Not another history buff!

Whenever Ben and I travel someplace even the least bit historic, I try to remember to pack my patience because Ben wants, or shall I say NEEDS, to thoroughly read every historical marker sign within sight. Our visit many years ago to Rome was completely ridiculous as Ben insisted on trying to decipher the meaning of each sign, even though many were only written in Italian. Alas, it appears this trait is genetic, for take a look at Ani and Ben when we went for a simple morning hike yesterday at a nearby park.....

San Pablo Ave Burger Reviews

We've always been intrigued by the numerous burger joints along San Pablo Ave. Not the McDonald's, Burger Kings, etc... but rather the more obscure ones that have survived in spite of the influx of the typical franchise chains. So, we've decided to go ahead and try them and rate them for future reference. Tuesdays have been chosen as "San Pablo burger review night". Our goal is to try all of the burger joints on San Pablo Ave between the Richmond and Oakland borders. Once we accomplish this laudable goal, we may extend further down the avenue -- or we may go on a diet.

Here's the rating system for the burgers and accompaniments (fries, etc...) :
* = gut bomb
** = blah, not impressed
*** = pretty good
**** = very good
***** = amazing!

Our first review (4/22/08)

Al's Big Burger
This was a good place to start as it is much less scary than some of the other places we plan to get to. The burger was actually quite tasty with yummy grilled onions and crisp lettuce. While the fries were just ok, the fried zucchini with ranch was great.
Burger = ****
Accompaniments = ***

Nation's
While this burger joint is more mainstream than the others on the list, we felt it merited inclusion. As with last week, not a bad burger at all for this type of place- tasty lettuce and lots of mayo. In my opinion, though, it wasn't as good as Al's and I thought the fries were not very good. It could have been just a so-so batch because our neighbors who came with us seemed to get better ones.
Burger = ***1/2
Accompaniments = **

Reviews to come: Nibs, The Red Onion, Nation's, and more....

Lexicon

Ani is gradually transitioning from a rather complicated communication pattern in her own special language to using English. She'll repeat just about anything, but there are several words that she uses consistently and somewhat accurately. So, for anyone who is going to prepare for a conversation with Ani in the near future, here's a peek into her English vocabulary:

• Aacky – meaning yucky. According to Ani, almost everything is aacky, especially Ani’s feet.

• Ani – she loves to talk about herself in the third person.

• Apple – meaning any round fruit.

• Baby - any person under 12.
  

• Ball

• Bappa – her name for Ben.

• Bath

• Blueberries – her favorite food and one of her first words, pronounced “boo-berry”

• Book – after much coaxing, Ani is finally interested in books.

• Boot

• Bye
  

• Cheese

• Circle

• Cow

• Cup

• Doggie

• Duck

• Eye

• Hello and Hi

• Help
  

• Hot

• Milk – meaning any beverage.

• Mommy – meaning Nicole, but sometimes it is used for Ben – it means parent

• Moo

• Mouth

• Nanoka – (na NO ka) I’m not sure how this is spelled but it is a 4 year old Japanese girl who lives across from Ani's babysitter and Ani talks about her all the time.

• No

• Outside

• Phone
  

• Poo/ poopy – meaning either “I have to go” or “Um, I would like you to change my diaper”

• Potty
  

• See ya!

• Shoe
  

• Slide – favorite playground equipment

• Snack

• Sock

• Uh-oh – usually stated after doing something naughty but completely intentional

• Up/ uppy – a little confusing because it means both “pick me up” and “put me down”

• Walk

• Weeeeeeeeeee – ok, not really a word, but sung with great enthusiasm when riding down a slide

• Yes

Urban hang

Ani's latest obsession is hanging from bars. Being in Berkeley, there are a lot of places to park one's bike and this means we have to stop frequently so that Ani can hang for the necessary 10-20 seconds.