The famous House of Nanking

When I first moved to San Francisco in 2000, I lived at a weekly hotel in Chinatown while I looked for a place to live.  The first nice restaurant we went to (to congratulate ourselves on our fine Chinatown digs, I guess?) was the House of Nanking (on Kearny between Jackson and Columbus).  

It was a small affair at the time.  If you managed a seat at one of the six or so tables, the owner would greet you, ask what sort of food you were interested in, and order for you.  

Well... seven years later they have expanded!  Over dinner break yesterday (between rehearsal and our performance of Messiah at Grace Cathedral), a few of my colleagues and I headed over to the House of Nanking.  (Thank you Blackberry for the navigation.)  

The restaurant has expanded to include the next-door space.  Gone was the long line (although it was 5 PM), and the over-eagerness of the owner.  

The food was excellent!  Of interest was this green tea concoction that they brought.  The tea-tritus is a mixture of tea leaves, edible flower buds, and some sort of berry.  And a bunch or completely inedible stems :-).  

After the owner took our order, I asked him how we were supposed to drink it?  

"Just sip it" was his response...  

We ended up straining it with our teeth.  

I would recommend the food to anyone visiting China town!

The purfuit of...

Waiting in JFK's mighty terminal 8 for my San Francisco bound flight (taking me to my American Bach Soloists Messiahs), I smile at the name of these little arcade areas.

It reminds me of the 'free speech zones' at the 2004 RNC, as though the entire country weren't already zoned for that. Ok, less ominous to be sure, and Jefferson's promise of the pursuit of happiness isn't exactly a guarantee of fun... and perhaps it is a fair indictment of how 'un-fun' the rest of the airport can be. Ok, never mind :-)

Sent from my not quite iPhone.

Christmas comes late this year...

Hello everyone. I just learned that the release date of my American Bach Soloists CD has officially been pushed back to April of 2009. *sighs* These things always take five times longer to assemble than you'd hope! I'll keep everyone posted as the process moves forward. The best way to keep informed is through my e-mailing list (no spam, and at most one email per month) you can sign up here.
I intend to offer a pre-release pre-order deal, so keep your interweb eyes peeled.