Binkomonster!

Value?

   

Slogging through a few tough months when work is absolutely killing you? Some grey hairs. Wrinkles.

1 companion ticket for your best friend and soul-mate to Sweden and France? $2040.00

That awesome meal of oysters and fish stew at Vin et Maree? $120.00

Admission to the Louvre for 2? $30.00

Going on the 'date-of-a-lifetime' to see Pink Martini in concert, in Paris, with one's Pooh bear?
Absolutely, positively, 100% priceless.

 

 

The Doctor Has Left The Building

Monday. One word that says it all. A belated Easter greeting to all of our fans. We would have posted sooner but it was a frenetic weekend at the Casa De Bink. Today saw the early morning departure of the Binkomonster staff philosopher, Dr. Spilman. We were lucky enough to be graced by her presence on a whirlwind tour to the States, and although 2 days is much too short a time for debriefings, we are glad that we could at least grab that much time. Saturday saw us doing all manner of castle prep for the guest. And it also saw us visiting Coi. The short of it? The space is nice. Great color, great furniture, cozy and chic. The food? More an academic exercise of presentation on the plate and 'interesting' flavors (foie gras ice cream anyone?), but not something that is making us jump up and down with glee and drag the hordes to worship. The courses were decent, and consistent, but it should say something that 2 days on, the memory has faded and we have a hard time remembering a single memorable nibble apart from the frozen meat custard. We will give props where they ARE due however, and note that our cocktail which began the evening (blood orange juice, ginger, and Aperol) was simply divine, and enjoyed by all. We are on a quest to reproduce this lovely elixir here at the Binko-labs, but we need to locate some blood oranges (which appear to now be out of season). The high point of the weekend festivities had to be Easter Sunday, in which we started our adventures with a trip to Whole Foods for some ingredients with which to whip up a quick and tasty dinner. There was a late afternoon stop (and snack break, and wine tasting, and margarita imbibing) at our satellite offices on Folsom Street. Which, by the way, offer the most amazing view of the San Francisco skyline. And while preparing a batch of fresh margaritas, we fell in love with a new toy. Leave it to Alessi to keep creating objects we simply salivate over. This juicer is in a word, perfect. For some time now we've been using a variety of citrus presses to make the components for our cocktails. We actually have two presses, a large form factor (to accommodate oranges of all varieties), and a smaller form factor (for lemons and limes). And while both seem to do the trick, we've long stared at the rinds thinking that we could be extracting more juice from our fruit. And see, that's where this Alessi juicer is impressive. One slice to halve the willing lime, and one gentle press to the main nub of the juicer starts it whirring (while not making a mess spitting pulp everywhere).  Instead you have a steady stream of clear/green lime juice making a path into the receptacle of your choice. After about a minute or so; all rind, very little pulp, and all the juice extracted. Wunderbar! We are obviously going to make a trip to Zinc this week to add this marvelous instrument to our chemistry lab. After we had the afternoon to poke, prod and fondle this new-fangled device, the party moved to Binkomonster Central. A steady stream of friends/neighbors made their way to our doorstep to share a glass, nibble on a chocolate, grab a quick dinner bite, engage in conversation, listen to some swing, and play some mah-jong.  And a  very cool bonus? Our CEO saw fit to purchase a fountain with spotlight which has now been installed on the deck. So when the 'lights go down in the city' our cozy space is not only warm, replete with couch and table, but also stocked with funky candles, chimes that go 'ching' in the wind, and spotlights on our lovely jungle. We may never leave.

New Food Finds. And Drinks.

One can never underestimate the pleasure that discovering a new food haunt brings (at least in our case). Since our return from points far away, we've been doing some additional exploring in our own backyard, with wondrous additions to what has now become our top 20. Up first? A glorious little gem in the Sunset, Namu.
Hot diggity cat. This one rated a good 7 out of 8 paws on our scale. The downer? The out of the way location (but then, anything we can't walk to in glorious SOMA is considered out of the way). The uppers? Oh, where to begin? The awesome space, the chi chi bathrooms, but the food... oh the food! Between the oysters, the dumplings, and the daikon medallion in oxtail broth, we felt as though we had awoken our culinary senses from a long slumber. The continued beauty is that this restaurant is consistent all the way through the dessert course.  The fruit tart (warm fuji apple with a yummy pine nut crust) came with not only the coconut, but ginger ice cream as a topping. And what a combination!  No liquor license as of yet, so for now, BYOW (and hey, being able to grab something out of the Binkomonster wine cellar is a treat in and of itself). However, the wonderful hostess gave us a tip of the cards on their alcohol plan: sakes, local/boutique wines, maybe some Korean beers, and Soju. Sweet. And they do an awesome brunch as well.  Next up? The Presidio Social Club.  Sounds kind of pretentious doesn't it? But so far from it. Located just inside the Presidio (of course), the former Letterman hospital is a beautiful space. The long marble bar feels wonderful to the touch (and fabulous to rest one's cocktail upon), and we have a suspicion that the stainless steel cabinets which now hold all of the precious alcoholic elixirs are simply a clever re-use of fixtures that once held gauze, bandages and antiseptic. Er, we tried not too hard to comprehend the juju that comes about from such a karmic re-appropriation (safety in your drinking?) But we digress. The cocktails? Consistent, but hitting the mark. The Gunpowder is a clever take on a standard Gimlet (with a dash of cayenne pepper on top to give the appearance of the mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal, and with a pleasant *bite* as well). The food was absolutely comfort/nostalgia inducing. Pork with oyster hash yielded a dish with a cut of meat so thinly sliced as to melt in one's mouth, and the accompanying oyster/rice/herb hash was just... catnip. But the crowning triumph had to be the desserts. We are still in complete awe and drooling worship over the banana cream pie. A thin puff pastry disc, with a layer of light/fresh bananas, crowned by fresh whip-cream and chocolate shavings. Must. Resist. Temptation. The brioche beignets were just as seductive. Light, fluffy, and served with warm maple syrup. And we haven't even sampled the warm chocolate cupcakes either! Suffice to say, we're busy on Open Table right now making reservations for next week. Hee.  Drink-side, apart from a fantastic foray to the Binkomonster satellite office (also affectionately known as Bourbon and Branch), we've been sticking to the mixology lab at Binko-Centrale. After all, with all the interesting ingredients we've brought back from Europa, experimentation is the order of the day, no?

Thursday.

Ahh Thursday. The day before Friday. The day one begins to somewhat pull away from the tentacles of 'the man' at least mentally in preparation for freedom. Short lived perhaps, but then, we're not complaining. We're still trying to get out from underneath the teetering piles of work scattered everywhere. Taxes are right around the bend. An excuse (as if we need one) to break out more bottles of something to help ease the sting. The ritual handing over of piles of golden kibble to Uncle Sam will be followed by a flurry of visits from board members. We have the esteemed Dr. visiting this weekend (Binkomonster staff philosopher). Hopefully another board member coming in the next two weeks. Sprinkle in a trip up to wine country, add a dash of Catalina for Memorial day weekend, and you get basically enough time to try and cram in more castle improvements. Oh and don't forget our attendance at the Petchitecture. We are on the hunt for a new piece of tribe furniture since the Tower seems to be getting a bit long in the tooth. Be warned. We will come armed with a war chest, and an auction paddle (and we are spoiling to take a competitor to the mat!)

Back from Europa...

   

So the pretty little view of the castle above is one taken during an opportune moment of afternoon sunshine.  We like the way light happens to bounce off of the martini glass collector, and light up the shaker, and filter through the glasses at the ready. It's evening, and we've had a libation or two, so we are diligently pecking away another update seeing as how there has been radio silence of late. But with good reason. You see, duties for 'the man' took us on adventures over to Europa. We only returned last Monday from a sojourn that saw us treading paths in London, Germany, Sweden and Paris. And we are now back at the castle, reunited with a tribe that missed us terribly. Back to our creature comforts, comfy bed/chairs/drinking implements and what-not. Lest the reader infer erroneously, we *much* enjoyed our adventures. Good wine. Good food. Culture. And some Shopping. Our return voyage home we also were lucky enough to enjoy a special treat, an UPGRADE on the tin dragon. Ahhhhhh. The ability to stretch the collective legs, the relative comfort that actually allowed for sleep, cocktail service (and well, tea for the CEO). In short, the perfect ending to a quick but enjoyable romp through the old country. Thanks United. You have no idea how happy you made the Binkomonster folks. Unfortunately, being back means being back to the grind. Sigh. A pictorial essay on our travels is forthcoming, but in the meantime, we're keeping busy tending to piles of fan mail, and baking cupcakes. Our board member gives at least a full interested sniff...