i've been gone for a long time, but i had to write about my valentine's day food experiences. we had v-day on sunday, i thought it was on purpose, although apparently A. thought sunday really was vday, thus thoroughly confusing the restaurant we went to for dinner.. breakfast: miss millie's, in noe valley we split a savory entree and a sweet entree. sweet: gingerbread waffles with some sort of custard, apples, and candied walnuts on top. it was over-the-top, as most fancy sweet brunch entrees are. but the savory entree! roasted poblano peppers, stuffed with chorizo, cheese and some other delicious things. served with eggs scrambled with scallions and some other things. it was absolutely amazing. lunch: hog island oyster company at hog island, you can go and get a tray of oysters, and shuck your own, which have practically come right out of the water. we ate various sizes of sweetwater oysters (medium, small, x-small, xx-small), french hogs (i think?), and kumamoto oysters. the oyster juice seemed saltier than usual -- i'm not sure if that's a consequence of being right out of the water, or of us getting stuff from the outside of the shell into the inside due to amateur shucking technique! two dozen, plus half a bottle of bonny doon's dry riesling. dinner: hyde street bistro the restaurant is painted in this lovely orange color that i loved -- it's sort of an orangey-er veuve cliquot color. it's little and french with french waitstaff. you sit close enough to your neighbors to eat their food, but it was actually pretty okay. i had the salmon tartare appetizer which came with little bits of toast, and it was sort of like bruschetta but with salmon. it was delicious and mild. on the other side of the spectrum, A. had the carmelized onion tart with blue cheese, and it was seriously intense. i don't think i could've eaten the whole thing. i then had the duck leg confit, which was drizzled with black truffle oil. the duck was delicious, the little side salad was a good counterpart, but then there were these little roasted potatoes that made me think of things you get at your elementary school cafeteria. like little diced fries. i really wish it was appropriate to pick up the bone and munch all the little bits of meat that are stuck to it after you do all you can with your fork and knife. A. had rabbit in a mustard reduction, which was more creamy and less mustardy than expected. the rabbit leg wasn't chickeny like i expected (only because everything tastes like chicken), although A. reported that the rabbit back was a little chickeny. i think it came with linguine and maybe some veggies, but i don't remember. i ordered a wine that the waiter was pleased with, that made me excited -- it was a 2002 chilean cabernet sauvignon that i've been trying to google but i can't remember exactly how to spell it -- something like penalon, but it has another syllable in the middle. i was pleased with the portions -- i had enough room at the end to have dessert. we decadently each ordered a dessert -- a very shallow but broad creme brulee for A. and chocolate mousse for me. the creme brulee was good, but it was like all good creme brulee. the mousse came in three little truffle-sized balls in some sort of white liquidy sauce. it was light and delicious (i was afraid a chocolate dessert would be too heavy) and i didn't feel quite like i had to be rolled home afterwards. wow. it was an amazing food day. [winnie, I think my mom could take on your mom, and it would be at least a draw.. well maybe in a mom-and-dad team, since my dad has his different but just-as-good specialties.]