Lots of goodies at Picnic (San Francisco, California)

Picnic

1808 Polk Street

San Francisco, CA 94109

(415) 346-6478

http://www.picnicsf.com/

While in SF over Thanksgiving, I caught up with an old friend, S.  She has the cutest boutique, Picnic, with plenty of pretty items.  The store is in a very up and coming area of SF, with plenty of restaurants, shops and watering holes.

My friend, S.

 

Picnic's got an electic assosrtment of clothes, accessories, shoes and home decor.  I especially like how the selection reflects S.' personal taste and that West Coast vibe.  I ended up with some very cool earrings from carrie saxl (a local jewelry designer), Pacifica solid perfumes and a funky dress/jacket.  Thanks, S.!

Mmmmm Mitsuwa Food Court

Under food:

Mitsuwa Marketplace

595 River Rd

Edgewater, NJ 07020

(201) 941-9113

http://www.mitsuwa.com/

Mitsuwa is a Japanese supermarket chain that has a food court, a travel agency, a patisserie and a coffee shop. The food court boasts a ramen joint, a chinese food stall, a noodle shop and an ice cream parlor. They also used to have a grill joint, but for reasons unknown removed it. (Sigh.)

The Kanaba stall has rice and noodle dishes. Like with the other stalls,, they have the cute plastic models of the dishes they serve, so you know what you are getting.




Display at Kanaba. It's mouthwatering!!! The bento boxes are a great deal.













We ordered the mini-tempura soba and the tempura set. The food court has free tea (bland) and ice water.





Clockwise, from top left: soba soup, mixed tempura over rice, tamago (egg), mini tempura soba, clementine slices.

For apps, we picked up some supermarket sushi. FYI, they get marked down at the end of the day!

From top: futomaki (aka "Omega roll"), hamachi kama and the lady's special. DJ Kung loved the hamachi kama.

Of course, no meal is complete without oban-yaki. This griddle specialty tastes like a crispy pancake with sweet red bean filling.











Oh, and yes, Mitsuwa is great for stocking up on essentials: ice cream, soba, and sake!!!

Treasure hunting at Then & Now

Then & Now

457 Goffle Road

Wyckoff, NJ 07481

(201) 445-2447

Under fun:

Then & Now, Wyckoff NJ, is hard to peg down. It has something to offer for most shoppers, from bargain hunters to keen collectors. I think this is a pretty serious place---I always overhear details of some estate sale, flea market, etc. whenever I am browsing.

(On left) Entrance to the shop. Note the two-car garage, which is full of mostly country-style and handmade furniture. When the weather is nice, they have an assortment of furniture and garden decor displayed in the driveway. Do not be deceived by the simple exterior... this place is awesome!

Yea... it could use a little more "staging" to make it photo-perfect. But hey, riffling through the flotsam and jetsam is what makes shopping here so interesting!

We've gotten some real steals here for our apartment, including a stately brass floor lamp, a wicker bench for our shoes, and some modern-style kitchen items. The garage contains bigger pieces of furniture: chairs, cabinets, desks, bedboards, and the like. Outside, there is usually plenty of garden decorations and furniture. Inside, the ground floor has kitchenware, glassware, brassware, jewelry, and lots and lots of tchochkes. Upstairs, the attic is full of kitchy prints and paintings, and lamps galore. I'd have loved to take more pictures inside, but it seemed too intrusive.

What's really great about this place is that the merch is not so picked over. Moreover, the prices are very fair.

Today, we picked out four pint glasses ($1 each), a gold tone necklace with pretty onyx-like inlays ($12), and ten silk scarves ($9). We're still keeping an eye out for a wicker bookcase.

"I don't really think this is the look I'm going for..."

If you decide to go, check to make sure they're open. We tend to go on Saturday mornings. Oh, and they don't accept credit cards.