Monday, April 14, 2008

San Francisco through the iPhone

Dayne and I had a great time this past weekend in San Francisco! The weather was amazing and we got to see our friends and help them celebrate their birthdays. We did however forget our camera so all photos were taken using our iPhones. Not the best but surprisingly ok quality.

We flew down on Thursday night a
nd miracles of miracles our flight arrived o
n time at 8:30pm- this is the first time in the last 3 trips that we haven't been really late. We like to stay in the Union Square area and like the Kimpton chain so we picked one of their hotels that we hadn't stayed at in the past. After checking into the Serrano Hotel we headed out for a snack and a few cocktails at Absinthe. We've been before but it was a weekend night and quite packed. This was nicer- quieter and we could chat with the bartenders a bit.

Besides a few cocktails we tried the St George absinthe. It is really anise scented and has a strange aftertaste to it. It also had a bit of a nasty smell after it sat in the glass. We just shared one but didn't finish it. We'll stick to Lucid for now!

The next morning we grabbed a cab and headed to Tartine Bakery. Since we are normally in the city on the weekend only we've never come here as they say the line can be an hour long on Sat and Sun mornings! But it was Friday morning so we only waited about 10 mins. It is very cute and the pastries all looked beautiful!



After speaking to a local in line we decided on the bread pudding, pan au chocolate and the ham and cheese quiche. The bread pudding was a bit too creamy for us, good but we like a texture that has some crispy bits! The pan au chocolate was great but didn't match the one's we get at home at Cafe Besalu. The quiche was also quite tasty but again didn't have that same ethereal quality of the ones at our favorite cafe. But it is well worth the stop especially if you aren't as lucky to live in Ballard or close to it! :)

As usual we had a fantastic time shopping in Union Square. Did I mention the weather?? It was about 77F on Friday and just gorgeous!! We took a break for lunch at Cafe Claude which was suggested to me and it was perfect! We had a table outside and the food was exactly what we were wanting for lunch. Look at this gorgeous steak tartare!


As I mentioned we were also visiting some friends who's birthdays were Friday and Saturday. Friday we met one of the birthday boys and his gorgeous wife for dinner at Quince. None of us had been there but we all loved it. Good places stand out by paying attention to little details such as personalizing the menu for our friend. All of our food was excellent! I am especially in love with the ravioli stuffed with ricotta and served with a raw egg yolk on top and a brown butter sauce. mmmmm......will be copying this at home! Also my squab was served claws on the legs and tiny head roasted and perched on the plate staring at me. Love it!


After dinner we had reservations for a few cocktails at Bourbon & Branch which was a nice way to end the evening.

As we like to do in places that we repeatedly visit we picked something new to explore- this time it was taking the ferry to Sausalito. Saturday's weather at around 80F was perfect for the trip! We didn't even need a windbreaker on the ferry and there were lots of boats in the bay. It was also the first time since a trip about 5 years ago that we could see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sausalito was very cute and a nice way to spend an afternoon. We just walked around and checked out some galleries and shops- enjoying the views and the sun. We even got a bit sunburned and we were only out and about for a few hours! Sad!

The rest of our weekend was spent at our friend's house in Redwood City where the birthday party for two involved sipping a lovely glass of Grand Dame, blind tasting 6 Pinot Noirs and 6 Cab's, snacking on wonderful food and catching up. Thanks guys for hosting and putting us up!

Click here for the rest of iPhone San Francisco

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