Absinthe

Yes, a cupcake, but a cassis-filled cocoa nib cupcake with violet frosting. Believe it.

We all know what this first big rain storm of the season means: more are on their way. I'm ready, actually, for soup and for roasted root vegetables and for an end to tomatoes. It's OK. I think I'll feel even better about the change of seasons once I get my hands on a butter pecan scone with Rittenhouse whiskey glaze, or a fig-fromage blanc scone with honey glaze. Where to purchase such goodies?

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged very positively about the new Absinthe from Germain-Robin. I was a little perplexed, therefore, to receive an anguished voicemail from Crispin Cain, who distills the spirit. He was happy with my enthusiastic review, but had one complaint.

I called his absinthe "sweet".

Absinthe's burger: Spend more and get the extras.

Welcome to the 2009 Burger Bonanza wherein two girls eat 20 of the city's best burgers, on the path to burger enlightenment. The 10 best will then be chosen to be featured—in ranking order—in 7x7's September magazine issue. Burgers must fit our "fancy burger" parameter: made with beef and available as part of the regular dinner menu at upscale restaurants in SF. Beyond that, we're open to suggestions, which we hope you will leave in the comment box below!

Last year's absinthe boom yielded some beauts (St. George) and some duds (Pernod). But while the St.

It was great to see last week's absinthe column by the New York Times' Eric Asimov. It was also great to be mentioned in his corresponding blog post. Just before the column ran, he came into town for a couple of nights, and on one of them I took him round to a couple of bars and later for dinner at RN74.

The chef enjoying a rare sit-down meal.

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

Being a chef, people are constantly surprised by what I eat (or don't eat) over the course of my work week ... to be completely honest, the last thing Iwant to do when I am at work is eat. Being surrounded by food all the time generally makes me very uninterested in having a meal on a daily basis. Here's a list of everything I ate this week.

Monday: My day off. Probably the one day when I actually eat two meals. Usually on Mondays I try and get together with friends, since it's really

She may look friendly enough, but give her some dirty silverware or a clueless server and watch out!

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

I obviously go out to eat a fair amount. If you have been following my blogs, you will know that I am not a big fan of cooking at home in my downtime and usually prefer to have someone else do it for me. This week I amuse you, the reader, with a list of my pet peeves about diningout. I'm not going to name names, because that would be rude, but here are some things that I consider to be simply unacceptable.