I had all week to plan for a work trip to SF, and of course, I got busy and distracted and never bothered to figure out what I'd do for food while I'm on my own.

Anyway, I'll have at least one lunch after landing Monday afternoon, and probably dinner that night as well. I'm staying @ the Intercontinental on Howard (near 5th), but only because I'm on the company dollar.

I'm a big fan of Midtown Lunch (the blog) style food - the cheap eats, no/low frills, relaxed atmosphere. Not picky about the exact type of cuisine, but if it's something unique to SF (or at least hard to find in NYC), that's an extra bonus.

Oh - and I did see the article about the best tacos in the Mission District. That's an option for dinner, but I'm definitely looking for something walkable for lunch.

Thanks in advance, hugs all around, etc.

Since our son was born a couple months ago, making food in bulk and freezing it has saved us from going out to dinner on a fairly regular basis. One of the big things is pasta sauce. Large batches of vodka, puttanesca and amatriciana sauce are fairly quick, and even bolognese isn't bad considering we use a food processor to chop the vegetables and most of the time is idle simmering time.

Still, I'm looking for more variety. Any recommendations for sauces that freeze well, particularly if they're "authentic" (or at least moderately so) that help make pasta a meal?

So, I'm making raspberry sauce for some cheesecakes this weekend, and my normal procedure is to puree, strain, and mix in some powdered sugar (a couple tablespoons per pint, just to cut the tartness). The taste is great, but texture-wise, it's always a bit watery. Any tips to thicken it up without mucking with the taste?

Note: This is just spooned/whatever over the cheesecake - not mixed in.

Thanks!

The wife and I are heading up to Maine next weekend for a wedding. We'll be flying into Portland Friday afternoon, then driving up to Phippsburg (passing through Brunswick and Bath). Saturday is lost to the wedding, so we're mostly thinking about dinner on Friday and lunch Sunday on the way back to the airport.

Primary goal: Lobster. As much as we can humanly eat. Secondary goal: blueberries (though they're probably out of season by now). We've been told we'll pass a few dozen lobster roll shacks on the way, but if anyone has anything specific, we'd love to hear.

Thanks!

It's spring, which means that yet again, our sage plants have exploded. There's only so much saltimbocca or squash we can eat, and we only have a few other recipes that are real winners. And we STILL have dried and frozen sage from last year. Does anyone have any recipe/ingredient suggestions?

I was thinking about tossing in some high-end chocolate bars in with some gifts this year. I could easily pick up some Mast Brothers chocolate, or something from Jacque Torres - are there any other brands (preferrably available in Manhattan) that are worth checking out?

For what it's worth, one recipient likes dark chocolate and mint. The other prefers milk chocolate and nuts.

I'm curious if anyone has any recommendations for BBQ in the Hickory, NC area? The wife and I are going down for a wedding in June, and we'll have the night before the wedding to ourselves, and our primary plans involve BBQ.

Any suggestions?

I've occasionally gone to a butcher out in Hightstown who closed a few years back and reopened recently. It wasn't exactly convenient (and their hours guaranteed I could almost never get there), but it was worth it for the quality.

Sadly, they are closed again.

Does anyone in the Trenton/Princeton area have any recommendations? I don't have any special requirements, nor are my needs that crazy - just random cuts of beef/pork that my local supermarkets never have available. (As a side note, the H-mart in Levittown, PA has a good selection of this stuff, but quantity is often an issue - if I need a 4 lb piece of pork belly, I'd end up getting multiple 1/2 lb pieces.)

Thanks.