Hipstamatic journey down the Embarcadero
Category: Uncategorized
photographic journey through Israel 3/10
Taste of the Nation SF
i was fortunate enough to attend Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation NO KID HUNGRY event last week held at AT&T park Club Level. {yes it is good to know people in high places}. let me tell you, there was a lot of food and drink to be had. some of it outstanding, some of it not great, and i actually spit one dish out. yes, i pulled a Padma and gracefully discarded of the mushroom, green garlic and ricotta crostini from A16 in a napkin while walking away. it was mostly because i was just godamn sick of eating crostinis, (ok yea, getting drilled and still having sensitive teeth also had a bit to do with it), but one must be extremely selective at events like this and not unnecessarily fill up on just ‘meh’ tasting stuff! yeah, it was intense.
the logistics of the event itself were a bit insane and gives me flashbacks of the infamous Unwrapped! Yelp Holiday Party of ’09 which goes down as ONE OF THE WORST-PLANNED EVENTS IN SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY. i LOVE you yelp, but that was just mean. Anyways, this time instead of being surrounded by hungry out-of-town first-time yelp-party-goers i was being stressed out, irritated & stomped on by all of the hungry neurotic snobs {i dont go to many charity events, sigh, so this level of snobbery was new to me}. i was in this swarm of mass confusion for too long, and hey turns out the lines were just in Alphabetical order by last name BUT there was ZERO signage and/or anyone helpful around for miles!!! then i realized that since i was on the Comped List i did not have to be in ANY line at all!! =D like i said, good to know people in high places, but i am also a HUGE believer of ASK and you shall receive…most of the time. Anyways, following this anxiety-inducing experience was, well more of the same. the venue bottlenecked so it was a mad clusterfuck trying to take it all in, grab the champagne upon entering and get your first noms on. BUT once we did, it was a whirlwind of excitement!! just so much to see and try and savor and analyze and ask questions about. There seemed to be some major trends going on: raw fish (crudos, ceviches and the likes), plenty of desserts (i was actually really disappointed that Chef Falkner served, albeit beautiful and fun, crazy-flavor and colored macaroons. shmeh), TONS, ACTUALLY TOO MANY crostinis {one of which i spit out remember?), and too many custard-y/panna cotta/flan things going on. something else strange was all of the chefs and sous chefs, or whoever they were, were reeeeallly not interested in mingling with the crowds and would barely chat. if Top Chef has taught me anything, its that you need to have passion every step of the way and connect with the people eating your food (!)
so yeah, for the most part the entire crowd were all kind of socially-awkward…
anyways. my all-time favorite dishes of the night were ___________drumroll please!!!!!!!:
Semolina gnocchi and mushroom bolognese from SPQR , the Chocolate pots with pistachio macaroons from Mayfield Bakery in Palo Alto AND the cocktail from CANTINA (aka my new favorite bar in SF). very delicious!!
aaanyways, it was awkward busting out my iPhone and snapping pics, but i did as much as i could. ill let them speak for themselves. =)
I got drilled
Ive always been lucky healthy.
i have 20/20 vision. never had any broken bones. no ruptured spleens. no UTIs. no weird moles, freckles, or spots. none of that. And to boot, Ive always had great teeth.
no braces, no retainers {even when i begged my parents because all of my friends had them}, no headgear, no night gear. never had my wisdom teeth out. no root canals. no cavities. nada. My pearly whites are so blessed that each time i see a new dentist, or dental hygienist they are shocked to find out that my teeth are naturally so strong and aligned, and that all of my wisdom teeth have grown in and that 3 out of 4 are small and straight, not to mention that i drank so much calcium as a kid that they are practically ‘stained’ white. Oh and all of that fluoride in the drinking water in Los Gatos {where i grew up} didnt hurt either.
[and yes, i do gloat every time i get praised for having such a wonderful bite, bone and gum structures. i didnt have to do a damn thing and i have a top notch set of chompers. i know im lucky]
until now!………within the last 3 years ive gotten 10, yes TEN cavities!!!! WTF?! ive heard all of the possible outliers besides not taking care of my teeth (which is NOT how i roll): genes, weak immune system, a vegetarian diet, because i don’t floss twice a day {who does?! really, i mean does anyone on this planet – besides my dad – obsessively floss their teeth properly twice a day??} Ive even been told ‘thats just the way it is sometimes’. !!!!
and, ok, im not going to lie. i have a sweet tooth. i add sugar to my tea. i love chocolates and desserts and sour gummy goo shaped into cute little animals. its true.
BUT its not like im caving into those desires on a daily basis. and im not obsessively snacking, nor have my snacking or eating habits changed much in the last 2, 3, 4, 8 years! and i ONLY drink soda when its mixed with alcohol! 😉
well, yesterday i went to my new Green, Eco-Friendly Dentist http://www.serenitydentalspa.com/ to get 4 cavities filled. {no this isnt 4 additional fillings, its already factored into the grand total} and let me tell you, it was quite an ordeal.
a cleaning, four fillings, a strong dose of nitrous oxide {with strawberry-scented Oxygen mixed in}, the Sex&The City movie playing in the background, countless tools and hands in my mouth, 3 hours later and i left the office totally sore, sad, and feeling like i had just come off a bad drug trip.
no really, every time i get nitrous i cry! {this only further supports the feelings of coming down from an intense drug-induced escapade. NOT that I would know…}
anyways, i documented it all. yes i did…..
MyDay
inquisitive little fellar
The Greatness of a Nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated
‐ Mahatma Gandhi
so true.
so very true.
and i know that we definitely dont give them enough credit as the compassionate, intellectual (well some, not all), sensitive, beautiful creatures that they (well some, not all) are.
when a video like: Octopus Steals Diver’s Camera, Shoots Home Movie With It (Video) http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/video-of-octopus-stealing-divers-camera-victor-new-zealand.php surfaces it really opens my mind and makes me respect (some, not all) animals on this planet.
watch it. i swear you might like it!
i♥SanFrancisco
Mark Twain once asserted “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”
yes, everyone i know that has migrated to {the BEST city EVER} San Francisco, has been ingrained with this quote.
well, sadly for me, im a summer person. i love the sun. the sun loves me.
the weather in SF sucks !!!
so, when days like today roll around, san franciscans must TAKE ADVANTAGE and soak it up.
so. this was my day:
New Zealand Wine Discovery event, followed by a trip to Yerba Buena and B Restaurant & Bar.
- Yerba Buena Gardens
love me some poopy beats
David Guetta at Ruby Skye lastnt
dont you just love when you already love a dj/band/performer and then you see them live and love love love them even more?
its all about the love here;)
…..wish i was at coachella right now…just didnt pull it together in time
aaaaaaand shout out to my BFFFFFF Sisanie!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VRZJ_PteUw
it’s about goddamn time, right?
i know this is exactly what youre thinking.
same here. its about goddamn time i start a blog.
HI. im Kaylan. in case you didnt know, I’m already fully immersed in yelp, facebook, twitter, foodspotting, social networking etc etc etc i practically gchat in my sleep…i am a part of Generation Y afterall…ive been around long enough to develop my early computer skills with 3rd grade afternoons on the Oregon Trail, and i clearly remember the day my dad brought home his first clunky lap top, I was on AIM instant messenger, yes when chatting was labeled as ‘instant messaging’, all leading up to opening a MySpace account {from when it was actually innovative and more popular > fcbk} to canceling my account bc it was just a target for creepy guys to send me messages and check out mediocre music, fast forwarding to 2010. shoot i get it. Everyone has a blog….or has been pressured or interested enough to begin one and then become just another retention {or lackthereof} statistic and dropped it, or had much success in this medium and gone down in blogger history. i know. im late in the game. but for good reasons….
I have thought long and hard about it all. why do i need a blog? do i really want to publicly pour my heart out and then as my feelings and thoughts change over time, have those entries be forever timestamped and floating throughout the insanely large wide world of the web? do i care about connecting with those random souls reading other randoms’ blog excerpts??! do i even want to be labeled as a {shudder} ‘blogger’? do i really want to have the ability to express myself but in turn become vulnerable to outside critique and ridicule? (please, not like im any sort of social media celebrity, but i follow http://twitter.com/juliaallison & i read http://gawker.com/tag/twitterati/ ). aaaand on top of all of this im already flat out, i mean, being an active yelper, facestalker, and overtly obsessed with art sites, foodie blogs, sustainable cpg & industry news and also now following enough important organizations, companies and peeps on twitter {ok yeah, Julia Allison doesnt fall into this category} that i depend on it for my daily influx of overstimulating information is already a lot and keeps me busy as it is. but then i think about how much i like to write {random} yet meaningful and thoughtful blurbs…more than 140 characters long. and how my website http://kaylans.com/ is sadly unkept and the fact that i have soo many photos that i work on & snap shots from here and there and want to be able to share those with people other than my 400+ ‘friends’ on facebook and random 200-something followers on twitter. and how many times a day can i really send links to articles and funny pics or clips to my friends via gchat while were all busy ‘working’ just for them to reply with a one-word ‘cool’ ?
welp, i’m pretty sure I’ve come to the conclusion that i want, no need a blog because im an emotional girl. i have a lot of shit to say. a lot of people and companies to criticize. a lot of food and art photos to post. there are endless amounts of random, streaming thoughts that i must must record. and no im not about to start a journal…well an actual pen-to-paper type journal, NO…but if youre thinking of a journal defined as: written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations. then yes, yes that is what this is.
so welcome.
welcome to kaylans blog.
this is me
and this is some of the random, funny, pretty, fucked up shit that i like:
with more to come……
KaylanS Blog 
