September 2009 – Virgo in Wonderland

Deals Lately…

Posted on Wednesday, September 30, 2009Saturday, October 3, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

FOR FOODIES…

Yelp Eats! – San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and East Bay
October 5-11
This is the first year for this nationwide event. Basically it’s 7 days, 15 restaurants (per region), and a 3 course meal for $35 at eateries throughout the Bay Area. Some of the hottest restaurants around are on the list so it’s a great excuse to go out for a good deal on a good prix fixe meal.

Open Table – Log Off and Eat! (Silicon Valley Restaurant Week)
October 14-21
Again, prix fixe meals for $35 at this large list of restaurants in the South Bay. And again, no shabby list.

RNM Restaurant – Prix Fixe 3-Course Meal $28
You can’t beat this price for a restaurant that is modern yet casual. The food, from what I’ve been told, is pure comfort with an element of French influence for sophistication. The portions are also quite generous. I can’t wait to try this place out! (Haight @ Steiner in San Francisco)

Pasta Pomodoro – Buy One Pizza, Get One Free Thursdays
Every Thursday at ONLY their San Mateo, Novato, El Cerrito, and San Francisco-Cow Hollow locations, order one thin crust pizza and get another free! Plus, there’s no limit! Make sure you mention this promotion when you order.

FOR SHOPPERS…

Kate Spade Friends and Family Sale
October 1-4
Enter code FALLFF09 for 30% off everything online (including sale merchandise). They’re also offering free shipping on all orders.

LORAC Cosmetics
Head to their website and click “VIP Discounts” on the bottom of the homepage to see discontinued merchandise that’s up to 70% off! Some lipsticks are only $4.99! Shipping is free with any $50 order.

Gap Card Style Event
October 1-4
Use your Old Navy, Gap, or Banana Republic credit card and get 30% off all regular priced merchandise or 15% off all sale merchandise with code GAPSTYLE4, online.

H&M $5 Sale
For a limited time, select merchandise at all participating H&M stores is on sale for $5. Check stores for more info.

Events, Food, San Francisco

Good Conversation Over a Naked Lunch

Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009Friday, September 25, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

NAKED LUNCH IMAGE

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be an X-rated post. I’m referring to the lunch I had today, catered by a little place that’s been getting big buzz lately: Naked Lunch.

The Foodbuzz folks were nice enough to host an open house for food bloggers today, serving a catered breakfast, lunch, and happy hour at their offices. Since lunch was to be catered by Naked Lunch and I had wanted to try their food for a while, I headed over.

The “Grilled” Cheese w/Tomatoes surprised me because of it’s wonderful tang that came from creamy goat cheese and sweetness from fresh and roasted heirloom tomatoes. It was topped off with a tangy pesto spread and some baby spinach. I loved this sandwich. Really tasty.

I also tried a bit of the Chorizo Sandwich which had chorizo, pears, pickled onions, and garlic aioli. The picked onions did a good job of contrasting with the meat in both taste and texture. It was a strong sandwich that would satisfy a meat lover and was a favorite of everyone in the room. It was definitely different and surprising.

I’ve been truly impressed with the sandwiches I’ve had lately. Not just your boring old neighborhood sandwich shop fare, but noteworthy spots like Kitchenette, Bakesale Betty’s and Naked Lunch who are making innovative, fresh, gourmet sandwiches that worth talking about.

And a shoutout to the food bloggers I had the pleasure of meeting at the event: Chrysanthemum, The Food Librarian, Kat’s 9 Lives, Lick My Spoon, Ms. Lin Guide, Streaming Gourmet, Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time, and Yummy SF to name just a few. Let’s hope we can plan a foodie get together to swap stories and review some good food!

Events, Food, San Francisco, Travel

A Meat Lover’s Dream

Posted on Monday, September 7, 2009Monday, September 7, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

A birthday celebration calls for meat, that’s what I say. Screw the sugary treats (cakes and ice cream do nothing for me), let’s move on to the savory stuff.

So it was the Hubby’s birthday and I decided to forgo the prim and proper and go straight for the tried and true. So I made reservations at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s a tourist trap. It’s boring. There’s only one thing on the menu. But the question is, do they do that one thing right?

Absolutely.

I had the English Cut, which was two large yet super thin slices of prime rib, no seasoned crust. It was perfect. Easily one of the best slices of meat I’ve ever had. It was a perfect medium rare and the flavor of the meat was flavorful, well seasoned, juicy and tender, almost buttery. You could tell this was high quality beef.

My Hubby had the King Cut, which was the largest one on the menu. It was huge but he finished it with no problem and raved about the flavor. In fact, he toyed with the idea of getting another helping (if you finish the King Cut they apparently give you another for free if you ask). I advised against it since he said he thought his arteries couldn’t take it :).

The sides were mixed, though. Baked potato and creamed corn were both out of this world, but the mashed potatoes were totally boring and the brown gravy tasted artificial. A big disappointment. The creamed spinach was good, not great. The spinach tasted frozen, not fresh. And yorkshire pudding is something I’ve never cared for, though some say it’s the perfect vehicle for sopping up meat juices.

Service is supposed to be legendary here, but I found it lackluster. The waitstaff and host were only artificially friendly, which was a disappointment. But service was prompt and professional. Maybe I hit them on an off day.

Regardless, it was a fabulous experience with it’s old school charm and ambiance, and exceptional food. It may be a tourist trap and they may only have one thing on the menu, but they’re a Bay Area institution for a reason. You can’t do much better for a special occasion dinner.