Here we are again, one member of the busboy team goes away, and another one of us goes to the same place a few weeks later. And we both write about our different food experiences. Here we go, San Francisco take two!
We arrived in San Fran early Thursday afternoon, and let's start with how unbelievable that airport is. The Harvey Milk Terminal is so far ahead of the game. It's clean, not too crowded, and the TSA lines move so quickly. Plus, there is good food, including a robotic coffee barista and a whole brewery. But okay, enough about that wonderful place. Let's move on to the real business.
Staying at our friend's place in the Mission was great. We were right in the middle of the action. We dropped our stuff off and went to grab a bite to eat. Our first choice was Souvla, a little Greek eatery that was so simple and delicious. I got the Lamb Gyro āGreek styleā, so they put fries on the sandwich, and a spicy Harissa spread that was so tasty. We decided on a great bottle of skin contact wine to pair with our meal.
After that, we popped right next door to Fort Point Brewing for some beers and oysters. They had such a wide selection of house beers as well as ciders, not very often do you see breweries also making ciders. They had a one-off beer, a Korean-style lager, that was really good and the Villager San Fran style IPA was great as well. It was happy hour so we got an order of oysters. They were a little meaty but definitely some of the best Iāve had in quite some time. They had Hog Island Oyster hot sauce on the side which was crazy good.Ā
So the reason we were in town was for a friend's wedding and it just so happens that they were doing a big tour of the town and their last stop was at a āLa Taqueriaā on the mission. Every night this place has a line wrapped around the block. We got there and ordered the chicken and pork tacos and shared some chips and guac.
Ā The Next morning we woke up and went right to Tartine and damn was it good. This SF bakery really lead the charge in the style of sourdough bakeries you see popping up all over today, they care about where their ingredients come from and how they are sourced. They have gone so far as to start their own flour mill and sell in bulk all over the West Coast.Ā So we were three so we really got to taste a bit of everything. The ham cheese and jalapeno croissant was wild, savory and spicy. The lemon bar was so custardy and tart you needed a fork to eat it. The spicy turkey sandwich was so crispy and tasty. We took a loaf of bread home for a dinner party later in the week. It was so soft and custardy.Ā
We spent the rest of the day touring San Francisco. We wandered through Chinatown and stopped for a drink at Vesuvio Cafe. The balcony was open and the area was really pretty. We continued walking through Little Italy and up to Coit Tower to get a bird's eye view of the city. By now, it was Happy Hour, so it was time for a drink. We took a detour through the windiest street in San Francisco to watch cars struggle through the turns, and kept walking all the way to Balboa Cafe for a quick Espresso Martini and Fried Calamari. I got a Pliney the Elder IPA, but I heard the martinis are the best. After all the walking, we took a little break to nap and relax, and then got ready for dinner!
The cocktails at Trick Dog were so sick. The menu was designed like a comic book, so beautiful, and they sold them to help good causes. The cocktail I got was non alcoholic but it was so good and herbaceous and bitter, Great Vibes! We got a little pre-dinner snack because when you see chicken nuggets on an adult menu you order them. We went for a Nepalese dinner at The Dancing Yak where we had an amazing experience. To start off, we ordered Momos and spicy fried chicken. For the main course, we had butter chicken and cashew curry, accompanied by naan and turmeric rice. The Cashew Curry turned out to be the highlight of our meal and we would have missed it if our server hadn't recommended it!
On our last day, we had my favorite meal of the trip. After the wedding, we were craving a big breakfast, so our friend took us to a fantastic Mexican restaurant. The restaurant was small and cozy, and we were led through the kitchen to the back patio where a woman was making fresh tortillas. The two youngest members of the family greeted us and struggled adorably to give us silverware. We started with chips and guacamole and moved on to our burritos, which were absolutely delicious. They were spicy, cheesy, and filled with potatoes, and came with a fresh and tangy salsa. I can't recommend this place enough - it's called Chueys Fiesta and is located in the Mission district. If you're ever in San Francisco, do yourself a favor and give it a try!
Well that was fun, and thank you to our wonderful friend and host Kellie who in her own words āWants my friends to stay with me so the money you were going to spend on hotels we can go eat all the food.āĀ
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