Saturday, December 9, 2023
Exhausted today, perhaps from socializing. Slept in. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; tart cherry juice; hot water. Lunch: leftover spaghetti with marinara, water. Helped Patrick with color management and printing and image. Nap. We needed to be at Brenda's at 5:30 p.m., and Google Maps told us a car ride there might take 20 minutes or it might take 50 minutes. So we rode UberX an hour in advance to Books Inc Van Ness, $24.96 before a $2.50 tip, where we browsed books for about half an hour. Dinner at Brenda's: Patrick had a Grandma’s Molasses-Black Walnut Iced Coffee no whip. I had a mint tisane. Appetizer: we ordered and shared two crawfish beignets. These beignets are very round but not quite a ball. The walls are thick and doughy because they need to hold the weighty filling. They are covered in a red spice blend which includes paprika and which has only a hint of heat. I was able to tolerate it. I thought it was delicious. Patrick said, "It was acceptable as an appetizer, but it wasn't a beignet. They're passing off heavy doughnuts as beignets. Three beignets in New Orleans weigh less than one of their 'beignets.'" Mains: Patrick had Red Beans and Rice—Oh So Nice! (smoky, spicy stewed kidney beans with andouille sausage and steamed white rice), $15. Patrick's comment: "Acceptable. The safe bet." This dish was spicy, so I did not taste it. The menu said it was served with toasted french roll, but he instead received a large slice of french bread. I had a Brenda's fried chicken combo (our secret recipe fried chicken served with hot pepper jelly); thigh, drumstick, and biscuit; $12.50. As on our visits before the crust on the chicken is noticeably thick. There is only a hint of spiciness that arrives late and builds as you eat more of the chicken. I was able to tolerate it. Also on the menu but which I decided to not get because it seemed overpriced: hot spiced apple cider for $9 or with a shot of rum for $12. The restaurant was full, but our plates were delivered in expected amounts of time, and staff seemed calm and efficient despite the heavy volume of customers and delivery and takeout orders. We walked to SFJAZZ where we attended a performance of Etienne Charles: Creole Christmas. We avoided Polk Street but still encountered a few homeless persons who made us feel somewhat unsafe. At SFJAZZ we arrived early and sat upstairs by the self-service coat check aka coat rack, which seems like an odd thing to provide. The performance was great with lots of small, fun moments, especially hearing bits of Christmas tunes worked into other songs at quiet moments like a DJ might do when sampling. All the musicians seemed at the top of their games, and the surprise guest vocalist delighted with incredible vocal range. I did not catch all the names of the performers, and they were not listed on SFJAZZ's website. Rode Uber Green home.