At least I have my sunny photos to share with you to remind me of the warmer parts of this country!
After two flights, I made it to San Francisco, where I went on a search for my missing suitcase, which delayed me by about 45 minutes. I finally arrived in the city (with my luggage), quickly checked into my hotel and ran to the Ferry Building. I was so hungry! And I had dinner plans in about 2 hours. I needed something to tide me over that didn't completely stuff me.
Chris Consentino's Boccalone was just the ticket. Mmmm....meat. I ordered the salumi cone, which was just enough food to keep me from eating everything in sight before dinner.
I had a product review write-up that needed to be submitted, so I headed back to the hotel to complete it. I decided to stay at a hotel for one night to relax and get some much needed alone time. Loved it.
I stayed at the Le Meridien Financial District and got upgraded (yay, SPG!) to a corner room that gave me some gorgeous views of the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower and the San Francisco Bay.
That night, I met up with two of my former co-workers who had both relocated to SF some years ago. We had dinner at Per Diem. The restaurant was a happening little spot for the after work crowd. Two of us shared the Burrata on a Grilled Crostone which had honey, sea salt and toasted almonds. It was ridiculous and I am going to totally make my own version of it! So good!
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| Per Diem's Burrata on grilled crostone Source: Yelp.com |
Unfortunately, my entree was not yummy. I had the porcini mushroom pappardelle. It was dry and didn't have much flavor.
After dinner, it visited my friends' workplace and then headed back to the hotel for a 3.1 mile run on the treadmill. Hooray for hotel gyms!
My plan to sleep in on Friday morning was dashed by some screaming homeless people, so I went out in search of dan taat (egg tart) in Chinatown.
My usual place was closed until the weekend, so I headed to Eastern Bakery instead. Such yummy goodness for a little more than $1!
The rest of the morning was uneventful because I had some errands to take care of. Hello, Union Square.
I did stop by Native Juice Co. for some healthy nourishment. I knew that the next few days would be filled with booze and heavy food so I thought some fresh juice would be a good thing to have this morning.
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| Kale in Comparison - kale, cucumber, apple, fennel, lemon, mint |
I made it back to my hotel to check out and then meet up with one of my UCLA roommates for lunch. I specifically requested Mexican food for lunch. The east coast is not known for having stellar Mexican food and I was dying for some of the good stuff!
We went to Pisto's in North Beach, where I had an order of Mexican corn as well as lengua and al pastor tacos. Everything was great, but I especially loved the fresh corn. I could eat that every day.
After lunch, it was time to put on my sneakers because I had some urban hiking on the agenda. I walked with my friend back to her work and then I continued on to the Filbert Street Steps.
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| The first section of the Filbert Street Steps |
This set of steps has three sections and eventually leads all the way up to Coit Tower, along the way is a garden, which is home to a flock of parrots, as well as residences. Coit Tower is one of my favorite places in San Francisco, so I had to include it in my visit.
Once I reached the top, I discovered Coit Tower is currently closed but will reopen in the spring. I wasn't too disappointed though because there were still great views at the bottom of the tower, including of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
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| Coit Tower, Garden along the Filbert Street Steps, the Bay Bridge |
At the bottom of Coit Tower, there was an old Asian man sun drying some meat on one of the fences! So awesome.
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| Going down the Filbert Street Steps |
After that quick but strenuous walk, it was time for me to grab some coffee. I just had a few more hills to tackle!
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| Going up! |
More hills = more great views!
Before too long, it was time to hit the road and make our way to the Napa Valley! More on that later!
Boccalone
1 Sausalito
San Francisco Ferry Building #21
San Francisco, CA 94111
Per Diem
43 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
Pisto's
1310 Grant Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
