An Italian Double Agent

I've finally come to the realization accept that Italian eateries aren't going to have American style macaroni and cheese.  While I don't think it's too hard for them to have pasta + cheese and I still scour the menu hoping for it, but am prepared for the inevitable defeat.  My one saving grace is the children's menu.  American kids are often given the same options that they've got at home and after my positive results at Strizzi's I was emboldened to once again ask if it was ok to order off the child's menu.  Since I'm writing a review... it must have meant that I was able to!

Pasta Pomodoro is a SF Bay Area Italian chain, focusing on the use of fresh ingredients in the preparation of modern Italian dishes (not sure exactly what modern vs classic is, but that's a discussion for a completely different blog).  They've got a number of restaurants close to me and with a friend in the area during the Xmas holiday, our choice for dinner that evening was the local Pasta Pomodoro. 

The Review

Brand:
Pasta Pomodoro's Cheesy Pasta.

Watch out!  Full moon!  There could be Mac n' cheese hungry werewolves on the prowl!

Wait... This Isn't Sourdough

It seems that I have this strange ability to be in San Francisco when the local sports franchises are playing in REALLY big games.  Back in 2010, after seeing a foam Brian Wilson beard that had made it's appearance during the NLCS series against the Phillies I decided I had to have it, but couldn't find it online to order.  I had a dentist appointment a few days later and ended up taking the day off to accommodate the appointment.  By the time of my appointment the Giants were in the midst of the World Series and Game 5 was later that evening.  A trip to the Giants dugout store at the ballpark didn't net me a beard, but I came back with World Series themed merchandise.  I didn't stick around the park to see the victory at one of the many bars/restaurants exploding with fans, but they clinched their first title (as the SF Giants) that evening.

What does that have to do with mac n' cheese?  Not a thing!  However, I made my way back to the city and spent most of the day wandering and enjoying the highlights of the city on Superbowl Sunday, when the Niners were looking to make it win number six.  While they didn't win, I hadn't seen so many Niners jerseys in one place ever and despite the beating they were taking early, the fans were incredibly well behaved.  It was a site to behold hearing the entire restaurant or bar I was walking by let out with collective cheers and groans as the game progressed.  One positive of the game going on that day was that the tourist traps of SF were pretty empty.  While wandering, I made my pilgrimage to Boudin's massive bakery/shop/cafe at Pier 41 for some fresh sourdough bread.  While there, I took a gander at the cafe menu for a possible dinner and while I saw some tasty options I decided that a trip upstairs to the fancier Bistro Boudin was in order, especially after I saw that they had multiple mac n' cheese options on their menu.  I had initially planned on getting both mac n' cheeses, but due to the cost of one, I decided that I was going to have to make a second trip for the other option at a later date.  I just couldn't quite go for an evening of mac n' cheese meals that were going to run me over $30, especially when I've had as many backlogged reviews as I currently do and had also had mac n' cheese for lunch too. One was going to have to do.  Hopefully I made a good decision.


The Review

Brand:
Bistro Boudine's Dungeness Crab Mac & Cheese 

Sorry for the blur, this area also doubles as the host/hostess zone and I only had a few seconds to snap the photo before they were back in the shot and wondering what in the hell I was doing.

You're Doing It Wrong

I was passed this picture by a friend today that they discovered while they browsed top images on imgur.  Click HERE for the original imgur thread and HERE for the Reddit thread. I don't upvote much but both the imgur AND reddit posts got my +1.  At last check, there were over 2000 comments in the Reddit thread alone.

Pasta? Check!  American cheese singles? Umm... Check? 

PEOPLE, THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DO MAC N' CHEESE!!! 



**Notes on imgur & Reddit**
Imgur is a photo hosting site that also allows for people to comment on images and over the last few years has grown a fairly large community of users.  It's an interesting place.  Imgur also often acts as the image host for those posting on Reddit (think message forums, where there is a 'sub' reddit for practically ANYTHING) Posts found on Reddit are often comments that spring up regarding individual images that are posted.  Oh, and upvotes, You can't forget those.  Everyone loves upvotes.  Both sites can be are HUGE time sucks, can have plenty of naught words and in some corners, many naughty images as well so don't spend too much time there if you're browsing this blog at work.