Monday, April 23, 2012

I'm Back!

Hello there! How are you? I missed you! I had to take an unplanned vacation from my beloved little bloggy world for a while, but life has re-arranged itself quite nicely and I'm confident I will be seeing you all much more from now on  :)  Now that things have settled down and I'm back in full cooking-baking action, I'd like to share my latest foodie adventures with you.

Although they are really not that adventuresome. Maybe adventures is too strong a word. Let's call them... goings on.
Moving on.... I went to San Francisco. And it was GORGEOUS! The sun came out to say hello. It was a glorious little break from Vancouver rain. 






We dined on many a patio. I wore tank tops. And sunglasses. It was lovely.




Brunch at MarketBar at the Ferry Building. I think this was a glorious shrimp and avocado omelette. And pancakes and bacon for the boy as per usual.



The Entertainment.



The Ferry Building.






Me looking like a kid in a candy store at Miette.






Caffeinated at Blue Bottle Coffee Co. Loved the New Orleans style iced coffee!







Back off Mr. Seagull. Get your own cake.




Touristy stuff at The Pier.




Of course, it fogged over right when we reached the viewpoint for Alcatraz and the bridge, so these are the best photos we've got. Bummer.



I was shocked by the line-ups for the Street Car. I think we waited over an hour. Pure insanity. Also, no one told me it doesn't rain here. It mists. I was damp all over but never felt a single rain drop fall. Totally bizarre.



We had a wonderfully romantic little dinner a Cafe Zuni: Oysters on the half shell. A mountain of crispy little fries. A lovely bottle of wine. The most scrumptious, flavorful, amazing chicken you will ever taste. And a tart little lemon meringue dessert to end it all perfectly. 







The infamous CafĂ© Zuni chicken was no doubt the culinary highpoint of this trip. It took some sweet talking to swing this reservation, but boy am I glad I did. The chicken takes an hour from when you order it, as they make each one to order. And then you are served this mountain of the most flavourful, tender chicken and crispiest skin, on a bed of bread salad with sweet little currents and tender greens. We were seriously moaning with each bite. Boy, our neighboring tables must have felt awkward.
You can find a copy cat recipe for this chicken Here or Here. I am SO going to have to give this a shot at home.

Here it is in all its glory:



And here we are. Sorry for the fuzzy photo, it was taken by our very kind waiter.




Afterwards, we saw some cool local artist perform at some cool local venue. I felt cool.

I'm really not.

Brunch at Bar Tartine was a must. Behold: Henry's french toast with caramelized apples and whipped mascarpone-something-or-other, and my less photogenic eggs Benedict. Absolutely loved the caraway hollandaise, lighter than normal, and the sprouted bread it was served on. Yum!




We hit up the bakery aswell, but it was too packed for photos. Either that or I was too distracted by pastries. So instead I'll show you a picture of my blood orange mimosa... boy do I love my bubbly!



Bi-Rite Ice Cream!


A delectable Trio: Salted Caramel, Vanilla with Peanut Brittle and Fudge Swirl, Brown Sugar with Caramel Ginger Swirl.  I could do with more of this right about now.


Oh, and I met Joy the Baker! I ventured accross the city on my own one night to make it to her book signing. I was a huge dork, but she is an absolute sweetheart!


 Union Square Sunshine...




It was such a fun trip, now I'm itching to get out of town again!

I'll see you all very soon. Until then I've got one word for you: Chocolate.

XO,

M