Oct
2
Written by:
Claire May
10/2/2008 12:58 PM
Early one sat am 5 am to be more precise I was woken up and told to pack a bag .I knew it would be great weekend away with my friend Steven fellow lover of food and sommelier. Well we landed in San Fransisco with no reservations...and it ended up being just perfect.We found a great room at the Hotel Monaco just off union square. First stop was the market at the ferry building a wonderful display of local artisans and food producers.We grabbed some cheeses breads and of course some bubbles and had a picnic overlooking the bay(did i say we also lucked out on amazing weather)We stumbled across a small hole in the wall in north beach called Ideale for dinner that night.I experienced Farinata a chick pea pizza which I recreated and put on my list of appetizers with caramelized onions and Gorgonzola. Steven paired a super Tuscan with our veal chop that was superb.Lunch at Nanking in chinatown is worth the wait and don't be surprised if things arrive at your table that you did not order. For that perfect sidecar and perhaps a stop in the betsey johnson boutique cruise to the filmore and harrys bar. For my bday dinner we dined at Quince(oh yeah we met a server the night previous who got us a table) we sipped fino sherry with our corn bisque a first and certainly not a last for me followed by handmade pasta stuffed with osso buco.Fantastic service ambiance and food. The mission distrcit of SF is a must see we nibbled on buttery croissants at Tart Tatine (close your eyes for a second and you would of thought you were in France) .A bloody mary at Zeigest with its huge backyard is a great stop to see some of the city's more colorful characters. Our last day in the city and I took a chance and called Chez Panise and they had just had a cancellation.This was a restaurant i have always wanted to go to since I first had thoughts of becoming a chef and it did not disappoint.
There is something to be said about plans and well there is something to be said about not having them too.