San Francisco Engagement | Pattie & Bowei

I was a bit nervous but definitely more excited to shoot my first ever engagement for friends, Pattie and Bowei, when they visited from the east coast earlier this year. We had a great time hopping around various locations in San Francisco and were also fortunately graced with beautiful weather throughout the weekend. Congrats to an amazing and classy couple!

Txoko

Pronounced “choco,” Txoko opened its doors in mid-2011 with a Basque-inspired, California-complimented menu created by the owners of city renown sandwich shop, Naked Lunch, neighbored right next door on Broadway. With it’s unique and diverse selection of pintxos, or small tapas style plates, Txoko was the perfect destination for a recent birthday celebration dinner… which turned out to be a feast!


Oysters w/ lime mignonette

Caramelized brussels sprouts w/ golden raisins, bacon, pine nuts

Crispy french fries w/ espelette, garlic aioli

Local sardines a la plancha w/ fennel, citrus, chile oil

Lamb’s tongue salad w/ potatoes, smoked tomato, egg, frisee

Txuleton - Painted Hills bone in rib eye steak with potato and turnip gratin, shishitos, roasted carrots, bordelaise, chimichurri

Gateau Basque w/ vanilla pastry cream, pear and golden raisin chutney

Each dish was amazing, with the steak being one of the best I’ve ever had. Heavenly is the only word that can describe the experience of savoring each medium-rare bite from that rib eye.

Year End Colors

It was only fitting that the last day of 2011 also yielded one of the most colorful sunsets I’ve seen this past year. I caught a glimpse of the bold dusk sky on my way home yesterday and just had to make a pit stop at the Cliffhouse to capture the fleeting light.

While visibility started to drop quickly, the colors of the sunset grew more intense with the onset of twilight.

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous New Year!

New York in Two Days

I found myself in New York for a quick two day trip back in early November. Armed with my trusty point and shoot and the gracious help of resident friends in the area, I was able to cover quite a bit of ground playing tourist during my visit. I can’t wait to go back next year with DSLR in tow and hopefully more free time to take in the various neighborhoods.

Here are a couple shots taken with my S95 during my blur of a trip; more food related pics from NY to come in a future update…

Christmas Shots with the Chan Family

Last weekend, I helped a friend take some family Christmas shots over at the Hyatt near the Embarcadero. The shoot was a lot of fun, and especially refreshing for me to photograph subjects not on a plate for once! Here are a couple random outtakes from the shoot:

Gotta love those smiles. :D Thanks to siblings Celine and Darren for sitting patiently still for most of the shoot!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.