Dining about town

Apparently we took on a bit more than we could chew the other day when we went on that 15 mile bike ride...

Originally we planned on taking a Sunday morning bike ride to run some errands before an afternoon jog. Enh....not happening. It hurts to sit. Gah! How do people bike every day?? Am I just supposed to get used to this?

We decided to take a 5 mile errand-filled walk instead and stopped for a quick lunch in the Marina. We popped into Marina & Kebab on Chestnut since they had a bunch of delicious looking wraps and platters. I went with the Chicken Gyro Wrap

Jamie got the Lamb & Beef Gyro Platter.

My wrap was pretty good, aside from some dry pieces of chicken, and Jamie's lamb & beef was seasoned well. They had a few other dishes I wanted to try, so I might return next time I pass through.

Our dinner plans brought us to the Mission where we paid a visit to Foreign Cinema for their Dine About Town deal. For $34.95, certain restaurants are offering a 3-course dinner or $17.95 for a 2 course lunch. I was really excited to hear about this since this is pretty similar to DC's Restaurant Week (which I loved). It's a great way to explore new restaurants that might normally be out of your price range!

The walk into Foreign Cinema takes you away from the hustle and bustle of the street and into a movie theatre setting with a long red carpet corridor to the host stand. We lucked out and got seated on the patio where they had plenty of heat lamps to keep us warm.

They play a movie on a big white wall and there are drive-in movie speaker boxes that line the sides so you can actually hear what's going on. This month's movie was Harold & Maude and while we didn't actually watch it, it was good background noise.

We sipped on some drinks as we perused the menu (I just had to get a glass of the Roederer Estate Brut Rose even though it was a splurge glass and Jamie began his Oregonian evening with a Bridgeport IPA) and started with a half dozen oysters. Jamie had an oyster craving so we split a mixed half dozen since we wanted to sample a few different kinds. It was interesting to taste the differences between the three. Unfortunately, I can't remember the names of any of them! I do know that we got 2 from Oregon, 2 from Nova Scotia (Saint Simone maybe?) and 2 from Washington. Ack.

Foreign Cinema's menu changes daily, so writing about our meal is going to be tough since nothing we had is on their website :( Jamie started out with a Sardine and Quinoa appetizer and I had a simple Arugula Salad with shaved cheese and pistachios. For our main courses, Jamie got the Orechiette with Mushrooms (with just a hint of lemon zest) and I got the Seafood Stew (with a spicy papadum on top). Dessert was a fluffy and slightly sweet Gingerbread Cake with Meyer Lemon Creme.

Overall, I liked the experience at Foreign Cinema, but the food was nothing spectacular. I liked my salad for its simplicity, but our entrees were definitely over salted. Our meal wasn't horrible, but looking at the regular prices, I would have expected a better meal.