So, you may be wondering what us Bourgies do when we're not in the kitchen cooking up a storm, or indulging in the delicious food we have made...Well, to be honest, we're often somewhere else, eating the incredible food other people have made...or at school...or work. Since we are four busy (and slightly broke) college girls with hectic schedules, we realize that the little time we have to ourselves, or with each other for that matter, must be spent doing the things we love and enjoy. Which is why, my friends, we choose to partake in the finer (and more affordable) things in life when we have the chance. We were, in fact, graced by such an occassion this past weekend: the coming of age for our dear friend, and fellow Bourgie, Annie. As she left the last traces of teen angst behind, and embraced the arrival of a more refined 20 years of age, we knew we had to celebrate in a positively Bourgie fashion...
The day started off when Annie and I enjoyed a wonderful little breakfast at the Tea Room Cafe, just up the street from downtown Petaluma, CA. Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, mascarpone toast with fresh fruit, and soy chais = the definition of a heavenly way to start off your morning. Needless to say, we left the cafe in high spirits, ready to embark on the day's adevntures. We had planned to rendezvous at La's house, but when Annie and I arrived, there was no one to be found and the door had been left unlocked; naturally, we walked in and made ourselves at home (because we basically live there). We wandered aimlessly around the kitchen, wondering where everyone was; that is, until we discovered the luke warm leftovers from the family's breakfast still sitting on the stove. We were about to indulge in some spam fried rice (you will never understand how amazing this is until you try it) and eggs with chorizo, when La's grandma walked into the kitchen. I'm sure we looked like children caught in the act of sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar, but I'm positive we almost sent poor Grandma Rose into cardiac arrest.
After all was settled and La's family arrived a short while later, we set out to fulfill the day's destiny: dim sum at Ranch 99 in El Cerrito, CA. Although it was raining, and we were thisclose to missing out on dim sum, we livened up the car ride over to the East Bay with obnoxious techno music from a local radio station, dancing, picture taking and some quality bonding time (which, of course, was necessary since we all live in different parts of the state at the moment). The day only got better from there.
We wandered through eccentric little Asian shops that line the walls of Ranch 99 as we desperately waited for our number to be called. Finally, it was time, and Annie didn't hesitate to mark down a number of delicious dishes. One of the servers walked by with a plate of sea snails and Annie jumped on it immediately. Taylor (La's boyfriend) and I stared at her with incredulous looks on our faces...SNAILS?? Annie said she had always wanted to try them and insisted that La had said she wanted to as well, only to have La come back to the table with a horrified look on her face and the statement, "All I said was that I had dissected them in class last week, not that I wanted to eat them!" Another of the servers walked by, seeing our hesitation, and de-shelled/de-footed one for Annie to try, suggesting to douse it in hot sauce. Well, she tried it and didn't seem too unhappy, so soon after La followed suit...Taylor and I were still skeptical, but gave in and survived (even though we practically gagged the whole time). Might as well be adventurous though, right? The rest of our meal was excellent, what with pork buns, ha gow, sticky rice, shrimp and chives, and much more yummy deliciousness. Seriously, it was some of the best and freshest dim sum we have ever had, and that's saying a lot coming from us food lovers.
After our phenomenal meal, we went to the market to get some fresh veggies for dinner. After getting yelled at for taking pictures in the store ( and covertly taking more), salivating over all of the goodies and battling against a sturgeon that was mugging us through its glass tank, we left with some shrooms and bok choy in tow. Our next mission was to find some matcha for La's mom, but the tea store didn't sell any...so in true bourgie fashion, we bought bubble tea instead. Tay had never had it before, so La shared a green tea with him, while Annie and I got down on some amazing mango bubble tea. Tay seemed to be having issues with the black tapioca balls and was unsure what to do, when he accidentally sucked up about 10 or 15 of them through the straw. Let's just say he looked like a chipmunk storing some nuts in the side of his cheek, and continued to walk around like that because he couldn't find a trash can. As we left the building, Annie and I made a mad dash for the car in order to get out of the pouring rain, but when we got there, La and Tay were nowhere to be found. All of a sudden they appeared, and La was hunched over in hysterics...apparently she had turned around to see where Tay had gotten off to and saw him shooting the tapioca balls out of his mouth into the street, only to pause in the process when he saw La had discovered his antics, and quickly pretended like nothing had happened.
We made a quick stop at Annie's and then headed home. The ride back was pleasant, as we left with satisfied stomachs and good laughs. La and Tay fell asleep, so Annie and I danced and enjoyed some quality hipster music. Upon our arrival back at La's house, the process of preparing dinner began. After a few hours of cooking, everything was finished and ready for eating...the best part. We enjoyed some AMAZING lamb with yogurt, awesome wok fried veggies, white rice, and rosemary garlic bread from one of our favorite bakeries in Freestone, CA. We all went for seconds...and okay, thirds too...but that's just because the meal was so wonderfully tasty. I think my favorite part was when La and I watched Tay and Annie dissect the last piece of lamb in search of every possible ounce of meat it had on it. We let our food digest over one of those infamous life talks we have with La's dad and finished off the night with a happy birthday, some princess cake and samples of the home made ice cream La's parents had prepared a few hours prior. We sat around the table, our usual spot, in major food comas, yet happy with the day's events. It had been a memorable day spent doing the things we love. To us, that is the true definition of being bourgie.
Until next time,
Meesh
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