Such was the situation yesterday at San Francisco's Pier 23. Sadly, the camera on my first-generation iPhone is no longer functional, so I have no foodie pictures to share with you. I will, however, show you these:
Pier 23 is a quirky restaurant located on the Embarcadero. It features delicious local seafood and produce, a spacious outdoor deck on the water, an impressive list of beer, and a super friendly wait staff. For starters, the table (probably 20 of us) shared roasted artichokes with red pepper hummus, pan-fried rock shrimp with pine nuts, raisins, chillies, and garlic (which were cooked at the table in front of us!), fried calamari, and BBQ buffalo wings (which I passed on). Next, we ordered individually and I received some crispy fish tacos complete with black beans, cole slaw, guac, and fresh salsa. To tell you the absolute truth, I would have liked them more if the fish was not fried. After the fried calamari and the sampling of sweet tater fries from other people's plates, I was feeling overwhelmed and greasy. This is a girl who rarely eats anything fried. And by rarely, I mean never. The tacos were good, but that's about all. I tried to fill up on beans, guac, salsa, and the warm corn tortillas. Of course, I shared plenty of the four deserts presented to us at the end of our 2.5-hour stint at Pier 23, which filled me to the brim. The walnut fudge brownie sundae was probably the yummiest thing I've eaten in a long time.
In other news, I got into the 2010 Nike Women's Marathon!! The NWM is an annual race to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. 20,000 runners (you don't have to be a woman to enter) run in the name of blood cancer and empowerment for lady-folk. Why is this exciting? For starters, the race is one of the hardest to get into in the first place. Anyone who wants to run must enter the raffle, and entries are randomly chosen. It sells out every single year. Second, it is one of the most beautiful courses in the country. I ran last year with Team in Training (my first marathon :) ), and the experience changed my life in ways I cannot possibly describe. Third, sexy firemen in tuxedos holding blue Tiffany boxes wait for you at the finish line, ready to hand you your shiny finisher's necklace. Now, if this isn't what you'd all like to see just after exhausting yourselves to the point of delirium, then please let me know. Finally, the race raises millions of dollars for blood cancer research and treatment. Need I say more?
my amazing friends!
This year, I'm signed up for the half marathon instead of the full. I ran the full 26.2 last year, but developed a stress fracture about a month after the race. I spent 3 months doing absolutely nothing, and it was torture! But I'm now successfully rehabbing myself and taking it very slow. If there's another full marathon in my future, it won't be until 2011.
Wishing everyone health and a full stomach, and getting excited for October 17!!