VICTORY!

The "beach" at Chicago O'Hare, during a 5 min flight change over

And thus marked the rather inauspicious start of my relocation to one
of the great food capitals in the country, and possibly the world.
Grilled chicken and pickled jalpeno quesadilla, with a side of
guacamole.
You know, I've had worse.

Hello blog, I'm back!

So it's been awhile, in fact quite a long while, but it's finally time to get back to the keyboard. So much eating and so much cooking has occured in the meantime! It's been over three months since I intended to give my own Best of 2007 list (cliché as they might be), but I will still do my best to to conjure up and put into writing those especially memorable meals and dishes-- of which there was happily no shortage, particularly in SF.

Lately my excuse for having neither written nor barely eaten, slept nor seen the light of day is that I am indeed back to work... in spades. 'Why, why do I keep opening kitchens? Whay do I do this to myself?!' is the half-joking refrain I've cried both aloud and to myself as of late. Is it simple masochism? Does it go back to childhood trauma? Or am I cosmically cursed? Yes, it's painful, to be sure. Really though, in spite of the dramatization, it certainly is good experience.

If I survive.

Ok, really, joking aside, things are going very well, and improving all the time. I've begun having a good time at work, now that I've started to let go of the enormous pressure that I was creating for myself. Not to say there's no pressure, oh no! Indeed there is, plenty enough for everybody to get a big piece of the pie. But I'm trying to take one day at a time, which is really all you can do in this industry so much of the time.

I swear that list is coming. And photos!