Trip report: San Francisco

We took a long weekend trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago and enjoyed the cool weather and good food.  SF is a favorite destination of mine and here are a few must see, must do, mostly must eat places on my list!

Our first night there we stayed right on the Embarcadero (the above picture was the view from our room) and while our flight was delayed so we couldn't make it to the farmer's market on the pier, we still had a great time walking around the Ferry building.  Loved the neat displays at Far West Fungi, the delicious rolls at Acme bread, and as tradition, bought some mugs to add to our Heath ceramics collection. 

We also got to sample the delicious empanadas at El Porteno (highly recommend the jamon y queso and the champinones), the bahn mi at Out the Door (from the owners of the famed Slanted door) and finished off with dessert at Miette--their macarons are really the best I've had in the US (not pictured unfortunately, I scarfed those down).  We also made it to breakfast the next morning at Frog Hollow farms and their fruit yogurt parfait is amazing.  I would've bought a crate of their peaches if we had room in our luggage!

Japantown is another favorite destination--with Kinokuniya--a bookstore with fun Japanese fashion magazines and stationery.  Sophie's Crepes was unfortunately closed the day we were there but we more than made up for it by buying boxes of fresh mochi manju at Benkyodo Co. (everything's great but especially the fresh strawberry and blueberry ones).  

 
Fillmore Street is a short walk from Japantown and there are lots of great shops to browse.  Two of my favorites are Steven Alan and Crossroads Trading Co. (an awesome consignment store). 

We happened into the Woodhouse Fish Co. for lunch and had some delicious fish and chips and crabcakes.  SF is the best place for seafood!

Finally my last recommendation and it's a splurge, is the Sunday jazz brunch at the Garden Court at the Palace Hotel.  We booked a few nights at the Palace and our package came with a restaurant credit and we sure made good use of it!  Not only do you get to dine under a gorgeous glass dome ceiling with chandeliers dating back a hundred years, the food is simply amazing in terms of quality and selection.  There were several stations that included breads and pastries, dim sum, seafood, cheeses, meats and a prime rib carving station, waffles and omelets made to order, and an assortment of desserts.  Among our favorite items: the shrimp and lobster claws, freshly squeezed orange juice, this amazing crab salad, fresh strawberries and delicious sticky buns.  Definitely my favorite US buffet! (top international billing still goes to the St Regis Bali)

There was a lot of walking around the city to counteract all the eating though we did leave SF with a box of See's Candies as a memento.  Hopefully we'll be back soon--along with our new little one!

Vacation!

We spent a week exploring Kaua'i--90% of these markers on my google map were food places!  Trip report to come soon!

Favorite Friday Recipe: Yumm sauce

This recipe is for my friend Suz who is currently on a great northwest adventure!  The northwest is at the top of the list for a visit soon and when we do, we'll be sure to visit a Cafe Yumm, most famous for their yumm sauce. It's a bit difficult to describe--sort of a creamy, tangy sauce with a hint of curry that goes well in rice bowls, on wraps, drizzled on salads or used to dip your veggies.  Here I assembled a bowl of brown rice, tomatoes, avocadoes, olives and grilled chicken topped with homemade yumm sauce.

Yumm Sauce adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup cooked soybeans or 1/3 cup tofu
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro

Directions:

• Blend all of the above
• Use generously on your favorite foods!

Chicago fun

Just a few pictures from our Chicago trip last weekend!  

We finally got to Wrigley for a Cubs game (and they won!)

Totally lives up to the hype

Best dessert ever--

salted caramel cinnamon soft serve ice cream with apples and pie crust

--from Grahamwich

Wait it's 2013 already?

Hello blog--it's been a while!  Life got a bit hectic around the holidays, then crazy with the start of the school year, and an unexpected trip across the ocean thrown in the mix.  More to come soon! :)

ps--gotta love that random tourist hand in our otherwise pretty awesome panoramic shot of the Colosseum! 

Off we go!

Safe travels to those of you brave enough to navigate your way home for the holidays!

Grateful

So glad that it's Friday and that BK comes home today.  Never thought I would say this, but evidently you can eat too much Captain Crunch cereal...

CA favorites

A few more remaining pictures of our CA trip... Our sweet rental car upgrade for the weekend

Pinkberry goodness

Beautiful CA flowers and plants

A deconstructed California roll (delicious!)

Best candy store ever

Our roaring fire in the hotel room

I'm ready to go back again! :)

Day 3: Big Sur

We spent the sunny afternoon driving down Highway 1 towards Big Sur.  While BK navigated the windy roads, I enjoyed the magnificent views.

We stopped at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to do some hiking

McKay Falls

Day 3: Cannery Row and Carmel by the Sea

Our final full day in CA and the sun finally came out!  The view that greeted us in the morning:

We spent the morning poking around local yard sales and then driving back down to Monterey to the Cannery Row Antique Mall.  It was huge and well organized and was super fun to look through.

Then we went back to Carmel for lunch at Basil--probably one of my favorite meals on this trip.  Love the seasonal dining concept and the delicious warm crusty bread and specialty "basil" dip.

BK had the Thai shortribs which melted right in your mouth

And I hoarded the freshly made spinach tortellini in an amazing truffle cream sauce with prosciutto and asparagus

Seriously--if you are anywhere near this place, you MUST GO!

Carmel-by-the-Sea was super charming to walk around--great for window shopping, enjoying the cool weather, and admiring the gorgeous flowers and plants.

Next up: Big Sur!

Day 2: Point Lobos State Reserve

To cap off our day, we headed to the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, located close to our hotel in Carmel.  There are several trails that you can hike and since we had about 2 hours till sunset, we chose the three most interesting to us.  First up was Sea Lion Point trail where you could see (with binoculars) the sea lions out on their rock islands, frolicking and making a general din.   Even with the cloudy day, the hike was still beautiful.  Love seeing the mountains in the distance and the fog just adds a little mystery!

Then it was on to the trail furthest south where you take these very steep steps down...

All the way to a gorgeous beach--China Cove

Our final hike was Cypress Grove Trail

Monterey Cypress trees are rare and only grow in this location (something about the combination of the soil, weather and sea air).  These magnificent trees grow over 70 feet and live as long as 300 years.

Stay tuned for day 3--when the sun finally came out and we did more hiking, including my kind of urban hiking...through an antique mall!

Day 2: Monterey Bay Aquarium

We headed next to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It was by far the best aquarium I've ever been to.  My favorite exhibits were the jelly fish and this huge tank teeming with tuna, sea turtles, sharks and mackerel that resembled the open sea.  Truly amazing.

The penguins and sea horses were pretty awesome to see as well.

The aquarium is housed in an old cannery (sardines were Monterey's top industry back in the day). 

Best of all, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a non profit organization that educates and furthers the efforts to conserve our oceans.  They protect and rescue many of the animals and fish there and seek to educate the public about sustainable seafood that is healthy for you and the ocean.  You can learn more and support their efforts here.

Still to come, more of day 2.  And...there's hiking involved!  Surprised?  I was too.

Day 2: Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

We packed in a lot on day 2 but had a great time!  Started off our foggy morning at the Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

We quickly found our breakfast spot: Crepes of Brittany, which I highly highly recommend

We had the ham and egg buckwheat crepe (delicious) and the nutella and strawberries (oh California strawberries, how I love you!) dessert crepe.  I'm pretty sure these were the best crepes I've ever had. (and you know I've had a lot of crepes)

We walked around the wharf a bit--it's filled with seafood restaurants, gift shops and candy stores.

There was a car show in town and we walked up and down the streets checking out all the amazing restored cars on show.

Found this adorable vintage shop

Back to the wharf for some lunch at the Old Fisherman's Grotto

Delicious clam chowder, coconut shrimp and crabcakes

On next to the aquarium--this day isn't half over yet!  To be continued...