Eating Our Way Through the Bay…

[SuzySushi]

We are recently back from a 10-day trip to California, and I thought I'd write up our culinary excursions. No food photos, but plenty of details from notes and memory.

The background: We live in the 'burbs in Oahu, Hawaii and this was our first trip off-island in 5 years. "We" (at least the "we" on this trip, a grown stepson remained on Oahu) are my foodie husband Michael, me, and our sometimes foodie/sometimes picky 9 year old daughter Wendy.

The primary purpose of our trip was to visit family and friends in the Bay area. Our secondary purpose was to eat and go food-shopping, focusing on foods and cuisines that we can't easily get in Hawaii.

While in the Bay area, we stayed at my stepson's house in San Francisco: he recently moved to the Potrero Hill neighborhood. We also visited the Napa and Sonoma valleys, with a two-night stay in Calistoga. We missed most of the California heat wave, thank goodness!

Day 1 (Friday, July 7th):

Arrived in San Francisco about 6:15 a.m., courtesy of the red-eye. No food on the flight except for a few snacks we brought with us. Grabbed some coffee and breakfast of sorts at the airport (my husband, a couple of biscotti; daughter, a banana; me, a not-very-good piece of poundcake). It took nearly 2 hours to pick up our rental car and get to Marc's house--a 15 minute drive from the airport.

After being shown the layout of the house--a very nice renovated condo with a huge open kitchen and stunning views of the Bay Bridge--we fell into bed for a few hours' nap.

First stop, very much planned, was Ferry Building Marketplace, which had opened since we were last in the city. There was a long a wait at our first choice of restaurants, the Hog Island Oyster Company, so we decided to dine next door at Ferry Plaza Seafood. Michael and I lunched on an assortment of raw oysters, a bowl of their fabulous New England clam chowder, and a humongous steamed artichoke with a seductive mustard & white wine-enhanced aioli; Wendy chose the smoked salmon plate (featuring two types of smoked salmon) accompanied by Acme bread and an enormous portion of vinaigrette-dressed baby field greens (which she didn't touch but we enjoyed). We were quite pleased with the food, but the service was… exceptional… not in a good way. Our waiter, at least the person we thought was our waiter, disappeared from the restaurant halfway through the service (off-duty? fired? quit?) and we had to flag down an assortment of other staff members to receive our order and subsequently our check.

Of course, the main draw at the Ferry Building Marketplace is the markets, and they did not disappoint. We began with a "destination," Cowgirl Creamery, where my husband was quickly identified as a serious buyer and we got to taste a dozen or more different cheeses before purchasing three: a mild, fresh domestic goat cheese whose name I've forgotten (from a farm I'd never heard of before); a strong "smelly" French or Italian cheese whose name I never got (Michael was seeking a ripe French Müenster, which they didn't have in stock), and Peña Azul, a Cabrales-like Spanish blue aged in maple leaves.

Our second destination was Acme Bread Company, where we watched the breadmaking process--a baker was removing loaves of proofed breads from floured baskets to leave the distinctive impressions on the surface--and purchased two loaves of their dense New York Rye, the best rye bread this native New Yorker has ever eaten.

We then stopped for dessert. Michael and I chose a lime meringue tart and some rose macarons from Miette, a French patisserie, while Wendy, after tasting several other flavors, opted for a scoop of the green tea gelato from Ciao Bella Gelato.

We wended our way through the marketplace to Sur La Table, where I was so overwhelmed by the selection of kitchenware that I purchased… nothing!

We were also drawn in by the beautiful display of organic produce at Farm Fresh to You and purchased a basket of luscious fresh Mission figs as a housegift for Marc. He had also requested that we pick up some oyster mushrooms for dinner, so we stopped at an impressive mushroom boutique, Far West Fungi.

Then we headed back to Marc's house for dinner with Marc and his girlfriend. On the way back, we stopped at the local Safeway (Potrero Hill), which is considerably larger than our local Safeway, to buy milk (organic), Cheerios, and bananas (organic) for Wendy's breakfast, as well as the serendipitous find of two flavors of Pims cookies.

Did I mention that Marc is a vegetarian of long standing, and buys "green" and organic products whenever possible, right down to the hand soap and dishwashing detergent in the house? We were careful to check with him before heading out for the day to make sure we could bring cheese made with rennet into his home.

Marc is also a darn good cook. Dinner consisted of:

Three appetizer dips—tofu "egg salad" (storebought), avocado-and-chickpea hummus, and a ful bean dip.

A vegetable salad of immaculately fresh cucumbers, jicama, and heirloom tomatoes.

Two types of baked tofu (prepared in a winey herb marinade, and barbecue-flavored).

Indonesian-style tempeh sautéed in EVOO.

Quorn "chicken" nuggets.

Sautéed oyster mushrooms.

The bread and cheese we'd bought.

The fresh figs for dessert.

Several cups of excellent espresso brewed by Marc's girlfriend.

Pims scarfed in our room as a late-night snack.

And so to bed.

[Edited because I forgot the Quorn.]

Edited July 26, 2006 by SuzySushi (log)

[SuzySushi]

Day 2 (Saturday, July 8th)

Still exhausted from jet-lag and our red-eye flight, we slept in Saturday morning. When we got up, Marc made us an extensive brunch:

Scrambled eggs (yes, he eats eggs--though, by command of his 9 year old daughter [my 9 year old daughter's niece!], only from chickens that have not had their beaks clipped) with caramelized onions.

An assortment of vegetarian sausages and vegetarian bacon.

Sliced fresh heirloom tomatoes.

Various dips left over from the night before.

The rye bread.

Cheese -- ours, and several additional varieties he had in the fridge.

Two types of organic iced teas -- my favorite was Clipper White Tea with Peppermint.

Lots of conversation, then over with Marc to Rainbow Grocery, an natural and organic foods co-op, for some serious shopping. Marc needed to stock up on the week's supplies, and prepare for his son's 6th birthday party the following day. We were happy to come along for the ride as we're inverterate grocery shoppers.

When Marc had first told us about Rainbow Grocery several years ago, saying he preferred it to Whole Foods Market, we resisted going there, thinking it would be like the dinky food co-ops we have in Hawaii. We couldn't have been more wrong. Rainbow easily rivals a conventional market in size, with virtually every department except for meat, poultry, and fish.

Michael went wild buying teas, then hit the cheese department (some of their cheeses are made with animal rennet), where he found his French Müenster, a Bleu d'Auvergne, and half a dozen other cheeses we bought. Wendy found flavored lip gloss. Me, a set of grapefruit spoons. All the while, Marc was doing his normal shopping.

Then it was time to drive us and the groceries home, and for Marc to pick up his kids for the rest of the weekend.

For dinner, we'd requested "something we can't get in Hawaii," so we went with Marc and the three kids (his and ours) to Old Krakow Polish Restaurant & Art Cafe in West Portal. Fantastic cream of mushroom soup--even Wendy, not normally a cream soup fan--loved it. Beet salad. Cucumber salad in dill. Pierogi filled with cabbage & mushrooms. Potato-filled pierogi. Wendy ordered the palasniki (crepes) stuffed with cheese. (We had to return the order apologetically because it came topped with whipped cream and liberally sprinkled with confectioners' sugar like a dessert, although it's listed under entrees, and Wendy has diabetes--the kitchen quickly prepared another order minus the toppings.) Michael, with Marc's blessing, ordered the homemade kielbasa. We were so stuffed that we couldn't possibly finish everything, and ended up taking some of the pierogi and the crepes home.

Fresh fruit at home for dessert. Pims in our room.

[Edited for typo -- it doesn't do to misspell my husband's name in print!]

Edited July 27, 2006 by SuzySushi (log)

[SuzySushi]

Did I mention that I was intimidated by Marc's professional-type gas range (sorry--I didn't make note of the brand)? Moreover, I couldn't figure out how to use the espresso machine.

Thus, the entire time we were at his house, I drank no coffee other than the espresso his girlfriend made the first night, and any tea we drank was either iced tea from one of several pitchers Marc kept in the refrigerator, or from water heated in mugs in the microwave.

[SuzySushi]

Day 3 (Sunday, July 9th)

PARTY TIME!

Marc's son had turned 6 a few days earlier. I presume he celebrated that day with his mother. Marc threw another party--family only--on Sunday.

It was also the day of the World Cup soccer match, so the TV was on and the party had a soccer theme.

Lots of food, lots of attendees, lots of fun, lots of presents.

An adult- and kid-friendly spread was set out on the kitchen counter--vegetarian hot dogs and sausages with all the trimmings, various salads including a mozzarella, basil, and tomato salad caprese. Three kinds of olives including--darn!--very lightly cured large green olives I meant to pick up more of to bring home to Hawaii, but forgot. I contributed Hawaiian-style tofu poke made with a poke seasoning kit (dehydrated red seaweed and red Hawaiian salt) I'd brought from home.

The requisite ice cream and cake for dessert. Not from the health-foods store. Baskin-Robbins.

[ludja]

Enjoying your report, suzisushi. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I've been wanting to try Old Krakow; it sounds like I should check it out after it cools down a bit!

[syrah girl]

Nice report! We toured the Ferry Market Building for the first time in May. Loved it! We also enjoyed a nice lunch at the Ritz and had dinner at Boulevard, both were excellent.

Gotta spend more time in the Bay Area!

[SuzySushi]

Enjoying your report, suzisushi.  Thank you for sharing it with us.

I've been wanting to try Old Krakow; it sounds like I should check it out after it cools down a bit!

←

You're welcome! Yes, you should check it out. The atmosphere was quite pleasant, and the food and service were good.

[SuzySushi]

Nice report!  We toured the Ferry Market Building for the first time in May.  Loved it!  We also enjoyed a nice lunch at the Ritz and had dinner at Boulevard, both were excellent.

Gotta spend more time in the Bay Area! 

←

Thanks, Syrah!

[annachan]

Enjoying your report, suzisushi.  Thank you for sharing it with us.

I've been wanting to try Old Krakow; it sounds like I should check it out after it cools down a bit!

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You're welcome! Yes, you should check it out. The atmosphere was quite pleasant, and the food and service were good.

←

I haven't been to that place for years! (And I live within walking distance....) I used to be very fond of Old Krakow but it went down hill after an owner change (years ago) and the food wasn't as good. But I've been hearing good things lately, so maybe is time for another try.

Thanks for the great report!

[SuzySushi]

Day 4 (Monday, July 10th)

On the road again...

Got a late morning start on our trip to the Wine Country. It was grey and chilly in the Bay area--we Hawaiians needed to wear our jackets! I had hoped to get some pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge going across, but it was so fogged in that we could see only 5 feet above the road!

Before leaving the city, we stopped at the Walgreen's on Lombard Street for some sundries and local chocolate. Picked up a couple of Joseph Schmidt chocolate bars that I never again saw elsewhere. My fave was chocolate with an unusual lemon filling. (Who bought the company, again?)

At the beginning, Michael was doing the driving and I was the navigator. We planned to switch places after we got into tasting. He's much more into wine than I am; I told him to call me over for a sip only when he found anything really worthwhile. We didn't have any particular plan of attack for the wineries--just choose places that looked interesting from the road or sounded so from their descriptions, and ones we hadn't been to before (which weeded out most of the major commercial wineries).

We first stopped to see the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, a Frank Lloyd Wright building.

Our first winery stop was Roche Winery in the Carneros valley. Michael liked their wine enough to buy a bottle of their Pinot Noir which we'll serve at a party next month, and two bottles of Muscat which we gave away as gifts in California later that week.

By this time it was getting on toward lunch--in fact, it was already much later than normal lunch hour--and Wendy and I were hungry. Since it seemed eminently clear that at the pace we were traveling, we wouldn't make it to either Napa or Sonoma in the next half hour, I persuaded Michael to stop at Viansa, a winery we'd been to before, but which I knew also sold food, for lunch. We picked out a few items from their take-out counter--a chicken calzone and an individual mushroom and goat cheese pizza come to mind--and dined al fresco on their patio.

Wendy and Michael Lunching at Viansa Winery. (Don't you love his chic sunhat?)

One more winery for the day (by now, I was the "designated driver"): B.R. Cohn Winery in the Sonoma Valley, then on to our lodging in Calistoga.

Our home-away-from-home for the next two nights was a charming, country-style cottage at Washington Street Lodging. The hosts had thought of everything for their guests' comfort--from stocking the refrigerator with fresh roasted coffee to providing each cottage with a binder filled with menus from local restaurants.

After perusing the menus, we decided to dine in town in the elegant turn-of-the-century atmosphere of Brannan's Grill, where Michael and I shared a to-swoon-for preparation of Rabbit in Bolognese Sauce, served over feather-light sage-scented gnocchi. Wendy thoroughly enjoyed a pyramid of Hoisin Glazed Baby Back Ribs (offered as an appetizer, but just the right size for a child's entree). Michael ordered a glass of wine, while my dinner was capped off by my first taste of Lavender-flavored Dry Soda, a brand available only on the West Coast.

Edited July 27, 2006 by SuzySushi (log)

[SuzySushi]

Day 5 (Tuesday, July 11th)

Talk about deja vu--our cottage had a wooden deck overlooking the sleepy Napa River (hardly more than a stream, really) and, in the distant background, a children's playground, like at a school. I could swear I had been on that deck, gazing out at exactly that view, before, though nothing else about the room was familiar. Hmmmm....

The deck was the perfect spot to have breakfast, fresh-brewed coffee for Michael and me, milk for Wendy (picked up at the local gourmet supermarket), and another supermarket find, tender fresh scones chockablock with fresh cherries, baked by a company called Sconehenge in Berkeley. (We liked the scones so much that when we were in the market later in the day, we picked up enough to last for breakfast for the rest of our trip.)

Then it was off to more wineries. We decided to concentrate on the Calistoga area, as we'd never been to any of the dozen or so wineries there previously.

We began at Summers Winery, where we bought a bottle of Chardonnay and another of their outstanding Villa Adriana Muscat Canelli, while Wendy learned to play bocce ball at their outdoor court.

Then on to Calistoga Cellars where we tasted their award-winning Zinfandel and bought a very pleasant Sauvignon Blanc for a friend.

Since we were heading up that road, our next stop was not another winery, but instead Old Faithful Geyser, where we enjoyed the natural wonder's performance and took plenty of postcard pictures. The tourist attraction has some 1920s funhouse mirrors, too, as well of a pen of "fainting goats" that were too satiated to respond to the lure of 25-cents worth of goat kibble.

Next stop was Chateau Montelena, with its vine-bedecked stone castle overlooking a lake. This time we ended up with a bottle of Riesling.

Our last winery for the day was the barn-like but friendly Vincent Arroyo Winery where Michael, now decidedly on a roll, bought a limited edition blend while Wendy communed with the winery's dog.

We headed back to Calistoga for a late lunch at the brick-walled Hydro Bar & Grill where Michael had a Chile Relleno. I chose the Gazpacho and shared Wendy's large Hanger Steak French Dip Sandwich, accompanied by enough French fries to feed a small army. Wendy was fascinated by a poster on the restaurant wall near the restrooms, a lurid Hindu tract exhorting followers to avoid the demon Alcohol.

Back to our cottage for some well-deserved R&R. The owners' young granddaughter was visiting, so Wendy played outside with her for a while, and the owner even took the two girls on a ride around the neighborhood on her golf cart.

After Wendy expressed some dismay at the thought of yet another restaurant meal ("Can't we just have some ordinary food?") the three of us trooped over to the supermarket where we picked up some fruit and cheese for our dinner, as well as a package of frozen macaroni & cheese which we microwaved for her. I must admit, after all the sightseeing and food-tasting we'd been doing, it was nice to kick back in front of the TV for an evening.

[SuzySushi]

Day 6 (Wednesday, July 12th)

Our last day in Wine Country, we checked out of our lodging reasonably early and headed straight to Clos Pegase. I had read that the estate winery, designed by architect Michael Graves in neo-Minoan style with a stunning scupture garden, was really something to behold, and indeed it's well worth a visit for the artwork alone. (Too bad the wine didn't measure up, in our humble opinion.)

Sculpture in Garden at Clos Pegase

Heading back down the road through the Napa Valley, we were entranced by the rose gardens at the Silver Rose Winery, whose grounds also include an inn, spa, and conference center.

Our last winery stop was ZD Wines on the Silverado Trail.

As we hadn't wanted to be time-constrained by making a restaurant reservation for lunch, we took our chance heading into Yountville. But were rewarded by being able to get into Chef Thomas Keller's Bouchon without having a reservation. Ohhhhhh.... memories of Paris! Even Wendy was impressed, and on her best "restaurant-manners" young lady behavior, practicing her French with the waitstaff, who responded equally politely. I was entranced by the atmospheric interior, with its mosaic tiled floor, zinc bar, and waiters in traditional floor-length aprons. And ohhhhhh.... the quintessential roast chicken. The Moules au Safran. The Soupe à l'Oignon. Rather than order dessert off the restaurant menu, we opted to go next door to Bouchon's bakery, where we bought a miniature apple tart that was quickly consumed in our car.

With perfect timing, we made it back to San Francisco just a few minutes after Marc arrived home with his kids (midweek custody). To avoid having to drive far afield in two cars, we suggested dining out in his Potrero Hill neighborhood, and he chose one of his and the kids' favorites, a California-style Chinese restaurant with the improbable name of Eliza's, which makes me think more of My Fair Lady than Hunan and Mandarin cuisine. Marc did the ordering, all vegetarian dishes, some off-menu.

And so to bed... after a well-traveled day, and tonight, after writing up more than half our adventures. To be continued...

[alanamoana]

Hi Suzy,

I think, though I could be mistaken, Joseph Schmidt (along with Scharffenberger) was purchased by Hershey.

Nice descriptions of everything! Sounds like you had a great trip and got to see a lot. Lucky you made it out before the temp went up. My friend lives in St. Helena and it was 116 or something scary like that, the other day.

edited to add: Article on Joseph Schmidt Buyout, if you're interested.

Edited July 27, 2006 by alanamoana (log)

[SuzySushi]

Hi Suzy,

I think, though I could be mistaken, Joseph Schmidt (along with Scharffenberger) was purchased by Hershey.

Nice descriptions of everything!  Sounds like you had a great trip and got to see a lot.  Lucky you made it out before the temp went up.  My friend lives in St. Helena and it was 116 or something scary like that, the other day.

edited to add:  Article on Joseph Schmidt Buyout, if you're interested.

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116--yeesh!!! Our last day in Calistoga, it was already something like 98 degrees--about 10 degrees hotter than San Francisco--and people there were remarking about the heat. I hadn't realized that part of California gets so hot as our previous trips had always been in the spring or autumn.

Thanks for the Joseph Schmidt link. (Guess I could've looked that up!) I hope Hershey increases their distribution. Some good chocolate out there.

[alanamoana]

i should probably post this in the hawaii thread, but there hasn't been much action there lately.

aside from honolulu chocolate company, are there any good, high-quality chocolatiers in hawaii that you know of?

considering moving back there one day (my parents live in aiea)...this could be a good business idea?

i haven't even had any chocolate from hcc lately, so i don't know what their quality is compared to some mainland chocolatiers. but with no competition, how would anyone know?!

i love hawaii, but sometimes...

[SuzySushi]

Picking up where I left off...

Day 7 (Thursday, July 13th)

An old friend of mine who now lives in Ben Lomond (down by the redwoods, toward Santa Cruz) made the 2-hour drive to come in and meet us in San Francisco. We were hoping to go to lunch in Marc's neighborhood at a Moroccan-Spanish restaurant called Baraka, which came recommended in restaurant reviews and by people on eGullet. Alas, we arrived there to find it closed for lunch (open for groups by appointment only). So we ended up across the street at a French Provencal corner bistro run by the same owners, Chez Papa. (The same owners also own another place in the neighborhood, Chez Maman. I just read that the executive chef for all three restaurants recently left--I didn't notice any deficiencies in the food.)

We dined at a sidewalk table and ordered magnificent Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Dungeness Crab as an appetizer, Lamb Daube with Rosemary-Red Wine Sauce, Roasted Lemon Chicken with Grilled Vegetables Marinated in Herbs. Tarte Tatin for dessert. The people at the table next to ours got a fantastic-looking Beet and Montrachet Cheese Napoleon--alternating red and yellow beets in a stack--which I'm sorry we didn't think to order. While the roast chicken was somewhat of an anticlimax after the perfection of Thomas Keller's version the day before, we still polished off every morsel. Adding to the authentic French atmosphere, a woman at the table next to us had a dog--a Pugle (a pug/beagle crossbreed) puppy--peeking out of her tote bag.

After lunch, we picked up Marc's kids from daycamp and went to the Exploratorium, the fantastic hands-on science museum, where the staff literally had to give us the closing countdown before the kids could bear to leave. We then wandered the grounds of the Palace of Fine Arts taking photographs in the soft afternoon sunlight and admiring the swans.

After dropping Marc's kids back at home, our friend went home and we headed over to dinner at a trendy downtown tapas place, Bocadillos, where we were probably a little out of place as tourists with a child (the rest of the clientele seemed to be an after-work crowd of legal types) but were warmly welcomed nonetheless. We ate our way halfway through the menu, choosing small plates including the unique Fois Gras Roll with Serrano Ham, Mango & Aged Balsamic Vinegar (definitely our favorite of the evening); the Quail Caramelized with Moorish Flavors accompanied by fresh sauteed spinach (our second-favorite); spicy Patatas Bravas with Romesco Sauce; a Bocadillo (little sandwich) of Catalan Sausage, Arugula, and Shaved Manchego Cheese served on crusty bread; Wendy's requested Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Sherry Glaze; and several of the pintxos (little bites served on a toothpick, combining items such as an anchovy, olive, artichoke heart, and button mushroom).

[Carolyn Tillie]

Lucky you made it out before the temp went up.  My friend lives in St. Helena and it was 116 or something scary like that, the other day.

116--yeesh!!! Our last day in Calistoga, it was already something like 98 degrees--about 10 degrees hotter than San Francisco--and people there were remarking about the heat. I hadn't realized that part of California gets so hot as our previous trips had always been in the spring or autumn.

←

The weird part is that the Calistoga area can generally get 10+ degrees hotter than "down-valley" in Napa. When I lived in Napa, if we got to 90, I knew it would be over a hundred up valley. And then, even a bit hotter in the Lake District.

The part of no longer living in Wine Country that I DON'T miss!

[SuzySushi]

Day 8 (Friday, July 14th)

One of the busiest of our entire trip, a day on which we got to meet old friends and new friends.

One of the definite highlights of our trip was meeting an "old new friend" I'd never met in person before, but who I've known from an online discussion board for more than 5 years! She lives in the Sacramento area and admirably made the long drive to meet us, suggesting that we go to the Beach Chalet, a restaurant located along the Great Highway in Golden Gate Park. Besides a spectacular ocean view, the restored building, which also houses the San Francisco Visitor's Center, features a lobby filled with 1930s WPA frescoes and Art Deco tilework (I'm a real sucker for WPA art). My friend turned out to be exactly in person as she is online, and we had a blast--it was like we'd known each other all along. We thought the food was good, too (although I've read that some other reviewers have found it mediocre), a perfectly cooked Seafood Risotto featuring Grilled Maine Lobster and Rock Shrimp (did I mention that Michael and I usually share one entree as it's invariably too much food for just one person?), and a kiddy menu with favorites like burgers and mac & cheese for Wendy. Our friend ordered the hefty Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwich, which came with Waffle Chips, a welcome variation of what I'd now begun to think of as the ubiquitous French fries in the Bay area. The Beach Chalet is also a brew-pub, so Michael ordered a sampler of their various beers (but found only one he liked). We had dessert, too. Something chocolate, I remember.

WPA mural at the Beach Chalet

We were somewhat pressed for time after lunch because we had another friend to meet later that afternoon, but still had time to view Seal Rock and the park's Dutch windmill. Then it was back to Marc's house where we met my other Bay area friend, whom I've known for 30 years, so it really did feel like old home week. She, unfortunately, was not up to dining out since she'd had dental surgery two days before, so we settled for chatting at home over a cup of tea.

Michael and I were tentatively planning on dining out for dinner ("Tapas again!" we thought) when Marc arrived home and announced that we all were invited to a Bastille Day party at a neighbor's house. His kids and ex-wife would be there, too.

Well, this party proved to be quite a show-stopper. A changing cast of characters, probably 30 or more adults crowded into the downstairs rooms of a San Francisco row house, and 20 or more kids dispersed through the house and the backyard--the neighbors had rented a castle-like jumper which some of the kids were engaged on, while others played upstairs or watched videos. Besides the American neighbors, we did, indeed, meet a real cross-section of San Francisco's culture as well as people from France, Ireland, England, and even the Philippines.

And the food... some prepared by the hosts (grilled lamb steaks, couscous, and one of the best potato gratins I've ever eaten), others contributed by guests (a huge cheese selection, several patés, fruit platters, desserts)... wine, and conversation flowed. We finally rolled out the door at 11:30 p.m., among the last guests to leave.

[Edited to add photo link]

Edited July 27, 2006 by SuzySushi (log)

[SuzySushi]

Day 9 (Saturday, July 15th)

Reserved as a family day.

We began with a stop at Kinokuniya bookstore in San Francisco's Japantown. "Coals to Newcastle," you think--and we did, too--Japanese culture is widely available in Hawaii. But Wendy is a real fan of Japanese anime and manga novels, and she'd finished the books she'd brought with her, so we had to pick up more reading matter.

We didn't want to dine in Japantown, however (too much like home), so after some cell-phoning around to find out what was open and not out of business (!!), Marc took us to lunch at a Russian hole-in-the-wall, Cinderella Bakery and Café on Balboa Street in the heavily ethnic Richmond area of the city. The food was of mixed quality. I disliked like the mushroom & barley soup, which to me had far too few mushrooms and was too heavily redolent of dill (like a whole bunch in my plate!). I did like the Siberian salmon pie in flaky pastry. Michael ordered Beef Stroganoff, which was just okay, and Wendy the chicken cutlets, which proved to be made of ground chicken in a milky gravy. Marc had some real problems obtaining a vegetarian meal as the owner?manager? first lectured him on the dangers of a vegetarian diet! (We later found out that his daughter is a vegetarian and he's worried about her health.)

As I had requested to see a Whole Foods Market and a Trader Joe's, neither of which yet has a store in Hawaii, Marc then took us to both.

We then headed over to Marc's adoptive parents' home in the East Bay area. To present a bit of background without going into too many personal details, Michael was a prodigal father: Marc is Michael's son, conceived while Michael was in college, who we didn't know about until about 6 years ago! Marc had been put up for adoption by his mother when he was a baby. Since meeting Marc, we've also gotten close to his wonderful adoptive family.

We spent the afternoon with them there (they also had other family visiting from Canada), then all went over to Uncle Yu's Szechuan Restaurant in San Ramon for dinner. Uncle Yu's is what I think of as typically Californian-Chinese, elegant, upscale, with waiters in black tuxedos and highly Americanized "contemporary" versions of Chinese dishes. There were--recount! recount!--11 of us at the table, 9 adults and 2 kids. We each chose a dish and shared offerings ranging from Tea Smoked Duck with Mu Shu Pancakes to Garlic Scallops.

After dinner, our three-car convoy drove to the Yogurt Shack at a strip mall in neighboring Danville for dessert (the feature being self-serve frozen yogurt including a sugar-free flavor for the three diabetics in our group). The same strip mall was featuring Saturday night karaoke for kids, so after the yogurt, the most memorable part of the evening proved to be standing around for 40 minutes listening to and participating in karaoke renditions of songs from the latest Disney hit made-for-TV-movie, High School Musical.

[Edited for a recount.]

Edited July 27, 2006 by SuzySushi (log)

[SuzySushi]

i should probably post this in the hawaii thread, but there hasn't been much action there lately.

aside from honolulu chocolate company, are there any good, high-quality chocolatiers in hawaii that you know of?

considering moving back there one day (my parents live in aiea)...this could be a good business idea?

i haven't even had any chocolate from hcc lately, so i don't know what their quality is compared to some mainland chocolatiers.  but with no competition, how would anyone know?!

i love hawaii, but sometimes...

←

Yes, you should post this in the Hawaii board...

The Honolulu Chocolate Company has no real competition. The only other local chocolatier I've heard of is Chocolate Sushi in Kailua http://starbulletin.com/columnist/column.p...=4645&col_id=23. I've never been there and don't know if the store is still open. It BTW serves handmade chocolates and sushi, not chocolate shaped like sushi such as that offered by several companies like Chocolate Sushi and Koo-Ki Sushi on the Mainland.

I'm not sure what Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate is up to these days since a fiasco over labeling when a few years ago, they couldn't produce enough Hawaii-grown cocoa beans for their chocolate. AFAIK, their products are currently available only through their mail-order website.

Most of the other manufacturers (a list of them is available at the Hawaii Manufacturers Association) do items like chocolate-dipped cookies or fruit rather than chocolate bars or bonbons. In addition, Hershey recently bought Mauna Loa, the macadamia nut company, and is marketing high-quality macadamia nut chocolate bars under the Mauna Loa brand name, at least in Hawaii.

[SuzySushi]

Day 10 (Sunday, July 16th)

I was in the throes of a head cold which I must've picked up on the flight going over--and still haven't completely shaken.

No dining out.

Marc did not have the kids, so he headed up with us to what was supposed to be a visit to Muir Woods, with a side-trip to Sausalito. Everyone else in San Francisco must've had the same idea. Driving through Sausalito was painful: it reminded us of Kalakaua Avenue (Waikiki's "tourist strip") at the height of the crowds. Past the Sausalito turn-off, the highway was bumper-to-bumper traffic all the way. Yuck! We turned the car around.

We paid another visit to Rainbow Grocery, where I picked up the last of my souvenirs, little spice packs (za'atar, sumac, etc.) that could be tucked into corners of our luggage.

Marc made another of his vegetarian dinners for us. By this time I was so groggy from my cold plus the cold medication that I didn't note down or remember what we ate.

Day 11 (Monday, July 17th)

Off to the airport. Three hours early, remembering how much time it had taken to get from the terminal to the rental car building via the Airtrain. Our luggage was overweight (we had only 1 checked bag for the 3 of us, but the weight allowance goes by bag, not by party), which meant re-packing the suitcase on the floor of the terminal to remove several books (oh, yes, I bought a cookbook in Calistoga--a Saveur book on French cuisine on sale for half price) which I then had to schlepp in my tote bag. The airline had also gotten our seating wrong, separating Wendy in another row. It required some finessing to change seats without paying the additional fee the airlines are now charging for "premium" seating requests.

But once checked in, we had time to kill, so our last San Francisco meal took place inside the terminal at Perry's (I understand it's a branch of a downtown restaurant): fried calamari, burgers, and--yes--more French fries!

An uneventful flight home and KFC for dinner. (What, you thought I was going to cook after all that?)

[SuzySushi]

Our haul to take home to Hawaii:

6 bottles of wine

8 boxes of tea (2 brands of Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong, Assam, English Breakfast, English Afternoon, Irish Breakfast, and Yorkshire Gold for "a proper English cup of tea")

5 pieces of cheese (2 wheels of Camembert, 2 wedges of French Muenster, and a wedge of Bleu d'Auvergne)

5 dark chocolate bars (various brands and varietals not available here)

5 packets of spices

2 refrigerator magnets

1 set of grapefruit spoons

1 cookbook

1 large tube of harissa

1 bag of raw cacao nibs

1 loaf of Acme rye bread

272 photographs

countless fond memories

[Carolyn Tillie]

Very nice report, Suzi! Sorry I didn't know you'd be in Japantown... I would've walked across the street to at least say 'hello!' I love that bookstore and there were a number of great places you guys could have walked to (non-Japanese) in this neighborhood that you could have ate at which would have included some vegi options. Que sera. Glad you enjoyed your stay in our fare city!

[SuzySushi]

Very nice report, Suzi!  Sorry I didn't know you'd be in Japantown... I would've walked across the street to at least say 'hello!'  I love that bookstore and there were a number of great places you guys could have walked to (non-Japanese) in this neighborhood that you could have ate at which would have included some vegi options. Que sera.  Glad you enjoyed your stay in our fare city!

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Thanks, Carolyn! I'll take a rain check! We have an open invitation to stay with Marc again, and I can foresee a visit to the Bay area becoming part of our annual trip vacation. We didn't know we'd be in Japantown, either! It was all because the other comics stores were out of the particular books my daughter wanted...

[annachan]

Yorkshire Gold for "a proper English cup of tea"

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Yeah, that's the tea of choice for my husband, the Brit.

Glad you had fun in our town. Come back and visit again soon!