2006. Already here with greater speed than anticipated. The holiday season has been a relatively low key one here at Binkomonster. We've been sequestered from the public at large, still recuperating from the firm tentacles of an upper respiratory infection. Note to collective self: being sick around the holidays sucks major ass. Instead of being all excited and running around doing last minute Christmas-y things, the week of Noel was spent lying horizontal and contemplating what to do items really 'had' to get done. By the time Christmas rolled around, the ability to walk around without feeling as though lost in a complete fog was back, but only barely. The week between Christmas and New Years found us inhabiting the couch potato zone with fervor. And this week brings us back to work, back to grinding away for 'the man'. But lest you should get the wrong idea, tasks were accomplished, to-do lists were shortened, and most importantly, good grub was had. The alcoholic consumption was a bit lower than expected, but we're trying to give the liver a break while the body deals with healing on other fronts. That being said, our Pomegranate Martini seems to have been a confirmed hit. We are now in the process of trademarking the secret recipe so we can sell out to Con-Glom-O and get bottles onto store shelves near YOU! Just kidding. The recipe goes into the vault, only to be given out to those who have the secret code. In the meantime.....
....we'll move on to experimenting with all sorts of interesting new liqueurs (Mandarine Napoleon, Benedictine, 10 Cane rum). And oh! We've been busy playing with our new toy, the ice cream machine. Yes, Sinty Claws was good to us this year. How can you not love an appliance that with the following steps (put ingredients in, turn the dial, wait 40 minutes), yields the best/au naturel soft serve this side of Mars? Thank you Cuisinart, we are so very happy! So far, our puttering around the lab (er, kitchen) has produced a batch of vanilla, and a batch of banana. Though we have this great new little book with all sorts of recipes for interesting things like Cardamom, Earl Grey, Cognac.
For those of you looking for some new haunt of beverage reviews, we actually did make it out to some new establishments over the holidays. The quick list:
1. Nihon. We did New Year's in SOMA. And it was nice. Low key, but great nibbles. I have to say that their alcoholic offerings (both straight and mixed) rock. Best cocktails? Ginger Secret and the Lychee Mermaid. Of the chef's tasting we did, the Kobe Beef sushi roll was probably the favorite (but this may not be a 'normal' offering). Have to go back for some nibbles to retry and see what the usual fare is like.
2. Son Wong. Undoubtedly, we've gotten the name wrong. All you need to know is that it is the only Chinese restaurant in Japantown. And it is pure heaven. Best Chinese food we've had in SF, and that's fairly high praise. Our new take out joint.
3. Hog Island. Ok so its not 'new'. But rather one of our favorite repeat spots. Fresh oysters. Killer clams. The most amazing cheese sandwich. EVER. And champagne. How can you possibly go wrong? After sitting down to 26 oysters, a bowl of clams and 3/4 of a bottle of champagne, we still don't have an answer to that question.
4. Sheridan St. Binkomonster castle. Well, in the interest of appearing objective, we won't give it the top billing on our list, but we sure did spend an awful lot of time in the bar/bistro over the holidays. And there were some pretty awesome dishes being made. Breaded fresh pacific snapper. Chicken/butternut squash curry with bowtie pasta. Spencer steak with frites. There has been a slight change in management with the facility getting a bit of an upgrade (er, the fridge got cleaned out). But the staff is so cute (little orange guys on waitstaff running around), and they have a pretty hot chef. We also hear that their resident bar wizard is quite the mixologist (though what's up with all the Negronis?)
Happy new year world+dog!
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