Meal of the Month: July

July was an interesting month. There were lots of good meals…but there was also lots of pain. My painful stomach/intestinal issues also resulted in lots of bland meals and sadly, lots of soups and liquid dinners.

But of the meals I was able to have? Let’s see. Lots of dinner ‘in’. Maybe it’s the recession. Or the cold SF summer. But there was sushi at home with a friend, wine and cheese night with two of my favorite “Michelle’s”, and a relaxing evening with home made pizza at home for a friend’s post-surgery recovery meal.

What else? Multiple delicious meals at my friend Chef Chad Newton’s restaurant Fish & Farm (my favorite pole bean salad, a DELISH hamburger, and AMAZING fried chicken!)

There was the simple breakfast at Out the Door, and the delicious dinner at Heaven’s Dog. The ‘wedding food’…at the Clift House! Some of the best ‘wedding food’ I’ve ever had. And the amazing Sonoma dinner at El Dorado Kitchen with friends new and old (with PLENTY of Robert Sinksey wine!)

Another highlight of the month? Fourth of July! Hanging out all day in Golden Gate park with some fun friends from the restaurant industry. A day of playing soccer with one of my favorite 4 year olds, water balloon tosses, slosh ball, and oh, did I mention there were two whole pigs roasted and all the meat, sides, desserts, and booze you can imagine? And that post the day long festivities we continued celebrating the holiday by grilling mortadella dogs and eating leftovers from Spices (yum yum!)

And the end of the month highlight? A delicious meal at Pesce with friends John and Justyna. I was so happy to finally go to this awesome spot (right in my neighborhood!) and to be taken there by two good friends who were regulars at the place. It reminded me that it's always best to check out a restaurant with regulars. The highlights? The octopus. The corn with panchetta. The milk braised pork. The crab linguini. And oh. ALL the amazing cocktails and drinks. YUM.

But no. That was not the meal of the month either. Meal of the month? Burger Night at Sarah and Evan’s. Let me set it up for you. It’s a Monday night, and my dear friends invite me over for Burger Night at their house. The invite came about mid day and not that I was an after thought or anything, it was a bit of a last minute invite. No problem. I was free and happy to hang out with them. Burger Night sounded perfect.

WELL. Burger Night at the Rich household sure isn’t like Burger Night at my house. To start? Burger Night starts off with cocktails…with freshly squeeze juice. Yum. And a cheese plate that included a home made chicken liver moose. YUM. I could have eaten the whole jar. Seriously.

Then the main course. Well, they were kobe beef burgers to begin with. Ground up right at home. And there was a whole condiment tray. And umm, hand cut, freshly fried French fries. SO GOOD. If only that could be my standard Monday night meal. Or even just my standard “Burger Night” meal. That would be heavenly. Thank you Sarah and Evan!