare, which came with crispy wonton chips. It was on a bed of diced avocado and had pickled onion and cilantro in it to give it some zip. I think it could have maybe used a dash of citrus zest, but it was otherwise quite tasty. For dinner I had prosciutto wrapped chicken medallions on yukon gold mash, which cripsy onion and grilled carrot, topped with jus.Wrapping the chicken in prosciutto made the chicken very succulent. I think I'm going to try this technique at home. The portion was the perfect size. My boyfriend had the grilled skewers, which came with flatiron steak and onion and herbed chicken with red pepper. Both of the meats were very well seasoned and flavorful. And they had Ace Pear Cider available, so I was happy! With the quality of the food and the reasonable prices, I think Solstice Restaurant and Lounge is a great place to go eat or just have a couple drinks.

Sushi in Sausalito

When you find yourself across the bridge, you have to go get sushi at Sushi Ran in Sausalito, CA. It is by far the best sushi I have had in the Bay Area. Zagat ranked it one of the top five restaurants in the area. It was awarded on Michelin star in 2007. The spinach salad is unlike anything you've ever had, rolled up tightly, with a delicious black sesame dressing. Their spicy scallop hand roll is a creamy, spicy cone of goodness. Another good hand roll option is the softshell crawfish, with miso aoili. My favorite maki roll would be the Crunchy, which is eel, avocado, aonori powder, tempura flakes, spicy crab and shrimp. For nigiri, the toro is a bit pricey but the way it melts in you mouth makes it worth the $9. They have two different building areas for seating. If you go for lunch on a weekday, you'll be okay but if you try to go on a weekend make a reservation and still expect to wait. But it's worth it! Just have a drink at the bar from the 200+ bottle wine list.

Sometimes I feel like a nerdy 12 year-old boy...

So, I have been psyched to see "X-Men: First Class" since I saw the first preview months ago. I went to see it Saturday night and it actually lived up to my high expectations! I thought it was the best "X-Men" movie out of all the ones that have been made (I don't even count "X-Men: Wolverine in this because I'm chalking that up to temporary insanity...). The casting is amazing. James McAvoy is very empathetic as a young Professor X. Michael Fassbender showed just the right amount of rage as a young Magneto. My favorite was probably Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. I think she is my favorite starlet of the moment. And I keep seeing movies with Rose Byrne in it and once again she pleasantly surprised me in this movie. I had no idea that Kevin Bacon was making a comeback as the main bad guy in this movie. Did they keep that out of the previews? He's awesome. This movie was first at the box office this weekend, making $55.1MM. If you at all like comic book movies, this is the one to see. It's rare a prequel is this good and provides such a deep backstory to all the characters. It actually made me want to go back and watch all the other X-Men movies.

No Strings Attached is what you'd expect... no good!

Last weekend we rented "No Strings Attached," starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. I didn't have high expectations because I can't think of one decent movie Kutcher has made. And Natalie Portman, what were you thinking?? You went from "Black Swan" to "No Strings Attached," lest we forget about "Thor." What a random resume that woman has. Anyway, the movie was bad. It was boring and dragged on. There weren't any especially funny moments and it was a comedy! It was basically about an emotionally cut-off woman who ends up falling for the guy she makes her friend-with-benefits. It was predictable. Kevin Kline played Kutcher's dad and he was slightly funny, although the worst dad ever. Cary Elwes played a doctor in the movie and it was a waste of his talents and his role didn't make any sense. Somehow this movie got a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know who's giving this movie good reviews but I say don't watch it until it hits cable, because you know it will.

One of my favorite ads and it's San Francisco!

One of my favorite ad campaigns ever is the colorful work Fallon did for Bravia, promoting the color capabilities of their TV. One of the spots was the Sony Bravia Paint Ad, which timed paint explosions to an orchestra score. I love the running clown in it. The second ad, which I totally forgot about until now, was filmed on the hilly streets of San Francisco. The spot featured Bouncing Balls down the city streets of San Francisco. The colors are so vibrant and the music fits perfectly, putting the viewer in a good mood. The reason I was reminded of this ad campaign, which aired in 2006, was that I saw on another blog (Cup of Jo) that Lumas is selling photos of the bouncy balls. They look so cool. I love having photos from all the places the boyfriend and I have lived framed in our apartment and I feel like this is the perfect San Francisco photo. It's so atypical of any other city photo I've seen! Sadly they're all limited edition and sold out. Too bad. Which one is your favorite shot?