Casi C.'s Profile

I've been on this crazy diet that doesn't allow pretty much anything good like fries, bread, or strawberry shakes. I've been struggling with my daily menu because I only have about 6 meals I know how to make and all of them include some sort of carb, sugar, or dairy. So, I decided to take a cooking class at First Class Cooking.

Emily offers classes that highlight a certain season or type of food. She has a healthy point of view on all her dishes, so I knew this class was going to help me learn new recipes and keep the muffin top to a minimum. I chose to try her Taste of India class. Greg (the boyfriend) and I went on a Saturday where we met a bunch of other awesome people (mostly other couples and groups of women). Everyone brought their own wine and we all listened intently to Emily as she demonstrated and taught us about the new (to me) flavors we were going to be cooking with. Most of the ingredients on our menu were things I have never cooked with, so I was excited and a bit intimidated by the ginger, cumin, plain yogurt, curry powder and garam masala filled recipes. All I know is that everything was smelling amazing so I was down for anything.

First we started with a Cilantro Chutney, which is a spicy green sauce that is perfect to add on top of anything.

Although the Cilantro Chutney was delicious on everything, my favorite dish to put it on was the Mango Chutney. It was very sweet and packed with flavor, almost more of a dessert. But when I added the cilantro chutney to it a flavor explosion happened in my mouth. Ugh! So Good!

I'm not a huge fan of chickpeas, so when I saw Curried Chickpeas on the menu I wasn't exactly thrilled. Turns out when you add a little curry powder, garam masala, and red bell pepper it can actually be pretty good!

Finally, something I was familiar with, Chicken Tikka Masala. My only taste of India has been from the Curry Up Now food truck that comes by my office every day. Their Chicken Tikka Masala burritos are amazing and I never thought I would be able to recreate such deliciousness. Well I did it!

The price is definitely reasonable ($55-$80 depending on if you want to do a cocktail or wine pairing as well), especially when compared to other cooking classes in the city. Bring your own wine and an empty belly and enjoy!

p.s. Emily has the best view in the city!

Came here with a big group of 20+ people for a birthday party. We had the upper deck to ourselves (most of the time....until another large party joined us). We had pitchers and pitchers of sangria and tapas galore for us all to share. My absolute favorite would have to be the cajun shrimp. I could seriously just eat this and bread for dipping. It's very tough to share with people!

If you come on the weekend with a big group it's definitely a good idea to make a reservation! This place gets packed, but definitely worth the wait!

Great spot to go with a few girlfriends for some drinks and some dancing. It's a pretty small place, so it's not ideal for large groups. The time I went was with a large group so a few girls and I headed straight for the dance floor for a quick groove and then we headed out. So, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try their cocktails. I would definitely like to come back here on a girls night.

Definitely pretty divey, but good for a somewhat large group of friends to all sit down and have some cheap drinks. The bartenders were nice and it never got too crowded which is nice when you're with a lot of people.

As I'm sure you all know, Specialty's has the BEST cookies! A hot chocolate chip cookie is the way to go!

But if you are looking for more than a dessert Specialty's also has a great lunch menu. Sandwiches, soups, and salads galore. My favorite is their cobb salad. The best part being the croutons! This place gets pretty packed during the busy lunch hours, so it's nice that they offer order kiosks as well. The kiosks are for credit card orders and are pretty cool since they let you customize your order completely. It even tells you the calories and fat as you add and subtract items from your order. Pretty cool.

Good luck walking out of here without a fresh baked cookie!

This is a great place to come for some beer, sports, and beer food (it's all about their garlic curly fries!) This is a great local spot to watch any and all sport games, but unfortunately gets WAY too crowded during Giants games. I saw people waiting in line DURING the Giants play off game IN THE RAIN! Crazy Giants fans!

The season is going to be starting again soon, so I better get my butt over to Pete's soon before it's too crowded for me to get in :(

If you're going to really enjoy this place you have to know when to go! It's all about breakfast during the week and lunch on weekends! The wait can get pretty long otherwise.

It's all about grilled cheese here (obviously)! Every one of there sandwiches are amazing! The tomato soup is the perfect accessory to any of their sandwiches. DIP IT! Their raspberry lemonade is super tasty and delish, but I always go for the $3 mimosa on the weekends! Speaking of the weekends, all of the breakfast grilled cheese sandwiches come with an egg making it the most hearty and tasty breakfast around. I'm drooling!

I'm from LA where Best Buy is on every corner. It's usually my go to place for electronics. But since I moved to San Francisco I realized Amazon is a WAY better place to get pretty much anything they sell at Best Buy. It's much cheaper and it just get's delivered right to your front door!

But I do have to give it to Best Buy for their big sales they have on TV's around Superbowl time. We just purchased a Samsung 55" 8000 Series 3D 1080p LED HDTV for just as much as we could find on Amazon and it came with a Blue Ray Player, 2 3D glasses ($200 each), and 3D Shrek set. Best part is if we find a better deal out there they will refund us the difference.

So, Best Buy won in this case!

I came here with a big group of friends for a birthday dinner. The place was packed but we were lucky enough to grab a big spot in the front. We all put in $10 and ordered a ton of naan, chicken tikka masala, spicy lamb, rice, and a few other dishes. Everything was delicious! But the very best part about this place is their BYOB policy! We all brought our favorite happy beverage and enjoyed a cheap delicious dinner. I will definitely be back!

I signed up (along with everyone and their mom) during their New Year's Sale. No initiation fee! Instead I spent that money on 3 training sessions with Elisabeth. She is great! I eventually purchased 10 more sessions with her and I'm so glad I did. She really knows how to kick my ass.

When I'm not training with her I try to squeeze in on one of their elliptical machines down stairs. Since I go after work it can be pretty crowded Monday-Wednesday, but it seems to slow down Thursday and Friday. I have taken their yoga class which was definitely a strength and balance building workout. It didn't seem too popular which was fine with me! More room for me to fall. Next I plan on trying one of their Body Pump classes which I hear is pretty hard core! This class gets packed quickly so get there early!