Day 3 07/25/14
So on Thursday we had our whole day planned around San Francisco. Because we were leaving Friday, we wanted to experience as much of San Francisco as possible. If you think about it, Thursday is our only WHOLE day that we were actually able to hang out in San Fran because Wednesday was dedicated to the beautiful wedding/Napa and Tuesday was dedicated to ... driving but we got to go to Union Square. TODAY though we planned six things we wanted to do and then planned curiosity around them. So on my list of things to do was #1 see the Golden Gate Bridge (of course!) #2 Boudin/bakery museum #3 Bi-Rite Creamery. #4 Tartine Bakery #5 Pier 39 #6 Ghiradelli Square. Before this was made (on Thursday morning) I REALLY wanted to go to Foreign Cinema the Restaurant. Giada from the Food Network has been there... also Jenn Im (clothesencounters)
. I checked it out on Yelp and the inside looked amazing so does the FOOD So I really wanted to try it out for myself. Unfortunately I wanted to go for brunch BUT its only opens for brunch on the weekends! AHH.
I was so bummed. But I have to think positive ... there's always a next time! So instead we went to Tartine Bakery&Cafe instead. We started out morning getting ready and leaving on the BART station towards Mission. and then walked all the way towards the Tartine. While we were walking , we saw this beautiful building named the "Women's Building" I'm not sure what it kind of building it was but it was beautiful on the outside
... many other tourist in the same area would also agree. Anyways, we finally arrived to the Bakery/Cafe and it was crowded. It was this cute little cafe where you can eat indoors/outdoors or get things to-go. We decided not knowing how the seating situation would be like to eat there in their little cute cafe.
There were so many delicious look pastries
. Honestly if I could I would probably buy everything and try everything! I decided to to let my addiction to chocolate get the better of me because my boyfriend isn't the BIGGEST chocolate fan and get something we might BOTH enjoy.
LOOK AT THE PASTRIES IN DISPLAY ... YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T HELP BUT DROOL AM I RIGHT? LOL
We FINALLY made the decision of getting the bread pudding and the lemon cream tart. Because we were eating there instead of taking it to-go, they put our bread pudding in a cute little white tea cup and the tart on a white plate
. Everything there was self service, also we needed to bus our own tables and get our own waters in the back of the cashier.
The bread pudding was super yummy. It was a little rich because the
bread part you can taste alot of the custardy-egg but with the fruits it
was sweet
, and tarty, a perfect balance.
The lemon cream tart was tarty! which was great! Sometimes when i get a lemon tart, its usually ... too sweet and doesn't really taste lemony... So this was supper yummy, the whipped cream on top was milky and not very sweet which really complimented the lemon of the tart making it a perfect match.
We were so very glad we got two great things at this cafe!! After our pastry adventure, we continued to walk because Bi-Rite Creamery Ice Cream was on the same street. While we were walking we came across this Korean restaurant called "Namu Gaji"
American Korean food! In the inside ... I adored the inside! ist all wood-like with mason jars, jugs etc. I love that kind of stuff so it was a nice and had a great vibe to it
. We ordered the bulgogi tacos and the kimchi fried rice.
The atmosphere is so inviting and welcoming, the workers they were very sweet and helpful! We asked the chef if we could do a half order on the kimchi fried rice ... (because we were still full from our adventure at Tartine)
and he said yes he could which was really sweet of him! Anyways ... the tacos were ~$5.50 for ONE. The taco was wrapped in seaweed but it was so small ... ! The seaweed wrap was also super soggy and wet when we got it
. The bulgogi was super salty but was balance later by the rice and sauce. I was really disappointed ... because it was expensive and you only get ONE.
That's just my personal opinion though ... I should have checked out Yelp and the pictures before I ordered. So that would be my fault.
The kimchi fried rice was good but not the greatest I've ever had. It was actually spicier than the ones I've eaten before.My boyfriend couldn't handle the heat
so it was a bummer for him because he felt he was wasting food. The kimchi itself was alright nothing too special. But it was just super sweet for them to make a half order for us. It was the perfect size for both of us to share. I would probably give them 3 stars for my first experience...
sorry!
And then off to dessert!
Lol... it was like a eating fest for the both
of us lol. This korean place was right next door to the creamery ...the
place I wanted to go to!!!
So we went in line... yes they had a line!
But because they were so regulated and organized, it was very quick.
And that concluded our journey on Mission!! As i ate my delicious organic farm grown ingredients ice cream ... we walked back to the BART to go towards Powell to be on Union Square. Our next destination was to go to the Golden Gate Bridge
! To get there though ... we went on a bus ... it cost us $4.50 each to ride a nice bus with AC towards the Golden Gate. It probably took 30 minutes to get there. The bus driver was kind enough to let us know how long and allowed us to take a nap and will alert us when we got there. When we got there ... omgoodness ... it was breath taking! And super windy lol.
Alacatraz!
Walking on the GGB!
It was a great site. Now I can actually said .. YES I've been there before! lol We walked about halfway on the GGB and then went back to the souvenir store to buy ... well a souvenir!
My boyfriend was sweet enough to buy me a national pin as a souvenir. It was a picture of the GGB drawn by a local artist in SF so that was unique
! Then at the cashier ... they had a bowl FILLED WITH BUTTONS! I was so excited! they were little buttons that said things like "I walked/bike across the Golden Gate Bridge!" I wanted one so bad .. the one with "I walked" but my boyfriend wouldn't let me have it ... he said ... "technically you didn't walk across the GGB" lol poo
... I was so sad he said no, but I think it was because I already got a cool looking pin ... so buying a button would be a waste ... I was still sad ... for a moment ... then I got over it lol Maybe next time we go ... I'll just sneak by and buy it like a ninja
lol After the GGB adventure, we went back on the bus to the Pacific Wharf for dinner. We walked to a destination ... omgoodness ... it was a crazy walk! We had to walk all the way up so the road was going up hill! I guess you can say it was a great workout to digest all that fatty deliciousness lol
we got to Boudin (5 minute wait) and we got the Sourdough bowl of clam chowder, Crab cake sandwich with a side of salad, Trio ceviche sampler (halibut, calamari, and shrimp) and lastly the beignets with vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate!
The clam chowder was so GOOOOOOOOD
. the bread too! Creamy and it had a lot of clams in it! Just how I like it! And then the ceviche came it was a very good sampler. That's when i realized that I did NOT enjoy the calamari ceviche
lol it has a weird smooth texture that just didn't seem right to me lol. But I should have been prepared because I don't really like raw squid when we go eat sushi lol ... DUH Michele! I think my favorite would be the middle one which was the shrimp ceviche. It had slices of mango and avocado in it too making it very flavorful
. This dish also came with fried plantains, yukon, and sweet potato chips to eat the ceviche. the fried plantains were my favorite!The sweet potato one I thought were going to be my favorite but they were sorta bitter and burnt so they didn't taste as great.
The great finale to making this dinner fantastic was the beignets.It was very good! The ice cream in between the beignets did not make the pastry soggy at all. The only problem I had with it was because the pastry was still warm ... the ice cream inside of the one melted quickly making it ice cream soup in the inside.
.
Went through the Boudin museum to educate ourselves of the family name and how it came to be. There was an area where if you look down you could see the bakers made the fresh bread. And the machines they used to make the round shape bread buns.I found out that if the buns were not symmetrical, the baker would take it and put it back into the machine to remake them.
There was also a place where you can learn how to make bread critters for $20. Its for the kids mostly to get to make bread with the Boudin bakers. They had a choice of ... a bear or a turtle. Because we were there for dinner, that event was close. But it was cool to see the kids creations at the tables. I got a picture of a cute crab made by one of the bakers! Super cute right!?
Went on a walk to Pier 39 for a little while watching people paint very amazing pictures with spray paint. and then watched the water. We didn't stay too long because it was really cold
and I didn't bring a jacket
.
Off to Ghiradelli Square! It was pretty there! We got free chocolate
yum lol We didn't do very much here though because everything was closed except for like maybe the Ghiradelli store... which was EXTREMELY CROWDED. So that ended our trip the the Ghiradelli Square quickly. To get back to Union Square and catch the BART before it closed at 12:30am. We decided to take the trolley. The Trolley was so cute!
The only time I've seen a trolley would probably be on tv on Mister Rogers neighborhood!
The fare was $6 a person. It was a great experience ... crowded but super fun! the excitement came from our trolley man "Grip" and our fellow trolley mates going towards Union Square as well. They were so funny! They put a smile on everyone's faces and the driver made it seem as if we were going on a roller coaster. I guess also because we went downhill
!When we all left, everyone said bye to one another ... it was so nice! It was an experience I will never forget
! Finally got back downtown and to the BART! Thank goodness I wore tennis shoes throughout this Thursday adventure! lol my feet would have died halfway on our trip if I didn't!
We got on just in time! Walked back to our hotel from the BART, showered , brushed our teeth, and crashed into bed.
s h r i m pp a s t e
! I believe they fresh catch their crabs from a local farm and use that to make the cakes. The cakes were buttery, well seasoned with avocado<3 and made with A LOT A LOT A LOT of crab... outstanding!!
