Free Falling

Today, I jumped out of a plane and survived. It was the most incredible experience. Since Thursday, my heart has been pounding non-stop and even hours after the jump, I'm still on a natural high. The way I felt free falling from thousands of miles up was unreal - so liberating. My instructor led me through a few flips and once the chute opened we were just soaring above the Earth with our feet dangling. He even let me drive the parachute. I'll never forget my first time skydiving.

Ike's Place: Menage a Trois

#100 Menage a Trois at Ike's Place
7x7 The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die in SF 2011
Castro

There's a reason why this place always has a long line. The sandwiches are the bomb (do people still say that)!? Well, in this case I will. The Menage a Trois is one of over what seems like a million sandwiches. It's filled with halal chicken, real honey, honey mustard, bbq sauce, pepper jack, swiss and cheddar. Who would have thought to pull all of that in one sandwich? Once you see their menu, you'll be asking yourself that over and over again. Some of their sandwiches are filled with items like mozarella sticks. Can't wait to try their other sandwiches.

El Farolito: Super Carne Asada Burrito

#75 Super Carne Asada Burrito from El Farolito
7x7 The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die in SF 2011
Mission District

I was once surrounded by several delicious Mexican eateries when I lived in San Jose. Working in San Francisco, there aren't many good spots here unless you head out to the Mission District. All of the worthwhile restaurants are all condensed in this area and El Farolito is one of them. One of the best burritos in the city! Throughout my college years, I found myself here after-hours to help absorb all of the liquor I consumed while out and about. Great place to end the night since it closes at 3am. I've had my share of El Farolito burritos and It deserves it's name on the 7x7 Big Eat SF list.

Muracci's Japanese Grill: Katsu Curry

#16 Katsu Curry from Muracci's Japanese Grill
7x7 The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die in SF 2011
Financial District

The Katsu Curry here at Muracci's is definitely good, but I think my expectations were a bit high going in. I blame that on the hundreds of 4-5 star reviews on Yelp and the line outside the door when I arrived. Luckily, we called ahead so we just walked right in to pick up our order.

Overall, I really enjoyed the curry (you can have it spicy or mild - of course I went spicy), but the chicken was a bit dry for my taste. Also, I love anything pickled, but their side of pickled cabbage and radish had a strange bitter taste to it that I could live without. The verdict: I would eat it again, but I probably wouldn't crave for it. Overhyped.

Warriors, prepare for battle!

There were a lot of "firsts" experienced this day. The first time I swam through mud, jumped over fire, walked a tight rope, went through a legit obstacle course and took an ice cold shower with hundreds of people. The dirtiest I've ever been in my entire life - hands down. Everyone should do something like this at least once.

Zipping Down the Embarcadero

Ziptrek tours are still in SF at the Embarcadero. They extended til the end of the month so go while you still can. It goes by quick and it's only one line so their full price may not be worth it to you, but if you can score a half price voucher from a deal site like I did, it's definitely worth that amount.

Eat Real

It's our annual visit (starting last year) and thankfully, this year it was less crowded and the weather was a lot cooler. I love this festival. It's filled with workshops, performances, cooking shows and so much delicious food. Today, I tried everything from chicken masala filled naan wraps to Numi jasmine popsicles. Here's what today looked like.

SF Street Food Festival

It's festival season in San Francisco! Today, we headed out to the Eat Real festival in Oakland but, that's not what I'm going to talk about. Instead, here's a snapshot of our time at the SF Street Food festival that happened a few weeks ago. It's a great food festival, but not my favorite. MANY vendors were not equipped to feed the masses all day. The best places sold out super quick so I wasn't a happy camper getting there hours after it began. Highlights of the day, watching the Mr. eat Don Bugito's moth larvae tacos and food from the Kasa truck (twice).

Chairman Bao: Steamed Bao with Pork Belly & Pickled Daikon

#32 Steamed Bao with Pork Belly & Pickled Daikon at the Chairman Bao truck
7x7 The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die in SF 2011

Due to all of the hype, I have been following Chairman Bao on Twitter even before I tried their famous buns. At all of the food festivals, they always have the longest line. Just recently they made it onto the Zagat. I was pleased to find out that they were making an appearance at the Truck Stop (an area by my work that features about 3 food trucks per day). The line was long, but not as long and unbearable as the festival lines. So, I waited patiently and am so glad I did. Definitely the BEST food truck vendor at least in the Bay Area. I had the pork belly bun as well as the sesame chicken and they both met and exceeded my expectations. I could eat 20 of these in one sitting - that's how good they are.

Parking Lot Pimpin'

A few weeks ago, I decided to clear my place of every single unused treasure and head on over to the Berryessa Flea Market in San Jose to set up shop with a few friends. This has to be one of the biggest flea markets in Norther California and always an interesting past time if you're ever in the area.

I've always wanted to own my own shop and this is probably the closest I will get to it haha. Even if we had to wake up at the crack of dawn and schlep our once prized possessions out there, it was a ton of fun socializing, people-watching, negotiating and bringing home some extra money (and a lot less clutter). We plan on doing it at least one more time before the summer ends. Go clutter-free home and more room in my closet for fall apparel!

Obon Time

It's that time of year. Time to visit an Obon festival near you and play some Bingo, eat Spam musubi or tempura, watch the Taiko drummers and win a goldfish. Or win 3 in my case.

My 3rd year in a row visiting the Mountain View Obon!