Pizzeria Delfina

The other night, R and I had our final dinner together before she moves! She wanted to try out one of the better known pizza places before the big move, so we headed to Pizzeria Delfina. I'm the worst gluten-free person ever - always looking for an excuse or special occasion to splurge. Perfect choice to do so. Pizza, amazing. Crispy crust and fresh toppings. Went perfectly with the bottle of red wine the waitress picked for us. They only seat complete parties and don't take reservations - So be prepared for that! The table next to us ordered meatballs which looked big and juicy and like something I'd like to try. And its in the Mission. Can't get enough of that neighborhood! 

Burma Superstar

The Food Network featured a couple of recipes from Burma Superstar, once upon a time; therefore each night you'll find yourself on a wait list. They are so popular that they opened a sister restaurant just one block away called B Star, which is nearly as busy. F and I put our name in for a 30-45 minute wait and grabbed some hot tea and hot chocolate at a cozy cafe across the street.

One hour and 10 minutes later, the hostess finally sat us.  Immediately we ordered their Food Network featured tea leaf salad, which we'd actually enjoyed at their sister store a few weeks back, and some chicken samusas - filed with a curry ravioli, potatoes, and served with their special secret sauce, lightly fried. The salad lives up to expectation with its varied textures and fresh flavors. Although the samusas hit the spot, they aren't a must have and the best part about them definitely is the sauce.

We split a lamb curry, per the servers recommendation, and some string green beans, both solid choices. Perfect kick of spice (I'm a huge spicy food lover). Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Other cool tidbit about this place - it's reasonably priced and one of the first times we've spent less than $30/person in I don't know how long (given we didn't drink). One not so great tidbit - the bathroom is kind of gross. Hold it if you can!

In short: yummy, will return, won't wait more than 20 minutes in the future.

Waterbar, Chinatown Grocery Shopping

I visited Waterbar once during my first week after moving to San Francisco. Ever since, I've been meaning to return, but finally succeeded yesterday. They have happy hour oyster specials, only $1 before 5:30pm, along with a cute outdoor patio that overlooks the bay and the Bay Bridge. I arrived early and enjoyed a cocktail from their "America's Cup" inspired list called "White Squall" (Rum, pineapple and orange juices, pomegranate - aka delicious). I sat in the sun slurpping down oysters and reading my Kindle until my friend M arrived. We played catch up until F arrived and all had a late lunch. Perfect leisurely afternoon on a day off. 

As M departed to run some afternoon errands, F and I made our way to Chinatown to buy some ingredients to make dinner. Even though I had meandered through Chinatown numerous times, I'd never bought groceries there, and it's quite the experience. They don't have the clean cut organization you'd find in a conventional grocery store like Safeway or Trader Joe's. Cardboard boxes of produce line the aisles as people crowd all around. The fish - well see the pictures below. And I'm pretty sure it's always crowded in these stores. Anyways, F picked up what we needed, making an excellent dinner later that night.

Haight-Ashbury Shopping

Even after having lived in the city for more than a year, I had yet to experience shopping on Haight Street! Yes - it counts as a new experience, and if you have ever been near the Haight-Ashbury intersection, you know why! The stores are colorful and full of life. Definitely a lot of 70's thrift shops, tie dye T-shirts, tattoo parlors, and fetish costumes alongside really awesome food spots and boutique clothing stores. Actually did some fairly legitimate shopping and found a new favorite store: Ambiance San Francisco. Ladies, you could spend hours in this stores: colorful shirts, dresses, shoes, jewelry. R and I popped our heads into a few thrift shops to see the standard tutus and crazy dresses along side standard 70s style platform shoes. A must visit neighborhood, all around.

              

Memorial Day Weekend: Balut, Spoon Bar, Lombard Street

After working Sunday morning, I found myself with a bunch of co-workers in Crissy Field celebrating an upcoming wedding. Tons of food and punch and games and laughter. I brought Jagger with me, who absolutely loved the attention and scene, but did not leave my side. Where is the new experience in all of this? Check out these pictures...

The one I ate - which was the largest of all, by the way

What it looks like when "unrolled"

That would be a Balut. Aka - developing duck fetus that is made like a boiled egg. I ate it. Yuck yuck yuck. Some people took a video, excepting me to vomit, and frankly I'm surprised I didn't!  Boiled eggs in general aren't my thing, especially with that included in the mix.

Spoon Fountain

Moving along, I went up north for a couple nights of relaxation. Last night, F and I checked out Spoon Bar in Healdsburg. The spoon fountain outside creates a peaceful sound as the droplets hit each spoon as they make their way to the bottom. The restaurant itself has huge cielings and is kind of cold, but not bad overall steel, modern feel. And the food, great. A few pictures below of the fish, chickpea encrused avocado, and of course - dessert!

As we arrived back in San Francisco, I decided to act like a tourist and go down Lombard Street - you know, the super famous, winding, steep street.

Vespertine Circus, Nopasf

The strength and agility we witnessed two nights ago at the Vespertine Circus performance inspired me to get back on my training in attempts to obtain a fraction of their muscle control and athletic ability. A relative of a friend runs this circus show and performs as well. They ran "Important Business" at the Children's Creativity Museum for its final three days before they change it up. 

Based in the office at a toy creation company, the employees, full of unique personalities, interact with astounding acrobatic moves with each other and their individual acts. From Fabrics to Flying Trapeze to a hula hooping, each segment was as impressive as the next. So glad to do something a little different in the city! Like i said, very motivational - I wish I was that flexible!

Although we had grabbed a quick drink and appetizer at Tropisueño, after the show we craved a full meal. Everyone constantly reminds me of how amazing NopaSF tastes, so the opportunity finally arrived. People make reservations here up to 6 months in advanced, but they welcome walk ins, if you're willing to wait. Our predicted wait time? Two hours. Option number two: wait for someone to get up from the communal table or bar. Ten minutes later, I snagged a bar stool and F stood beside me.

The food definitely lived up to the hype. Everything tasted fresh. We ordered broccoli, cucumbers, and the pork chop to share. Not a single dish disappointed. We both love our veggies, and when prepared properly such as here, anyone would turn a veggie lover too. Finish off with a perfectly most cheesecake and good night :)

Bay to Breakers, Bean Bag Restaurant

Party on the rooftop, top of the world

Yesterday held the much anticipated Bay To Breakers race. Basically, the 12k stretches from Bay Street to Breaker Street holds thousands of people dressed up in costumes and bright colors. First start the runners, who actually participate with bib numbers and all, then come everyone else, who drink their way down the streets of San Francisco. The Panhandle and Golden Gate Park are where the real party begins, turning into a large gathering of drinkers instead of a forward motion.

A and I reunited after 9 months!

Definitely a sight to see! I missed the event last year, as I was out of town. Unfortunately, I worked a split shift yesterday, so I only participated for a couple hours in the middle. The three hours of celebration proved to be enough to get the idea. After meeting up with my ex-roommate, A, and catching up on months and months of not seeing each other, we walked down the Panhandle in our little group to get some food.

Best Costume Award: Game of Thrones!

Bean Bag Restaurant provided. Beers here are cheap compared to average prices in the city (even though I try to stay gluten free, I did have a beer - first one in over 6 months or so!). The fries were yummy and whatever they ordered seemed to satisfy my hungry companions after drinking all day. Fun ended abruptly as it was time for me to head back to work :(

Alamo Square/Painted Ladies

I didn't get the greatest pictures, as I tried to catch up with A and not take a ton with my phone. Sorry!

Body Temp

I checked out a new yoga place with a friend this afternoon. Body Temp offers a free first session, so there is no reason not to go check it out. I didn't have the greatest experience, solely because I ran 9 miles about an hour before the class. Not smart. They only do Bikram yoga; if you're unfamiliar, that means it's hella hot in the room! You'll sweat if you stay in child's pose. I'm normally a "push yourself" yoga-goer, but today I just gently allowed my body to rest as needed. My legs screamed at me from the mornings' run, and no proper meal had yet entered my stomach.

All of that aside, the studio is nice, clean, friendly staff. It's on the smaller side, when compared to Urban Flow (which I love), and their prices seem a little high for me, other than the 30 days for $30 deal, which is killer if you're going on a yoga kick. Today's instructor, as friendly and as excellent of a practicer as she may be, didn't particularly grab me and get me into the practice. I'm a sucker for the meditative voice and spiritual side of practicing, and her style teaches with more of a straight forward approach. Apparently, they also offer a night, candlelight, soothing class, which I want to check out.

If you love Bikram, I recommend it. If not (like me), maybe not your thing! If you're curious... heck it's a free first class. why not go?

Rhode Island & Boston Day 4

Yesterday consisted of walking down memory lane with F in Rhode Island. I won't go into to much detail, but enjoyed pastries in the morning at Seven Star Cafe (most adorable accented, sweetheart of a barista helped us) and ice cream at Gray's Ice Cream in the afternoon (huge size 'small'). 

In between we ate lunch at East Side Pockets, saw the River Park in downtown Providence with its WWII memorial,  and walked the grounds at Sakonnet Winery. Overall a wonderfully slower paced, laid back day.

Returning to Boston to change, we made our way back over the bridge to Cambridge for dinner at Oleana. Cute Mediterranean atmosphere and a waitress that show with confidence in each selected word. I thoroughly enjoyed the surroundings and champagne and most of the dishes we ordered. Each plate that tastes good, tastes delicious, a couple were lack-luster (ie I don't recommend the snow peas or pork roll). A surprise dish of savory custard and another of short rib were by far our favorites. A dessert of Baked Alaska ended the dinner on a sweet, mouth watering note.

Baked Alaska

Boston Day 3: Mike's Pastry, Old North Church, Charles River

Paul Revere and the Old North Church in the background

Today has been a fairly laid back day, just as vacation should be. Another slow morning before heading to the North End of Boston where Mike's Pastry awaited with endless sweets. The anticipation was killing me as I'd seen countless people yesterday with Mike's Pastry boxes. I've only ever seen cannolies on Cake Boss until today. F and I selected Florentine and Pistachio cannolies to start our day. Nothing like what I expected. I guess my mind was thinking cream puff; this was very different: harder, crunchier shell and thick rich creame. So delicious, but I don't think I'd be able to eat more than one, since they are so rich.

We wandered around the North End for the rest of the morning along the Freedom Trail, a line of bricks in the middle of the sidewalk lead us from one historic attraction to the next. We journeyed from Paul Revere monument to the Old North Church to the second oldest graveyard in the US, then down to the harbor before turning around and passing Paul Revere's house off of a picturesque square I forget the name of.

I just found out one of my ancestors is buried in this graveyard
- wish I could have looked for the headstone!

Crossing to Cambridge, driving through Harvard and MIT, we walked along Charles River and downtown on our way to lunch at Garden at The Cellar. A friendly acquaintance of F's is the chef there, so he was kind enough to send us out a dish before our meals of beet salad and pastrami sandwich. Full and satisfied again, we headed back towards the river and leisurely trekked half way across the bridge to admire Boston's beauty, especially on such a sunny and cloudless day.

Later, we had to make a somewhat touristy stop at Cheers before dinner. If I have to explain what Cheers is, I'll cry. 

Where Everybody Knows Your Name!

Finally, we had glasses of vino while waiting for a table at Toro. Well worth any wait. Tapas and paella made me feel like I was back in Spain. It's understandable why the place is constantly packed: amazing food and great atmosphere. The music is kind of out of place, blasting rap and pop when you'd think they'd play something more guitar based, but tall ceilings, dark wood, candlelight, and touches of Spain make up for the music. There is a bull head art piece on the wall and in the bathrooms they have posters "advertising" El Real Maestro de Sevilla en la Plaza de Toros, which I love as Sevilla is where I lived and saw an actual bull fight. 

Bone Marrow

They call this a "spite" house - to spite those who wanted to hang out in the alleyways

Boston Days 1 & 2: Quincy Market, NE Aquarium, Fenway Park

Two days ago, F and I landed at BOS after a long day of travel. We immediately went downtown Boston for him to show me around his city. Quincy Market arrived first on the list as we needed food, and fast. We made a beeline for Durgin Park, "Established Before You Were Born, " to eat some typical New England staples in a place that screams 'I'm in Boston:' checker table cloths, old outfits, and heavy Boston accents. Cornbread started us off before our bowl of clam chowder warmed us up. We split fish and chips and shepard's pie, finally filled up after not eating a proper meal all day.

I bought a Boston Strong T shirt while browsing Quincy Market and F pointed out different places significant to him as we walked along the harbor, past Post Office square to the car. F's family dog awaited him at home after a long separation, so day 1 ended pretty mellow as they reunited and we rested after too much time on a plane.

Day 2 started slowly, as our plans to start with an early morning run quickly vanished. We drove to Flour Bakery for some morning eats and coffee/hot chocolate. I guess the lady that started this place was originally some sort of super smart scientist but feel in love with baking and opened her this! I'm glad she did because her gluten free blackberry poppy seed bread hit the spot and F seemed happy with his breakfast sandwich and pop-tart esq pastry.

We crossed the bridge, stopping to peek into the Boston Tea Party Museum/gift shop, before walking to the New England Aquarium. The staff at the aquarium is by far the most involved and interactive I've ever experienced. They had numerous feedings and touch stations and a special demonstration with Axotals. Staff walks in the water with the fish, answering questions and pointing out fish and turtles and sting rays as they swim by. Unfortunately, the center exhibit has been closed for the past 10 months for renovation. We happened to be there as they were refilling it for the first time since 1984, a large project! We had a great time and when we left, the sun welcomed us for a day of exploring the city.

George Washington in Public Gardens

85 Year Old Turtle

We headed to Chinatown before walking through Public Gardens, then down Newbury Street. My mom would love this street: full of all the shopping you could possibly want and more, as well as a cafe for each boutique you pass. We stopped at Copley Square to see the memorials from the Boston Marathon bombings. People hung their running shoes along with flowers and signs to pay respects to the tragedy.

After returning home and back downtown, we had a quick, satisfying dinner at Eastern Standard. Burgers, steak, asparagus, and of course drinks/oysters to kick it all off. We somewhat rushed so we could make our way to Fenway Park! 

Red Sox vs Twins. The stadium is old and outstanding. Not a bad seat in the house. Boston accents calling out with clam chowder and popcorn. Old fashioned score board and the new screens mock the same colors and design as the Green Monstah (the wall that eats the ball when swinging for the stands). We got our tickets' worth as the game tied up and stretched 11 innings. F almost caught a foul ball. I've never had so much fun at a baseball game as I did last night. Unforgettable. Short T ride back to the car and goodnight.

F's turn to touch a shark!

Shark & Sting Ray Petting!