Exploding salad, rotting seal, movies ending in "ess"

Friday after work I met up with Super Hot Irish Girlfriend and we went to the book release party for Bay Area Graffiti at 111 Minna. The book looks great and it was a lot of fun, but I got the feeling I'm maybe 30% less hip than I needed to be in order to be there. It was fun, anyway.

After that we headed out to eat at Orson, which was interesting, I guess, but maybe a little over my head. The food is sort of intentionally complicated and imaginative, which I think is just great but maybe might be better appreciated by someone else. Like, if your server (androgynous mid-20's Asian, natch) has to explain to you how to eat your Caesar salad, maybe you're in for more than you bargained for. She explained that the salad itself contained flavorless Pop Rocks, and so what you were supposed to do was get a bite and then swirl it in one of the dressing medallions and then it would all explode in my mouth. I didn't get any explosions in my mouth, which is just as well by me.

For her appetizer, SHIG had a poached egg over oxtail, which was interesting, and then she had the scallops, which were far and away the best part of either of our dinners, perfectly cooked and delicious. I would say I'm glad I tried Orson but I can't see myself going back.

After dinner, we headed up to North Beach to meet some friends at Tosca, which, as you know, is one of my favorite places and had some drinks there and then we left because I wanted to check out Church Key, a new place that just opened on Grant. Interesting, extensive beer menu, but holy shit everyone in there was young. Like fetus-young. Also, guys, I can see wearing a backwards baseball cap to a sports bar, but please, can you at least try to class it up a little when you go out somewhere else? Lame.

Yesterday we took Leland out to Ocean Beach to let him run around. It was fucking freezing out there but he had a blast. "Hey, rotting seal carcass! SWEET! Let me just rub my head and neck into it. Oh, man, that is some good shit."

Yesterday afternoon we gave Leland a bath.

One final note: we capped off the weekend by watching two movies that were both boring in their own way, The Wackness and The Duchess. In one of them, Ben Kingsley spouts improbable dialogue and in one Ralph Fiennes rapes Kiera Knightley. I briefly feel asleep during both of them.