Winter Break (iii): San Francisco Eats

Some of my friends consider me a foodie because I like to find new/hip places to eat. This isn't exactly true, since I don't actually know anything about food or its preparation. I just know when something tastes good and is cheap. With some food blogs a part of my daily internet reading, naturally I've cultivated an affinity for non-chain restaurants. That said, most of my trips are planned around seeing and eating things. I already covered the seeing of San Francisco. Here's the eating:



1. The first place I ate was at Katana-Ya, a ramen place near Union Square. Unfortunately the lighting inside was really dim and purple-y so nothing came out that well. I ordered the chasu ramen, which seemed to be the thing. It was good, certainly better than anything in DC or Boston, but paled in comparison to any of the excellent bowls you can find in NY.

2. Lunch the next day was at Farmer Brown's Little Skillet. I'll go ahead and say that this was my favorite meal of the trip. Nothing super complex or fancy, just sublimely satisfying soul food. As you can see, it's just a window shop without any seating. I took my chicken and waffles and walked the couple blocks to the benches by the bay behind Giant's stadium. Sitting by the water with the sun in my face, warm breeze on my skin, and a giant piece of fried chicken in one hand and a waffle in the other just made me smile.

3. I had dinner that night at Una Pizza Napoletana. Having been to Anthony Mangieri's NY shop before he fled to the west, I knew what to expect in terms of the food (which was excellent neapolitan pies), but I really liked the space there. While his NY operation was tiny and cramped, the SF space was very open. Vaulted ceilings and a large cordoned off area for the brick oven and preparation table. It was clearly designed with the intention of exhibiting the art of Mangieri's pie making.

4. Dinnered the following night at The Monk's Kettle in the Mission. The wait for this place was excessive, but the abundance of bars in the immediate vicinity make it easier. Admittedly, the food here wasn't spectacular. Passable, but the main draw was their drink list which totaled to approximately a bazillion different kinds of beer.

5. On my last day there I met a friend from high school for dim sum at CityView Restaurant. Probably the best dim sum I've ever had. Which isn't saying too much, since I haven't had dim sum an extraordinary amount of times. The soup dumplings, however, were comparable to what I've had at Joe's Shanghai/Shanghai Cafe in NY. Needless to say, I ate a lot of them. The catch though, which I should have picked up on judging by the cleanliness of the place, was that it was not as shockingly cheap as I usually am surprised to find dim sum to be upon receiving the check. Still, it was good and I don't regret it.

A good variety. San Francisco is not a bad food town.

Winter Break (ii): San Francisco Sights

I was in San Francisco from last Thursday until this morning. A short trip to bookend my winter break. I went from a foot of snow in Boston to 65 and sunny. They say 70% of America is covered in snow right now and it looked like it on the flight over.



Beyond the western mountain ranges, California enjoys an almost otherworldly mildness. It was a nice break from winter to walk around in a t-shirt for a few days. I stayed with my friend/pseudo-cousin, Sally, and spent most of my time walking around and eating. While she was at work I wandered through the many neighborhoods peppered throughout the undulating hills around the city. San Francisco is full of vaguely distinct hipster streets and everywhere the subtle hint of marijuana lingers in the air.



In New York I sometimes dread having to cross several long blocks between avenues, but in San Francisco I came to dread turning a corner to find myself facing a 45 degree incline. The toll the hills took on my body notwithstanding, the constantly changing elevation promises an interesting backdrop virtually anywhere you look. Certain higher spots provide some spectacular views. I climbed the highest point at Telegraph Hill, but unfortunately Coit Tower was closed for renovations while I was there. It was nice, nonetheless.



Yes, that's the Full House house at the Alamo Park. That row of houses is called "The Painted Ladies." Then, of course, there are the bridges, both Bay and Golden Gate. Sally and I biked across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito on Saturday. The weather was beautiful. I'm told I lucked out there as it's been rainy recently.



It was a really pleasant ride. I rarely have the opportunity to ride a bike. There's nothing quite so nostalgia inducing like riding a bike on a warm, sunny day. The trail ended in Sausalito, where we took the ferry back. Sausalito reminds me of pictures I've seen of the Greek islands. Colorful houses piled on top of one another on dramatic hills by the water. On the ferry ride back, we were treated to a stunning sunset over the Golden Gate bridge. I stood there clicking my shutter for a good 20 minutes.



San Francisco is a beautiful city. Not only that, it has some pretty good food. I will share some of what I stuffed my face with in the next post. All in all, a nice way to close out winter break.