Saturday Morning Wake-Up Call & Ikea

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A great way to start the three-day weekend:

Misu is curled up so that somehow, his hind leg is in front. I caught this with my camera phone when I woke up.

We are doing our best to avoid going to the East Bay this weekend while they are doing construction on the Bay Bridge so instead of going to Emeryville Ikea, we went to the one in East Palo Alto. We had a baby shower in Foster City to go to in the late afternoon so went to Ikea to get a dresser and have a quick lunch.

We tried their rib special served with fries and corn bread. The ribs were a bit cold but otherwise good. The fries a bit over battered. The corn bread was really yummy.

We also shared the Swedish meatball special. They ran out of mashed potatoes so had mac ‘n’ cheese instead. Always special and yummy.

At Ikea, I finally got myself a dresser and a great storage unit for my crafts.

NOPA

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http://www.nopasf.com/

We had a work social gathering at NOPA restaurant. Unfortunately I think I missed most of the appetizers since I got off work at 6:45pm and ended up walking to the restaurant from work and got there at 7pm (they started at 5:30pm). I ended up getting their hamburger with pickled onions and fries (with extra bacon and Gruyere cheese).

It really hit the spot. The burger was delicious with the bacon and cheese and a basil aioli with the fries was really yummy. The restaurant was really crowded and the bar was mostly standing room only. It was a good way to end the week before the long weekend.

Plus now I finally am updated on this blog. Since we moved, I misplaced my SD card reader so wasn’t able to upload any photos until I found my reader today.

NOPA
560 Divisadero St at Hayes St

The Cheeseboard Collective

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http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/

Ron happened to be in Berkeley today so stopped by The Cheeseboard Collective to pick up some pizza for dinner. He always talks about this place and I have yet to try it. They post their menu each week online and today’s special:

Tuesday’s Pizza (09/01/2009):

Heirloom Tomatoes, Onions, Mozzarella Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, PINENUTS, Basil, Garlic Olive Oil.

Ron said their was a line forming out front before they opened at 4:30pm. I thought the pizza would be spectacular but other than really fresh ingredients, I’m not sure what was so special. One funny thing though is they serve you a full pizza plus two extra slices on top.

The Cheeseboard Collective
1512 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA

Carnegie Deli Cheesecake

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http://www.carnegiedeli.com/

Our friend went to New York recently and brought us back and cheesecake from Carnegie Deli. We decided to host a dinner and cheesecake tasting.

We bought a Zanze’s frozen cheesecake from Mollie Stone’s (since Zanze’s is only open Tues thru Sat) to taste alongside the Carnegie Deli’s Cheesecake.

I wouldn’t say there was a clear winner as everyone liked each cheesecake for different reasons. Zanze’s is very light with very little graham but also very filling. The Carnegie Deli’s cheesecake was really dense and creamy and had a really thick crust.

Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers

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http://www.yelp.com/biz/p…s-san-francisco

I had heard Pearl’s serves a great Kobe beef burger so on this beautiful San Francisco evening, a group of us went and ordered burgers and fries to go, walked to Union Square and enjoyed dinner on the steps.

Kobe beef burger with bacon.

Chili cheese fries.

The burger wasn’t as good as I thought it would be but it was nice to sit outside in Union Square enjoying a meal with good friends. I think next time though, we’ll eat in and maybe try a buffalo burger. The bread was just a little soggy after being in the takeout box.

Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers
708 Post St (between Jones St & Leavenworth St)