U Lee

Almost 15 years ago, I was working in New York City, and a co-worker’s sister moved to San Francisco. She was living near Russian Hill and discovered a great, family run Chinese Restaurant called U Lee.

Within a short period of time, U Lee (Corner of Jackson and Hyde Streets) became known for their amazing Pot Stickers. At the time (again this is almost 15 years ago), I was traveling to San Francisco for business. I decided to try and find this place that my co-worker’s sister was talking about.

As you could see from my post on Ohshos, I really like gyoza/pot stickers/dumplings. But, I am most used to the kind you get in Japan. One order in Japan usually means 6 pieces and can easily be eaten with a meal.

I got to U Lee and was starving. So, I tried to get 2 orders of pot stickers. The kind people at U Lee convinced me I only needed 1 order. When they came, I was shocked to see that these pot stickers are the size of your fist. But more importantly, they are fantastic. I’ve been hooked ever since. Every time I go to San Francisco, I make time to go to U Lee. This is my regular order – Shrimp with Tender Greens and Pot Stickers.

Strolling in Sausalito

I've been in San Francisco for meetings the past 2 days. On Monday, one of my colleagues suggested that we go to Sausalito for dinner. That sounded good to me since I’ve never really spent much time on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

As you cross over the Bridge, there are golden hills and beautiful water. It was surprising because on the San Francisco side there was nothing but fog and cold. Just a few miles to the north in Sausalito, the sun was shining and the air was warm.

I parked my car and went for a walk around the town. A few blocks down the road, I found a nice park with an interesting fountain.

Surrounding the fountain were flower beds with plants that seemed to me to fit the California landscape.

I returned to The Spinnaker just in time to meet the others for dinner.

The Spinnaker overlooks the bay and has floor to ceiling windows so you can enjoy the view of the water and the San Francisco skyline in the distance. The menu has a variety of seafood dishes. I opted for Paella, but actually enjoyed the appetizers more. The oysters were fantastic.

A rose by any other name

The roses are in bloom, which made me think of the phrase, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

The actual quote is from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and is found in Act 2 Scene 2, the famous scene at Juliet's window.

JULIET

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

Some people think that the phrase was also a jab at the neighboring Rose Theater. Apparently, the sanitation at the Rose left much to be desired...hence the phrase, "would smell as sweet". I don't know if that is true, but it makes a great story.

Cousins in Town

My wife's brother and family are in town this week. They live far away, and so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. Everyone is excited to have them here.

I walked around the garden with my brother and sister in law and showed them the different things in bloom. My sister in law offered to cut some flowers.

A few minutes later, this vase was on the counter. I was amazed but not surprised. She has a great eye for color and design.

Post Office Square

Everyone knows about Boston Common. But there are some other green spots in the city to discover. Down the street from Faneuil Hall is a small park called Post Office Square. If you are looking for a good parking garage on the weekend, there is a good one under this square.

I parked in the garage and came up ready to go to my meeting. There were a few people relaxing on the benches and many more walking to get to the office.

It was one of those rare summer mornings where the air is crisp and the sun is shining. A great day to have to go to a meeting in Boston.

Durgin Park

A couple of years ago, my aunt and uncle introduced us to Durgin Park. They started going there when they were first married (around 50 years ago). Even then, Durgin Park had been an institution in Boston. It was established in 1827.

The restaurant is located at Faneuil Hall. As you walk past Quincy Market, it is in the North Market building. Of course, you could always look for the inconspicuous flag if you can't find it.


My daughter likes to go to Durgin Park for her birthday. So, over the weekend, we drove into Boston and made our way to Faneuil Hall. After watching some street performers, we went to Durgin Park and got a table right away.

After a glance at the menu, my daughter is ready to order. Then, the same thing happens.

She asks for lobster, the waiter smiles at her then looks at us and tells us how much it is, and we smile back and say "it's her birthday; it's ok". Then the waiter says, "lobsta it is".

The "lobsta conversation" with the waiter has become our tradition with this traditional Boston restaurant.

Happy Father's Day

Since I posted on Mother's Day, I thought I ought to put something up for Father's Day.

I'm lucky. My wife made one of my absolute favorite desserts, Creme Caramel. I love it and (even better for me) she doesn't. This simple fact means that I get more than I can eat, and I know she makes it for me.

A few years ago, she got a book called The Best Recipe by the people who write Cooks Illustrated. She uses the recipe from that book, and it is amazing. I think hers is as beautiful as the one on the cover of the book.

Back in New England

It is great to travel but even better to come home. My garden seems to have gone wild in the time I was gone.

While I was away, a friend stopped by to see my wife and the house. She was kind enough to bring by a rose bush as a gift. I found the perfect spot for it in my perennial bed. And the red roses added to my welcome home to Massachusetts.

In another part of the garden, the peonies are just starting to come out. I have a good bank of peonies that all bloom white.

And last of all, the Irises are in bloom. I have several clumps of Siberian Iris that bloom a deep blue.

Matsuyama Castle

In the center of Matsuyama city is a large hill with a white castle perched at the top. It was founded in 1602 by Yoshiakira Katoh and took 24 years to complete. In 1635, the castle passed to Sadayuki Matsudaira, a relative of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. It stayed with the Matsudaira clan until 1868.

Since the hill is quite high, I took a tram to get to the top. There was also a chair lift, but I decided to stick with the tram. At the top, I wandered around the beautiful Japanese gardens that surround the castle.

There is a famous Haiku describing Matsuyama Castle. It was written by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) one the of the great poets of Japan. Shiki is known for coining the word "Haiku", revitalizing that style of poetry, and writing about his experiences in Matsuyama.

You can imagine him looking at the castle when he wrote:

Matsuyama Castle
the keep is higher than
the autumn sky

Is there a bigger towel?

I arrived in Matsuyama after a quick flight from Tokyo. The city has mountains on one side and the ocean on the other; it is famous for its hot springs. Natsume Soseki, the Charles Dickens of Japan, lived there and included the hot springs (Onsen) in his novel “Botchan”.

The hot springs are called Dogo Onsen and are one of the oldest in Japan. The main pubic bath is called Dogokan and was just a few blocks from my hotel. The picture above is the main entrance.

As I walked to the Dogokan, I noticed that several people were wearing summer kimonos (Yukata). Many of them were going in and out of the Dogokan.

On my way back to the hotel, I saw a couple walking up the hill. After the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, it was a little like stepping back in time to see so many people in their summer kimonos.

I walked up the hill and back to the hotel; I needed to get back in time to meet people for a business dinner. At the entrance to the hotel, was a fountain with a dramatic mask at the top.

My colleagues were sitting around the edge of the fountain with their feet in the pool. The water was from the hot springs, so I immediately rolled up my pants and joined in. The combination of the rounded pebbles and hot water felt fantastic at the end of the long day.

I imagined that this would be my “communal” hot springs experience and later I would go by myself to try out the Onsen.

In my room was a carefully prepared Yukata. Now I understood why so many people were wearing them. They were provided by the different hotels and inns in the neighborhood.

After dinner, several people wanted to go back to the Dogokan and try out the Onsen. I decided to be brave and join them.

The Onsen is basically a public bath. Men and women are separated but once in your respective side, there is no privacy. I got a towel that would have been the right size to dry a dish, but not much for covering up. You use the towel for modesty (as much as you can), to wash, and to dry off.

The Onsen experience is summed up in the instructions below. The only difference is that in real life, you get to go through the steps with your friends and neighbors.

But, after a few moments of embarrassment, I joined right in. And, I have to admit, it was very relaxing.

"B Class Gourmet"

I went to lunch with a colleague this week. On a previous trip, I learned about a great little Tonkatsu place (see the picture below). I suggested we go there for lunch since it was close to the office. As we were eating, I was telling him about going to Ohsho this week. Then, we had a long discussion about gyoza and where to go get ramen.

He suddenly said to me, you are really a "B Class Gourmet". I didn't really understand what he meant, and since I have plenty of Lost in Translation moments over here, I asked him to explain.

He said that in Japan there are different "classes" for things. I realized that he meant "rankings" or "tiers". The Japanese talk about universities or companies or cars using the same idea. A "B Class Gourmet" is someone who is an expert on "B Class" (tier) foods. "A Class" foods would be really good sushi or Kobe Beef. "B Class" would be Ramen or Tonkatsu.

I decided I liked the title and plan to continue to be a "B Class Gourmet".

Gyoza Anyone?

One of my favorite foods in Japan is gyoza. These pork dumplings originated in China but are available anywhere in Japan. You can find a Ramen/Gyoza place next to almost any train station.

Of course, you can find gyoza in the US, but you have to know what to call them. They are called dumplings in NY, pot stickers in San Francisco, and ravioli in Boston. After 9 years, I still can't figure why our local Chinese place calls them ravioli.

As far as I'm concerned, the best place to get gyoza is Ohsho, a famous chain restaurant originally from Osaka.

Last night, my college buddy and I ventured out to go to Ohsho. You can find an Ohsho restaurant on Meiji Dori down the street from the French Embassy.

We walked up to the entrance, saw the 4 foot gyoza statue, and were ready to place an order. A few minutes later, we had a big plate of perfectly cooked gyoza.

And of course, you can't have gyoza without some ramen. Here is a picture of my "shoyu ramen".

Tokyo with Old Friends

I arrived in Tokyo today and immediately took the train to visit my best friend from college. In fact, I've known him for over 20 years. He and his family (his daughter painted the fish in the picture above) have lived in Japan for over a decade.

But, in order to get to his home, I needed to take a couple of trains.

Trains in Tokyo are fantastic because they are clean, come on time, and can get you anywhere in the city. Of course, when you first stand in line to get your ticket you see a large illuminated map like this...



Fortunately, there was a nearby map that included English. I hopped on the Yamanote line and sped off to Harajuku. Two stops down, two families boarded the train. One was hard core rocker, and the was dressed as conservatively as you can imagine. In a country known for conformity, it was funny to see the two families standing near each other on the train.

I was able to snap a picture of the men.


After changing trains, I finally arrived at my friend's home. It took 2 flights, 2 trains, and 21 hours to get there from home. But, as always I was treated to a wonderful meal and wonderful conversation. He had made a pork loin dish with herbs and didn't even mind me taking pictures of his food. Once I started taking pictures, I couldn't stop. I wandered around their living room snapping away.


There is something so comfortable about old friends. You can be apart for months or even years, and then get together and talk as if no time had passed at all.

Like most ex-pats, they have collected some interesting things from their time in Japan. Here is a picture of a cup collection.


And finally, his wife is a quilter (like mine), so I had to take a photo of her quilts. After a great evening, they took me back to the train station so I could make my way back to my hotel.