Lunch: We arrived in San Francisco and went immediately to Hard Knox Cafe where we discovered a group of 30-40 high school or college age kids arrived just before us. There weren't even enough seats in the restaurant to deal with their whole party and after a few minutes it became apparent that we weren't going to be seated until after the entire group had been served. So, we headed across the street to Serpentine (2495 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA‎ - (415) 252-2000‎). But first, Dave Lu took me around the block to a somewhat secret kitchen based in the loading docks called Kitchenette (958 Illinois Street, San Francisco, CA) where we had to try their sandwiches. I got a fig wood smoked pastrami sandwich with caraway braised cabbage and onion, apple-ale pickle relish, and stoneground mustard which was absolutely delicious. The picture is a bit lame as we were rushing from Serpentine to Kitchenette and back.

After tasting the sandwich, I packed up the remainder so Tina could taste it and we could have our "proper" lunch at Serpentine. I had ordered the Seared California Yellowtail (frisee, arugula, cucumber, heart of palm, carrots, snap peas, and honey dijon vinaigrette). The fish came in a state that I wouldn't describe as "seared" but rather completely cooked through. The texture was tough and chewy with the fish breaking down into a mealy texture while being chewed. It was just overcooked to death. The fish itself had little flavor beyond the extremely strong lemon and pepper seasoning applied to the outside (not a surprise since the protein had been cooked through and through which generally obliterates the taste of mild fish). The salad wasn't bad except for the hearts of palm with were bitter.

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What I Ate: June 2, 2010 (Kitchenette, Serpentine, Plearn Thai Palace)

Lunch: I had a sandwich made of the leftover half sausage from Rudy's BBQ and the remaining half artichoke.

Dinner: We went to Austin BBGo (6800 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎) to have some Korean food before going on vacation. They make an excellent seafood pa jun there.

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What I Ate: June 1, 2010 (Austin BBGo)

Dinner: After having fried green tomatoes at Uchi last night, we were craving some tastier fried green tomatoes. We went to Cherry Creek Catfish Company (5712 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 440-8810‎) where the only thing we think the only thing they do really well is the fried green tomatoes.

We both had side salad after the tomatoes. Some of the greens were wilted and not looking so good, but it did have an ample amount of chopped tomatoes.

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What I Ate: May 31, 2010 (Cherry Creek Catfish Company)

Dinner: For Tina's birthday (the day before, but Sunday worked out better for us), we went to Uchi (801 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 916-4808‎) with Braden and Kelly.

Amuse bouche - cured strawberries, pickled rhubarb, and watermelon radishes. The amuses that we've had in the past at Uchi have showcased Chef Cole and Chef Qui's skill at balancing strong flavors. Unfortunately, we didn't feel this simple starter was a good representation of the food at Uchi.

edamame whole soybeans with sea salt, served hot. ($3)

crudo sea bass, orange oil, garlic and black pepper in a citrus vinaigrette. ($11)

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What I Ate: May 30, 2010 (Uchi)

Lunch: We ate a quick lunch of leftover pizza from BJ's Brewhouse to make sure we had enough time to prepare Hairy to meet some potential adopters.

Dinner: To celebrate Tina's birthday, we went to dinner and a movie. Dinner was at Rudy's BBQ where they assemble your order in layers into a crate.

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What I Ate: May 29, 2010 (Rudy's BBQ)

Lunch: We boiled the corned beef brisket for one minute to reduce its saltiness a bit - this worked perfectly.

Dinner: We went to BJ's Brewhouse to have the other couple appetizer flatbread pizzas that they have.

Ahi Poke Chopped sashimi-grade ahi and green and yellow onions are marinated in our signature poke sauce. Topped with diced avocados and served with crispy wonton chips. This was pretty good at the beginning but I don't think the later pieces of tuna had enough poke sauce on them. Also, too many won ton chips - but they were flavorful with and without the ahi poke.

Margherita Fresca Flatbread Appetizer Pizza A classic Italian recipe with fresh mozzarella cheese and sweet tomato sauce. Garnished with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. A tad sweet due to the tomato sauce.

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What I Ate: May 28, 2010 (BJ's Brewhouse)

Lunch: I had a sorry looking 6-inch Meatball Sub on Italian Herbs and Cheese Bread from Subway.

Dinner: We went to Azul Tequila (4211 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 416-9667‎) where I ordered the Carne Guisada plate for dinner. It was simple, but it really hit the spot. The house made corn tortillas went perfectly with the chewy but flavorful beef tips.

Dinner: Tina made a pasta out of heart-shaped pasta, sliced bratwurst, roasted broccoli, and fresh NatureSweet SunBursts tomatoes. These tomatoes are super-sweet and have a full flavor. If you see them in the supermarket, I'd recommended picking up a pack to eat out of hand or toss (fresh) into pasta like Tina did.

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What I Ate: May 26, 2010

Dinner: I went to a food blogger tasting event at Gibson Bar and The Trailer (1109 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 386-1345‎). They had a several fresh takes on the typical bar food. There wasn't a single thing I tasted that I didn't like.

Buenos Dias All-beef hot dog split and seared, wrapped in bacon, topped with a fried egg and melted American/Swiss Cheese. This was my favorite. There's nothing special that I could tell about the hot dogs they use - salty and firm textured. The fried egg and bacon make this hot dog awesome though.

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What I Ate: May 25, 2010 (Gibson Bar and The Trailer)

Dinner: We ate dinner at Jeffrey's (1204 West Lynn Street, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 477-5584‎) where former First Lady Laura Bush was also dining (she was eating at a table in the bar while we chose to dine in the dining room - they even offered us a table in the bar but we turned it down not realizing we were standing in a room with someone famous while inspecting our tables).

Crispy Oysters - Octavia on house-made Sea Salt Potato Chips Bacon Royale with "Overnight" Tomato Vinaigrette. Very good - crispy with a clean flavor and well-balanced with the tomato dressing.

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What I Ate: May 24, 2010 (Jeffrey's)