Scenes From the Weekend and Meal Plan Updates

This whole weekly meal plan thing is fun! Ok, maybe I’m a little nuts, but what can I say? It’s been fun to actually try out some of the recipes I’ve been pinning. As suspected, I ended up planning on too much last week and had to adjust a bit, but before getting into that I have to share some weekend fun!

Friday night, we decided to hit the town for a quick happy hour and a movie. Not long after we moved out here, I found a LivingSocial deal for The New Parkway. Nathan convinced me to go with him to see The Hobbit and we finally got to use the deal. I love this movie theater! They have some pretty awesome looking food, drinks, and sitting on a love seat is so much more comfortable than normal seats!

My new favorite movie theater.. the love seat is the way to go!

Saturday morning, we went into San Francisco for the farmers’ market at the Ferry Building. We hadn’t been since we moved out here and we had to get Nathan a porchetta sandwich. While he ate his awesome pork, I opted for the spicy avocado veggie lettuce wrap from the vegan stand. Ha what a pair!

Spicy Avocado Veggie Wrap.. very tasty but I found myself hungry after about an hour.

Porchetta sandwich with crispy crunchies!

After the market, we decided to go get some of our favorite bread and take a hike up the hundreds of stairs to Coit Tower. We did it, I just don’t have photographic evidence.. but I swear it happened! And as always, it isn’t a trip for us if we don’t stop for a beer. Mikkeller has some pretty wonderful beer and it was the perfect refreshment after our hike 😉

On the right is my Santa’s Little Helper and Nathan had Anchorage Galaxy White IPA.

Finally it was time for lunch. We decided on HRD Coffee Shop which isn’t actually a coffee shop, but an incredible Asian fusion dive. We went on our vacation in May 2012 and it was such a great experience and the food was so good, we were psyched to go back!

Nathan’s Mongolian Beef Cheesesteak

My Bulgogi Rice Bowl.. I housed that baby!

Not only was the food as amazing as we remembered, the owner, David, remembered us! He sat down and talked with us for a few minutes even though they were mobbed; it’s that kind of experience that will keep us coming back time and again. Not to mention we have to try more food 😉

Meal Planning

Our favorite meal of the week?

Jamaican jerk chicken, fried plantain, & coconut fried quinoa with macadamia nuts.
– Half Baked Harvest

We ended up having the leftover pretzel crusted chicken for dinner on Saturday and made the cauliflower pizza crust for dinner last night. So good!

Cheesed up a ready to go!

And topped with Nathan’s homemade pizza sauce.

Monday – Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl [using leftover rotisserie chicken]
Tuesday – Paleo Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Wednesday – Healthier Crockpot Butter Chicken with Homemade Naan
Thursday – Mango Beef Stir-Fry [using leftover ginger orange beef]
Friday – Going out!

I think this week will be better in the leftovers department and I’m always happy to use up the rest of our leftovers for something new. I’m especially looking forward to trying the spaghetti squash casserole that everyone has been raving about and I know Nathan is psyched for the homemade naan.. oh and the butter chicken 😉 If you’re looking for help with weekly meal plans, send me an email!

Food for Thought

Have you ever been to a movie theater like The New Parkway?
What’s your go-to recipe for a quick, healthy meal during the week?

My Most Favorite Food Experience Ever

While planning our California trip, Nathan took it upon himself to research some local, unique restaurants where we could get good food off the beaten path a bit. One of our favorite references is Diners, Drive-Ins’, and Dives and of course San Francisco has a ton of featured restaurants to choose from!

HRD Coffee Shop popped up and Nathan went crazy! Spicy pork kimchee burrito? That is right up our alley! Check it out..

Bar hopping before a Giants’ game the night before we were leaving took us right by HRD but when we got there, they were already closed for the day. However, as we stood outside looking at the menu, owner David Yeung walked out to talk to us. We told him we were headed home the next day but he assured us that if we came back before we left, he’d take care of us. He wasn’t kidding!

Walking into HRD the next morning for breakfast, we were greeted by David, Joanna, and Gary; the faces of HRD. Recommendations from all of them led us to order a spicy pork kimchee burrito and a Chinese bbq pork breakfast burrito. Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe the flavor packed in these handheld delights. And the surprising ingredient in the kimchee burrito? Kiwi. It’s like your sweet little treat that you don’t expect.

Owner, David Yeung

Spicy Pork Kimchee Burrito

Chinese BBQ Pork Breakfast Burrito

And if the burritos weren’t delicious enough, their homemade hot sauce really set them off! I’m not one for using much hot sauce, but I couldn’t get enough of this! Every bite had to have some sauce on it.

We were so pleased with our decision to return before we left and couldn’t imagine that it could get any better. And then it did.

With about 1/4 burrito left for each of us, David came over with one of HRD’s most popular dishes; Mongolian beef cheesesteak. As a ‘thank you’ for coming back, he wanted to give us this sandwich on the house. Neither of us had ever been given food at a restaurant like that so we were so grateful for such a kind action.

And naturally, practically stuffed already, we looked at each other, wrapped up the rest of our burritos to take with us, and dug in!

Mongolian Beef Cheesesteak

Mongolian Beef Cheesesteak

Once again, we were not let down. The flavor from the marinated beef was out of this world! And the french fries were the perfect dipper to savor even more of the hot sauce.

David returned, once again, to our seats to make sure we were happy with everything and enjoyed our experience (much appreciated!) and I had to ask if they sold the sauce. An unfortunate “no” led Nathan to joking about taking the bottle from the table. A minute later, David brought out a bottle for us to take home, again, on the house.

I can’t thank David, Joanna, and Gary enough for such an incredible experience with our food as well as the hospitality. Immediately after walking out of the restaurant, Nathan and I decided that HRD will be our first stop every time we return to San Francisco! Most certainly an experience we won’t soon forget.

Owner, David Yeung

Speak Up!

What is the best restaurant experience you’ve ever had?