What I Ate Wednesday #75: We Did It Right

I think in the process of running my parents all around the bay area, we ran ourselves into the ground a little too. Unfortunately, they’re heading back home today and as much as I may need a little more sleep, I don’t want them to go. It has really felt so much more like home with them here. If I had my whole family with me, I wouldn’t think twice about where I was. Anywhere. I miss ’em already but Nathan and I both made sure we did it right!

There was some healthy food…

…some home cooked meals…

…some brunching…

…a little pizza…

…more than one ice cream/gelato trip…

…LOTS of Asian food…

…a few drinks all around…

…and so many incredible memories.

I absolutely cannot wait to see them again. It’s been such a great week. Cheers!

Food for Thought

Where is your favorite place to take out-of-town visitors?

Mom and Dad Do San Francisco

I’ve been a bit MIA on the social media scene for the past few days since my parents have gotten into town, but I make up for it with pictures!

Wednesday

Biking is good for your ass.

First view of the bridge!

Biggest sweet potato I ever done seen!

Thursday

Feeding the fam before a day of drinking. Killer frittata!

Bear Republic beer samplers! #1 and #2 for the day.

Cheers!

Doin’ wine country.

Mom and Dad doin’ wine country.

Lagunitas beer sample #1.. #3 for the day.

Lagunitas beer sampler #2. Made it #4 for the day and Dad could hardly wait 😉

Friday

Dragged em to the beach.

The boys went climbing and we took a sit.

One of the many beautiful dishes at Iyasare.

Saturday

Ran around town with Mom while the boys took a rest day. So much good food!

Sunday

GET ME OUT! Oh.. there’s the door.

He looks a little too happy to be behind bars. Ha!

Blueberry kombucha on tap to top off a delicious lunch at The Plant.

Buena Vista Cafe. Home of the original Irish coffee.

Cheers! Again!

We may or may not be drinking and walking them into the ground. And you bet your butt we’re headed to more breweries and doing lots more walking tomorrow. But we’re having a great time and I love having them here!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite thing to do when you have out-of-town visitors?

What I Ate Wednesday #70: Beer, Food, and Sunshine

Monday we took advantage of Nathan’s day off and went into San Francisco for the day. We also took advantage of sleeping in and having a nice breakfast at home.

I’ve been loving topping my oats with my homemade nut butters, honey vanilla-bourbon peanut butter, and Love Grown granola.

After we were sufficiently fueled up, we hit the road! First stop was Rogue Ale House. Nathan had been before, but I’d never had a chance to go and it was such a nice day, I was excited to get some beer and sit outside.

I tried the Beard Beer, Old Crustacean Barleywine, Menage-a-Frog, and XS Imperial Stout. Nathan’s Double Chocolate Porter was the winner.

We didn’t have a set lunch plan but after some Yelping, we landed on Lai Hong Lounge. It was that good on Christmas!

Pea shoots, garlic cabbage core, XO beef chow fun, coffee-rubbed ribs, pan-fried mushroom buns, and pork shu mai.

We ordered entirely too much and came home with leftovers of everything. The coffee-rubbed ribs were almost like dessert; they were even served with some whipped cream on the side! It was all so good.

We were in need of a post-lunch walk and what better place to go than Buena Vista Cafe? We haven’t had an Irish Coffee since we were last in San Francisco in May 2012!

Just as good as I remember.

And then we continued down to the pier. It was so nice to be out in the sunshine and enjoy the fresh air.

After a nice walk, we made our way back home for a nice, light dinner. Thank goodness because we were still stuffed from lunch! We ended up not sitting down to eat until about 8:15.. whoops!

Roasted portabello caps with spicy mango slaw and chunky guacamole.

They were supposed to be tacos, but I opted to go tortilla-less for something a little lighter. Nathan made his into a burrito.. whatever works! The slaw was SO good and even though I only made a half recipe, there was still a ton leftover. It made a great addition to my salad and Nathan’s turkey meatball sandwich yesterday for lunch. Another meal plan success!

Monday was such a fun day. We didn’t go crazy doing too much running around, but it was a nice, relaxing day doing what we love—beer, food, and sunshine.

Food for Thought

When you go to a brew pub, do you opt for a sampler or a pint?
Have you ever had a real Irish Coffee?

What I Ate Wednesday #3 – Bar Hopping San Francisco

With an entire week of good eats in California, it’s hard not to feature another day for my WIAW post!

On this particular day, we started with a trek to Liguria Bakery. Featured on Mario Batali’s ‘Ciao America’ for the best focaccia, we knew it was a spot we couldn’t miss! We ordered the pizza focaccia and a rosemary garlic focaccia. We dug in immediately!

Forget anything you ever thought you knew about focaccia. This was the best bread I’ve ever eaten!

Liguria Bakery Focaccia

And because we couldn’t just eat bread for breakfast, we headed on over to The Buena Vista, home of the original Irish Coffee. I ordered a Mexican omelette with fresh made sourdough bread. It was darn good bread, but nothing in comparison to what we had just eating from Liguria!

The Buena Vista Cafe

And then began the bar hopping..

We made the most of our walk to AT&T Park for a Giants’ game by hitting up a few local bars on the way.

Our first stop was Thirsty Bear Brewery, a CCOF certified organic brewery. We got a sampler of all of the beer on tap; it’s really the only way to go!

Thirsty Bear Brewery

Second stop on our bar hopping tour was 21st Amendment Brewery. Again, another sampler of beer because there just isn’t any other way to go!

21st Amendment Brewery

Finally, we made it over near the stadium, but we held out for just one last stop; Pete’s Tavern. I was told this was the place to be before games, so why not do what the locals do?

One (ok, maybe two) more beers and a delicious Big Kahuna teriyaki chicken sandwich with grilled pineapple topped off my bar hopping afternoon.

Pete’s Tavern

We ended the night at AT&T Park with an incredible view! It’s hard to complain about being in the top row of the stadium with a view like that.

AT&T Park

A wonderful ending to another great day in San Francisco!

Speak Up!

Have you ever been to San Francisco? What are some of your favorite places to eat?