Suzanne and I went to the Exploratorium last night for their monthly After Dark event. What fun. Playing at a science center with no kids underfoot AND a cash bar. Total win.

In addition, this month’s theme was sex. Woohoo!

So, you’re thinking, WTF does any of this have to do with food?

Well, one of the attractions was all about bull testicles.

Including, the sampling of sauteed bull balls with onions.

Totally non food related, but in general the Exploratorium is just plain fun. We got passes for the after dark events so we’ll be back for more fun & learning.

On a further food related note, we stopped at Asa Sushi in the Marina for a late dinner. No pics but the food was tasty, the staff was great, and the sake was hot.

Suzanne and I went for Thai tonight before popping into Wicked Grounds (a review of which is forthcoming).

We started with the curry puffs (crispy pastries filled with curried diced duck & sweet potatoes), of which I have no picture as we started into them before thinking to snap a picture.  They were good  Duck… yum.

We then moved on to the larb gai (minced chicken tossed in lime, chili and parched rice). This stuff was *good*.

Next it was on to the main course.

First tamarind prawns (light battered prawns wok tossed in spicy tamarind with crisp shallots and garlic). These were nice.  The prawns were nicely done, although we found the sauce to be more sweet & sour than tamarind. The crisp shallots were especially tasty, though.

The other main course dish was kang kua gai (tangy red curry of julienned chicken breast and pumpkin).  This was tasty enough, and the pumpkin was nice. However, the chicken was on the dry side.

Overall, dinner was great.  The restaurant itself was nice enough, and the service was spectacular. Worth a visit, I’d say.

I recently (and I now forget how) discovered Stove Monkeys and their foodie t-shirts. From their site:

Stove Monkeys offers chef inspired t-shirts for culinary professionals, students, and food-lovers.

For now they just have t-shirts, but the site promises an entire line of foodie/chef clothing is in the works.

It must be said, I love their graphic style, and I’ll be adding some of their offerings to my wardrobe.

They also have some information on flavor tripping. Hmm… might make for an interesting dinner party.

Anyway, check these guys out, and keep an eye on them as they add more products. They have some fun t-shirts, and some cool info.

stovemonkeys.com

I had some business in Mountain View today, so on the way I stopped in Palo Alto to grab some lunch at Calafia.  As usual, I resisted ordering something I’d had before and enjoyed, and got something completely different.

Today I went with the soup of the day: Potato, beer, and smoked gouda.  I’m not usually a fan of potato-based soups, but this was their soup of the day, so I figured I’d try it.  With chefs (pro or amateur), once I am confident in their ability I’ll try anything they prepare.  The upshot was that I loved it.  Creamy and smokey. Yum!

For a main course, I eschewed my “vegetarian until dinner” habit to try the burger.  Not the lamb burger, although I lingered over it on the menu.  I decided on the Queen Calafia Cheese burger with cheddar, applewood smoked bacon, and the usual accoutrements (including house-made pickles). On the side I had some mayo and ketchup.  No ordinary ketchup, this.  House-made, as are all their sauces, and OMFG it is tasty.  As is their hot sauce which I also had a sample of.  The burger was quite nice as burgers go.  No Spotted Pig burger, but very fine.

Once again, I left pleased with the food and service.