Snow is falling here just outside of Boston. Looking at the potential for lots of snow between here and home and so instead of leaving today as planned, I have postponed my departure. Driving home in blizzard conditions does not sound like fun. It is snowing with purpose now and so now that I’ve embraced my belated departure, I’m looking forward to the accumulation. Tea in hand, I’m all cozied up and ready for it. Not sure what the fridge has in store for us for food for the next 2 days or so, but I have my San Francisco food memories to keep me somewhat sated.
Busy with the conference, we were happy to punctuate our meetings in SF with forays into the foodie world. For breakfast, I particularly enjoyed the Creperie at Saint Germain on 222 Second Street – a cute blue and white moveable truck on an intersection close to both our hotel and the conference center. The people were cheerful and made an awesome crepe – I had three of them over the course of the week… cheese and egg; cheese, egg, and ham; and cheese, egg, and mushrooms. So tender and perfect for breakfast – lunch was often not even necessary. They are big and delicious and made for an excellent start to the day. Mel’s Diner was frequented by others in our group for breakfast and apparently has the best corned beef hash anywhere and I can vouch for the potatoes and eggs being great. Fresh juice complimented the meals there.
Every meal was an adventure… from Kate O’Brien’s pub that had great fish tacos (though I must admit, the chicken pot-pie had mixed reviews) to the high-end La Mar on Pier 1 ½ where they served the most excellent Peruvian civiche (or cebiche as they would say) and fabulous pomegranate lemon mint coctails…. Eating out in SF was a delight. Beer was $3-$5 and we all had lots of them at many different places. Even random holes in the walls were inviting and friendly. Fantastic samosas and curries were served at Mehfil Indian Cuisine on Folsom St, and Spanish tapas were abundant and tasty at the noisy Thirsty Bull. We splurged for homemade fried pork rinds there and they were mmm so good. Some of the beers here were a bit of a disappointment, but the Sangria was very satisfying.
We spent a day in Sonoma and didn’t have too much time to explore, but we did eat at The Girl and the Fig and had excellent cheese plates and pork shanks. We also ate at the Harvest Moon Café which had the best atmosphere and some really awesome fresh and local food. The menu changes daily based on what is available, the waitstaff is excellent, and I highly recommend it. We had a lunch there at the Sunflower Caffe where I had incredibly complicated and intense coffee to accompany my rich curried squash soup which was all served with fresh bread and butter. Food everywhere all week was outstanding.
Here with a kitchen not fully stocked, all this talk of food is making me hungry. I know there are Raman Noodles in there because it is my Brother’s Kitchen, but I’m not sure I’m up for it. We also have leftover Moroccan from our Christmas dinner last night… might be right up my alley. It is amazing what one can do with chickpeas.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and are hunkered down for the snowstorm or are enjoying the weather wherever you are. I’m looking forward to seeing 1-2 feet of snow even if I wasn’t quite prepared for it….
While I most enjoyed the SF restaurant reviews, I take real issue with paragraph five! In my defense: you were left with plenty of (California) beer in the man-fridge; high end bourbon; single malt scotch; all the Penzeys spices you might need; frozen pizza; ramen noodles; other grains, onions, garlic, and pulses; and, yes, tagine leftovahs.
ReplyDeletedoood.... my apologies. There was A LOT of food in that kitchen once I looked around :-) Stellar Choices. As an example, we left you with half a quiche in your freezer that we threw together with your awesome ingredients.
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