Beautiful San Francisco
Submitted by admin on Mon, 11/16/2009 - 04:57
The Ferry Building, which hosts a California-certified outdoor farmers market operated by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), is open Tuesdays and Saturdays. Inside The Ferry Building is a people’s marketplace serving residents and travelers alike, offering everything from artisan cheeses to the freshest of local fish.
Restaurants and cafés serve cuisine representing the quality and cultural diversity of San Francisco’s best chefs. Of particular note is Cow Girl Creamery’s Artisan Cheese Shop (www.cowgirlcreamery.com) where you can sample many of the premium farmstead cheeses. Another highlight was Culinaire, a shop that features “antiques for and about food” (www.culinairesf.com). Boulette’s Larder is a charming eatery with copper pots lining the walls and plenty of takeout options.
The Ferry Building is also home to the famed Slanted Door, Charles Phan’s famous Vietnamese restaurant. You can dine in the noisy restaurant overlooking the water or choose a tiny, diner-like version at Out the Door where customers can take some of their famous dishes home in raw ingredient form to prepare in their own kitchen. We enjoyed their famous “shaking beef” and a wonderful noodle and crab dish. Another treat was the grapefruit and jicama salad.
For mushroom lovers, Far West Fungi was a treasure trove. Crates of organic and exotic mushrooms lined the stall. Behind glass were precious black and white truffles from Italy (www.farwestfungi.com). And you couldn’t miss Sur La Table, with its comprehensive selection of kitchen products from around the world. On a busy Saturday there was a lengthy wait to get a seat at the Hog Island Oyster Co. for lunch. It was well worth the wait for the freshest oysters and soul-satisfying “oyster bake” that included plump poached oysters in a wonderful vegetable-laden cream broth. www.hogislandoysters.com
Our home for four days was the Hotel Palomar, which is part of a boutique chain of Kimpton Hotels. www.kimptonhotels.com. The small hotel had an exceptional concierge, provided excellent service and had a particularly good dining room. Best of all, the location was just a few blocks from Union Square and Chinatown.
A visit to the Fisherman’s Wharf district is another “must” especially if you travel there by the famed Powel Hyde cable car. (And yes, it will remind you of the “Rice-a-Roni” jingle.) The highlight was a meander through the Oakville Grocery, established in 1881 (www.oakvillegrocery.com). Boudin’s was another attraction where one could watch the famous San Francisco sourdough being prepared. In 1849, Isidore Boudin paired his French baking skills with a basic sourdough technique. On a slightly cool afternoon, a bowl of clam chowder in a sourdough “bowl” was scrumptious.
In addition to sampling hundreds of new foods at the food show, the crew from Jill’s managed to graze around San Francisco, hitting some culinary gems. Good Eats the tony Michael Mina restaurant housed in the Westin St. Francis is well worth checking out. Whether you were enjoying the “refined American cuisine” in the luxe dining room or up at the adjoining bar, this was a place to “be”. (www.michaelmina.net).
What would a visit to San Francisco be without a trip to Chez Pannise? This legendary restaurant is where Alice Waters began a food revolution. We dined at the upstairs Café where the meal was delicious and the service friendly. The groovy types were still there... they just have grey hair! (www.chezpanisse.com) A journey to Belden Alley is another great experience where there were more than eight establishments tucked into an alley all overflowing with outdoor patios. This hot spot is often dubbed the French Quarter of San Fran.