GFJ (259) I've gone from Pleasantly Plump to simply PLUMP (jack)....

Apparently I'm unintentionally on the Baby Food Diet. I had never heard of the Baby Food Diet until I fessed to Badger that I was so hungry yesterday morning (and too lazy to walk down the street to Starbucks) that I ate the only thing I found on the counter in the kitchen.... Baby S's Gerber Graduate Puffs... Don't judge me. I had a food and booze hangover plus jet-lag. I was in survival mode.

After a handful of Gerber Graduate Puffs and two Sugarfree Redbulls, I was ready for lunch at Cafe Des Amis with Beej, Metts and JoJo. With my stomach filled with a Bellini (pictured below) and some food, I realized that I've gone from Pleasantly Plump to Plump(jack). It is 100% inappropriate slash I will do NOTHING about it until I'm back on EST.


Cafe Des Amis is a new hip restaurant on Union Street. It reminds me of a Keith McNally eatery sans McNally's golden touch. Nothing shouted itself out to anyone on the menu (okay, that's a lie.. there were a few of fatty foods that were screaming my name but I was the only one that felt this way) and the food wasn't as good as Cafe Des Amis' sister restaurant, Spruce. We concluded that Cafe Des Amis would be a great place for some drinks and oysters, fromage et charcuterie and that's about it.

(Below: Cafe Des Amis - Chef Selection Oysters)


(Below: Cafe Des Amis - Crispy Trotters (which was some sort of shredded pork which was breaded in low-gluten flour and accompanied with a mustard-grain dressing)


(Below: Cafe Des Amis - Shrimp Cocktail.. Beej and I really liked their SC but Metts and JoJo felt no love for it. They like their shrimp cocktail to be crispy... These shirmpels were a little limp.)



(Below: Cafe Des Amis - Frites)


(Below: Cafe Des Amis - French Onion Soup... The four of us split this and it may have been the best thing on the menu.)


(Not pictured, the chilled half Maine Lobster with aioli)

What does one do after they've eaten so much that it would be better for all if they Ralph Macchio'd their food rather than feel sick in the stomach? You go shopping on Chestnut and Union streets, spend some QT with Baby S and then head to dinner in Larkspur.

Picco might be one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. The menu is designed to share. Unlike NYC, this does not mean "bite-sized portions"... Each plate was large enough for all six of us to have more than one serving.

As with most good restaurants in the SF area, the menu is seasonal/farm-to-table. Everything was fresh and delicious. Dinner there made me sad that I don't live in San Francisco. Despite the fact that the food in NYC is quite good, it doesn't have the same freshness that food in SF does. Perhaps because we don't have the hippies slash compost?

(Below: Picco's Risotto. They make fresh risotto every 30mins. Last night's had zucchini and eggplant. It was beyond delicious.)


(Below: Picco - This Albacore Tuna with radish, cherry tomato, jalapeno served with olive oil and sea salt was a special. TDF)


(Below: Picco's TSA approved condiments)


(Below: Picco - Grass Fed Mini Burgers, caramelized onion, mushroom, pt. reyes blue cheese sauce)


(Below: Picco - Avocado Bruschetta, manodori balsamic, sea salt and chorizo leon. You need to eat this one with the chorizo... It transforms a good bite into a party in your mouth.)





(Below: Picco - Cauliflower Gratin, cheddar cheese, caramelized onion, breadcrumbs. We ordered this bad boy way too late in the game. By the time it came to the table, we were all in food coma... Obvi we still ate it.)


(Below: Picco - Straus Dairy Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. One with chocolate sauce (which was basically like a gourmet Mister Softee) and the other with Olive Oil and Sea Salt..)