When it comes to food, I will try anything once...almost

My sister scored at Ranch 99 when she spotted a "Salted Snake-Head Fish in Brine". She decided to put my very sophisticated palate to the test and challenge my "I'll try anything once" claim. The jar sat on the kitchen counter for about 6 months before I finally worked up the nerve to give it a try.

I Googled "Mam Ca Loc Con" and "Salted Snake-Head Fish" for recipes with no luck. I quickly realized that I was going to have to go all in and just cut a piece off and taste it.

I was actually expecting it to smell a lot worse than it did. There was definitely a strong scent of brine and fish, but it didn't have the pungent spoiled seafood quality I was anticipating.

We pulled it out, put it on the cutting board and went to work. It was EXTREMELY hard to stab with a fork. It was tough and bony.

Thankfully, I wasn't going to have to go it alone. Andrea and I bravely sliced into the Snake-Head Fish. I chose to eat my piece, skin and all.

The flavor wasn't as bad as I was expecting either. It was sort of sweet/salty much like I would imagine fish jerky tasting, however, the bones were more than I could take! After about 3 chews, a very sharp bone jabbed right into my tongue.

After I was assaulted by the bone, I had no choice but to spit my bite into the sink. I think Andrea got most of her's down.

I tried it!

Sake One Forest Grove, OR

Nothing beats the G! The duck mousse was made with real ducks from Eugene ;) Seriously, Sake One > do the tour > do the sake shock food and sake pairing > meet Tony!

St. Francis

So far San Francisco has lived up to my expectations. Drinks at the Irish Bank, dinner in Chinatown, and breakfast at Lefty O'Douls. As I was taking this picture of our hotel from Union Square park, park security asked to leave or extinguish because its a "no smoking park". Maria refused to put it out because they are $10 a pack here, so we are moving on. Next stop Lombard St.

Legoland

What traffic?!

Disneyland and California Adventure were both very fun! There was almost zero time spent waiting in line because it was a Wednesday and all of the kiddies are back in school. They made Henry wear a huge button that said "I'm Henry! Its my birthday!"...priceless! We had dinner at the Stinking Rose where Henry was made to wear a hat that resembled a giant clove of garlic! It was classic and the food was great, including the garlic ice cream!

We sprung for the toll road to San Diego (apparently no one else in CA is willing to do this) so we are the only car on the road bound for LEGOLAND!

09-09-09

Happy Birthday to Henry! I'm 28 and my boyfriend is 30! He is a cradle robber!

Halo Halo (after)