We celebrated our anniversary yesterday.

March 22, 1991 – we went out on our first date
March 22, 2000 – we got married

My life is good. Mostly because of my wife =)

Anyway, Kristen and I celebrated by trying out a new restaurant. Thankfully in San Francisco we have no end of dining options. Last night we opted for Little Nepal in the Bernal Heights district.

Nepali cuisine is a big mix of foods of the various Nepali ethnic groups, some Tibetan flavors and a whole lot of influence from North India. As far as the Indian influence goes it owes more to the influence of Bengali cuisine (my people) than to the Mughlai and Punjabi food that dominates Indian restaurants here in the States.

Ok, so how was it? I have eaten meals in 15 countries, and tried the cuisines of at least another 20 cultures here in San Francisco. Last night’s dinner was one of the BEST meals I’ve had in my life!
If you find yourself in San Francisco, do not miss a chance to sample another view into the spectrum of South Asian cuisine – make sure you hit Little Nepal.

Kristen bought me a bottle of Macallan single malt scotch bottled exclusively for Trader Joe’s. Aged 16 years, and most appropriate for this celebration. Liquid gold!

Here’s a quick one I did in photoshop:

When you work at a bar you also find yourself hanging out there occasionally on your nights off. There’s good reason for it, too. The staff are your buddies and you’re treated like royalty. Yep, that also means drinks are probably free. And when regular customers see you they are often excited to see you. It’s almost like being somewhere between a rock star and low-budget royalty.

Anyway, after dinner last night Kristen, Brent, Naomi and I ended up back at the Encore. Saturday night’s are crowded and the usual assortment of karaoke enthusiasts, drunken fratboys, drunken fratboy-hasbeens, marina girls and college kids were out in full force. (continue reading…)