Bike-powered microphones for this band that was playing at the Alemany Farmers Market. Only in SF!

This weekend I went with Ross to Aquatic Park so he could go swimming in the bay with his friend Pablo. Swimming in the bay, not for the faint of heart. But there were an astounding number of people doing it! I am always dead impressed when Ross and friends suit up and jump in.

I am constantly reminded of, and delighted by, the great many picturesque and unique things and places one can find in San Francisco and today was no different. We so often stay in our own little microcosms and neighborhoods, and forget to get up and out into the world and enjoy the variety of wonders our fair city holds!

What is TotMac, you ask? Why it’s homemade Mac N Cheese topped with Tater Tots, of course. Behold: TotMac!

I cannot tell a lie: I did not come up with this concept. There’s a great little neighborhood restaurant here in SF called Q and they are known for topping their Mac with Tots. HOWEVER. While I have enjoyed Q’s Mac on several occasions, I have always felt that the Mac execution could be improved upon. Ergo, I Totted my own Mac, with diabolically delicious results.

So, here’s how it goes down: make some hella good homemade Mac N Cheese. You can really make it however you like it, as long as you PROMISE to make it hella good. Cook frozen tater tots according to their packaging. Cook your Mac N Cheese for 10 minutes less than you normally would. Cover top of hot Mac with hot Tots and cook for about 10 minutes. If you’re CRAZY LIKE ME which is to say LIKE A FOX  you can put crumbled crispy prosciutto or bacon on top of the Mac, but under the Tots.

So Tot your Mac today: it’s highly recommended for those who fancy the idea of double carbing your carbs while white trashing up your fancy Mac N Cheese!

I bought this rice called Tiny Rice, because it’s tiny and adorable, and also because I like saying “Tiny Rice” all together like it’s one word. Tinyrice. Tinyrice. Tinyrice!

So what is Tiny Rice and why is it so tiny? It’s a small (some might say tiny) grain basmati rice imported from Bangladesh. It’s also called Kalijira rice (which incidentally is ALSO fun to say) or sometimes baby basmati. It says on the package it’s the Prince of Rice. (And here I was, not even realizing that rice could be royalty.) It’s cute, it’s delicious, and it’s way more fun than those big awkward rice grains you’re used to, as you can see in the photo below.

Tiny rice only takes about 10 minutes to cook, so that’s pretty cool. It has a great texture because it’s so small- sort of between a rice grain and a couscous grain. When you serve it to people they say things like “what kind of rice is this? I’ve never SEEN such tiny grains of rice!”

I bought it at BiRite Market, but if you need an online source I found it for sale online at at the Lotus Foods website. They Lotus link also has recipes using Kalijira, including a couple of rice pudding recipes which look super tasty. They sell tiny brown rice too, but I’ll be honest, the tiny brown rice grains look a little bigger than tiny. I haven’t tried it yet but that’s next on the list.

Tinyrice tinyrice tinyrice!

It occurred to me that I always take lots of photos of food and shops and streets and signs when I travel to faraway lands, but I rarely do so in my own town. San Francisco, after all, is a major tourist destination, and there are LOTS of interesting things to photo right here in my own backyard. The area around Bryant and 24th Streets, for example, is a slowly and funkily gentrifying old-school Mexican neighborhood that’s colorful in more ways than one, and it’s a prime spot for a mini photo journal.

The one, the only, the original- the garish Roosevelt Tamale Parlor sign is a long-standing beacon of this ‘hood. Cute and quaint, with great… wait for it… tamales.
Roosevelt Tamale Parlor: 2817 24th St. between Bryant and York.

Is there possibly a better name for anything than “Discolandia?” Hmm. I think NO. Love the color scheme and stark, slightly askew, sans-serif all caps action as well. No idea what it’s like inside, as woefully I’ve never actually BEEN inside.
Discolandia: 2964 24th St. between Florida and Alabama.

I have always loved the Taqueria Vallarta sign, for many reasons. For one thing, I find it so mysterious that they didn’t make one more segment on the sign so the bottom one didn’t have to share 2 letters. Also, the vertical orientation makes it completely unintuitive and tricky to read what it says. And need I mention it’s cool Mexican flag colors? Still, this case of branding gone majorly wrong hasn’t prevented them from sticking around for years and years. Probably because the tacos are good and they’re open for gorging even after the bars close. But that’s just a hunch.
Taqueria Vallarta: 3033 24th St. between Balmy and Treat.

A positive piece of gentrification- some young hipster folks saved and resurrected this decades-old icon. They brought back all the best bits (like glass jars of candy on the counter and thick homemade shakes) and updated the worst bits (like greasy blah diner food) so you can get all the nostalgia PLUS all of the tastiness. The cheddar, scallion, bacon pancakes are my favorite!
St. Francis Fountain: 2801 24th St. between Bryant and York.

This is a closeup of a taco shop sign. It totally creeps me out. Check out how the big pig is happy to be being roasted, while the little pig on the right appears to be roasting and possibly spearing his own child pig in another pot. What kinda sicko painted this thing and how did they think it would inspire me to eat carnitas?
Crazy pig painting: I don’t remember where exactly this sign is, but I think it’s roughly opposite Discolandia.

“Burbujas” (boor-BOO-huss) is inherently a funny word (meaning “bubbles) but I’ve always thought it was made additionally funny by the addition of “Mr.” Not Señor Burbujas, not Mr. Bubbles… Mr. Burbujas. The bra and underwear jauntily painted on the window and the Florida Street murals in the background add to the scene.
Mr. Burbujas: SE corner of 24th and Florida.

Soda-themed skateboard decks in the window of Mission Skateboards, a new gritty-cool skate shop.
Mission Skateboards: 3045 24th St. between Balmy and Treat. (The sign is just a circle with an M on it.)

I don’t know if it’s the trash cans, the tagging, the metal cage, the stark stenciled letters, or what… but I think “Fountain of Life Church” is stretching it just a tad…
Iglesia Fuente de Vida: next to Discolandia

I love the word “Mexica-tessen” and the funky Brady Bunch font on the lit up sign. Somehow the font plus the palm tree always make it seem like it should be in LA. You can get killer tamales, fresh masa and homemade tortillas.
La Palma: 2884 24th St. between Florida and Bryant.

Newcomer Sugarlump is a sweet cafe with a lovely back patio and a sexy 70s fireplace. You might think Tina Fey glasses and shiny Mac laptops are required for entry, but they’ll sell you an organic fair trade cup of coffee even if you’re sans specs or carrying a (gasp!) Dell.
Sugarlump: 2862 24th St. between Bryant and Florida.

I like that you can buy a bra AND send a fax in the same place.
Manuel’s Store: Incongruously right next to Sugarlump.

If you want fancier underpants hit up Candy Kitchen which sells absolutely no candy, just fancy, pretty, pricey lingerie.
Candy Kitchen: 2807 24th St. between Bryant and York.

I’m not talking about dates like going out to the movies here, I’m talking about DATES! Like, the fruit.

This is a really simple way to make a tasty treat. It’s not really ice cream (ergo the quotes), it just sort of tastes like ice cream with almost no work. I like to use Barhi (sometimes spelled Barhee) dates because they are oh-so-creamy and lend themselves perfectly to this technique. I get them from the date vendor at the Alemany Farmers’ Market in San Francisco. He has a bunch of different kinds of dates that are fantastic and cheap and he will let you taste them all! If you’re not in the Bay Area, you can order Barhi dates online from Oasis Date Gardens pretty cheaply.

To make “ice cream” dates, all you have to do is lay the dates out on a sheet of foil or parchment, not touching one another. Freeze until solid-ish (they may not get totally frozen solid because of the high sugar content.) Once frozen, remove to a ziploc bag and store in the freezer. Whenever you need a burst sweet creamy goodness, grab one out of the freezer!

You could also use these in smoothies or shakes… in that case, pit them before freezing. Happy dating!

today in Haiku Reviews:

ICE CREAMS OF THE WORLD

Haiku Reviews: They’re baaaa-aaaaaaack! I had a fierce urge to put some haikus together today, and I have to tell you, the haiku muse has been conspicuously absent for the better part of 6 months now, so I thought I should go with it. The timing is unfortunate, since I just posted a recipe earlier today after not posting for like a week, but what can I say? I can be an undisciplined blogger. (I’m working on it, though, in therapy. Or I would if I went to therapy.) At any rate, I’ve decided to strike while the muse-iron is hot and wax poetic on some ice creams of the world!

I could have gone on all day, but then it would be one in the afternoon and I’d still be in my pajamas. Oh wait! That happened already. Add your suggestions/disagreements in the commments and tell me what creamy delights I’m missing out on!

this ice cream in Dubrovnik, Croatia looked pretty, but sadly it did not taste that good.

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BASKIN-ROBBINS (Everywhere)
Ah, the old standby.
gold medal ribbon kicks a**.
thirty one-derful

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MITCHELL’S (San Francisco)
San Francisco treat!
I admit, I never try
the purple yam though.

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BEN & JERRY’S (Everywhere)
it’s a hearty scoop
it reminds me of college
cookie dough is king

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GELATO (Anywhere in Italy)
there’s nothing better.
throw down as much as you can
before you die. word.

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MASHTI MALONE’S (Los Angeles)
ice cream from Iran?
well, it is really hot there.
this place is AWESOME.

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MR. SOFTEE (Northeast U.S./China/HK)
summer in New York
hearing the tune, I’m consumed:
plain dip with jimmies

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HUMPHRY SLOCOMBE (San Francisco)
you’re a bit much, dude.
salt, pepper, chili, and such?
get “secret breakfast”

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FENTON’S CREAMERY (Oakland, CA)
love the old-time biz.
fun for the whole family!
sundaes are required.

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CHRISTINA’S (Cambridge, MA)
so many flavors!
(folks will say “Toscanini’s!”
C-Money’s better.)

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BI-RITE CREAMERY (San Francisco)
can be uneven,
but salted caramel IS
as good as they say

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LOARD’S ICE CREAM (Oakland, CA)
a cool, old skool joint
big creamy cones to drool for
they have candies too!

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BERTHILLON (Paris, France)
the best in Paris
it’s famous for a reason.
oui, c’est bon bon bon!

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COLDSTONE CREAMERY (Everywhere)
it’s too much pressure.
I always feel sick after.
mix-ins overwhelm

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CARVEL (Northeast U.S.)
hi, fudgy the whale!
now you taste artificial.
better as a kid.

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Here’s why I do them in haikus.

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