For lunch, Papa and I went to a restaurant we had never been to before: Caffe Centro (102 S Park St, San Francisco, CA‎ - (415) 882-1500). I chose Caffe Centro because when we went to South Park Cafe last week we noticed this place next door to it was packed. I ordered a Roast Beef Sandwich (on focaccia bread with mayonnaise, tomatoes, and Swiss cheese). I looked a bit disappointing, but tasted okay. Not anything special. (There was also a hair next to my sandwich that I had to remove - another strike against them.)

I also snacked on some pretzels and fresh pineapple that I bought from the corner market.

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What I Ate: January 22, 2009 (Caffe Centro, Red Robin)

(Posted late due to a power outage at 12:40 - when I was going to upload my photos. The outage lasted 7 hours and my network switch failed when the power returned.)
I ate leftovers from Won Ton house for lunch (a mix of the two claypot rice dishes).

After my Homeowner's Association Board of Directors Meeting, Tina and I decided to go to Ringerhut (1072 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA‎ - (408) 554-0877) for dinner. (Tina wanted ramen and we ran through our favorite options - Halu, Ringerhut, Maruichi. I chose Ringerhut because if I didn't feel like ramen when I got there, then I could get something else.) When we got there, I felt like eating the tonkatsu curry rice which comes with a side salad.

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What I Ate: January 21, 2009 (Ringerhut)

I received a lot of feedback to keep both Photo of the Day and What I Ate going, but I just can't do both. So, I decided to try this - I'll keep the What I Ate going and scale back the Photo of the Day to twice a week - there will be a Wednesday Photo and a Photo of the Week (on Sundays).

A Maori woodcarver works on a future sculpture as a demonstration of this traditional art form. I took this at the Tamaki Maori Village, a reconstructed pre-European village run by a local Maori group, near Rotorua, New Zealand.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 400, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Busy day today. Watched President Obama's inauguration (twice), racked a new server and four hundred pounds of UPS (uninteruptable power supplies) hardware into our data center, and found out my father's in the hospital for gall stones (please pray for him!). That's a little too much excitement for one day. I grabbed a quick lunch from the "corner market" between packing the UPS's into the car and bringing them over to the data center.

I put together a quick salad:

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What I Ate: January 20, 2009 (Won Ton House)

This photo would  have worked a little better if I stopped down the lens a bit more (probably to f/16) so the Capitol Building would actually be focused. A fill flash also might have been able to brighten up the foreground star on the wrought iron fence.

Handheld, 1/200 sec at f/9.0 on ISO 200, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I spent all day at the Fancy Food Show and didn't eat a formal meal. I snacked on food samples that caught me eye throughout the entire day. When I got home around 9pm, I felt like eating a little more, so I cooked up a bowl of Nong Shim spicy ramen (with an egg beaten into the soup).

While on my way to attending the 2008 Slow Food Nation, I looked down the hill and saw the line of people waiting their turn to buy tickets.

Handheld, 1/2000 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 100, 105mm f/2.8 macro lens

We went to Day One of the Fancy Food Show today. On the way there, we stopped at McDonald's for a quick lunch. Tina got her favorite: Southwestern Chicken Sandwich (which she puts up with while we're not in Texas with access to Chick-Fil-A's). I got my favorite pair of fried foods at McDonalds.

A Filet o' Fish - what I don't understand is how hard is it to place the fish patty on the bun squarely? I think it's been years since I've had one constructed properly.

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What I Ate: January 18, 2009 (McDonalds, Sozai Restaurant and Sake Lounge)

I grabbed this shot one morning during light snowfall. New York has a pretty distinct look - even without capturing any of the tell-tale famous buildings. A few fire escapes, water towers, and brick buildings are enough to evoke the "feeling" of New York City (well, specifically Manhattan).

Handheld, 1/60 sec at f/4.0 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Believe it or not, until today I had never eaten ate Panda Express before. I had heard they weren't bad as far as fast Chinese food goes. Tina and I both ordered a three entree (one side) plate. I had fried rice with green beans, broccoli beef, and orange chicken. Tina had the chow mein, eggplant, kung pao chicken, and Beijing beef. It was a great value for the amount of money we paid. Besides the great quantities of food, the taste wasn't too bad either. Tina didn't like most of the dishes, but I like Chinese American food and have a greater tolerance for "crappy" food.

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What I Ate: January 17, 2009 (Panda Express)