I finally made it to Los Angeles, which I will admit was not that bad a drive.  Driving within LA, however…that’s another story!  I met up with my “conference partner,” Shawn Nakamoto, and off we went in search of grinds. I am usually loathe to eat in malls and other tourist attractions, but Tu Tu Tango in Universal City Walk was a nice surprise.  The prices are very moderate, and most if not all the plates are pupus.  We ordered eight items, which were all good, but I’ll just tell you about my four favorites.  We started off healthy with the Tango Salad ($5.95), which had a light dressing and a Greek flavor, thanks to the many Kalamata olives throughout.  I’d say you get an olive in every bite!  The lamb chops ($11.95) were also very tasty and easy to eat.  The mango duck quesadilla ($7.95), despite being stuffed quite full, was very light and not overly salty.  Love the mango salsa!   If you like blue cheese, the stuffed mushrooms are quite savory.  These are regular sized mushrooms stuffed with blue cheese, garlic, and scallions, then breaded and fried.  It seemed that no matter what you order here, it will be good, so don’t hold back! 

After LA, I (of course) hopped over to San Francisco to visit my friends Ann & Erik Lou.  But first:  No visit to a city would be complete without a get together with my axe murderer online friends.  Thus, nine of us met at the Grand Café in San Francisco’s Monaco Hotel.  My friend Kalkahuna ordered the eggs benedict ($14) but substituted smoked salmon for the ham.  He says he does this every time, and I must admit it looked fabulous. Shanghainese and I ordered the duck confit hash ($15), fully expecting more duck and less Yukon gold potato.  I think she was expecting a whole leg accompaniment!  But don’t get me wrong—the meal was very yummy and rich.  Instead of toast, I asked for a substitute of truffle fries, but they weren’t very truffle-y.  Faina had the sour cream waffle with poached pears and brandy syrup ($11) and reported that it was delicious, but she could not taste any alcohol. Or could she not taste enough alcohol??  The coffee must have been strong, because although I am an addict, I left the restaurant twitching & buzzing.

I appreciate visits to San Francisco because, despite all my eating, Ann will enable me to exercise.  We work out so we can eat….and eat we did.  Traditional bistro fare never felt so good….until Garcon! brought it to us.  Located in the Mission District, this restaurant is/was the new kid on the block and is making friends quickly.  Erik had the steak tartare ($10), which was not overbearing, just tickled the taste buds with capers and onions.  Ann and I had the beet salad ($8.50), which was bright and sweet to contrast the savory parmesan crisps.  Instead of an entrée, Ann had the crab cake appetizer, which was small but the whole cake was crab, no filler.  Erik ordered the Garcon Cassoulet ($20), which looked and tasted like it had been transported straight from the 7^th Arrondissment. Since I still felt gypped out of my duck confit that morning, I ordered the real deal ($19) and enjoyed every last bite.  To extend the experience, of course I had to introduce the lucky couple to one of my favorite desserts, the Floating Island, and some profiteroles for variety (all $7).  Given that every bite we had here was delicious, I was squealing “Oui, oui, oui” all the way home.