I’ve been doing well keeping up on my goal of trying to run 100 miles before I go into surgery. As of today I have about 78.9 miles left. While on my staff retreat in San Francisco last week, I woke up randomly one morning at 5:30 AM and decided to go for a run down to Pier 39. On the run into the dark street of Market I was surprised at how many other people were out running and getting ready for the work day. As I got closer to the Embarcadero I was bombarded with the still cool of the air, the lights on wet pavement, the smell of buses. Getting closer to the Pier, the rising sun was just starting to pierce through the night sky and I began to smell sourdough baking and hear sea lions barking. When I reached the turn around, I made a point to savor and simply enjoy the run back home, even stopping for a quick photo which was too beautiful not to share on Instagram.
Running sucks. It’s not that fun for me. It’s my least favorite leg in a race and most of the time I just want to get my mileage and go home, but this run was different. I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoy my food tour; savoring every bite.
Speaking of food tour, I’ve eaten a lot of sandwiches. It’s one of my favorite foods. I love all things in sandwich form: ice cream sandwiches, Oreo cookie sandwiches, it’s all good. In San Francisco I might have tried my favorite sandwich ever. It’s from a little deli called, Giordano Bros. A fresh loaf of bread, pastrami layered with cheese, fries and a homemade coleslaw? yes, please! It was so good I went there twice. I’m not a fan of cole slaw and this might have been one of my favorite parts of the sandwich. The second day I went halfsies with a friend and got a kielbasa sandwich, and sweet Lord, it was even better than the pastrami! For about $10, you need to go!
Through the generosity of some parents in our ministry, Kate and I decided that we were going on a date night and try something other than a sandwich so we found a place in Campbell that makes their own pasta, Tigelleria. They start the meal with small rounds of fresh bread with three different dips: an olive dip, apricot dip and pea/mint puree. I was a big fan of the pea and mint dip, and the others were o.k. We each ordered an appetizer: a beef carpaccio and deep fried risotto ball stuffed with peas and pancetta. The fried risotto ball was definitely the winner in this round. Our main courses were a gnocchi in a rich tomato cream sauce with crab and a ravioli stuffed with wild boar in a mushroom sauce. For me, pasta is just a vessel for the sauce, but the ravioli here was amazing. A wild berry mousse/parfait and a cup of coffee wrapped up our meal and we enjoyed the rest of the evening walking in downtown Campbell.
This Farewell Stomach tour has been awesome and I’ve already gained 3 lbs since Christmas… that’s with the running and such, yikes! It’s cool knowing that it’ll most likely be gone in the next few months.
Until next week! Salut!
-Steve
Steve Dang 