Further Adventures From Thanksgiving Weekend

As promised — albeit a day late — here are some more photos from Thanksgiving weekend. There’s not much of a narrative flow as I opted not to photograph every single moment, but the pics were amusing; so here they are. Be warned: there’s an excessive amount of IndianJones on display.

I arrive at IndianJones’s apartment. He would be my host for the weekend. I’m amused by the random squash he has positioned prominently on his counter. I’m even more amused by how proud of it he is. Obvious photo op.

Lunch at La Boulange de Polk. This family sitting across the way was bathed in such lovely light that I felt a sudden need to photograph them surreptitiously. Mission accomplished. I later took their ketchup.

A trip to Costco results in a freewheeling time for IndianJones, who happily hops on his cart and careens down a ramp.

Fun times…

Oh snap! There he goes again!

And again another pause in the action so he can look around the garage for any blonde girls with big boobs (his favorite, and no, there were none).

Further joyriding.

A charming SF sunset in Russian Hill. Or is it Pac Heights? Who the hell knows.

Dinner at Brothers Korean BBQ. My friend once went there and saw Ichiro, and apparently, he was a huge dick. So there you have it.

For Thanksgiving, I arrived at my friend Isaac’s house bearing EVIL.

Seems about right, yes?

Again, my photography was spotty and oops — kind of forgot to take any photos at dinner, but trust me the food was all really, really good. Afterwards, IndianJones and I met up with Katie (from the old TVgasm days) and her boyfriend Walter. Charming times were had by all.

Well, I neglected to take any pictures of the food at Thanksgiving, but I did take a pic of this: a giant taco from Pancho Villa in the Mission. It may not look like much here, but I had some serious doubts about whether I could actually fit it in my mouth.

The test begins.

Preparing for what will inevitably be a giant mess.

OMNOM NOM.

Aaaaaand it all starts to fall apart.

It may be a handful, but this taco is also quite tasty. I think my parents must be shocked to see these photos based on my absolute hatred of Mexican food in my youth.

As predicted, I make a total mess.

A terrible movie theater in Daly City. We saw 2012 here, and not only were people chattering quite a bit, but some jackass was recording the movie on his phone. Very distracting. And let’s not talk about a) the lack of ticket kiosks, and b) the man next to me who took off his winter coat and draped it on his chair, letting the entire SLEEVE cascade down my chest. He didn’t even apologize or volunteer to MOVE it. He also forgot to turn his cell phone off, and when he got a CALL in the middle of the movie, you can rest assured that I gave him my very best passive aggressive glare. His wife also lambasted him, causing him to insist “I did turn it off!” Well, no you didn’t, asshole, because it’s on and ringing. Nevertheless, I loved the movie!

In honor of the arks built in China (according to 2012), we ate dinner at Chinatown institution Yuet Lee. Actually, we ate there because my parents insisted it was amazing. It didn’t blow me away, but it was still very good. Would definitely go back.

After dinner, we spiffed on up for drinks at San Francisco “speakeasy” Bourbon & Branch. The bar didn’t allow photos; so this is all you’ll get, but I can assure you that anyone seeking amazing hand-crafted cocktails should seek out this place POSTHASTE!

Hey, remember that butternut squash? Well, IndianJones decided to make a soup out of it. So what did he do? He cut the thing in half, scooped out the seeds, and poured them down the drain. One problem: you don’t put that shit in the food disposal. Same goes for the STEM, which also took a trip down into IndianJones’s plumbing. Unsurprisingly, the sink got backed up, and every time IndianJones turned the disposal on, a small geyser of water would splash forth from the drain. Here’s an action shot of it happening!

For dinner one night, some of us went to a place called Suppenküche, which was recommended by our friend Jenny. Here’s a shot of some of the massive drinking vessels one can order.

Hearty bavarian fare: short ribs, spätzle, and some sort of cabbage thing, I think.

TVgasm reunion! Me with J-Unit, IndianJones, our fraternity brother, and his fiance. Heavy drinking followed (then again, heavy drinking preceded too).

Sunday morning. Remember that butternut squash soup? Well, IndianJones hadn’t finished it. You see, he didn’t cube the squash the night before when he first put it in the oven, and as a result, it took forever to roast. By the time it was ready, we had to meet people at Suppenküche; so here he is Sunday morning, hungover, and finally puréeing the soup. Note the bed head.

At around 12:30 or so, we began making ribs. Here’s my handiwork: the homemade bbq sauce, courtesy of Tyler Florence (same recipe as when we made ribs back in September).

Meanwhile, IndianJones was on basting duty. I don’t know how he did this, but somehow he managed to get barbecue sauce all over his wall. Seriously? How does this happen? My guess is that he was doing the “Party in the U.S.A.” dance and forgot he had a basting brush in his hands.

IndianJones tends to the ribs. Amazingly, he doesn’t chuck them down his sink drain.

Sweet potato fries bake away in the toaster oven. Hunger mounts.

Signaling the first of several poorly timed items, the fries — which were to be a side for the ribs — are done while the meat still needs another hour or so. Luckily, we’re experts in improvisation and turn the sweet potato fries into an appetizer instead.

Meanwhile, IndianJones whips up some cornbread batter. This is his chance for redemption after his last attempt at this VERY SIMPLE DISH turned out looking like this:

I mean, who messes up cornbread? It’s the easiest thing! Surely he couldn’t botch it twice in a row, right? RIGHT?

WRONG.

While the cornbread chills out on the stovetop, IndianJones returns to the ribs. It’s looking like they’re almost ready.

A few minutes in the broiler, and we are ready to go! Time for ribs and charred cornbread!

Practically FIVE HOURS LATER, it’s time for ribs — which were originally supposed to be lunch when this plan was devised the day before. We also were going to start the process about two hours earlier, but a) hangovers and b) that damn butternut squash soup delayed things. Hence, the ribs were plated during the EVENING game. You’ll also note the lack of cornbread. That’s because it was burned on the outside and gooey in the middle. FAIL, the sequel.

But was it a fail? IndianJones stuck the cornbread back in the oven (the regular oven) and managed to salvage it, despite it being burnt on top. Epic comeback! But still somewhat short of total redemption.

IndianJones also managed to drop a spoon on the floor. It was very intense, made more so by his perhaps overly dramatic shout of “OH MAN!”

I don’t even know what’s going on here. I just turned and saw IndianJones standing on barstools and knew I had to take a picture. I think he was examining a lightbulb.

And there you have it. The random pictures from San Francisco. Hope you enjoyed it…