B44 and After

I was super excited to break bread with my pre-op transgender friends, Fantastica and Prosthetica. We wanted to celebrate the success of my girlfriend’s recent cosmetic surgeries (adam’s apple shaving, and elbows and knees bleaching), so we decided to go to B44, located at Belden Place, that pseudo-European-trying-hard-to-be-more-than-SF-truly-is alley. The plates we ordered from this Catalan-inspired restaurant were brilliant. Although some of the dishes were more fully realized than others, we still enjoyed our experience at B44.

We ordered a bevy of appetizers. The Sauteed Mussels, made with sofrito, pancetta, green peas, and tarragon was the stand out winner (see mouth-watering picture below) Growl, oops. Sorry, that was my tummy having a gastronomic memory.

The sizzling skillet of prawns and garlique was phenomenal and if I could marry it I would have, but I think Republicans will have a lot to say about a marriage between a space alien avatar and a plate of sizzling gambas (see photo below).  Anywho, Prop 8 is dead, so the last laugh is still ours, so take that you repressive Republicans!

The Plate Of Cured Meats which include slices of jamon serrano, chorizo, and fuet was, in a word, meh. I love jamon Serrano, but their version of it was lackluster at best. The chorizo could have just been those mini-sausages by Hillshire farms for all I cared. Anywho, I suppose what I’m saying is you may skip the plate of cold meats. It kinda made me snore, actually. Yawn.

We also had stuffed squid in black ink sauce which was divine. A little scary looking to the uninitiated, but it was still worth the try. What we really wanted was to try the blood sausages (morcilla), but they did not have it that night. Booo! How do they think they'll entice continued patronage from vampires if they don't consistently serve blood sausages?

We shared an entrée of grilled pork chop with a sweet honey sauce. Yummilish! Nuff said.

Below are photos of the seafood paella and the fideua negra, both outstanding plates. However if I'm being nitpicky, I'd say the rice and the noodles were ever so slightly undercooked.

After a very satisfying dinner, we decided to take our culinary journey elsewhere. Where else can we go for delicious dessert? I’m craving purple yam ice cream…UBE! Mitchell’s here we come! Please pronounce it as "Oooh Beh"....Never say "Yooob". The E is never silent. Saying "yoob" would just prove that you're nothing but a total newb...Hey, I made a rhyme.  I think I'll make a poem:

I love you, Yoob;

I'll eat you in a cup or in a cone.

But when I drip you all over my fingers and clothes,

I feel like a total boob.

For more information about B44, check out their website. You can also look through Mitchell's ice cream's site and peruse through all their fab flavours by clicking here. I suggest ube, halohalo, avocado, macapuno; all of them can be found under the sub-heading of Tropical Flavors. Cheers!