Jamie from Top Chef was just in a segment on Eye on the Bay, a local out-and-about show on the CBS affiliate. Today's topic was comfort food and Jamie's picks for hot dogs are the Happy Belly cart in Golden Gate Park (topped with kimchee...ew) and Costco's $1.50 meal deal. The hot dog she's currently experimenting with at Absinthe includes kobe beef, bacon, and pink salt, among a helluva lot of other ingredients.

I recently bought a digital Zen Alarm Clock which is supposed to wake you up gradually with the dulcet tones of a gradually increasing chime. I actually like the regular Zen clock better, but there's no room for it on my nightstand, so I got the digital version which also has a choice of high and low tones. The first night I set it for high, not knowing what to expect and trying to err on the side of caution. Because it's a progressive chime sequence, you have to set it for ten minutes before you actually want to get up. At 6.55 last Wednesday morning the first chime goes off, and Isis and I hit the ceiling. No need for the addition chimes 'cuz we were awake! I reset it to low for the rest of the week, and while it's still a little startling, I'm getting used to it and like it more than the shrill beepy alarm I had before. The main problem is that the digital display is hard to read when you're all bleary-eyed, and it takes up more space than I'd like on my nightstand.