I Left My Heart (or at least some cash) in San Francisco (restaurants)

Visited my parents in San Francisco for spring break. It was a jam-packed adventure, full of food, walking (which only partly counteracted all that food), and lots of family time.

The Juj and I arrived on Monday evening, after a day in which I said I was going to work half the day but I was still on a conference call after two o'clock. However, we managed to get packed up and out of the house in a timely manner, and had a nice uneventful flight.

Tuesday, we spent much of that day at my aunt & uncle's house in Pacifica, visiting with them, their two daughters, a very long-standing friend of my parents, and new twin cousin-lings (son & daughter of one of my cousins). The three-month-old kiddos were way cute, and I'm hoping someone sends me one of the pictures of J holding his baby cousin. Juj and I also walked a few blocks to the beach to build a sand castle to get the week started right. When we got back, Dad and I walked J over to the "baby park" (little local park with a cool play area for toddlers, mostly) while my Mom took a nap. And I cooked for my parents that night:

• rice noodles with a thai peanut (and almond butter) sauce
• sauteed julienned sweet potato with curry powder
• vegie stir-fry

Wednesday, we tried to drown my child. Well, not really, but we went to the Cafe at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park for lunch and then took him out to Ocean Beach where we had a sand castle contest, buried him in sand (hmm, another picture I need a copy of) and then he and my dad went wading in the surf. Which seemed harmless, especially since the water was way too cold for you to want to get in more than ankle deep, but they got surprised by a wave that knocked Juj right over, soaking his clothes and filling his ears (and every other part of him) with sand. In the evening, we picked up Gilster at the airport and had too much Thai food delivered from one of their neighborhood restaurants.

(My parents are finishing up a six-month sub-let of a cool little 2-BR apartment in a great neighborhood adjacent to the Castro. We walked to the park at least twice, to several meals, to the library, to two different grocery stores, and to the movies! Oh, and EVERY walk included much uphill and downhill.)

Thursday was date night. But first we took J to the Conservatory of Flowers to see a model railroad and lots of plants (duh!) We also had Peasant Pies for lunch (from the neighborhood), and walked to the library in the afternoon. But the highlight was the dinner that DH and I had at Zuni Cafe:

• Cocktails - Elderflower & Prosecco for me, Sazerac for him
• Fried Sardines with a lovely pickled carrot slaw (I had my doubts, but it was good!)
• Another antipasto that I can't remember except that it was yummy and came with Nettle Pesto Crostini
• A half bottle of Vin de Savoie “Arbin” (Les Fils de Charles Trosset, Savoie)
• Arugula, Endive & Blood Orange Salad (I think; things got a little hazy)
• Plate of spiced baby goat - awesome, with a riblet, sausage, a succulent short rib, garbanzos...
• Bleu cheese with honey
• After dinner drinks (now you see why this whole thing is a bit hazy) - Tawny Port for me, Amaro Nonino for him (which was a revelation; we're already fans of Amaro Averna but the lighter, more citrusy Nonino was even better!)
• Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta (to die for, barely enough gelatin to hold it together, mmm...)
• Espresso

So we walked most of the way home (Dad picked us up before the hard final uphill climb commenced).

Friday, my grandmother drove down from Oregon to see her great-grandson, as well as the rest of us bumpkins. In the morning, before she arrived, we walked to breakfast and Whole Foods (and my dad and I walking beat the ones who took the bus back home!). Then, after Grammy joined us, we spent part of the day at Fisherman's Wharf, doing a couple of tourist things that none of us had done before, despite that fact that my extended family has lived in the Bay Area off and on for much of our lives. We also got checked into our hotel -- I love Priceline! -- so my grandmother could stay in my parents' second bedroom while she was visiting.

That evening, we walked down to Castro Street where another old friend of the family (on her way to Panama!) met us for dinner. And gelato. And an uphill walk back to the house.

Saturday, I cooked dinner. Made the braised lentils and broccoli rabe that DH made a few weeks ago, and somewhat improvised a lemon panna cotta that was good but distinctly separated into a somewhat curdled cream layer (tasty, just not smooth) and another more lemon-jello-like layer. We ate it all, however! And that was after going to the local yummy crepe place, Queen Malika, for brunch. And I'm sure we did something else, I'm just not sure what...

Sunday, we checked out of the hotel, and the Gilster and I took my Grammy to Zuni for an early lunch. After all, we had to go back for the roast chicken, which we had along with a shaved sunchoke and orange salad with ginger vinaigrette and Marash pepper, a poached egg with artichoke and big white beans, and three desserts: espresso granita with whipped cream (me), hazelnut biscottini (DH), and creme brulee (Gram). I think the whole lunch took us two and half hours, but of course, they roast the chicken to order. My grandmother took off in the early afternoon, and Gil, Juj and I took in Alice in Wonderland (which I vote as one of Tim Burton's better films) at the Castro Theatre, which is a beautiful old movie palace.

And in the evening, a couple of my oldest friends, who have now been married for many years but that I knew individually in high school before they ever met each other, drove up the Peninsula and joined us for dinner. We even received a call from another dearest high school buddy, who I may get to see when she comes to Dallas in a couple of weeks! We decided to just walk over to 24th Street and see what we could find to eat, and ended up at a great little (very) Italian place, that I would gladly visit again. The fog had rolled in, and it was pleasantly cool and damp, which made our meal, and the little fireplace in the restaurant, all the more cozy.

Then we flew out Monday. And managed to get up and go to school & work this morning, even with it being the first time we'd had to really get going on Daylight Savings Time plus Pacific Time jet lag. (And yikes, look at the time -- I'd better get to bed since I have an early conference call tomorrow!)  Maybe we need a vacation after all that...