It's hard to believe that we were in San Fran 3 weeks ago! (I suppose this is a better-late-than-never post). After our interesting Virgin Airlines flight, we made it to SF around 9:45 AM (gotta love flying west!) Per the suggestion of the bride, we decided to check out the
Ferry Building Marketplace, which is a MUST SEE for any foodie (or wanna-be-foodie, which is probably - if we're honest with ourselves - the category we fall into :)), and it did not disappoint!
As far as the eye can see...food, food, and more food.
Some of the beautiful produce at
Farm Fresh to You. Definitely feeling like a true foodie here...only foodies take pictures of food, right?
God had fun when he created heirloom tomatoes. :)
Our first stop was at the Cowgirl Creamery, where we purchased a pretty incredible grilled cheese sandwich.
This was at the high-boy table where we stood and ate our sandwich. I'm convinced that the sandwich tasted even better because I was looking at a flower like this one.
And here it is. The grilled cheese sandwich in all it's glory! (well, not
all it's glory, as we were obviously starving and began inhaling the sandwich -which, as a side-note, I'm pretty sure is a wanna-be foodie move
...I don't think that a real foodie would inhale anything - so this is our sandwich in about 3/8ths of its glory). This sandwich was kind of to die for. The bread was golden and perfectly crunchy, and the cheese was melty and fantastically gooey, and just to send it over-the-top, there was some tomato and fresh basil mixed in there, too. To balance out our wanna-be status, we did pull a "real foodie" move. We paid about $9 for this sandwich. Normal people wouldn't dream of paying that for some bread and some cheese...but that's just what makes us foodies a different breed. (This was also easily justified, as we just finished watching
The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network, where one of the trucks sold grilled cheeses for like $15 a pop. This was a steal, people.)
Next stop...of course, the meat-in-a-cone shop! You
know that you need to try meat-in-a-cone when your friend who has been a vegetarian since she was in elementary school recommends it to you. Seriously. That's how we found out about it.
This time around we were able to show a small amount of self-control and were able to hold ourselves back for 2 seconds and snap a picture
before consuming our food. This is also, I believe, the mark of a foodie.
What's in the cone, you ask? Well, salumi of course!
Wanna-be foodie confession...had no idea what salumi was. Kind of thought it might be related to salami? Or maybe it
was salami with a different spelling? Confession #2, still have no idea what salumi is (other than TASTY!) as I write this blog entry. Come to find out, thanks to wiseGEEK.com (clear answers for common questions) [because how many people ask themselves daily, "I wonder what salumi is!?"] that salumi is a family of Italian cured meat products, and that it is commonly confused with salami. :) Glad to know I'm not alone in that association. All that aside, that stuff was good. Really good.
We washed down the tasty, salty pig parts with a little wine from a wine bar.
J totally pulled an authentic foodie move and picked a pinot to try out based on our experience in Santa Barbara last year and then asked for a recommendation for a nice chardonnay. Nicely done, J. Nicely done.
The next day began with a ride down the "F train" to Fisherman's Wharf. And what better way to start your day than with mini donuts!? This, too, I'm sure, is not a foodie move. A foodie would choose to have something refined like crepes for breakfast. It should be noted that we actually stepped foot into a crepe place and considered ordering, but in true wanna-be fashion, we were enticed out the door by the perfume of fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar.
We showed self-restraint and only got a sack of 12. We could have gotten a bucket of 24. And we did consider that...very briefly.
Here's Alcatraz from afar. J tried to buy a ticket to take a tour, but there were a few other people who had the same idea. The tours were sold out until Monday.
Posing with the bay in the background.
We rounded the corner and by the smell and the barks knew we had found Pier 39.
It really is funny to see all these sea lions just hanging out.
We felt badly for this guy. It was like he didn't get the memo. :(
All throughout the area there were planters filled with beautiful flowers.
More flowers...and an apparently angry crab.
Next stop - Boudin Bakery...the home of the sourdough bread bowl. Yes, please!
I do believe this is an anti-foodie move. This is probably the most stereotypical lunch choice we could have made while in San Fran - chowder in a bread bowl...but it was awesome. And I'd eat it again. So there.
With the little bit of time left, we visited some of the historic ships at the pier.
I know the historical significance of this Rosie the Riveter, but I would also like to think that Rosie had a 9 month old who didn't crawl that she carried around, and that's why she's flexing. She probably has some mean guns...I'm just sayin'.
At this point, I had to go back to the hotel to start getting ready for the wedding, so J went out on his own to explore. (J's commentary follows...)
I visited some more historic ships (and you can't see it in this picture, but this is actually a place that people swim laps...shockingly the people I witnessed were swimming without wetsuits...in VERY cold water...I decided they're crazy).
I made my way to Ghiradelli Square. I knew it was a famous tourist spot, so I had to check it out.
I have to say, there's not really anything happening there except chocolate. (
Seriously? What were you expecting?) I guess I expected more? I was already "fooded" out at this point of the trip (yet another mark of a "wanna be foodie?") and indulging in chocolate wasn't exactly at the top of my list. However, I would be remiss if I didn't sample a hot chocolate. And I'll be darned....probably the best hot chocolate I've ever had (pumpkin spice caramel hot chocolate). And what goes better with hot chocolate than a piece of chocolate (as seen on the plate)? It was neat to sit and enjoy my beverage while reading about the chocolate-making process and seeing the machines do their magic.
Overall, it was a great day...and we were definitely full at the end of it all, but that's what vacation is about, right? Calories don't count, and you can do things like eat stupidly-priced grilled cheese sandwiches and wash it down with hot chocolate with a side of chocolate. It's probably good that our vacations are limited...our clothes wouldn't fit.
You know that phrase, "If I had a penny for every time..." Well, in all honesty, if I had $5 for every time a person says to me, "Look at those blue eyes," when I'm out with Peanut, I really would be a rich woman.
Per a recent suggestion by a friend, I gave Parker shredded cheese yesterday (as opposed to cutting it up into tiny pieces), and that kid went to town. I think he really likes feeding himself, which is both great and not so great because it is sometimes really hard for me to feed him now. A lot of times in order to get him to eat what I have for him, I have to give him his own spoon to play with. This tends to occupy him enough to put him on auto-pilot, and he'll just open his mouth as he's in his own little world. :)
I love how this picture shows his lack of wrists. :) As I often tell people, he looks like a little marionette - his hands look like they're just stuck onto his arms. :)
More cheese...yum.
And this is what happened yesterday when the cheese was gone. I was the world's best mom, and instead of tending to my child, I grabbed the camera and took a picture. :) Bless his heart. What can I say? The kid really loves his cheese...
