Concord Japanese American Food Festival
So today the wife introduced me to an area I had never really visited before: Concord. The reason for our foray was the annual Japanese American Food Festival. Nestled right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the festival is primarily a culinary affair (of course), with makeshift wooden booths and a sheltered seating area surrounding a pagoda-style pavilion structure in the middle.
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Riley on the Radio
Her performing parents are so proud. Last Friday the munchkin and I caught BART out to the city to check out the open mic at Pirate Cat Radio in the Mission. BART is always exciting, but the walk from 24th street to the Pirate Cat Radio Cafe on 21st street was a little bit too far for the munchkin, she ended up riding the last bit on daddy’s shoulders.
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Chopsticks!
Now that the munchkin is a good year past the throwing-food-everywhere age, taking her along to restaurants is a viable option. The only obstacle with said culinary explorations is finding her something to eat. We’re lucky enough that she isn’t a particularly picky eater, the only exception being meat. Yes, oddly enough, chicken in either nugget or regular form get the big rejection, as does steak, pork and lamb chops. The only meats she will eat must be in cured form (sausage, hot dogs, salami, etc) or buried in sauce (Irish beef & Guinness stew or spaghetti bolognese, for example). So when we went for Japanese food (which doesn’t rely upon a meat centerpiece the way many Euro/American-based cuisines do) at Sushi Yokohama the other day, I was confident that we would find something she would eat . . . I just wasn’t sure what.
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Kid’s Day Out: Berkeley
The Sun was out, the afternoon was free, so I grabbed the munchkin’s boots and raincoat (just in case) and we hopped on BART and headed for a day out in Berkeley. It might not be the first place you’d think of for an excursion with a 3-year-old, but it turned out to be great fun, both for herself and daddy.
The main thing I worry about when heading off with the munchkin is general safety - how many busy streets do we have to cross? How many places will have breakable things I need to keep little hands away from? Freedom to run and explore is also critical at this age. Berkeley turned out to be a great choice on all accounts and a great day out for both of us.
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Fremont Animal Shelter
Sometimes, weather and time permitting, our visits to the park and/or the library include dropping by the Fremont Animal Shelter. To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what to expect from the experience. We’re not currently looking for a pet - don’t get me wrong, a puppy would be great, I just don’t believe in getting an animal when we don’t have our own place with a bit of room for it to run around.
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