Degustation Nation

What better way to spend Thanksgiving weekend than by noshing your way around San Francisco?  Well, there may be better ways to spend a weekend, someplace more exotic perhaps, but SF is always a blast and fit the bill - so off we went.  After checking in to the Fairmont Hotel (thanks Sandi & Charlie!) after a long journey from Sea-Tac, we wanted stick close to home, get a good night’s rest and an early start the next morning.  So, after a disappointing search for a decent espresso on Nob Hill we settled for a watery version from the corner market.  Then it was time for beverages of another sort.  The lobby bar at the Fairmont provided that most delicious SF treat - Anchor Steam on draft.  Then of course how could we resist the infamous Tonga Room happy hour (Vegas style rainshowers and all).  Greasy asian treats - how can you go wrong?  Luckily we’re not amateurs so we skipped the blue headache-in-a-glass drinks.  Our first real snack was Saturday morning at Caffe Trieste in North Beach.  Founded in 1956, this is the first original Italian style coffee house on the west coast.  An almond pastry, a couple of double espressi and some local characters - it doesn’t get any better than this.

A Real Italian Bakery

Then we were off to the Italian bakery for a dozen cookies to go (snacks for later).  We interrupted the propietor glazing a chocolate cake.  Moments later we spied a great looking joint across the street from the bakery, called Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store & Cafe.  We dashed across the street to find one of the coolest little corner hangouts ever.  Beer, wine, espresso, and a menu of simple Italian food.  Super cool.  We had 2 more espresso (hey, it was too cool to resist and we knew we’d need the energy for the adventures ahead).

Next, we walked down to the Embarcadero to the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market.  This place was buzzing - tons of locally grown, organic produce and farm products.  Wish we would have had a kitchen so we could have bought a feast to cook at home.  And, of course, more espresso.  We hit a little stand called Blue Bottle Coffee Company for 2 more doubles.  Hey, we had heard they took their beans seriously and we needed to report back to the experts at home!  The espresso was everything we had heard it was - excellent.  Our main reason for hitting the Farmer’s Market was many-fold:  first, to find the tamale stand that we’d heard about, second, to seek out fresh oysters, and of course discover something new.

Amazing Tamales

It didn’t take us long to find Primavera Tamales. They had the food stand with the largest crowd, a clear indicator.  We tried one of each of the tamales:  one pork, and one butternut squash with corn and cheese as well as a delicious agua fresca made with cucumber and pineapple - yum.  Both were excellent, but the butternut squash was the winner.

Little Cones of Cured Meats

Now for some more snacks!  Inside the Ferry Plaza there are many specialty food shops and restaraunts.  We were lucky enough to come across Boccalone Salumeria.  They had a big sign proclaiming “Tasty Salted Pig Parts”.  We were all over that place like white on rice, baby.  They sell these cool little “meat cones”.  It is a paper cone, like you use for a Sno-Cone, but full of shaved cured meats, like salami, mortadella, and prosciutto.  We grabbed a couple of meat cones, 2 interesting salamis to go, and off we went on our quest for oysters.

Sardine Salad

My girl is the research queen so of course she had done some recon and wanted to check out Hog Island Oyster Bar.  A bustling, small U-shaped bar located in the Ferry Plaza, Hog Island Oyster Bar did not dissapoint.  My lady T got a sampler of 12 of their finest bivalves, while I settled for a Sardine salad and an order of Oysters Casino (check out the menu).  Yes, I ate the whole little fishie, from head to tail.

One Fine Oyster Sampler

The most interesting thing about tasting these oysters was the chance to do a side by side comparison of east coast vs. west coast.  You can definitely tell the difference in the oyster liquor’s brininess - especially when the shuckers are real pros.  The oysters were fresh, clean tasting and most delicious.  They had great micro brews on tap as well as some pretty solid wines by the glass.  Plus, the service was excellent and quite entertaining (thank you Greg!).

A quick BART ride across town took us to the Mission District.  Emerging from the underground train station, you could hear the sound of people speaking Spanish on the street above.  That’s one of the things I love about San Francisco - you hear people speaking Italian in North Beach, Chinese in Chinatown, Spanish in the Mission District, and even more languages peppered in for good measure.  Truly an International city in every sense.  We wandered around checking out the shops and coffee houses as we planned on coming back here on Monday.  A quick bus ride took us to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.  Of course, it was time for another snack.

Scotch Quail Eggs

Again, research led us to Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery.  Sounded good.  Looked good.  It was good!  I had an order of Scotch Quail Eggs and Pork Cracklings, while my lady T settled for a plate of Fries.  The food was very tasty, and the beer was not bad at all.  More shopping, of course, and since it was now late afternoon, time to switch from espresso to beer!  For those of you who don’t know my lady T, she is a true beer afficionado.  She is an IPA-fanatic, meaning that she likes beer that is agressivley hopped and very bitter.  My good friend Angelo, also quite the beer expert, had insisted that we seek out a place called The Toronado Pub as they were known to have a hoppy beer or two on tap.  This place has nearly 50 taps, so there is something for everyone.  And T reports that although they did not have her favorite nectar (Green Flash) the bartender was knowledgeable enough to point her toward something almost as delicious and potent (Iron Springs Casey Jones Double IPA).  Plus, Metallica blasted constantly on the Juke Box - I was in heaven!  Thank you brother Angelo!

Another quick bus ride, and we were back in Little Italy:  North Beach.  Now were were doing more recon, seeking out a place for dinner.  Since my lady T is Sicilian-American, an authentic Sicilian restaurant was what she was pining for.  There are several Sicilian places in North Beach (rare elsewhere in our travels).

Cioppino, Calamari and Red Wine

We settled on Caffe Sport, a genuine Sicilian joint if there ever was one.  This place was old-school, the real-deal.  It has been open since 1969, and specializes in seafood and pasta.  T ordered the sauteed Calamari, and I settled on the Cioppino in Salsa Rossa.  Served with a basket of soft Italian bread and a bottle of Nero d’ Avola (not on the menu of course), it was the perfect meal.  Back to the hotel for the final nightcap - Glenmorangie for me, a Sierra Nevada for my girl.  Sunday morning and what to do…..  eat and get some flippin’ espresso!  Sunday was “get back to nature” day, so our plan was to jump on the bus to Golden Gate Park, then walk along the beach to Fisherman’s Wharf.  A tall order for 2 humans with tired feet.  But, we are not quitters, damnit, so off we went.  We decided to jump off the bus in the Pacific Heights neighborhood for breakfast.  This neighborhood was a bit scary:  tons of yuppie-mommas with Yoga mats under their arms, pushing strollers with their offspring on board, gathered on street corners gossiping like mother hens.  We were out of our element, for sure.  We are used to hanging out at our beloved Satellite Coffee Company in Tacoma on Sunday morning, where the mommas have tattoos and the babies are sporting mohawks….. but we had to have a snack.  So we endured the locals, and found a bite at a little place called The Grove.  Good espresso, smoothies, and bagels with the works (lox, cream cheese, red onion).  Great food, downer of a crowd.  Made us pine for T-town!  Back on the bus to The Presidio.  The bus dropped us off at the big parking lot at the end of the Golden Gate Bridge, replete with those cheesy coin-operated binoculars that let you see an enhanced version of Alcatraz Island (yeah, I dropped a quarter).  A short jaunt down the Eucalyptus tree-lined path and we were on the beach.  No, there is not much food or drink to speak of here, just a hot dog stand and some hot chocolate at the visitor’s center.  We walked along the beach which borders The Presidio all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf, about 3 miles.  It was time for lunch, of course!  As it was beer-thirty, we had to check out Jack’s Cannery Bar.  This place is beer heaven - 68 taps.  My lady T had a whole steamed Dungeness crab, and I settled for a steak sandwich.  Mighty fine pub-grub indeed.  Plus, Anchor Liberty on tap - a very rare find.

Mario's Bohemian Joint

Back on the bus and back to North Beach (can you tell we really, really like Little Italy?).  We had to hit our new favorite place, Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store & Cafe, for a quick beer.  Now it was dinner time.  Pizza?  Hell yeah!  Pizza in any big city is like no other - be it Chicago, New York, or San Fran, they all do the pies justice with their own signature twist.

North Beach Pizza

We made a bee-line to North Beach Pizza.  This place is famous for a reason:  it kicks complete and total pizza-ass.  We scored a prime seat by the window, and proceeded to order a half n’ half pie of Veggie and the Coit Tower Special (that would be the Yin and Yang of Pizza, half veggie, half carnivore’s delight).  It was fantastic.  Back to the hotel bar for a nightcap, and we were spent.

Monday morning - the dread of a travel day (never fun), shrouded in classic SF fog.  Need espresso… now….. please!  We had seen a pretty cool looking place on Saturday in The Mission district called Ritual Coffee Roasters.  The espresso was super-concentrated and intense.  A double was about a tablespoon.  It was super roasty, smooth, not bitter, and very good.  Yes, they roast the beans on-site, so there was the sterotypical uber-skinny, tattooed guy who looked like he just rolled out of bed roasting the beans.  Ahh, the coffee-culture cast of characters…. they all look so similar… it is quite puzzling to me.  Not that I expected a clean cut gent with a Polo shirt and Dockers manning the roaster, mind you.  But that is a whole-’nother subject…..

Hey, we were in the Mission District, so some killer Mexi-grub was on the schedule.  A quick search via my Smart Phone revealed the Mission’s most lauded Taquiera - Taqueria La Cumbre.  This is one of those places that has been around for many years, with a plethora of awards lining the walls (best tacos, best burritos, etc.).  T had a Cocktail de Cameron, and I had a Carnitas Taco.  It was very good, but not as good as our favorite T-town joint Vuelve a la Vida.  Nevertheless, this place is as solid as they come in SF if you are after authentic Mexican fare.  Our visit was winding down, and it was time to retrieve our bags from the hotel and head to the airport.  San Francisco has the best public transportation - if only Seattle/Tacoma had such a system!  We were able to purchase an all day pass for only $11 each that was good for the street cars, cable cars, or buses.  What a value.  Not to mention the almighty BART system.  One more mediocre airport meal (the only airport meal worth writing home about was at the Tokyo International Airport, but that is another subject), and we were headed back to the land of rain and gray skies…..