Back to San Francisco
Yes, I made it back to San Francisco not only for work, but also for a much needed visit with friends and family. A rundown of culinary adventures and other stuff follows...
Alexis turned Thursday night at Zeitgeist into part 2 of Al’s farewell. The evening was great – lots of kickballers showed up, most of whom didn’t know I was in town. Food highlight: the tamale lady was in. I ordered two, one pork and one beef, which she scooped out of her ice chest, squirted some red sauce on top and served on a paper towel. Wow. The masa was the perfect consistency – greasy enough to soak up the beer and firm enough to hold the roasted meat and sauce inside. And speaking of which, the cow and pig were both excellent, cooked, shredded and cooked in more sauce to perfect tenderness.
Emil, Carrie and I met Suzette and Drew at Fiesta del Mar in Mountain View for lunch (Shoreline location, in case any of you are interested). I became a little misty eyed when they brought a large side of guacamole – fresh, thick and creamy, tasting of ripe avocados, cilantro, onion and garlic. This, in combination with the three different types of salsa and copious amounts of chips, filled me up…and then my main course arrived, the camerones charlee, a sight that practically reduced me to tears. I made everyone let me take pictures of their assorted burrito and camarones plates, too. It was perfect, the huge shrimp cooked in the spicy green sauce and accompanied by rice (covered in cheese, of course) and refried beans. Sooo good…and I ponder, where are the decent taquerias in the Seattle area? Taco del mar, Guyamos and Baja Fresh just do not work for me.
We went wine tasting at Ridge http://www.ridgewine.com/ and Pichetti. Ridge is one of my favorite wines, although for some reason, those that we tasted didn’t do much to impress me, with the exception of the always excellent Lytton Springs Zin. That may have been the effect of the margaritas at lunch. Or not. The pourer was super friendly, knowledgeable and comped us the tastes, always nice (our situation was probably helped by the drunk and very obnoxious group that came in at the same time). Pichetti was fairly unimpressive, although it was oddly amusing to taste surrounded by squawking peacocks.
Suzette and Drew have a few favorite haunts in Sunnyvale. First stop was soju mixed with yogurt and various fruits. Potent. The restaurant also sported tables and chairs made of logs. We theorized that it may have been a pizza place in a previous life. We followed cocktails up with Korean bbq for dinner. Even though I lived in Sunnyvale for two and a half years, I never realized just how diverse the food selection is – everything is there, with an emphasis on Indian and Korean. Of course, I didn’t get out much while living in Sunnyvale either.
On Sunday, I met Mom and Dad at the Ferry Building. Mijita for brunch, another excellent taqueria. This time, I branched out and had not only a vegetarian taco, but a mijita, similar to a quesadilla, made with masa, filled with queso cheese and chiles, then fried and served with cooked salsa and guacamole. So great. I also picked up a loaf of Acme sourdough (Acme has a permanent shop at the market), plus an olive roll and sourdough cheese roll. While I’ve found great bread in Seattle (especially Macrina), the sourdough pales in comparison to that produced in San Francisco, a factor likely due to the climate.
After walking through SF Pride in the Civic Center (best not to describe what I saw, which in hindsight, not as scarring as what I saw at Pride 2005), I met up with Carrie in Hayes Valley. She wisely liquored me up before taking me to the airport with a Sangiovese tasting at Arlequin Wine Shop http://www.arlequinwine.com. Josh was fabulous, Carrie claims he was flirting with me although I guess I was too deep into my wine (and some of Carrie’s) to notice. We each walked away with a bottle of Unti, our favorite of the tastes. I’m considering joining their wine club; the quality of Arlequin’s selection and the fact that they go for small runs (that I’ll never likely find in Whole Foods or QFC) has always impressed me. While $70 monthly for six bottles may seem like a lot of money and wine, I probably purchase 4-5 bottles in Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s/QFC each month, spending at least, if not more than the monthly fee. And that’s in addition to my 2 bottles every four weeks membership with 1-800 Wine Shop.
I was soooo happy to make it back to my former home – my eyes were a bit misty as the taxi approached the city, revealing the amazing skyline view. The weather was perfect my entire trip, foggy in the mornings and evenings, breaking up for sunny afternoons. When my flight left early Sunday evening, fog blanketed the entire city. It was as if someone had spread thick whipped cream over San Francisco. It was a beautiful and amazing sight, and for the first time since moving to Seattle, I felt the first real pangs of homesickness. There are many parts of my Bay Area life that I don’t miss, but it hurts not to have those things that I really miss with me every day.