Bits and bobs

1. I keep riffing off of Food52's grain salad recipe and the results are always amazing. I have been using exclusively quinoa but subbing in spinach for arugula sometimes, and adding roasted carrots or kabocha or whatever instead of the dried raisins and cranberries.

2. I am pushing myself to try new restaurants so I don't turn into a stodgy old coot. Mixed results: Masten Lake was a joke (a great story if I see you in person) and Acme was really not my thing (I was served a twee little dish on a bed of hay).But Bien Cuit is a terrific bakery, and Sottocasa wasn't terrible.

3. I made crepes the other day for brunch and that was such a good idea. I should do that more often.

4. Also--after declaring publicly that 2012 would be the Year of the Potluck--I finally had my first potluck. And while I gave myself a terrible knife wound just as it was starting (blood! fun!), it was great, and I promise to do more.

5. There is still no good coffee to be found in my work neighborhood. BUT! There is really good ramen at Terakawa ramen around the corner. The regular porky terakawa is great, as is this very interesting black garlic one. h/t @ninaeats