San Francisco: What We Ate

I don't have a photo of every locale for this particular post, so bear with me while I highlight a few spots and just mention a few others. I really need a new phone with a battery that lasts more than a few hours. Anyone have a gadget they recommend?

In between the wine tastings and walking, we had to get a little sustenance to keep us moving. San Francisco has every kind of food and cuisine you could ever want - crepes, Ethiopian food, Chinese food, deli sandwiches, artisan chocolate and hipster-style coffee, just to name a few.

New Delhi Restaurant: The garlic naan was great, but the chicken tandoori and chicken masala were both super tiny portions and not that flavorful. It worked for us that night and was convenient to our hotel.

La Casa Sonoma: In the heart of wine country lies a Mexican restaurant, and it is amazing. Tim and I agreed this was the best meal with had. I got fish tacos, which were served two ways with black beans and rice. The sauces and garnishes were all very complementary and complex. Tim got a fajita burrito which was so tasty and seasoned perfectly.

Central Coffee and Spice: On our magical, multi-mile tour de San Francisco, I got thirsty. But water would not do. Yelp helped me find this super cute neighborhood coffee shop. Tim encouraged me to live a little and get a latte instead of my standard coffee or iced coffee. He even let me choose whether I wanted the heart or the leaf latte. What a guy. The drink was amazing, and the ambiance was great. I'm glad we went somewhere off the beaten path.

Butterfly: While we waited to take our Alcatraz tour, we got a few drinks at this bar. I tried the Racer 5 IPA and the Steam Anchor, which was a local lager with the coloring of an amber. It was delicious and make me long to live in San Francisco. This bar was also very classy and offered an array of original cocktails featured fresh and exotic garnishes. Can't beat the view of the bay, either.

Josey Baker Bread at The Mill: I had to go here. I searched Yelp for sourdough purveyors and reviewers said Josey Baker Bread was the best. We made our pilgrimage and were unprepared for the place - it was more chic, bustling coffeehouse and sleepy bakery counter. We had no idea what people were ordering, but realized we had our choice of four toasts. This seemed to be a thing in SFO. The dish du jour feature thick-cut slabs of fresh bread toasted an topped with a variety of fixings, which included butter, cinnamon, sea salt, sugar, almond butter and marscapone. We got a slice of whole wheat with butter and sea salt and a slice of cinnamon raisin with butter and sugar. Both were tasty and excellent examples of artisan bread, but I don't get the whole toast thing. I saw it offered all over the city, though, so it appears to be a popular snack/brunch option.

Blue Bottle Coffee at Mint Plaza: Monica from Run Eat Repeat blogged that this was the best iced coffee in the world, so I was obligated by my journalistic integrity to check it out. This place is legit, but you really had to earn it. It was down an alley behind a corner, but the line out the door helped me locate it. I've never seen coffee made using the Nel Drip method and it was like having dinner and a show. Except it was coffee. The inside was small in square footage, but the minimalist decor and high ceilings made it appear larger. Tim's latte was nothing to write home about, by my New Orleans-style iced coffee was a show stopper. The flavor was so intense I thought it might be alcoholic. I could plainly detect what would have been subtle undertones in the coffee had it been served hot. There were notes of cinnamon and vanilla, and each sip was a bit different as the milk settled over the ice. The coffee also seemed more dense, as if it was more viscous. It was $8 for two coffees, but we were on vacation, so carpe diem.

Not pictured:

• Capital Restaurant: We had our first meal here. It's a Chinese diner featuring an expansive menu. What this place is known for is salt and pepper wings and they were pretty good. Tim is an aficianado in this category and said they were perhaps the best wings he's had.
• Go Bistro: An airport meal. It sucked hardcore and was $33 for two lunches and an appetizer. The spring rolls were mushy, the sauce was bland, my grilled chicken curry featured canned vegetables and everything was greasy. Ick.
• Boudin Bakery: We went to the really nice museum/cafe/bakery in Fisherman Wharf and had a shrimp pesto pizza and a turkey and Havarti sandwich. This place is famous for its sourdough, which was just OK. This place is worth seeing, though, because you can watch the bread being made and see all the amazing treats they serve. The pesto shrimp pizza on sourdough crust was really awesome, though.

Catch up with what we saw and where we stayed in my first San Francisco recap.