San Francisco

So Alex and I just returned from San Francisco this weekend and the sad thing is (as exhausted as I was by the 6 hour flight), all I can think about is going back.  The food was AMAZING.  I don't know how you all feel about sourdough, but the sourdough at Boudin (pictured above and below) is justifiably famous.  It had a tang to it that you just don't get when you buy a loaf of sourdough at the grocery store or local bakery.  And not only was it delicious, it was also adorable.  The bakers at Boudin also make sourdough teddy bears, alligators, crabs, etc.  If you look at the next picture you can see the sourdough teddy bears and a crab, plus the head of an alligator on the top of the rack full of delicious bread.  Yum.



And then there is the produce.  We wandered around the farmer's market at the Ferry Building on Saturday morning and the produce there was unbelievable.  They had all sorts of stone fruits, pears, lettuces, radishes, mushrooms (my god those lobster mushrooms were unreal), etc.  I could have wandered around there forever.  And not only was the produce at the farmer's market good, they also had food stalls, including one that served the absolute BEST chilaquiles (pictured below) that I have ever had.  They were spicy, but not too spicy - actually, I would say the level of heat was perfect.  The homemade tortilla chips (they made their own tortillas by hand with an old-school tortilla press, griddled them, and then made them into chips), slathered in the spicy red sauce had just the right amount of sauce so moisten them without turning them mushy.  Then they were topped with onions, crema, and avocado, and served with a side of homemade refried beans and scrambled eggs.  My god I could eat those for breakfast every day.  Alex had a Japanese okonomiyaki pancake (pictured below) topped with sweet soy and a gently (and barely) poached egg, which was also good, but nothing could touch my chilaquiles.  Actually, our friend had a dungeness crabcake sandwich that I would say ran a close second to mine - the crab was sweet and the crabcake had a fabulous consistency, plus the bread they served it on was amazing.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of hers.  Oh well.  Also at the Ferry Building I had a chance to try the nduja salami from Boccalone Salumeria (whose sign reads "tasty salted pig parts") and a variety of olive oils from Stonehouse California Olive Oil.  For the record, their Lisbon Lemon evoo was so amazing that I couldn't resist buying a bottle and have already used it to make a wonderful salad dressing.

We also took a trip to Napa to visit several wineries, but more on that later!

More pictures after the jump!