Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 35 Location: Oakland, CA, USA
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 6:14 pm Post subject:
Donna wrote:
Ripley - I am a big Blue Bottle fan! We buy it every week at the Temecal farmer's market! And today, I went to the roastery, because I ran out and couldn't wait until Sunday!
Do you go to the Temescal market?
I usually go to the Lakeshore farmers' market, farther into Oakland.. which does not have good coffee, but is such a nice family + social scene, with music and kids and young people and usually a bouncy castle (not that I bounce but it's very festive), as well as plenty of organic goodies, baked goods and food stalls to eat breakfast from right there at the tables by the fountain.. I keep meaning to go to the Temescal one and now I know there is Blue Bottle Coffee there I just might!
Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 827 Location: Oakland, CA
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:40 pm Post subject:
Oh yes, citizen Cake is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner! this is a reato run by a pastry chef and it's worth it just to get a look at the pastries! Well, - and taste them also! AMAZING!
Wow--nice menus--interesting, reasonably priced (from what I understand San Francisco prices to be) and stylishly humourous! _________________ Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!
Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 194 Location: San Diego, CA
Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:54 am Post subject:
Sory I haven't visited the forums for a while. Work was crazy after the holidays and I've been sick for the past three weeks. It started with tonsillitis and then a cold on top of that. The cold started to die down and then the tonsillitis came back. All this being ill and hurting when I swallow has greatly diminished my ability to enjoy food. I plan on making up for it as soon as I'm better with some thousand layer lasagna recipe.
San Francisco was wonderful, by the way. Even in late December there were a lot of tourists, so we were in good company. Our first day began with a 2 hour wait to get into the Swan Oyster Depot on Polk Street. It was cold and drizzly and everyone in line was just anticipating what we were going to order. It's a tiny tiny place with one long bar and some stools. You go about ordering just like you would at a bar. You start with a bowl of chowder, then maybe some oysters or clams on the half shell and move on to whatever strikes your fancy. People spend about an hour there, maximizing the time and effort they spent to get a coveted seat at the bar. When it comes time to pay the bill, on the honor system, you have to recite to your server everything you ordered and pay up in cash. The couple from Japan sitting next to us had to recite their damage right in front of us: 1 dozen oysters on the half shell, 1 dozen clams on the half shell, 2 bowls of chowder, one seafood salad, 2 beers, 2 glasses of Chardonnay. I think I remeber their order so vividly because I was amazed at how tiny these people were. I wonder if they had fasted days before coming in.
I aready had it made up in my mind that I wanted chowder and a seafood salad. All the seafood is served cold and the guys prepare it right in front of you. One guy cracked open and scraped out the wonderful delicate roe of a sea urchin and used the shell for presentation. The sea urchin was the size of a small grapefruit!
The next day we took the bus to the Ferry Building and ate at Lulu Petite. We shared soup and sandwiches made on the most wonderful bread you can imagine. After browsing the farmer's market, we met up for our one day SF tour. We took a brief trip to Sausalito where I did some damage (bought a small painting) and was mesermized by the rotating hamburger grill at one tiny hamburger place. We hit Golden Gate Park, Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was pretty cold that day but the tour gave us a great overview of the city.
Since our hotel was in Nob Hill, we had easy access to Chinatown. We did a couple of trips to Chinatown and North Beach. We have plenty of Chinese food back home, so I was more interested in the Italian food. We didn't eat any place too too memorable, but the food was good and served in generous portions by stunningly attractive Italian waiters.
Our last day was spent window shopping in Union Square and in Chinatown. Just looked in here and there; after having bought a painting from an artist in Sausalito, no Kate Spade bag or Jimmy Choo shoes were going to impress me!
San Francisco is the kind of place that leaves you with a list of things you want to go back and see the next time you're there. There's no end to the restaurants and beautiful architecture and you could literally get lost at the farmer's market. It's definitely a keeper for a weekend getaway. _________________ "Help! Help! I'm being repressed!" --- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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