Bike to Work Day - Tomorrow

First off: Welcome back, C!

Tomorrow is the annual Bike to Work Day, when Bay Area citizens (and everyone else!) are invited to bike to work instead of driving. Last year the number of workers that biked outnumbered cars, and I'm sure tomorrow the case will be the same (if not greater) especially with these high-rise gas prices (4$/gal, wtf?). Who wouldn't run out right now, as of this moment and grab a nice, pretty bicycle (C)? There are rentals, too! Do it, even if to bike just to a) the market, b) school, c) the beach, or d) go shopping!

Dion in the Mission, w/ bicycle!

Tomorrow comes in perfect timing--the weather's been very pleasing and my flat is fixed! It already sounds exciting, but it gets even better: on Sfbike.org you can read up on where to find sponsored Energizer Stations to fill up on coffee, snacks and even tote bags for traveling! Check out this neat-o Google Map with little bicyclist icons:


View Larger Map
The green icons each represent what they call a Bike Bus; at numerous locations you can find guides who will lead groups on easy routes to bike around the city. Biking with new friends, how ideal!

Note: Visit Tmasf.org for traffic overviews.


You know you love me where to find me tomorrow.

Xoxo,
Phil

P.S. Sorry, I couldn't resist the GG mention! Georgina = devil!

A Bite to Eat: Picaro

Monday evening, D and I headed over to the Mission district to do some thrifting and shopping. It was a nice night; there was finally a break in the stormy weather. After hitting up Thrift Town and Therapy, we decided to get a bite to eat. Dion and I decided to be adventurous and try something new. We debated over We Be Sushi where they served sushi "like mom used to make" and drinks "like mom used to mix" or Picaro where they served Spanish/Basque-style tapas.

We decided on the latter because 1. the smell of garlic wafting from the restaurant was irresistable and 2. there was no "yelp loves us" sticker on their window. SOLD.

Unfortunately, we both did not order tapas nor did we I order a pitcher of sangria. We did, however, order dinner combination plates which were inexpensive for their sheer size. For around $11 you get French bread with a very garlic-y tomato cream dipping sauce (aoili), a side of vegetables, a starch, and a main entrée. I ordered the Spanish meatballs with potatoes and sautéed zucchini. The food was flavorful and well-seasoned. My meatballs (there were only 5!) had an intense oregano flavor which the gravy toned down a bit. The potatoes were delicious and crispy. I didn't care too much for the sautéed zucchini which looked a lot like, but didn't taste like celery. After a while though, I felt that all the food on my plate tasted the same. It might have been due to the fact that a lot of my food was swimming in the gravy the meatballs came in.

Picaro was pretty empty when we dined there and I'm not sure if that's the norm. The restaurant is quite spacious with a semi-private dining area in the back. The walls were decorated with brightly colored artwork and painted colors of yellow and red. Outdoor dining is available as well. The majority of the diners there that night seemed to either be fluent Spanish speakers or were foreigners from Spain. The waiters were pretty attentive. What irked me though was that our waiter seemed to think we already knew what we wanted to order once we sat down at our table.

Overall, I would recommend Picaro for anyone wanting to try inexpensive and casual Spanish food. Next time, I'll try a couple of tapas and a glass or two of sangria.

WARNING: My breath smelled like garlic for hours after having dinner here. I brushed my teeth twice, had a few sticks of gum, and I still couldn't get that garlic taste out of my mouth! I went to bed with garlic breath that night. How wonderful.


lovelovelove,
Cyn