girl sophisticate

Tartine Bakery - Warm Olive Bread

If it's one thing I miss about living in Paris, it's the bread.  Almost every morning I'd throw on some clothes and run downstairs to my neighborhood boulangerie for a demi baguette.  I'd spread a napkin on the counter and break the warm bread with my hands.  Add a little butter, fresh fig jam, yogurt and some coffee - it was a perfect morning.

For some reason, that kind of bread is just not available in the United States.  The closest thing is probably at Tartine Bakery.  It isn't by coincidence that I live exactly 3.5 blocks away.  Even though Tartine's daily fresh baked bread is not available until 5pm, I'm still eternally grateful that at least one option exists.

This past Friday, I happened to find myself walking in the Mission right around 4:30pm.  Perfect timing to acquire some fresh bread at Tartine.  As I approached the bakery, the line was already outside the door (but then again, when is it not?).

 

4:47pm - I crossed my fingers and hoped that the olive bread would still be available

 

4:53pm - The goodies case tantalizes me with its temptations.  Must resist!  Focus on the mission to buy bread!

4:58pm - Mission accomplished.  Half loaf of warm olive bread in hand and on the way home...

5:16pm - Sliced warm olive bread topped with cheese and a glass of wine, all on my patio with a view of downtown SF.  There may not be boulangeries with perfect baguettes at every corner but taking everything else about San Francisco into account, I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Mission Cheese - Almost there...

Brian and I have been patiently waiting for the arrival of the newest cheese addition to our neighborhood - Mission Cheese.  Located on Valencia between 18th and 19th and just a couple doors down from The Summit, we were hoping it would become our new place to sample and buy wondrous cheese.  On one hand, their selection is spectacular.  On the other hand, they have some issues...

Don't get me wrong - we definitely plan on going back (today was my third visit).  The store is well done and everything seems to work (having helped a friend open a restaurant, people underestimate the difficulty of this!) but I have some observations that, well, diminishes my experience every time I go there.

Identity: Cheese store or cheese bar?  The identity of the store is in question.  Outwardly, the shop seems like a cheese bar with cheese sampler plates, beer and wine (hooray! the beer and wine license is in effect!), sandwiches, mac & cheese and raclette options.  There are tables outside and inside and a long wooden bar. But, if you wanted to sample cheese and buy by the pound, there is a separate menu on the counter for that too.  Is it possible to be both?  Probably.  But by the way they are currently operating, I feel neglected when going in for food or for just cheese.

Operation:

Problem #1 - There is only one cash register and one line for both food and cheese to go.  If someone is in front of you sampling cheese, trying to figure out which one to buy, it would be quite a while before someone takes your food order. (Translation: You're really annoying your cheese bar customers) See also 'Customer Service' below.

Problem # 2 - If you're buying cheese to go, there's no good place to stand and sample cheese.  No matter where you are, you feel like you're in the way.  In addition, all the cheese are wrapped and in glass door refrigerators along the wall behind the bar.  You can kind of see what's in there but they are not labeled.  For those of us who buy cheese with traditional cheesemongers, it's frustrating to not be able to see the cheese, pick it up and smell it, or to observe the texture and density.   (Translation: You're really frustrating your cheese to go customers)

Solution: Perhaps create a separate food line and cheese to go area.  Foodies get their order in and cheese buyers have a space to sample leisurely without feeling like they are in someone's way.

Those are the biggies.  Now, aside from the above, a couple other comments...

Customer Service: Three times I've been into the store and twice I've actually bought something.  All three times, I was not greeted when I walked in, was not asked if I needed help while staring at the chalkboard menu, and even when buying cheese, didn't feel that the cheesemonger was engaging (I felt like we were bothering her).  All three times I've observed other people walk in, look at the menu, look around for some sort of affirmation that they aren't invisible, and then walk out.  I stood in line today for at least five minutes while the guy in the front sampled cheese.  No one even acknowledged that there were two people in line...waiting...waiting... This is unfortunate. 

Cell coverage:  If you want any cell coverage at all, sit at the front tables near the sliding glass door.  If you sit in the back, the walls are concrete block, there is no signal.  I wanted to check-in on Facebook and tell the world about this awesome new cheese place but I couldn't so I didn't.  Suggestion to the store - Maybe open up your network?  Put a daily password up on one of your chalkboards if you want it password protected.

Cheese Costs:  Great selection but man, those costs are high.  There are a couple choices in the under $20/lb range but majority of the cheeses are $30+/lb.  The first suggestion from the cheesemonger was $38/lb, the most expensive cheese on the menu (a little off putting in itself).  Yeah, sure it was good and I bought some to support my local store but honestly, that's not going to happen again.  $30+/lb cheese is out of my daily price range.  C'mon, this is the Mission, home of super values and cheap eats.  Give us more choices.

Also, to the nice lady (who I presume is the owner) who sits in the very first bar seat with her laptop open - it's a little off putting with you there, sometimes giving your input but not really working in the store, helping those in line or acknowledging customers.  Either give the customer your full and undivided attention or do your work.  It might help to pick a seat in the back.

 

Katespade.com = 8 Failures and Still Unresolved

Tis the season for Friends and Family discounts and when 25% off arrived in my inbox for katespade.com, I jumped on the offer.  Unfortunately, the entire experience of buying through katespade.com was a disaster.

Failure #1 -  Ordered on April 9, arrived on April 19.  Given that Zappos also carries Kate Spade and will deliver next day for free, waiting 10 days just isn't worth it.

Failure #2 - I wanted to give Kate Spade a heads up on how far behind they are lagging in the e-commerce world in terms of order time.  It took a solid 10 minutes of clicking around on their site before finding a customer service email address.

I received a prompt customer service email reply which is quoted below.

thank you for contacting kate spade.
we sincerely apologize that your recent experience at kate spade did not
meet your expectations.
please enjoy 25% off your next order here at kate spade.
in order to use this discount, simply call us here at 866-999-kate. any
phone representative will be able to help you will place your order
using this discount.

Which leads to Failure #3 - Apparently, their customer service representatives are not coached to use proper capitalization.

Failure # 4 - Thanks for the 25% discount but I just told you that I won't be buying from you online again due to your outrageously long order fulfillment time and to add salt to the wound, you've now given me a discount that I can't even use online (my preferred channel) but rather have to call-in to redeem.

Failure #5 - The item finally arrives and it has a few defects.

Failure #6 - I called 866-999-kate to see if I could return or exchange the defected product.  The customer service person told me I had to call a different phone number.  And no, she couldn't transfer me.

Failure # 7 - I called the new phone number.  The person took my name, phone number and email address and said that someone will call me back tomorrow.

Failure # 8 - The customer service rep asked for the order number.  Guess what?  It's not printed on the invoice.

Originally, I had hoped to exchange the item for another one.  I think at this point I have decided that I just want my money back and perhaps this is not a company that I would like to deal with ever again.

 

What are your expectations when you order stuff online with regards to when it will arrive, customer service, returns and general communication regarding the order? 

For retailers that have brick-and-mortar stores and an online presence, have you noticed any differences in brand experience and customer service between the two channels?

Perfect (mini) Popovers

I love hosting and having people over for food and wine.  Naturally, I'm always looking for easy, low cost appetizer recipes. 

I made these mini popovers over the weekend and I must say, they are probably the easiest, fastest, cheapest, most delicious appetizer ever.  The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated.  The only adaptation made was to use a mini muffin pan instead of a full size muffin pan.  Cooking times for both are listed below. 

Most of the mini popovers only had one large air bubble (so a lot less custard-y inside) and all were shaped like muffins (instead of that traditional multiple bubble look).  For finger food, I thought this was more than acceptable.  If you are serving them for a sit down meal, I'd probably go with the regular sized muffin pan.

POPOVERS

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

2 extra large eggs

1 tbsp melted butter

*a little butter or oil to grease the muffin pan

 

1.  Move oven rack to lowest setting.  Place muffin pan in oven.  Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. 

2.  Gently whisk flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.

3.  Combine melted butter, milk and eggs in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup (or small bowl).  Whisk until combined.

4.  Pour all wet ingredients into flour mixture and whisk until combined. Pour mixture back into Pyrex measuring cup (or any other container with a spout - easier to pour into muffin pan).

5.  Let rest to room temperature while waiting for oven to pre-heat.

6.  Once oven is pre-heated, take out muffin pan and grease with a little oil or butter.  Fill each cup halfway with mixture and return to oven.

7.  For mini muffin pan (24 minis) - bake 10-12 minutes at 450 F degrees until popovers rise.  Then turn down oven to 350 F degrees until popovers are well browned, another 10-12 minutes.

For regular muffin pan (12) - bake 20 minutes at 450 F degrees until popovers rise.  Then turn  down oven to 350 F degrees until popovers are well browned, another 15-20 minutes.

8.  Serve warm with some jam or butter!  (Neiman Marcus serves it with strawberry butter - basically strawberry preserves mixed with butter - super yum!)

 

About 3 minutes in... 

About 8 minutes in...

Daily Deal Overdose

Am I the only one suffering from daily deal overdose?  When I discovered Groupon, it was awesome.  Then I discovered Bloomspot - even better!  Then it was Gilt, ideeli, Plum District, woot!, BuyWithMe, RueLaLa... even Travelzoo and Yelp started sending me daily deals. 

Please!  There are only so many mani pedi deals I can buy.  Kudos to those getting me to buy more interesting stuff ($7 for $15 at Drewes Brothers meat butcher) but honestly, what I need is a way to prioritize which deals I'm looking it and why.

Here's my daily deal rundown by category.   

Which ones are your favorites? 

Who have you actually purchased from? 

I know there are many more sites I haven't listed, feel free to comment on those as well.

My favorite right now is YipIt - it allows you to select your region and the categories that interest you the most.  Then it sends you a selection of daily deals from different deal sites that you may like.

 

Biggest deal sites, multiple cities, mulitple categories:

  

Apparel focused:

 

Activity (including hotels and restaurants) focused:

 

 

Home:

 

 

Wine and Food:
 
 

 

 

Beauty:

 

 

Mom, kid, baby (there's a ton more but probably not worth mentioning):

 

 Deal aggregators:

 
 
 

JotNot: Turn-Your-iPhone-into-a-Scanner App

JotNot is my new favorite app for two reasons.

 
1)  Use it for expenses.  I take a picture of my receipt, drag the corners to fit, repeat, and voila! A multi-page PDF file of all my expenses, one receipt per page.  Change the file name, email to self and I'm done.  TIP - if you put the receipt against a dark surface, oftentimes you don't need to drag the corners to fit.  The app will auto-fit for you.

2) Capturing white-board/flip chart scribbling.  No need to get up out of your chair and position the phone directly in front of the white-board.  Stay where you are - JotNot will adjust for the perspective differences.  See the before and after example below:

  

So - for 99 cents, do yourself a favor and pick up this app.

San Francisco Dream House Raffle

So I didn't win the HGTV 2011 Dream Home in Stowe, VT but the odds of winning the San Francisco 2011 Dream House is MUCH better.  With a maximum number of 40,000 tickets sold, your odds of winning something worth at least double your purchase price is roughly 1 in 100 if all tickets are sold.  The catch is - well, tickets are $150. 

Personally, I'm not one who plays the lotto or scratchers or even gambles in Las Vegas.  But, a pre-paid $2.8M house in San Francisco (or $1.4M cash alternative) will significantly change the way I need to plan finances.  Even $25k or $10k will go a long way to paying off my graduate student loans.  Verdict?  I am a proud supporter of Yerba Buena Center of the Arts.

Packing for Work and Leisure Travel

I travel for work almost weekly and there's a thing or two I've learned about packing.  I can't tell you WHAT to pack - that's not what this post is about.  I can tell you, however, HOW to pack to make life that much easier.

 

1) Have a checklist

I'm possibly the world's most forgetful person so having a checklist is essential.  If you're lazy, you can buy these fancy premade checklists.  It covers just about everything you could possibly need for both a work trip or a leisure trip.  You can buy online at at the manufacturer Knock Knock, or at most Paper Source stores.

I'm cheap and don't like clutter so I made my own Excel spreadsheet.  I skipped most of the obvious stuff and only populated it with things that I absolutely need and always forget.  Feel free to download it and adjust for your needs.  It prints to one frill-less functional page. 

 

2) Use packing cubes

Yes, I thought packing cubes were a complete hoot until I tried them.  They keep everthing wrinkle free and in its place.  You'll end up having more space in your luggage.  I've listed the packing organizers you'll need plus my recommended brand item for each.  The Eagle Creek organizers are available in a variety of colors.  I've picked blue for the pictures so you can see the details.  Personally, I love the all black version.

 

• Packing Envelope...Eagle Creek 15 inch Pack-It Folder - Use this for shirts and sweaters, anything that needs to be folded.  The 15" is good for about 3 shirts, 2 sweaters and my pj set

 

• Packing Cube...Eagle Creek Pack-It Half Cube - Use this for pants, roll them so they don't wrinkle.  The Half Cube fits 2 pairs of wool pants or 3 pairs of thinner pants/capris.

 

• Small Packing Cube...Eagle Creek Pack-It Quarter Tube - for socks, underwear, other soft stuff

 

• Small Packing Tube...Eagle Creek Pack-It Half Tube - for exercise gear.  Lay your shorts, exercise bra and shirt on top of each other, fold the entire stack in half and then roll to stuff in this tube.  Holds just enough for one exercise session.  Also great to use when you're taking your gym clothes to work.

 

• Shoe Bag...Any brand - At least one if not two shoe bags.  One for work shoes, one for sneakers.  Cole Haan gives out great flannel shoe bags with a simple drawstring - definitely ask for an extra one when buying shoes there.  I use the free Cole Haan shoe bags for work shoes and a Lululemon bag for my sneaks.  The  Eagle Creek Pack-It Shoe Sac is also great for dirty sneakers.

 

• Dirty clothes bag...These little roll up reusable grocery bags you see everywhere.  I keep 2-3 of these in my luggage for dirty clothes, dirty gym clothes, extra sneaker bags or anything else.  They don't take up much space, weigh virtually nothing and are super useful when you need an extra bag.  Most of them can be thrown in the wash too.

 

What are some of your travel packing tips?

 

Naracamicie Blouses: Crisp, Clean and Classy

I'm always on the hunt for one-of-a-kind pieces.  The sort of bag/blouse/shoe/accessory that can almost be a piece of art.  A recent discovery is the Italian brand Naracamicie.  I just LOVE their blouses.  Most run around $150.  They have 3 stores in the US: San Francisco, New York and Miami.

The SF store started a sale today!  $75 for most blouses... a few of my favorites from the sale are pictured below:

Shoe Helpers and Soap.com

Speaking of shoes, there are a few tricks every shoe addict should know about.

Band-Aid Friction Block - about $5-8 (pricey, but worth it!)

It looks like a mini 2" deordant stick when you pop open the cap.  Rub a little wherever your shoe is rubbing on your foot and instantly, it doesn't hurt anymore!  Obviously, it doesn't work on blisters that have already formed but it does a great job in preventing new blisters.  I haven't had a blister since I discovered this product.

 
Another one of my favorites is Foot Petals.  Heavenly Heelz (pictured above, $10 for a 3-pack on their website right now!  Great deal!) prevent heel slippage. Tip Toes (pictured below, $7 a pair or less if you buy a multi-pack) are great for ball of foot comfort.  Both are also great solutions for shoes that may be just a tad big.   They are super soft (feels like memory foam), resist wear and stick on very well.

Band-Aid Friction Block and Foot Petals are available on my new favorite site: soap.com  Spend more than $25 for FREE NEXT DAY shipping.  Most areas you can order as late as 6pm and have it at your door the next day. Amazing.  That's why Amazon.com bought them.  Oh, and you can you buy condoms too.  Stealth.  Just don't do it at work.