Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:
Well, 2014 is almost over and 2015 is practically on our doorsteps. I work for a company that had a long range vision plan for the year 2015, so for years everything was punctuated with a "In 2015" intense whisper.
The seriousness behind how much we were supposed to accomplish and change "by 2015" was like a heavy weight bearing on our backs. It was like we expected to have houses on Mars by then and God help the person who wasn't onboard to make the mission happen. It was very much a "success OR ELSE" feeling to me. And it gave "In 2015" this very weird, otherworldly aura.
And now it's almost 2015, will a dreaded doomsday event occur? Who knows? I'm just happy to not have to hear the "terroristic inspiration" of how much we have to achieve by 2015. Ladies and Gentlemen, 2015 is here. Now let's live in it!
I was recently in San Francisco, California - where I had briefly lived a million lifetimes ago. If you read my previous post: "A San Francisco State of Mind" you may recall on my last visit I was doing some walking down memory lane and inadvertent second hand smoking marijuana as I strolled down the Haight. I was already in a mood of deep contemplation and examination as I had deja vu recalling the first time I had ever been to Haight-Ashbury a million lifetimes ago.
Not only was I thinking about life lessons from my youth, but l was also hungry. (Story of my life.) I walked past a restaurant called Sparrow Bar and Kitchen. The song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" started up in my head.
The lyrics from the song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow": "I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me" always moves me very deeply. I felt like this was some sort of sign.
I was receiving a lot of spiritual nourishment (and second hand pot smoke) on my meditative walk along The Haight. Now this restaurant seemed like it was tailor-made for a more basic nourishment.
The restaurant is adorable with a wall of reading material that has both David Chang's Lucky Peach magazine as well as a "Little Miss Trouble" kids' book. (I have the "Little Miss Bossy" t-shirt, so even though I am 900 years old I still cater to my child self.)
The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen has soju cocktails. Their "Blood Orange and Thyme Paloma" screamed "drink me!" I am a sucker for herbs in my drink. Give me a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and vodka with a salted rim and a big old piece of fresh rosemary and I am in heaven!
I don't want to be cheesy and say "You could really taste the thyme!" in this blood orange and thyme paloma. BUT YOU COULD REALLY TASTE THE THYME! It was delicious and I had to physically restrain myself from ordering another.
Also can I just take a moment to give a big cheer to the San Francisco attitude? Like Portland, Oregon, there seems to be a generally relaxed air in the citizens. Which I am not sure why because the traffic and continued need to drive cars up steep hills always stresses me out, but the locals seem to be mellow. (Although maybe that aforementioned pot smoke may be the reason ...)
When I entered The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen, I asked the hostess if she had a table near an outlet. I know this isn't Starbucks, it's a lovely restaurant. BUT my phone was dead and I needed to summon an Uber to take me to the airport. (I heart Uber!) The hostess didn't even blink and instead said very nicely "I have one right over here for you." In most any other city, I would have received a heavy sigh, an eye roll and a haughty look of disdain. God bless you, San Francisco.
I found all of the service at The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen to be top notch. So thank you not only to the hostess but the bartender and my server as well!
I had finished an intense meeting earlier in the day. It was spiritually uplifting but still emotionally taxing. And not to use food as a drug, but this really felt like a time for ... BACON.
The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen serves bacon-wrapped Scotch eggs on a bed of frisee with a sauce Cheron (which is basically Hollandaise with more lemon, some tomato paste and thyme.) I love a good Scotch egg and I love anything wrapped in bacon, so I had to order it.
Now most Scotch eggs are horrifically overcooked. A traditional Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage then dredged in bread crumbs and deep-fried. But The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen's Scotch egg was perfectly cooked. Look at the gorgeous deep yellow center. It was lovely. The sauce Cheron had a nice piquant flavor although frankly the egg was so good on its own; it didn't need a sauce.
To continue with my bacon theme, I saw a "Dirty BLT" on the menu: candied bacon, goat cheese, peppercorn-spiced remoulade and romaine lettuce on Ciabatta served with hand cut Kennebec fries.
Candied bacon?
Goat cheese?
Ciabatta?
Kennebec fries?
It's like The Sparrow had his eye on my stomach and created this sandwich just for me.
The Ciabatta roll was the best ciabatta bread I have ever had in my life. I could have put my shoe between the Ciabatta roll and loved every bite.
To be fair the candied bacon just tasted like regular bacon to me, but with the goat cheese and the remoulade the sandwich has this custardy, velvety, smoky awesomeness that made me a very happy camper.
The sandwich was very hearty. After the bacon-wrapped Scotch egg, I could only eat 1/2 the sandwich. The other half I devoured several hours later on a plane back to Tampa Bay. It held up well! (Thank you, world's best Ciabatta!)
The Kennebec fries were delicious, but I couldn't eat all of them. I need a San Francisco Kennebec fries buddy! I wonder if they have a section for "Seeking Pal to Eat Part of my Potatoes" on Craigslist?
The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen were top notch in my book. The decor is lovely. The atmosphere is hip but laid-back. The service is incredibly friendly, fast and responsive. The cocktails and food were amazing. Win - win - win. A great lunch in the Haight-Ashbury area. If you are in San Francisco, I highly recommend you check it out.
Eating at The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen made me feel the same way I do when I hear Jennifer Holliday singing "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" - happy and uplifted!
As your 2014 comes to a close, I hope you are at peace and filled with joy ... and maybe filled with some bacon too! Thanks for reading!
Well, 2014 is almost over and 2015 is practically on our doorsteps. I work for a company that had a long range vision plan for the year 2015, so for years everything was punctuated with a "In 2015" intense whisper.
The seriousness behind how much we were supposed to accomplish and change "by 2015" was like a heavy weight bearing on our backs. It was like we expected to have houses on Mars by then and God help the person who wasn't onboard to make the mission happen. It was very much a "success OR ELSE" feeling to me. And it gave "In 2015" this very weird, otherworldly aura.
And now it's almost 2015, will a dreaded doomsday event occur? Who knows? I'm just happy to not have to hear the "terroristic inspiration" of how much we have to achieve by 2015. Ladies and Gentlemen, 2015 is here. Now let's live in it!
I was recently in San Francisco, California - where I had briefly lived a million lifetimes ago. If you read my previous post: "A San Francisco State of Mind" you may recall on my last visit I was doing some walking down memory lane and inadvertent second hand smoking marijuana as I strolled down the Haight. I was already in a mood of deep contemplation and examination as I had deja vu recalling the first time I had ever been to Haight-Ashbury a million lifetimes ago.
Not only was I thinking about life lessons from my youth, but l was also hungry. (Story of my life.) I walked past a restaurant called Sparrow Bar and Kitchen. The song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" started up in my head.
The lyrics from the song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow": "I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me" always moves me very deeply. I felt like this was some sort of sign.
I was receiving a lot of spiritual nourishment (and second hand pot smoke) on my meditative walk along The Haight. Now this restaurant seemed like it was tailor-made for a more basic nourishment.
The restaurant is adorable with a wall of reading material that has both David Chang's Lucky Peach magazine as well as a "Little Miss Trouble" kids' book. (I have the "Little Miss Bossy" t-shirt, so even though I am 900 years old I still cater to my child self.)
The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen has soju cocktails. Their "Blood Orange and Thyme Paloma" screamed "drink me!" I am a sucker for herbs in my drink. Give me a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and vodka with a salted rim and a big old piece of fresh rosemary and I am in heaven!
I don't want to be cheesy and say "You could really taste the thyme!" in this blood orange and thyme paloma. BUT YOU COULD REALLY TASTE THE THYME! It was delicious and I had to physically restrain myself from ordering another.
Also can I just take a moment to give a big cheer to the San Francisco attitude? Like Portland, Oregon, there seems to be a generally relaxed air in the citizens. Which I am not sure why because the traffic and continued need to drive cars up steep hills always stresses me out, but the locals seem to be mellow. (Although maybe that aforementioned pot smoke may be the reason ...)
When I entered The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen, I asked the hostess if she had a table near an outlet. I know this isn't Starbucks, it's a lovely restaurant. BUT my phone was dead and I needed to summon an Uber to take me to the airport. (I heart Uber!) The hostess didn't even blink and instead said very nicely "I have one right over here for you." In most any other city, I would have received a heavy sigh, an eye roll and a haughty look of disdain. God bless you, San Francisco.
I found all of the service at The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen to be top notch. So thank you not only to the hostess but the bartender and my server as well!
I had finished an intense meeting earlier in the day. It was spiritually uplifting but still emotionally taxing. And not to use food as a drug, but this really felt like a time for ... BACON.
The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen serves bacon-wrapped Scotch eggs on a bed of frisee with a sauce Cheron (which is basically Hollandaise with more lemon, some tomato paste and thyme.) I love a good Scotch egg and I love anything wrapped in bacon, so I had to order it.
Now most Scotch eggs are horrifically overcooked. A traditional Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage then dredged in bread crumbs and deep-fried. But The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen's Scotch egg was perfectly cooked. Look at the gorgeous deep yellow center. It was lovely. The sauce Cheron had a nice piquant flavor although frankly the egg was so good on its own; it didn't need a sauce.
To continue with my bacon theme, I saw a "Dirty BLT" on the menu: candied bacon, goat cheese, peppercorn-spiced remoulade and romaine lettuce on Ciabatta served with hand cut Kennebec fries.
Candied bacon?
Goat cheese?
Ciabatta?
Kennebec fries?
It's like The Sparrow had his eye on my stomach and created this sandwich just for me.
The Ciabatta roll was the best ciabatta bread I have ever had in my life. I could have put my shoe between the Ciabatta roll and loved every bite.
To be fair the candied bacon just tasted like regular bacon to me, but with the goat cheese and the remoulade the sandwich has this custardy, velvety, smoky awesomeness that made me a very happy camper.
The sandwich was very hearty. After the bacon-wrapped Scotch egg, I could only eat 1/2 the sandwich. The other half I devoured several hours later on a plane back to Tampa Bay. It held up well! (Thank you, world's best Ciabatta!)
The Kennebec fries were delicious, but I couldn't eat all of them. I need a San Francisco Kennebec fries buddy! I wonder if they have a section for "Seeking Pal to Eat Part of my Potatoes" on Craigslist?
The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen were top notch in my book. The decor is lovely. The atmosphere is hip but laid-back. The service is incredibly friendly, fast and responsive. The cocktails and food were amazing. Win - win - win. A great lunch in the Haight-Ashbury area. If you are in San Francisco, I highly recommend you check it out.
Eating at The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen made me feel the same way I do when I hear Jennifer Holliday singing "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" - happy and uplifted!
As your 2014 comes to a close, I hope you are at peace and filled with joy ... and maybe filled with some bacon too! Thanks for reading!
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