Episode Eighteen: Restaurant Review: Pisces Restaurant

Pisces California Cuisine (Reviewed 12 March 2009)
3414 Judah Street,
San Francisco, CA 94122
Three and a half out of 5 stars

It’s two Saturday before finals week, and like any good pharmacy student, I procrastinated, but with a good reason. Last Saturday, for my friend Hai’s surprise birthday dinner party, we went to Pisces Restaurant, this out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere restaurant in Outer Sunset, a place not necessarily renowned for its culinary expertise. And at first glance, it doesn’t look that much of a looker. Surrounded by houses, and with the N-Judah whizzing by giving you a feeling that there’s earth-shattering earthquake every five minutes, this particular location doesn’t quite help the restaurant’s cause. And if you weren’t looking close enough, chances are you’ll miss the place because its nondescript sign was not effectively doing its job.
As I walked in to the restaurant, I got a different vibe. The restaurant was nicely decorated: elegantly simple lamps, minimalist wall decorations, and comfortable yet sturdy chairs, though my only minor complaint would be the fake fireplace that wasn’t giving out warmth. For such a small restaurant, they sure did maximize the space without sacrificing aesthetics or comfort. Unlike other small San Francisco restaurants, my elbows were not touching my neighbor’s, so that’s a plus.
For such a huge party, I would say that the service we’ve received was quite prompt. Taking all 28 orders didn’t take as long as I would’ve thought, and I guess it helped that there was prompt bread service to distract my growling stomach.
For starters, I had the clam chowder, which was not too salty, which is a good thing, though I have to say I’ve had better ones. However I must say that I scarfed it down quite quickly because of my intense hunger; the bread service wasn’t enough. I didn’t get to try the other option for starters, which was the Organic Green Salad with honey-mustard vinaigrette, but from the looks of it, it didn’t seem that I missed out on anything; the salad seemed to be swimming in the vinaigrette, which to me is a big no-no! I don’t like to eat a tub of salad dressing with a side salad.
For my main course, I usually go for things that either 1) I don’t know how to cook or 2) something that I don’t normally eat, so I went ahead with the Slow Roasted Muscovy Duck Leg. It was quite tasty, with the meat falling right off the bone. The garlic noodles gallette that came with it, on the other hand, was not to my liking. It just seemed a bit odd-tasting, and not in a good way.
I also got to try the other main dishes that my friends ordered; the “not-so-boring” salmon with asparagus and sautéed potatoes were quite scrumptious. The Braised Beef Short Ribs with spinach and mashed potatoes were well prepared. It was tender and juicy, just the way I like ‘em.
The Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée for dessert was the perfect end-of-the-meal finishing touch. It was quite light, wasn’t overly sweet, and the sugar glaze part was delectable.
A three-course prix-fixe menu + tax/tip + covering the birthday girl’s dinner only set me back $30, which I would say was reasonable, quite good-for-San-Francisco-prices even.
Surely, this section of Outer Sunset doesn’t have that aura of sophistication like the SoMa, or the hustle-and-bustle feel of the Mission, but what you get is proportionally-correct, satiation-inducing and delightfully crafted meals at reasonable prices.

Episode Seventeen: 25 things about Mark Anthony

Yes, I know, everyone and their mothers have done one of these on Facebook. But at least, I have a reason. After all, I just turned 25 last Tuesday, so what's a better way to celebrate my quarter-century existence? The only real good thing about turning 25 is that I get to rent a car without that extra under-25-fee. And really, let's face it, after 25, the only other milestone left to look forward to is the Senior Meal Menu at Denny's.

So here it goes:

1. I have lots of energy, even in the morning. Someone asked me what I was like on caffeine. I found the answer to this question the hard way; studying for my PharmChem midterm, feeling the need to stay up as long as possible to cover the test material, I drank 4 cups of coffee and was unable to sleep. I must've lain in bed for four hours with my eyes wide open.
   
2. When I tell people that my name is Mark Anthony, surprisingly, I get the "as-in-Cleopatra's-lover" question more often than the "as-in-J-Lo's-husband" variety.
   
3. I run on Filipino time (at least 30 minutes late), though this is something that I'm constantly working on. It's not so much that I plan to be late, but that I get distracted so easily.
   
4. It may not seem like it, but I'm really shy when it comes to talking to people that I'm really attracted to. That's about the only thing that will shut me up. Hahaha…
   
5. For the most part, I don't remember my dreams; the one that I remember is the dream where I get chased by a murderer and I hide down in the sewers. Every single time, I always get killed; I'm not sure what that means. The other recurrent dream that I have is of me winning the lottery. Somehow, in this dream, my winnings are always $42 million, split two ways; I've bought two lotto tickets with the same winning numbers, one paid in lump sum, and the other paid in 26 annual payments. Maybe the latter is more daydreaming more than anything else.
   
6. I have never broken a bone in my body (crossing my fingers on this one).
   
7. I used to play the oboe in middle school, up until freshman year of high school, but I quit because I didn't like my orchestra teacher. Ten years after, as a birthday present for myself, I've recently decided to try to pick up playing oboe again; I bought a used oboe, and I've tried playing it several times. I've forgotten how difficult it is to play the oboe (the embouchure is quite hard to get right at first), but hopefully, with more practice, I'll get better and not sound like a duck that's about to be slaughtered.
   
8. I was looking through my 7^th grade portfolio (yeah, exactly…) and when I looked at my future goals, I listed that by the time I'm 35, I would have had a JD, MD, and an MBA. I chuckled a bit afterwards… I guess, if I substituted PharmD for MD, this is still doable; the question of desire, on the other hand, that's still up for grabs.
   
9. From middle school 'til sophomore year of high school, I had long hair then I decided to chop it off and had a faux hawk for awhile; now I'm back to the long hair. I guess it's true what they say about fashion: it goes in cycles.
   
10. I took nine AP tests in high school, and passed them all; I was already considered a sophomore in college before even stepping into UCSD.
    
11. In high school, I had to resign as editor-in-chief of my high school paper for a Valentines-Day prank gone awry; at the time, I thought it was freaking hilarious, but it almost got me suspended and kicked out of school. This probably had something to do with why I got black-listed when I applied for Yearbook Staff my senior year.
    
12. I used to play boggle a lot when I was little. I used to play with my uncle who I swore was making up words while we were playing; not once did I beat him. See, this is why I kick your butt at Scramble, Kamal.
    
13. I used to read encyclopedias when I was in grade school; this is probably why I know a lot of random things. Vulcanized rubber, vas deferens, Vatican City, Vietnam War… (for all of my "Friends" fanatic readers J)
    
14. Along those lines, one of my favorite things to do is go on Wikipedia. It's amazing how much time I spend looking up stuff on there.
    
15. Another favorite past time of mine is looking up flights, trying to figure out the cheapest way to get places. For this summer, I saw a San Francisco-Buenos Aires and Lima-San Francisco flight for $635 total; almost makes me want to quit my job so I can go travel this summer.
    
16. I like traveling by myself. It's really hard to find people to travel with; I can probably count on one hand the number of people I can be travel buddies with.
    
17. Throughout the years, I have come to a conclusion that I, like many others, vastly improve on my foreign language speaking skills during inebriated states. Once, I was able to carry on an involved conversation with some native Barcelonans in Spanish about the Sagrada Familia in a Barcelona bar no less, but had no recollection of it the next morning.
    
18. If I had to point out a time period where I have grown and evolved the most as a human being, it would have to be my last two years of college, more specifically, my I-house experience. Late-night talks, late morning brunches, afternoon walks, cliff-side chilling at dusk and partying until dawn have all made an indelible mark on my development as a person. Sure, there were mishaps and misadventures along the way, but as someone has noted: "Life's not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather, to skid in, broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: "Wow, what a ride."
    
19. I'm pretty good at telling when someone likes one of my friends, but when it involves me, I'm Cher Horowitz.
    
20. I love meeting new people; it's my designer drug!
    
21. I'm horrible at keeping in contact. If it were not for Facebook, I wouldn't be in touch with friends from high school, college, and random people from different paths.
    
22. Another designer drug: buying stuff on sale! Thanks ebates.com, slickdeals.net, retailmenot.com and other godsend websites for saving me all this money that I've used to buy more stuff!
    
23. I bake when I'm trying to procrastinate (I procrasti-bake!). Favorite thing to make: brownies!
    
24. I like reading books that I've picked out for myself (and not the textbooks/syllabus that I HAVE to read for school); last book read: Persepolis. Current book: East of New York, West of Kabul. Side note: my new best friend: San Francisco Public Library.
    
25. I like art (and secretly wish that I had any artistic inclination, but to no avail). Favorite artists: Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Miro, Canaletto. Favorite period: Impressionist/Post-Impressionists
    

 

Because I'm not afraid to be different, I'm listing 1 more! (hey, it's my column!)

1. I try to live my life with as little regret as possible; not saying that I don't have any regrets, but if there's something that I want to do (traveling, for example), and it's within reasonable reach, I go for it. Money can be made, but the desire and the opportunity to do something may only come once.