Yuzu oyster shots with uni

Tokyo Go Go has been pouring sake and rolling hand rolls on 16th street in the Mission since 1998. As one would expect from a 14-year old restaurant, (restaurant years are like dog years), it’s not looking as fresh as it once used to. The movies are still being projected on the wall and the staff is still hip, but the interior is looking a bit scruffy. It’s one of those places that really shows best when it is full on a Friday or Saturday night and gets a little depressing if you look too hard when it’s empty. It’s a place that I’ve been to and will keep going to again and again when I don’t feel like having super authentic Japanese food, but crave something sushi-like.

Must-order kobe beef tataki

The kobe beef tataki is always delicious and one of those foods I have an insane craving for once in a while. And while all the other food is decent, I feel like the effort is not quite there anymore like it used to be.  Dinner last night was absolutely delightful because of the company, but somewhat lackluster in terms of food. The beef was insanely good as always, but the fish didn’t sparkle with freshness the way it sometimes can, and the usually yummy marinated miso black cod was a bit dry.

Miso marinated black cod

Goma Ae

Cucumber takes the place of rice

Still, Tokyo Go Go is always fun during crowded happy hour (M-Sat 5:30-7, Sun 5-6:30), when they serve an array of great hand rolls for $3.50 (I recommend anything with a quail egg on top), and beer and sake for $3. So if you feel like some creative sushi surrounded by hipsters, check it out.

With the New Year, everyone is on a diet or cleanse. Everyone.

Not me. But this Bon Appétit’s 2012 Food Lover’s Cleanse looks totally doable. Just look at the pictures above! Drooling with hunger yet?

Omelet with Fennel-Meyer Lemon Relish, Braised Greens with Leeks, Pumpkin-Shrimp Curry…yes, yes, yes! I can eat like this everyday!

Oh James Dean.

I think it’s safe to say that few if any men look better in a black sweater, with a camera, in glasses, leaning up against a wall, with a cigarette dangling carelessly between their lips, in a leather jacket or simply wearing a look of angst. Yes, James Dean is the one and only, the original rebel without a cause, the eternal boy who will always make the hearts of young girls and boys flutter with desire.

We love you.

Who else could become the style icon of effortless, thrown together chic. Do you think he spent hours mussing his hair in the mirror, turning up his collar just so or putting a crease in his pants or a cuff in his jeans? Maybe sometimes, but then again probably never. I picture James Dean rolling out of bed, bare feet slapping the hardwood floor, hair perfectly sexy, throwing on a sweater from a pile lying on the floor next to the bed, smelling slightly of cigarettes, grabbing his camera, then walking out the door kissing his smokes.

James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana on February 8th 1931, then moved to Santa Monica when his father decided to give up farming to become a dental technician.  James, who was never close with his father, was devastated when his mother died. He was nine years old. After her death, James’ father Winton sent James to live on a farm with Winton’s sister in Indiana.

James came back to L.A. in 1949 after graduating high school and discovered acting. He moved to New York in 1951. Although he appeared on many television shows, he was only in three movies: East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, which came out after his death. He was great in all three.

On September 30 1955, James was 24 years old and heading to a race track in Salinas, CA. He drove his brand new Porsche 550 Spyder and the wind caressed his hair. He was sure that the  black-and-white Ford Tudor coupe, driven from the opposite direction by 23-year-old  Donald Turnupseed, who had moved to take the fork onto State Route 41 and crossed into Dean’s lane, would stop. It did not. They had a head on collision and 10 minutes later James Dean was dead.

He had a romantically tortured and brilliant life, an unclear sexuality, a love of cars, leather jackets and cigarettes and was everything a legend should be. He looked good in everything he wore without trying and his style has been imitated by thousands. But he remains forever alone, unsurpassed, the epitome of tragic cool. James Dean, a style icon.

With the holidays fast approaching, it’s easy to get caught up with shopping and…SPENDING MONEY!

Here is what I’ve been pining for. Oh Santa, I’ve been a good girl this year! I swear!

Bacon and Peas Carbonara
(My new favorite pasta carbonara recipe from http://www.food52.com/recipes/214_daddys_carbonara)

1 pound dried spaghetti
1 pound bacon
10 ounces frozen peas (1 package)
4 eggs
1 cup fresh grated parmesan
black pepper

Start cooking the pasta (I have long subscribed to the less-water method Harold McGee addresses here).
Ask the hotline about this step!

Take the bacon out of the package, cold out of the refrigerator, and cut across the slices into 1/2″ wide blocks. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the blocks with a wooden spoon.

Dump the peas into a Pyrex bowl with a little water and microwave 3-4 minutes, until they are warm, stirring halfway through.

While all the cooking is going on, Mix the egg, parmesan, and pepper (to taste – it’s best to use a lot, but for kids, maybe less) in a large bowl. It should have the consistency of thick batter.

When the pasta is done, drain it quickly. Don’t linger, as it’s good to capture some of the water. Dump the steaming spaghetti into the egg mixture, and agitate well to cook the egg. Add the bacon with a slotted spoon. Mix in the peas, and you’re done.

When you are a food and fashion blogger, it is rare that an event comes your way that spans both passions. This is why we got so excited when we heard about Le Dîner à San Francisco—a glamorous, flash mob picnic for 2000, requiring that all participants dress in all white. The tradition began in Paris in 1988 when a stylish Parisian decided he wanted to celebrate his birthday by picnicking in the Bois de Boulogne. So that he and his friends would be able to spot each other in the dark of the wood, he requested they all wear white. The dinner was so much fun that he decided to do it again the following year and then again and again. Each year more people came until it became an event for thousands, held in prominent Parisian locales such as in front of the Notre Dame. It has since grown globally and been held in several European cities and Canada. 2011 marks the first year Le Dîner came to both New York and San Francisco.

Vicky, Liza and Billy

I first heard about the picnic in July (in an email from Urban Daddy). Luckily, it was within hours of the event’s announcement and I was able to RSVP and snag a table. There was only room for 250 RSVPs although the party ended up growing. I was told when the picnic would take place (Friday, October 14th), but did not learn of the secret location until 3pm the day of. After weeks of planning and anticipation the date finally arrived and at 3pm I checked my email with a 12-year old’s Christmas morning excitement. I learned that the picnic would be taking place in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, a gorgeous area with fountains and the breath-taking De Young as backdrop. This was impressive but what impressed me most was the weather; it was a balmy 80 degree day which turned into an incredible 70 degree evening without the usual San Francisco wind chill or fog. The weekend before it had rained and I was worried the event would be characteristically bone-shivering, but the warm evening (a San Francisco rarity) was a true gift.

Kimberly Ovitz dress

We arrived well prepared and had no trouble finding a table facing one of the fountains. I was in charge of the food and my friend Billy, the tableware, ensuring that we had one of the most luxurious and in my opinion glamorous tables there. The rules of the picnic are simple-everyone dresses in white, brings a white tablecloth and a sumptuous meal. Only one bottle of alcohol is allowed per person and there is to be no open flame. Everyone arrives at more or less the same time, sets up, eats, drinks, makes merry and then cleans up and vanishes as if no picnic ever took place.

Setting Up

The Ever Glamorous Billy

Billy did not disappoint and brought white linens, vintage Limoges china, real silverware and gorgeous thoughtful accents like a champagne bucket, salt and pepper dish, tea cups and saucers and hot tea for the end of the meal. All this was lovingly packed in bubble wrap and brought in several vintage suitcases. Dinner consisted of pates and cheeses, spaghetti bolognese, corn salad, tiramisu and enough champagne to keep us from getting thirsty.

Sugar Bowl

Salt and Pepper Style

Being among several thousand people dressed in white made us feel like we were on the set of a movie and the whole evening was both magical and as glamorous as we hoped for. Everyone behaved and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, the incredibly rare warm San Francisco night, gorgeous setting, lovely company and an event that we all hope we will be attending year after year after year.Thank you to the people that helped put on an evening of pure elegance and fun for no other reason than the pleasure of enjoying life.

Kate and Billy

Hope to see everyone at the next Le Dîner à San Francisco!

Movie Set White