Eat. Run. Play.

*Business names are hyperlinked! Click for more details. Krispy Kreme: Green glazed, green sprinkle, and shamrock-shaped kreme filled donuts!

Jamba Juice Insiders: If you’re an Insider and subscribed to their emails, there’s a coupon in your inbox for buy one smoothie, get one for $1.

David’s Tea: Time to stock up on loose leaf teas if you’re running low! David’s Tea has up to 40% off (on 12oz or more) discounts on bulk loose leaf teas from March 9 - 20, 2017. 

Dunkin Donuts: They have a shamrock sprinkle donut -- chocolate frosting and shamrock sprinkles.

McDonalds: Celebrate with a classic Shamrock Shake, the Chocolate Shamrock Shake, the Shamrock Chocolate Chip Frappé, the Shamrock Mocha, or the Shamrock Hot Chocolate. McDonald's is also giving 25 cents from each McCafe Shamrock Chocolate beverage purchase to Ronald McDonald House Charities!

Burger King: Their Oreo Mint Shake isn’t specific to St. Patty’s Day, but it’s green!

TGI Friday (Union City): Stop in tonight for $3 green beer (14oz) or $5 Jameson.

Yard House: Check out their Irish-inspired eats and drinks, including corned beef, shepherd’s pie, a Dublin mule with Jameson, and an Irish whiskey flight.

Jersey Mike’s Subs: Double your points today on your sub purchase!

Sharetea Metron (SF): $1 off ALL Matcha items including Matcha Red Bean Milk Tea, Matcha Tea Creama, Matcha with Fresh Milk, and Matcha Ice Blended.

Rise Pizzeria (Burlingame): Show your green and get $1 off your beer today.

Westtea Cafe (Pleasanton): Grab a matcha drink during their happy hour (not exclusive to St. Patrick’s Day) from 2-5pm today and get $1 off a large drink! Bonus: Hunter (one of the owner’s three westies) will be in the shop.

Gilt City: Use code LUCKY30 for 30% off -- limited time (1-4pm EST).

Alex and Ani: Check out their St. Patrick’s (green) jewelry and the rest of their collection. Enjoy free shipping this weekend -- through March 20.

Vamaya: $30 off your next flight out of the US to any international destination (except Canada) with code LUCKY30 when you book by March 18, 11:59pm.

Ann Taylor: Enjoy 40% off your online purchase until tonight when you use code LUCKY.

ActiveGearUp: Looking for outdoor gear? Get an extra 17% off with code LUCKY17 until tonight, 11:59pm.

S A N   F R A N C I S C O   E V E N T S There are lots of events going on in the city tonight; I’ve listed some of the free or cheap ones here:

Saint Patrick’s Day at the Anchor Beer Garden (12-7pm) [Mission Bay] The Anchor Beer Garden at The Yard is celebrating its opening week. Tonight, all Anchor beers are $5 and they’re pouring a special St. Patrick’s Day IPA.

Taverna Aventine’s St. Patrick’s Day Alley Party (4-11pm) [FIDI]: The indoor/outdoor event will include live music, food truck(s), drink specials, and games.

Irish Bank St. Patrick’s Day Block Party 2017 (2pm-midnight) [FIDI] : Per previous years’ celebrations, the cover charge should be about $10. DJ Marc Van Brabant starts spinning at 6pm.

Royal Exchange’s Free St. Patty Party (5-8pm) [FIDI] : The band, Wonder Bread 5 hits the stage at 5pm. 

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Pier (Pier 39) [Fisherman’s Wharf]: Enjoy drink specials at participating businesses; a full list is on the website. Specials include $6 green drinks, $1 off Irish Cream Latte, $5 Guinness pints, and more!

Chief Sullivan’s St. Patrick’s Day Street Party 2017 (2pm-?) [North Beach]: Chief Sullivan's in North Beach is celebrating their 1st Annual St. Patrick's Day Street Party. They’re teaming up with Nothstar Cafe for festivities, including music, bagpipers, Irish beers, and green drink specials.

St. Paddy’s Celebration at 11 Minna Gallery (8-11pm) [SOMA]: The black light art event will feature live performances, 2D and 3D art, a face painting contest, raffle prizes, and savory St. Paddy’s day treats! Cover is $10 -- this event is a fundraiser for de Young Museum College arts Program. 

Newcomer to the Evergreen neighborhood of San Jose has its grand opening celebrations tomorrow, Friday March 3 and Saturday March 4! They’re giving away $1 small sandwiches for the first 200 customers on each day and giveaway prizes. Address: 2762 Aborn Road, San Jose, CA 95121 Some fellow food bloggers and I stopped by a couple weeks ago and when I walked in the door, I found my friends behind the counter! Yes, they let us get up close and personal in the kitchen.

The chicken chipotle & jack and BBQ tri-tip & provolone sandwiches

I want more of these beer battered and curly fries!

The pastrami, pepperoni, salami, jack & provolone sandwich was one of my favorites!

Our photoshoot started at the table with the co-owner telling us about all the sandwiches...and we migrated outside...

Yes, you read that right. Pizza Hut is offering 50% off its menu-priced pizzas -- any size and custom or preset selections -- through February 27 when you order online through the website or iOS/Android app. Select the deal prior to making your pizza selections or enter the coupon code FEBFIFTY prior to submitting payment. *Discount is not applicable to tax, delivery, or driver tip.

Earlier this month, Krispy Kreme introduced two new blends of their coffee made specifically to pair with their glazed donut. I love my variety of donuts, but sometimes, I pine for a plain old glazed donut. I made a stop this past weekend before heading to the office. The coffee wasn’t bad -- it was better than I expected from a donut shop. It’s nice to see that they’re trying to step up their coffee game with the (new) rise of Dunkin Donuts back on the West Coast after a couple years’ hiatus.

I haven’t been to the shop before while they were cranking out the donuts -- I got to see it when I stopped by since it was pretty early in the morning. It’s something that sets Krispy Kreme in Mountain View (I can’t speak to the other locations) apart; you can bring your kids in and they can watch the fresh donuts go by on the belt.

I picked up a box of 24 donut holes for the team working over the weekend too. Tip: if you buy a dozen donuts, the donut holes are only $2.50. The guy ordering behind me came up to thank me as I was adding milk to my iced coffee for pointing out the donut holes. He hadn’t noticed them on the menu until I ordered it. He was getting a dozen donuts for a church meeting and picked up a box of donut holes too since it was only a fraction of the normal price of about $6.50.

It’s official! Salt & Straw is landing in San Francisco very soon! They’re not opening one location, but TWO:

2201 Fillmore St. in mid-March 580 Hayes St. in May

I was ecstatic when they hosted four pop-ups across two days in Hayes Valley and Pac Heights out of their ice cream truck back in December. Scoops were just $1 and proceeds went to the YMCA/Western Addition Family Resource Center. The times coincided with my class schedule and dinner plans with friends. Yup, I went to two of the four pop-ups. I can’t wait to see Salt & Straw become part of the San Francisco community. They source ingredients locally, and the owners have some pretty unique flavors at their Portland and LA locations. I’m excited to see what they’re going to come up with (flavors) here in SF. 

Elena Una is a gem of a restaurant in the Marina, serving up Filipino food with a twist. Chef Janice Lazaga moved to SF from the Philippines where she was the senior sous chef for the Presidential palace. According to Eater, the building slated to be razed in April this year, so if you’re looking for some delicious Filipino food in SF, get a reservation soon! I had the pleasure of attending a brunch tasting with some fellow foodies and food bloggers. 

The interior of the space is modern chic with exposed brick along one wall and panels of wood accenting the walls by the kitchen and bar. The skylights provide ample lighting during the day, and I’d imagine the lights bulbs strung across the ceiling give the space a more romantic feel in the evenings.

We started off with some mimosas, of course! I was surprised by the choice of nectars -- guava, calamansi, and orange. It’ll run you $65, but it’s enough to share with 8-10 people.

Once the food came out, the foodies got to work.

Small plates: dynamite lumpia (pork, shrimp, white cheese and serrano pepper; lemon aioli for dipping) and street style balls (mix of fish ball skewers drizzled with spicy savory sauce and crushed pork rinds. The dynamite lumpia was a fun play on the traditional dish -- cheese is a unique element to the inside as was the lemon aioli for dipping in lieu of fish sauce.

The baked mussels were full of cheesy goodness. I can always go for seafood!

The dish I ordered: black paella (prawns, mussels, clams, seafood broth squid ink, lemon aioli). This dish was beautiful and also tasted delicious. The squid ink didn’t really taste like anything; I was worried it would taste funny or gritty, but chef balanced the flavors well.

Also on the table: pandesal french toast served with turkey bacon, egg (not pictured), coconut toffee sauce and white chocolate champorado, a Filipino chocolate rice porridge (rock salt and cheese foam, sliced fruit, raw trail mix, chocolate shavings). Ok, I thought the chocolate porridge would taste weird -- I love porridge, but I’ve never tasted a sweet one and I couldn’t imagine eating a sweet porridge. I was pleasantly surprised and I’m now a fan. If I see it at another Filipino restaurant, I’d love to try it to compare it to Elena Una’s. I know it’s traditionally made with milk chocolate, not white chocolate. The porridge itself was thin, almost like a soup, with some bits of rice in it. It makes for a nice, light breakfast that’s also beautiful.

Brunch spread shot from overhead -- in the middle and bottom left corner is the  ribeye salpicao with mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, paprika, served with rice (not pictured) and two eggs any style. I took a forkful of the ribeye and it was so tender and full of flavor, wow!

It’s a new year, but I’m keeping the same diet -- see food, eat food. Seafood? Even better!  Amami San Sushi Express | Santa Clara

Little did I know that a little get-together at Off the Grid: Picnic at the Presidio three months ago would have forged such great friendships, all thanks to Instagram. I had started following Kerry on Instagram and she reached out to a few foodies on Instagram to come together for a meet, greet, and eat. A few of these girls are now some of my best friends. We’ve gone on some pretty great foodie adventures around San Francisco, which I’ve enjoyed greatly since I haven’t had many reasons to go up to the city after I stopped working up there. We’re also there for each other to support our hobby and/or dreams of making food blogging a full time gig and to give each other new ideas on how to grow our influence. Whether or not this becomes a full time job for me, I haven’t decided, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the food adventures and new friends I’ve made through a shared passion for food and photography.

Hello Presidio! It was a beautiful, clear day. While I can’t really complain about the beautiful weather we have in the Bay Area, even in winter (all we have is rain here and there), I do long for warmer temperatures!

Grilled cheese bites from Grilled Cheez Guy! I’m so glad to see their growing success around SF Bay Area. I’ve been seeing them at more and more events.

Thank you Grace for sharing these delicious zeppole (ZEP-oh-lee), an Italian donut, from Girl Friday. We tried the savory (green onion, garlic, parmesan cheese, and smoked salt) and sweet ones (lemon ricotta) with three different dipping sauces -- a creamy harissa, vanilla bean, and house-cultured butter caramel. They were so fluffy!

It was a bit warm out, so I went for a Tropical Acai smoothie (acai, strawberry, blueberry, banana, pineapple, and orange juice) from Ruru Juice. Refreshing and perfect for a warm day.

I am so glad I had a chance to try Erno Laszlo’s Power of Two Detoxifying face wash; I received a free sample. The kit came with a detoxifying cleansing oil, sea mud deep cleansing bar, and eye refiner. As I get older, I need to take better care of my skin, and I love trying new products that I wouldn’t otherwise known about or tried in the first place.

The packaging was pretty great. The lower black portion of the case slides out from the white portion (also plastic; it’s not just a paper sleeve). The case makes it easy to store in a nook in the shower/tub.

You use the detoxifying cleansing oil first. It contains: -Charcoal to draw out and trap impurities -Seawater and grapeseed oil, rich in energizing mineral to combat the everyday build-up of toxins on skin while boosting circulation and cell renewal -Their innovative technology that turns the oil from black to white when it meets water

I was surprised by the thickness and body of the cleaning oil. I was just expecting a light oil, but it had some volume to it when I dumped some out of the bottle. After the cleansing oil comes the sea mud deep cleansing bar: -Deep sea mud -- boasts 26 minerals and its signature black color that transforms to white foam; protects and restores the skin’s mineral levels -Glycerin, a powerful moisture magnet that attracts and holds hydration for a more glowing complexion -Palm and palm kernel oil to help regulate the skin’s own oil content while reinforcing its defenses against outside stressors as it ramps up cell turnover beneath the surface

Using the bar was a little different. The directions that came with the product says to massage your face and neck with the bar. I guess you don’t have to; you could just get the bar sudsy and use whatever transfers to your hands to massage your face and neck too. As you can see from the photo, I was tickled by the way the bar turns your face greyish/blackish. The bar doesn’t smell like anything. 

I went to my second media tasting last week (the first was Tava Kitchen in Palo Alto), a big milestone in my food blogging journey. See, I started out on Instagram with my personal account to share personal experiences, but I became more interested in turning it into more of a real blog (or at least a micro blog since Instagram is a platform for photos). I realized how much I was posting about food and, to save my friends from having to look at all of my food photos, I created an account dedicated to food. This made sense since I was working in San Francisco at the time and was able to explore the food scene in the Financial District easily. As I started following fellow foodies, I noticed some of them seemed to get invited to cool (read: free) food events and I think some go to food events and blog for a living – I wanted in on those foodie events too. A couple foodies have reached out via Instagram to meet up and eat together and I’ve found the experience rewarding. I like meeting fellow foodies in the Bay Area. Being able to attend media tastings takes it all to the next level as you learn about how restaurants come up with their concepts, hear about their journey in making their vision a reality, and also get to share those experiences with others as an influencer. I’m taking baby steps, but I feel like some of this is starting to happen thanks to the support from foodies I’ve met so far.

Media tasting: Fresh National Dessert with Dish Crawl Co.

We started off with mango sago and pomelo. We each ordered a fresh squeezed juice; it was pretty late at night, so no one was in the mood for tea. The juices were all pretty good, minus the orange juice, which was full of pulp – it could have been filtered out a bit and had more juice in it. There was watermelon, strawberry, cantaloupe, and mango. I had the mango, which was delicious.

Finally digging in after a bunch of food photos involving changing the placement of the dishes and juices haha.

I expect to see a lot more of this at media events. At least it’s more acceptable “cuz everyone else is doing it.” The guy in the photo is smirking since he doesn’t do the social media thing. He tagged along with his friend, the organizer of the tasting.

The personalized egg waffle ice creams were pretty awesome. It was a nice touch and they made for great photos!

I had the opportunity to try out Jack in the Box’s new #Brunchfast, part of their breakfast and brunch hybrid menu available all day. 

Here’s the menu:

The box I received from Influenster and Jack in the Box included two pins, cardboard 360 viewer goggles (to view Jack in the Box’s #Brunchfast music video), and a coupon for a free Brunchfast side with purchase of an entree. It would have been nice to have been able to try a full combo, but oh well.

I ordered the bacon and egg chicken sandwich and the homestyle potatoes to go. The Jack in the Box I went to was only about a 10 minute drive from work. I probably started eating about 20 minutes after I got my food.

The bacon and egg chicken sandwich held up really well and it looks pretty appetizing. I mean, look at that cheese! The egg isn’t scrambled; although the yolk isn’t runny, it still has that softer gooey texture in the middle from the yolk. The sandwich was definitely the star of my brunchfast -- I would order it again. As for the homestyle potatoes, they aren’t anything spectacular. There wasn’t a lot in the box and it’s listed at $2.19 on the menu, so it’s really not worth paying for (or you can make your meal a combo and you’ll get a drink and side for $2 more). I think I should have gotten the mini pancakes!

I’m so glad I stumbled across this article from Hoodline on the anticipated opening of Hinodeya Ramen in San Francisco. With some colder weather coming our way, the (soft) opening couldn’t come at a better time. You know the ramen will be authentic and delicious when the chef/owner, Masao Kuribara, has come all the way from Japan to open shop (he has a shop by the same name in Japan) and has cooked for the late Prime Minister of Japan, Ryutaro Hashimoto, the Clintons, and countless heads of state! Hinodeya’s special ramen uses a dashi broth made from kelp (kombu) and preserved and fermented skipjack tuna (katsuobushi) shavings to create stronger flavors of umami. I’ve had a fair share of okonomiyaki and takoyaki, so I’m not new to the umami flavor, but I am curious how it’ll taste as a bowl of ramen paired with other ingredients.

I was poking around the website for Hinodeya ramen and couldn’t quite understand the site, which is quite sparse right now. Something about Wafu Ramen, Sasala Group, Fourth Generation...huh? Isn’t this Hinodeya Ramen? I looked into Sasala Dining Group and discovered the history of Hinodeya. I must say, I’m quite impressed how it evolved from a small 15-seat ramen shop in 1885 to a restaurant group that will soon include five restaurants. Masao Kuribara’s great grandfather and great grandmother, Kanjiro and Tome Kuribara, opened Hinode-ya in 1885 outside Hasuda station to serve the small number of travelers passing through. Tome was the manager/chef. Upon the passing of Kanjiro in 1919, son Kintaro Kuribara took over operations. He focused on the agricultural business and was quite successful; he expanded the restaurant to encompass two floors. It wasn’t until Kuribara’s father, Kenya Kuribara, took over as the third generation chef/owner that Hinodeya as a business really took off. Kenya added Western and Chinese dishes to the menu, began food delivery services, and incorporated the business as Hinode-ya Ltd., Co. Another renovation to the building expanded the number of seats in the restaurant yet again. Unfortunately, the original building is no more -- in 2005, the building was torn down and the restaurant was relocated.

Masao Kuribara succeeded his father in 2006 as the fourth generation chef/owner. He renamed the business to its current name, Sasala Co., Ltd., although I wonder why. Hinodeya is steeped in so much history...I am glad to see the return of the name in the San Francisco shop. According to the Sasala Group’s official site, it sounds like the original Hinodeya was no more once the restaurant was forced to be relocated. Kuribara opened Sasala in the new building, and it was awarded a prestigious award by the California Wine Institute, boost the restaurant to fame. In 2010, a second restaurant opened, and Soba Dining Sora was also awarded the same first prize that Sasala was awarded four years earlier. In 2012, Kuribara opened Wa-Fu Ramen Hinodeya (this is how it’s referred to on the website, although it seems the actual restaurant is called “Hinodeya”) to revive the original Hinodeya. Again, this new restaurant was bestowed with honors -- two from Tabelog: Saitama Best Ramen 2014 and as one of the final nominees for Tabelog’s Japan Ramen Award 2016 (look for Hinodeya in the list). Finally, just last year, the fourth restaurant, Robata Sumiyaki Toraya, was opened near Hasuda Station with bar-tavern concept.