Laura: What are your lazy day tricks?

I'm sitting here in the bedroom deciding on what to order from Pearl River Chinese. I don't really feel like getting up and walking to the living room to consult with my boyfriend's food needs, so I CALL HIM. I really didn't feel like walking a few feet. I am a lazy, messy piggy. Gosh, what's wrong with me? What are your lazy day tricks? I might want to try them! Anyways, I'm waiting for some hot cream cheese wontons to be delivered. Chinese food + watching Lincecum pitch = my evening!

Laura: Dear Fall, I need you I want you

Quick post since Mad Men is about to start. I am craving all things fall right about now. A cup of cocoa, crunchy leaves on the ground, cheek-cooling wind, mom's warm Italian food, and sunsets at 5. I tried to make up for the lack of it all with some Italian take out from Antonella's Restaurant in San Jose. This place really reminds me of my family's cooking. It's simple, warm, cheesy, and hearty. I couldn't decide on what to get so I ordered a bit of everything. Spaghetti with pomodoro sauce, meatballs, pepperoni and sausage pizza, and (because I have to order these every time I go there) the most amazing gorgonzola mashed potatoes.  Everything hit the spot and made this summer a bit more bearable. But, please please please Fall come quickly ,I miss you a lot!

Oh and a little something for two people who are having some blues. I wish I could be there to cheer you up and share desserts and make you laugh. Still go get something sweet, it will make it you feel a bit better.

P.s.- I'm not eating this all by myself! My boyfriend and I will be devouring it together. 

Joan: Priorities and Packing

When you move into a new place what is the first thing you should do? Some say clean, others recommend unpacking. A particularly paranoid friend said to check Megan's Law (not a bad idea, gotta be aware of those UnSubs...) These are all fine ideas, but it's me. You know what I did. I put on my walking shoes and canvassed the neighborhood for all the takeout menus I could find. Now before you judge me, this was the state of my new fridge:

Grim. As much as I love ice cream, I definitely needed something more.I think the gastro gods were smiling down on me because it turns out there is this fantastic neighborhood Italian place right around the corner. I ordered their lunch special, a Frutti Di Mare salad. Usually salads are my worst enemy (all that useless lettuce!!) but this place wins major points for their perfectly sparing use of endive and arugula topped with red and yellow bell peppers and plently of calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels, and scallops.

And the dressing. This dressing needs to go on EVERYTHING. It looks like melted butter but it's actually a lemon vinagrette. They also included complimentary baguette bread and this delicious dipping sauce with chopped/pureed olive in it. Mmmmmmm...

Now being the wino that Laura thinks I am, I also stopped to get a bottle of wine to celebrate my salad. Problem #1. Everything is still packed away. Thank god they gave me that wonky fork.

Problem #2. I may have had too much fun labeling the boxes to actually pay attention to what was going inside, because in the box labelled "wineglasses", this is what I found:

Nail polish, jewelry, and a MARACA. Fortunately the wineglasses were found in the makeup box...but how did the maraca end up in either of those boxes??? Moving mysteries, love it.

I'm in LA! Now to find MGG...

Super Duper Burger

LAURA: Some changes are coming to the blog! We are soon getting a Los Angeles edition, or maybe Joan is just up and leaving me! Joan will be there this week and I'm getting a bit sad about it. Who will drive hours with me to eat at a restaurant? Who will encourage me to order dessert after I've eaten a 1/2 lb. cheeseburger? I will be holding auditions shortly for a new Joan, anyone interested?

For Joan's last food weekend in the Bay Area we decided to eat everything we can and leave nothing on the plate. Our first stop in San Francisco was Super Duper Burger in the Castro. Super duper delicious. We used our blog press pass (aka Joan's connections) and got an in-depth look and taste of this stellar burger place. All the meat is ground and delivered every morning from Niman Ranch and the rest of the ingredients are local to the area. I had the daily special- a green peppercorn bacon burger with jack cheese. That's a lot of my favorite things in one food item. It was, for lack of better words, Super Duper!

 The house-made lemonade with brown sugar was pretty good too! Joan received a double burger and strawberry milkshake made from the soft serve ice cream and we shared the garlic parmesan fries. This was the perfect start to a food coma day. I also believe this is the first time we are photographed together, ever!

(I don't know if you can see it through the window, but Super Duper is located directly across the street from Gold's Gym. Evil geniuses.)

I will post more on where else we ate later, but you should definitely go to Super Duper Burger soon! Joan, I will miss you and your food-centric ways. I know you'll explore LA in search of yummies and Matthew Gray Gubler.

JOAN'S EDIT: Lies. We were photographed together here

Joan: Comic Con? psh, I'm at V.I.P.

V.I.P., it's the place to be...

I have been dying to find a place that serves deep fried squid, canned peaches, popcorn, carrots, and Chex Mix to go along with my Soju cocktails. Thank goodness I have found V.I.P.

Located in a lovely strip mall next to a bowling alley and a beauty school, V.I.P. is the late night hotspot for those in the know. And you do really have to know, their business sign is unlit and all the windows are blocked out. Just keep an eye out for young drunks. Once inside, each party gets their own semi private table with couches and curtains you feel like a...V.I.P.

All snarkiness aside, I'm glad I got to experience the V.I.P. magic on my last weekend in San Jose with some great company and some pretty fantastic Soju cocktails.

San Jose Lasts List

It's all happening so fast! But in the midst of moving and sorting and packing and worrying, I still have to eat. Laura and I have a list of places we need to revisit and a longer list of places we never got a chance to try. We'll let you know how it goes.

Revisit: Before I leave I need             again!

*a banana milkshake from Falafels Drive In

*a cheeseburger from Naglee Park Garage

*to visit Omogari Korean and find out that server's name

*Shabuway

*curry in a hollowed out pineapple

*a drink from Jack's

*sliders from the MoGoBBQ Korean taco truck

*licorice and nuts from the Yolo Fruit Stand

*to squat and gobble at Squat and Gobble's

*to get fancy for midnight Pho

*find out who comes up with the puns at Dia De Pesca, maybe steal their breaded halibut taco recipe. Actually, this probably belongs on the "Never Got To" list.

I can hear my waistline expanding. Santa Pants!

Joan: IT-ly? What the hell's she doing in IT-ly?!?

Per Twitter, it looks like MGG’s going to Rome…jealous! Just think; gelato, prosciutto, pizza, Prada, and PASTA.

Vespas freak me out, but I'm a big fan of most things Italian. I want to see the domes in Florence, the canals in Venice, the clothes in Milan...although I don't think I want to see the Leaning Tower, just because with my luck it would choose that moment to topple right over. (On me, no less) Sigh. Have you ever read EM Forster's A Room with A View? I'm semi-convinced I will find the love of my life in an Italian Pensione and never want to leave.

Sadly the closest I’ll get to Italy in the near future will be going in to work later where my memories will consist of explaining the difference between penne and linguine, and of children loading up their straws to spit apple juice at me.

Wish we could go with you, Matthew, but it looks like we’ll just have to settle for watching the most fantastic movie ever made about Italy… Only You starring Academy Award Winner Fisher Stevens, and some guy named Robert Downey Jr.