The last week of February, I spent three-ish days in San Francisco before heading a touch north to the San Rafael area. There are no shortages of outstanding places to eat in San Fran. Need more time, money and frankly stomachs to really do it any justice, but here's a look at where we ate. (If you follow my Stories on Instagram, you may have seen some of these posted there.)
Thank goodness we had a reservation forState Bird Provisions because when we got there at 5:30 pm when they opened, the line was halfway down the block. They have menu items that can be ordered, and they also come around with trays or carts like dim sum service. Here are a few of the highlights.
Hearts of palm spring roll with Buddha's hand and chile yuzu aioli. I never have liked hearts of palm much until now!
Farm green ohitashi (spinach soaked in soy + dashi) with cashew cream and meyer lemon ponzu.
Hog Island (north of San Francisco) oysters, housemade potato chips, and an amazing smoked trout dip on the second shelf.
The most tender beef tongue on poppyseed buckwheat pancakes. One of my favorites on the evening.
Lunch in Japantown at Nande-ya, one of the small spots in the Japan Center mall, which really did remind me of actually being in Japan.
Soba with tofu pockets (inari) and grilled eel (unagi); this was a great value! The lunch menu gave you about twelve different items, and you picked two for about $14.
Chapeau! Bistrohad outstanding service and food from start to finish.
Roasted kabocha squash soup with pumpkin seeds; velvety smooth and delicious.
My father's Salade Landaise, with duck three ways: confit, liver mousse, and cured duck breast.
Mussels in a white wine sauce, and there were pomme frites on the side.
My mother's bouillabaisse with a ton of seafood in it, scallops, mussels, shrimp, and fish.
French toast with salted caramel, hazelnuts, and vanilla ice cream.
Sunday morning at Yank Sing, one of the classic dim sum restaurants in the city. Afterwards, we walked over to peek at the Ferry Building, a food-lovers wonderland.
Spinach dumplings, snow pea leaf dumplings, and shrimp shumai.
Peking duck with amazingly crispy skin. And while you can't see it, these were very meaty pieces of duck with no extra grease.
Just open since last August is Nari, sister restaurant to Kin Khao. Modern Thai that is already getting rave reviews. My father had read about them in the New York Times and was able to get us a reservation. Loved every bite!
Miang, or little leaf-wrapped savory bites. This version was sorrel leaves with apple, trout roe, lemongrass, lime, coconut and fish caramel sauce. The perfect bite of all the flavors.
Yum som-o: hearts of palm (again!), pomelo, crispy dried shrimp, chili jam dressing.
And one of the best things I have ever eaten, massaman gae, lamb shank in curry sauce. The meat just fell off the bone and the sauce was filled with rich flavors. I need to figure out how to make this sauce.
Breakfast one morning at Jane on Fillmore. Would have liked to gone to the actual bakery, but next time!
The Nutty Bird Toast, a gluten free bread with nuts and seeds, served with almond butter and jam. Loved this bread.
A shout out to the Panama Hotel in San Rafael! This quirky, historic hotel has rooms of different sizes and themes. I was in the Captain's Room, complete with kitchenette, and it was perfect for one person.
Panama Hotel
The Captain's Room had a nautical theme, though you can't tell from the photo.
Their on-site restaurant was quite nice too, with a complimentary breakfast spread for guests, and a popular dinner spot, some nights with live music. This is wild mushroom + ricotta ravioli with a lemon beurre blanc sauce.
I also enjoyed the Marine Mammal Center in Marin, where they rescue and rehab seals and otters.
Elephant seal statue.
And just a few minutes away from the MMC was this beautiful overlook! Thanks for a delicious time, San Francisco! What are your favorite places to eat in San Francisco?
Well, January's not quite over but I am slightly behind the times! Here's my Top Nine photos from Instagramin 2019! Are you following me on IG?! I post more over there than I do on the blog.
Going clockwise from the top:
My one non-food picture, my main man #CharlieWhiskers
Chicken tinga tacos at ATX Cocina
New product from Upriver Cacao, cold brewed cacao, being demoed at Central Market Westgate
Hong Kong Noodles with char siu pork at Me Cong Bistro
Carbonara at the Artipasta trailer
Chicken liver mousse from Winebelly
Setting up for a Kamayan dinner at Be More Pacific
H-Mart's food court, including the Korean fried chicken and onion rings at Donkey Mo's and udon + tonkotsu from Roba Katsu
My homemade miso soup
Happy eating, y'all and here's to another year of delicious eats (and fuzzy cats!).
Greetings 2019 -- we welcome you with open arms! Here are my top photos from Instagram of 2018, food, a little politics, but no cats! Must work on that! ;)
Food from June's All Day, Peached Tortilla, and Din Ho. Cake by my friend @soojee and wooden board from my other friend @cooperandclaire with food styling by me. See my Instagram for all the details! :)
Happy New Years y'all! Time to go make some black eyed peas.
I just spent a long weekend in Kittery, Maine with family and friends. I haven't been up there in over thirty years, and it will NOT take me that long to return! The whole Portsmouth, New Hampshire/Kittery + York, Maine area is charming AND filled with great food! The three towns are about a total of 15 minutes apart along the Atlantic coast.
This is the back side of my friend's house originally built in the 1700s, which overlooks a cove on the Piscataqua River.
Photo taken by my father! Thanks, Dad!
And my view of the "backyard". That's the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the distance, where they repair submarines.
Friday night dinner was at Warren's Lobster House, which sits right on the Piscataqua River, which is the New Hampshire/Maine dividing line. Most of our group had lobster, but I was still feeling full from meals with college friends in Cambridge (sticky bun from Flour and lunch at Shanghai Fresh), I opted for the salad bar and a crab cake, which was almost entirely crab. Check Warren's website for coupons! I also couldn't resist a picture of the fabulous latch hook wall hanging depicting Warren's!
Saturday morning, someone was up early to make a run to local bakery Lil's Cafe in Kittery for crullers. The day was off to a good start! They were warm and yeasty and eggy and soft and crunchy all at the same time!
My friends have been spending summers in this area for generations, and they've been going to Flo's Hot Dogs up the road in Cape Neddick on Route 1 (just north of York) since the 1960s. It's basically a shack, and Flo's grand daughter is now running the place, and she's kinda the hot dog nazi! There are specific rules on how to order (which are posted!) so you best pay attention (and step #2 comes several minutes after #1... glad I was with locals!). The House Special are steamed hot dogs, on a steamed bun, served with their relish, mayo, and a dash of celery salt. And honestly, the combo was fantastic.
On the way back, we stopped in York at The Goldenrod, which I remember from when I was a kid. They're famous for their salt water taffy, aka Goldenrod Kisses, and they still have the machines in the windows pulling the taffy and cutting/wrapping them into pieces, just as I remembered. Given that they've been around since 1896, I guess they're entitled to closing for the season at Columbus Day. Check their website for hours, and don't forget the penuche fudge!
So as not to be entirely gluttonous, we then went for a walk through the woods where some leaves were turning into fall colors, and the trail ended at an overlook of some salt marshes.
And then a drive over to one of Maine's few sandy beaches, where I dipped my fingers in the Atlantic. Definitely chilly!
Some of us then went into Portsmouth and to the Great Rhythm Brewing Company for a flight of IPAs, and they picked up some special release cans.
For dinner on Saturday night. all eight of us went to Anneke Jans in Kittery, which got a very positive comment from an Austin restaurant on my Instagram photo! The entire meal was wonderful. I would have never thought to put blue cheese with mussels, but it worked really nicely, along with a very smokey thick cut bacon. Yum.
A photo posted by South Austin Foodie (@southaustinfoodie) on
Dang the comments don't pop up here, but the Bonneville from here in Austin called Anneke Jans one of New England's best spots!
We took it a little easier on Sunday -- gotta save up some energy for lobster! Some of us make a trip to the farmer's market, where I saw my first ever lion's mane mushroom live and in person!
We went to Sue's Seafood in Kittery, and ordered lobster (LOBSTAH) rolls to go. These things were stuffed with big pieces of lobster, and were served on a nice soft toasted buttery bun. And the best part -- you wanna know how much these cost? $11.99/each. OMG.
While we were at Sue's we went ahead and placed our order for dinner. Steamed lobsters, the "chicken" size, so under two pounds for $5.99 each. EACH. And they came neatly packed in this plastic container, all ready to eat. We added corn, cole slaw, and melted butter, duh, and had a feast!
Sadly we were fewer in number on Monday, but four of us went back to Portsmouth and to Geno's for a last meal together. I took advantage of the lobster, and had this fine chowder. And that's the meat, not the shell!
And we couldn't resist a stop at Kate's Bakery, where the bars were literally five inches square and a mere $3 each. Raspberry bar and peanut butter chocolate one.
And after that, I headed back to Cambridge to stay one night with another college friend, and I headed back to Austin the next day. It was fabulous to get away for a few days, and even better to catch up with old friends (who love to eat too!) and to see my parents! Where's your next adventure taking you?
