The City that Never Stops Eating

If New York is the city that never sleeps, than I'm convinced that San Francisco is the city that never stops eating.  How can it with the veritable cornucopia of restaurants, stands, and markets representing every cuisine imaginable?

San Francisco is a favorite haunt of ours, and while the kids enjoyed some special time with their grandparents, Samuel and I had the opportunity to explore more of the tasty delicacies this city has to offer.

 

Every time we visit we try to avoid repeating what we've seen or eaten before.  This time, we were determined to ride the Cable Cars, and I was absolutely appalled to see people literally hanging off the side as we went up the crazy hill from the Financial District to Union Square.

 

 

At the Square we went in to all the crazy fancy stores we would never take the kids in.  We got a big kick out of Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton, and couldn't wait to get out of those places where everything is just too, too much!

 

We made dinner reservations at the Fog City Diner on the Embarcadero and loved the upscale classy interior that's totally contrary to the sleek dining car exterior.  All the silly plaques they have posted every where were hilarious!

The one on the coat rack said:

"Not Responsible for Stolen Items or The Style of Ugly Clothes"

The one mounted at our table said:

"Don't look at me."

It was super-chilly outside, so though the Dungeness Crab with Avocado Salad looked SO appealing, I went with the Classic Pot Roast, Root Vegetables, and Crisp Potato Cake, while Samuel went with the Pork Chop.  We were NOT disappointed!

 

After dinner we had planned on seeing a violin concert-FREE-but in the end all we wanted to do was grab some ice cream!  Our goal was to hit the Bi-Rite Creamery for Sam's Sundae which is chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream-sounds crazy-good right?  It was featured on the Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate, but blast the lack of parking and all the people who had the same idea as we did!  We tried for over 30 minutes (that's a long, long time for me!) to park within 2 miles of the place before we gave up and hit Mel's Diner for sundaes!

The Creamery will just go on the to-do list for next time when we take the whole family!

 

 

We struck a great deal on Priceline for the Hyatt Regency.  They went crazy with the Christmas decorations which made for a beautiful sight.

 

Yes, that's a pizza box, and yes we were still eating!  There's something about take-out in a hotel room-it's SO yummy!  And it usually is, except this happened to be the worst pizza on the planet!  Sometimes you take a risk and discover some incredible gems, and other times you take a hit!  Never go to Napoli's!

 

 

We had a incredible view and a super huge balcony.

 

 

The buildings here are absolutely amazing!

 

Our second day we scheduled a visit to the King Tut Museum at the De Young Museum.  After a day of tromping up and down hills my feet needed a break from my flats so Samuel ran back to the car for my...

 

Flip-flops!

 

Happiness is comfortable shoes!

 

My Pharoah!

Ha!

 

The exhibit was amazing and it truly is awe-inspiring to see all these ancient artifacts preserved from so, so long ago.  If you decide to visit too, be sure to buy your tickets at Costco.  Not only is it a better price than you'll find anywhere else, but it also comes with the pricier audio tour. 

 

 

We took the opportunity to explore the De Young Museum and it truly is a fantastic place.  Hands down, our favorites are the beautiful pieces of sculpture.

 

Lunch was spent at a San Francisco icon:  The Swan Oyster Depot!  This place is OLD school (literally it dates back to 1912!) and that's what makes it so charming.  The line is long outside the door, everyone coveting one of the nineteen stools that line a super-duper tiny counter.  The menu features nothing but the freshest of seafood, and the experience is truly like none other!

 

I munched on sourdough bread and watched the gal next to me go to town on three orders of oysters!

 

Our plan was to do the same (with only one order), but we totally chickened out.  When I asked her what they taste like she said their very briny, some are more salty than others, and that oysters are not something you savor and chew, you just kind of bite down once or twice to release the juices and then down the hatch it goes!

Noooo, thank you!

 

This place is a MUST-SEE!  The cash register is ancient (bring cash because there's no ATM or Visa here!), the staff fiddles with a relic of a radio for the local station playing Christmas music, and everyone feels like apart of history, apart of the family.

 

Because our tickets to the De Young Museum permitted us to visit the Legion of Honor free of charge, we could'nt pass that up.  By far this is our favorite art museum, even topping San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.  The grounds are breathtaking-how can you top the Golden Gate Bridge in the background?-and the museum itself is so stately and grand!

 

I need to do this more!  Take more time to really think and ponder.  Life is too easily beset with things that don't matter (like yes, food :),  I want to make every second count!

 

I love Claude Monet!  My grandmother gave me a book when I was just a young girl called, "Linnea in Monet's Garden" and it completely enchanted me!  I would love to visit France, munch on crusty baguettes, and tour the beautiful countryside where he painted!

 

It's hard to believe this is a picture and not a postcard!  Not to say that my photographic abilities are anything to write home about, but seriously, was there ever a picture taken of this bridge that didn't look fantastic?

 

Like I said, we try to visit new places but we can't leave without seeing the best place of all, The Ferry Building Marketplace.  This time we did try something new, The Salumi Cone, at Boccolone.  It's literally a paper cone (think ice cream), that's filled with delicate swirls of thinly sliced cuts of-what else?-salumi, or Italian cured meats!  It was too rich for me, but Samuel was in heaven!

I am so grateful for this time I was able to spend alone with my husband.  One of my favorite lines from

The Family: A Proclamation to the World, reads:

"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

I testify that that is true!