Photography
These are images I shot for the IDEO's annual party in July. The concept for the party was "Barbie's Dream House," and when Barbie is away, IDEO will play. From my point of view, I created images of what I envisioned Barbie having displayed in her house. Below are images I snapped with my phone from the actual party to give an idea of how they were presented and scale.
For the holiday, the wife and I traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for her grandfather's 90th birthday. On the fourth, we headed out to rural Spink, South Dakota to spend time with family, shoot fireworks, and explore wide open America.
Headed to Napa this past weekend to escape from the city. We stopped at a nice, casual restaurant in downtown Napa called Pearl for dinner on Friday. They had a diverse menu: everything from oysters and fish tacos to a New York strip steak sandwich.
On Saturday, we went to Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen for a quick bite. Great home style feeling. We ordered the crispy calamari with delta asparagus, lemons, jalapeño and a side of lemon aioli. Delicious.
One of our favorite spots was the family-owned winery Hunnicutt. We were given a quick tour of their very large cave system by an incredibly nice hostess named Jen. Tasted some great wines and heard a little about their winemaking process. We left with a bottle and will probably return again soon.
We also checked out Beringer wines on the way back home. It was not as laid back as our first tasting, but beautiful nonetheless. Going from the quiet, personal experience at Hunnicutt to the more commercial feel at Beringer was a little deflating, but that's just me.
Ended the weekend at Grace's Table for Sunday brunch. Local, fresh and not pretentious in any way. Homemade jam, eggs, bacon, a southwestern potato cake. Delish. Highly recommend it.
Last weekend, we visited Napa Valley to get a break from the city and enjoy some good wine and food. One of our favorite restaurants was Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc where they serve family style dishes in a relaxed atmosphere. We went for Sunday brunch, and the food was, as expected in the Napa region, incredibly good.
Salad of Baby Mixed Greens: shaved radish, marinated cucumber, griddled salmon, toasted sunflower seeds, dill cream dressing
Egg in a Nest: Smoked ham, poached hen egg, crispy russet potatoes, peppered gravy, roasted broccolini
Raspberry Financier: Almond ice cream, caramel
For Easter weekend, we decided to go to LA to visit a friend and also see Catalina Island off Long Beach.
We decided to go to Spruce during a week night to help our chances of finding a seat. The dinning room is full on most nights with a little-on-the-pricey-side dinner menu. I was here to try the highly recommended Spruce Burger for which you must order and eat at the bar. The burger is hefty one with a dense (almost like an english muffin) bun. I simply topped mine with grilled onions and cheddar. It was well-seasoned and served with a house aioli and fries. San Francisco doesn't seem to like fresh, hand-cut fries since I haven't seen any since my time here. If you're looking for a very simple yet delicious burger, this one doesn't disappoint.
