My winter vacation...

Cross posted on the Berkeley MBA Student Blog:

"CAL" braving -15°C in the Forbidden City

They say that time waits for no one and it won't wait for me. What seemed like for long weeks have quickly sped by as I start for my second semester at Haas.


Berkeley, CA

A little known fact: Berkeley has a low-cost, fairly broad student health insurance plan (SHIP).  Under SHIP, we not only enjoy $5 copay for eye exams, but also 50% discount on Lasik. Following my last final, I walked across the street from Haas to the UC Berkeley School of Optometry.  The next couple days were a bit dark.



Taipei, Taiwan

A week later, got onto a plane and headed to Taiwan. My wife and I got married right before school started and I wanted to take her to Taipei to meet the rest of my family. While in Taipei, I was able to connect with Haas alumni.  I was amazed at the loyalty of the alumni that they were willing to go out of their way to meet a stranger.  I learned more about what consulting, technology, financial services was like in Taiwan.

Taiwan Alumni dinner with a MBA '11

Shanghai and Beijing, China

On the 5th, I flew from Taipei to Shanghai to meet up with 59 other Haas MBAs (combination of Full Time and evening/weekend) on a 10 day China Trek.  Treks are entirely student run and five of my classmates put together a truly memorable trek.

Read more here.

Bay Bridge [Bay Area Construction]

A portion of the bay bridge is undergoing seismic retrofits. Over the holiday, the bridge was completely shut down.  To compensate, BART has been running virtually 24-hours--a rare occurrence.

SFist writes:
Captin_nod put together this mesmerizing video featuring time-lapse photography of yesterday's ongoing Bay Bridge construction and the rising of last night's very lovely full moon.

You can also check out these Bay Bridge 360 live video cams all weekend.

In related news, SF Appeal reports that yesterday was BART's second highest day of ridership ever, and the transit agency has also apparently embraced social networking.

SF's Lunch Bell [Routine]

Though born in SF, it wasn't until this year that I got a chance to really explore my hometown. At times, I still feel as if its a foreign country to me. As Xavier said in L'auberge Espagnole:

When you first arrive in a new city, nothing makes sense. Everythings unknown, virgin... After you've lived here, walked these streets, you'll know them inside out. You'll know these people. Once you've lived here, crossed this street 10, 20, 1000 times... it'll belong to you because you've lived there. That was about to happen to me, but I didn't know it yet.

Every Tuesday, at noon, air raid style sirens scream through San Francisco. According to the SF gov't website:, "Every Tuesday at noon, San Francisco tests the Outdoor Warning System. During the test the siren emits a 15 second alert tone."

Turns out there is a rich history behind the weekly event. It was created during the second world war as a civil defense measure. 72hours.org with the help of the SF Department of Emergency Management created a short two-minute clip that explains the genesis of the outdoor warning system and profiles Cesar Santos, the dispatcher who tests the Siren every Tuesday at Noon.

San Francisco is slowly becoming mine.

From the Streets [Food]

Street food is all the rage--bulgogi @ L Street Vending cart in DC, Goat Cheese cake from the dessert truck in NYC, to papusa's @ the Brooklyn flea. It's exciting to see San Francisco with a growing and vibrant street food culture.

When I went to Laiola last week, I learned about the taco menu making its grand entrance today at the Ferry Building. So that's where I decided to grab lunch this Thursday. Tacolicious is simply that--tacos that are delicious. They offer three different types of tacos: steak, chicken and pork. My favorite is by far the chipotle-braised pork shoulder taco. (Confession, I love pork). When ordering, don't forget to help yourself to a generous squirt of one of three sauces. Sweet tomato is my fave.

Dripping with sauce and flavor, be careful when you eat it!

You also HAVE to try the grilled corn with an ancho-chili rub with lime. The lime offsets the super sweet corn. I know you're concerned; corn for lunch? What if I get corn stuck between my teeth? It's not going to go well with my 2 o'clock meeting. Maybe they'll offer toothpicks next Thursday. If not, I'm packing some floss just in case.

I'm so glad to welcome another fine addition to the Ferry Building. I can't wait to get myself a tacolicious Tshirt to show my support!


Tacolicious
1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111

I went to the woods... [Outdoors]

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”

-David Thoreau

Every year, my old college roommate and I get together for a little camping action. Last time I visited him in Texas. This year, it was my turn to put together a mini-expedition.

With the uncertainty behind the future of California State parks, I wanted to get my camping in. Through ReserveAmerica, I was able to reserve a slot at Butano State Park. It's only an hour north of Santa Cruz and the drive down the Cabrillo Highway is absolutely breathtaking. What's also great about the area is the number of must-see places.

Areas around include:

• Pigeon Point Light Station - Best visited during dawn or dusk for your best pics
  
• Año Nuevo SNR - Get there before 2:30PM to get a permit to get up close and personal with the elephant seals
• Santa Cruz - We never made it down there, but it's a beautiful beach town. Check out a google map of potential sites I made before the trip here.
• To Kiss or Not to kiss, the banana slug.
  

There is enough hiking in Butano to keep one occupied for an entire day. We left at 10AM and 6 hour later, looped through the entire valley on a 12-mile hike. Below are some pics I took from the trip, you can get more a more detailed look at the pics here.

Before and After the Course [A16]

Having recently learned that Nate Appleman won this year's James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef, I decided to visit a second time. With an open kitchen and a remarkable staff, this is an ideal place for a date.

To the restaurants credit, there are some lean-forward dishes--burrata, salumi, and chocolate tart. With such great appetizers, I found that the main course had a hard time competing for my attention. I found myself looking forward to the beginning and ends of the meal.

Overall, A16 is a solid and dependable restaurant, but not a place that will blow your mind. My advice is to drop by for the bookends of your meal.

Things to order:

• Mozzarella Burrata. If you like cheese, you'll love these bite size pieces of heaven. Burrata is basically a mozzarella inside a mozzarella. It's fluffy, light, and absolutely delicious
• Salumi Sampler. Get a taste of Italy with a sample of their salumi.
• Chocolate tart with olive oil and sea salt. It's amazing what salt can do to a dish. A little bit of salt serves to reinforce and accentuate the flavor. The sea salt brings out the sweetness and flavor. As one who doesn't have a sweet tooth, I was amazed how much I ate of the shared dessert.
  

A-16 Restaurant
2355 Chestnut St
San Francisco, CA 94101
(415) 771-2216

Driving Range Connections [Golf]

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What do you do when you're picking up someone at the airport and at the last minute, their flight gets delayed?

Well make sure to pack an club or two and drop by the Burlingame Golf Center. It's a lot better than cruising the airport or baking in the cellphone lot. Burlingame golf center is only 5 minutes away from the airport and worth checking out.

Be careful when looking for the place. The turn into the parking lot is right next to the 101 on ramp. I almost made an unnecessary loop the first time I went. On the flip side, it's great, because its insanely easy to get back onto the freeway for your airport pickup!

I dropped by the other day on a lark; I think I'll be going "early" from now on when I have to pick up somebody at the airport!

Burlingame Golf Center
250 Anza Blvd
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 548-2447

Aged Well in Berkeley [Cheese]

The great thing about being in the bay area is the communal aspect of food. I was reading through Corby Kummer's earlier articles and came across an article on cheeses. There's a sidebar on Artisan cheeses. Lucky me, Corby highlights Cheeseboard Collective in Berkeley.

Can't wait!

Image Source: Marxfoods.com

Do Re Mi [Choreographed Flash Mobs]

I went to my first Bring Your Own Big Wheels (BYOBW) event last weekend on potrero hill and left a happy, happy customer. While there, I heard of DJ Amandeep Jawa's Flash Dance events (Flash Mob + Dance Party).

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SF seems a bit zany and irreverent. I can't wait till I get a tweet from deepasaurus for the next dance party.

On a related tangent, have you seen what happened at Antwerp's Central Train Station in Belgium:

The 2009 Grub List [SF Eats]

If you don't know me already, you should know that I like to eat. Having recently moved from Chicago to the bay area, it's hard to figure out what to check out and where to eat. Currently, I've been following my gut instinct (no pun intended).

I've been seeking comfort food, or food I grew up with. That translates to Japanese food (predominately ramen), Chinese food (Taiwanese and Schezuan), and fried chicken. Having satiated that innate desire, I've recently venture out of my warm, comfortable center. Earlier this week, I went to check out Hog Island Oyster Company. I went for the $1 oyster happy hour. Turns out, it's Monday/Thursday, not Monday-Thursday. Dash, slash... eh... what's the difference? Well, about $1.25.

I've decided to follow the recommendations of the 400+ judges who make up the James Beard Foundation. There are a couple restaurants that have made the semi-final round. Here is a list of a couple categories, with local restaurants highlighted. I've already made reservations for next week at A16. If you're interested for a 6pm seating on Wednesday, let me know!

Outstanding Chef
José Andrés, Minibar, Washington, D.C.
Dan Barber, Blue Hill, NYC
Tom Colicchio, Craft, NYC
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
Vincent Guerithault, Vincent on Camelback, Phoenix
Sam Hayward, Fore Street, Portland, ME
Jean Joho, Everest, Chicago
Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago
Barbara Lynch, No. 9 Park, Boston
Michael Mina, Michael Mina, San Francisco
Tamara Murphy, Brasa, Seattle
Scott Peacock, Watershed, Decatur, GA
Charles Phan, The Slanted Door, San Francisco
Stephan Pyles, Stephan Pyles, Dallas
Anne Quatrano, Bacchanalia, Atlanta
Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL
Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia
Janos Wilder, Janos, Tucson, AZ
Michael Smith, Restaurant Michael Smith, Kansas City, MO

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT
Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu
Babbo, NYC
Bacchanalia, Atlanta
Bern’s Steak House, Tampa, FL
Blackbird, Chicago
Boulevard, San Francisco
Brigtsen’s, New Orleans
Delfina, San Francisco
Everest, Chicago
Fore Street, Portland, ME
Greens, San Francisco
Hamersley's Bistro, Boston
Higgins Restaurant and Bar, Portland, OR
Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL
Jean Georges, NYC
Kinkead’s, Washington, D.C.
Lucia’s Restaurant, Minneapolis
Magnolia Grill, Durham, NC
Sanford, Milwaukee
Vidalia, Washington, D.C.

Outstanding Restaurant
Animal, Los Angeles
The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
Bottega, Yountville, CA
Camino, Oakland, CA
Cork, Washington, D.C.
Corton, NYC
Distrito, Philadelphia
Django, Des Moines, IA
Emilitsa, Portland, ME
Feast, Houston
Holeman and Finch Public House, Atlanta
Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA
Izakaya at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, NJ
L2O, Chicago
Merriman’s Kapalua, Maui, Lahaina, HI
Momofuku Ko, NYC
Noca, Phoenix
Palate Food & Wine, Glendale, CA
Poppy, Seattle
Raku, Las Vegas
Richard Chen Pittsburgh
Scarpetta, NYC
Spinasse, Seattle
Sra. Martinez, Miami
Tei An, Dallas
Trattoria Lucca, Charleston, SC
Volt, Frederick, MD
Zahav, Philadelphia

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR
Nate Appleman, A16, San Francisco
Sean Brock, McCrady's, Charleston, SC
Aaron Deal, Tristan, Charleston, SC
Sonja Finn, Dinette, Pittsburgh
Evan Funke, Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen, Santa Monica, CA
Vannessa Garcia, Restaurant Charlie at the Palazzo, Las Vegas
Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta
Will Gilson, Garden at the Cellar, Cambridge, MA
Sarah Kosikowski, Michael Mina at Bellagio, Las Vegas
Jackson Kramer, Interim Restaurant & Bar, Memphis
Travis Lett, Gjelina, Venice, CA
Jonathan McDonald, Pub & Kitchen, Philadelphia
Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C.
Dave Racicot, Lautrec at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Farmington, PA
Charles “Chip” Roman, Blackfish, Conshohocken, PA
Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR
Justin Schoville, Söntés, Rochester, MN
Ryan Skeen, Irving Mill, NYC
Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia
Sameh Wadi, Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, Minneapolis
Rachel Yang, Joule, Seattle
Sue Zemanick, Gautreau's, New Orleans

BEST CHEF: PACIFIC
Gino Angelini, Angelini Osteria, Los Angeles
James Boyce, Studio at Montage Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach, CA
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Josiah Citrin, Mélisse, Santa Monica, CA
Chris Cosentino, Incanto, San Francisco
Jeremy Fox, Ubuntu, Napa, CA
Hiroshi Fukui, Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas, Honolulu
Bev Gannon, Joe’s, Wailea, HI
Quinn Hatfield, Hatfield’s, Los Angeles
Douglas Keane, Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA
Loretta Keller, Coco500, San Francisco
David Kinch, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
Chris Kobayashi, Artisan, Paso Robles, CA
Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
Peter Merriman, Merriman’s, Waimea, HI
David Myers, Sona, Los Angeles
Daniel Patterson, Coi, San Francisco
Gayle Pirie and John Clark, Foreign Cinema, San Francisco
Craig Strong, The Dining Room at the Langham, Pasadena, CA
Jason Travi, Fraîche, Culver City, CA

Read the entire list of nominees here.