Holy Guacamole

My blogging mojo disappeared last week because I hit a mental wall.  I started a new project for work last week, which happens to still be in Dallas and with the same client.  It's a totally different type of assignment, though, and I think more in line with what I actually like about my job!  And mostly working from home!!!  So that's always good.  What's not good was my insanely delayed flight from SF to Dallas last Monday! >:\  That, on top of the jetlag, totally screwed me up for the week.  I was permanently tired.  And then when I finally got home on Friday, I slept in until 10am!  Who am I???  Lucky I have a very flexible work schedule.

Anyway, I'm finally back on track with sleep and exercise (I had to take off almost an entire WEEK because my legs were so sore from running those SF hills!), and I'm ready to blog 'n' roll.  I'm working from home this week and next, so I stocked up on groceries and got back in the kitchen.  I may or may not have neurotically planned out every meal for the next week... I found too many good recipes!  I got excited :)

But first, I shall finish SF...

There's my lovely hostess as we ride the little gondola up to the Sterling winery in NAPA VALLEY!  EEEEK!  It was so beautiful and kind of like a fantasy.  The wines at Sterling were AWESOME.  Really unique flavors and high quality.  I ended up buying a dessert wine -- Port Zinfandel (so weird for me to buy a dessert wine!) and a bottle of Pinot Noir to drink with my mom.  I didn't buy it, but I was SO impressed with their '02 Chardonnay.  It was so buttery and not oaky!

I adore California topography.  Get a load of this background!

Then we moved on to a boutiquey little winery that Sarah belongs to, where we tasted a whole slew of things.  Oddly enough, I liked the whites more than the reds.  Almost never happens with me.

We broke for lunch at the Rutherford Grill, where I had a pretty incredible veggie burger.  I was only able to eat half!  It had all kinds of veggies, including beets, and I had it with a side of spaghetti squash with pesto.  Mmmmm...  We also split the skillet cornbread, which was outrageous.

Lastly, we stopped at Frog's Leap (just in time too... they were about to close), which is a farmy, organic winery.  The grounds were beautiful, and we tasted out on the wraparound porch.  It was so serene.  I probably could have stayed there for the rest of my life.  Wine country in general!  I did not want to leave.  At Frog's Leap I bought the most unusual Cabernet I have ever tasted.  It was a little pricey, but so unique.  I need to find the right occasion to drink it!

That was all Saturday... then on Sunday we went to Supper Club for dinner, which was super funky and playful.  You sit on beds that surround the perimeter of the restaurant, and there are performances in the middle.  Rated PG-13.

The lights kept changing colors...

The lighting was obviously not conducive to food photography, but we had a mozzarella bruschetta and some SUPER tender chicken.  I almost never order chicken in restaurants, but maybe I should start?

Monday was, sadly, my day of departure (or should I say evening?  AARRGGHHHH RAIN DELAY!), so we went for the one thing I still hadn't gotten my fill of: Whole Foods.  JK, I totally had my fill of Whole Foods.  I think I went to Whole Foods 4 times in 5 days.  What I actually wanted was Mexican!  We went for a driving tour of the city, and then for burritos in the Mission!

The burrito stands alone.  Literally.  It was so big it could sit on its end.

SO GOOD.  I can't believe I ate almost the whole thing.  But I had been for a run earlier and was famished.  I got a veggie burrito (grilled carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms) with black beans, rice, salsa, cheese, and guac in a WW tortilla.  Holy guacamole, was this incredible.  I think it would have been overboard with meat, so I'm glad I didn't go there.  I'm also trying to be socially responsible about the way I eat meat, and something told me this place wasn't serving organic, grass-fed beef.  Just a guess.

I LOVED SF so much.  Not that I'm going anywhere anytime soon, but I could see myself living there for sure.  It's so pretty and laid back and close to wineries... wink wink.

Will be back later with my many recipes for this week!  Get hungry.

Tourist Time!

Friday morning Alex and I went for a much shorter run, about 2.5 miles, just to get ourselves up and moving.  Instead of going back to the Marina, we just ran through Pacific Heights and looked at the beautiful architecture. And actively avoided steep hills.  We did pretty well!

We got ready for the day, ate our Whole Foods-bought oatmeal (budget conscious AND healthy vacationing!), then headed out to Pier 33 to go to Alcatraz.  I took some pics of houses and buildings on our 2 mile walk over there.

Looking out toward the bay.

Palm trees!

The view from the ferry.

It was such a cool tour!  I often can't pay attention to audio guides (or any tour guide), but this was so well done.  It held my interest the whole time.  I liked how demanding it was!  It told you exactly which way to walk and when and where... haha.

Cells at Alcatraz!  Eeek!

It was such a foggy day.

Look what's on the menu at Alcatraz!

We decided to go slightly more gourmet and stopped in at a sandwich/salad place for a light lunch.  I was starting to turn into hungry grumpy Freya so it was a good thing we ate.  I didn't take a pic, but I had a cup of veggie soup and half of a turkey and provolone foccacia sandwich.

Then we began our hike up to Telegraph Hill!  It was such an exhausting climb, and I only got a little bit nervous about being so high up.  It was really just a path of stairs that ran through this funky little neighborhood all up on a huge hill.  I couldn't figure out how people accessed their homes!  There was definitely no street access, so I guess they do a lot of stairs?  Wild!

Almost there...

We made it to the top!!!  And saw a pretty, foggy view of the city and the Bay Bridge.

Then it was time for a caffeine break.  This was a seriously active day, and jet lag was creeping up on me.  We climbed more hills (were there any left to climb?) and eventually found ourselves on Polk St. near Sarah's apt and found a great coffee shop with big cozy chairs and a skim mocha.  Aaaahhh :)

For dinner, Sarah and I went to Catch, and I can't believe I didn't take a picture.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  We thought it was going to be a restaurant week special, but it wasn't, which was fine because ordered really well.  I had a Manhattan to start (special weekends calls for special cocktails!), and then we split a HUGE tuna tartare appetizer with lots of warm bread/toast.  I ordered sea bass with asparagus, shaved brussels sprouts, and a cherry olive salsa.  I wish I had a picture.  Or the ability to link to a taste.  So unusual, and SO YUMMY.  I ate every last bite!  I was so full that I couldn't even READ the dessert menu.  It was a great meal, followed by a couple of Anchor Steam beers at a bar in Pac Heights.

So much SF love!  Next up is my day in Napa... so excited to blog it :)

The Other City

One of the first things Sarah said to me when she met me at the airport in San Francisco was that in the Bay area, SF is "the city."  I think she knows me and my NYC-centric nature a little too well!  I got over being a New Yorker and actually did manage to refer to SF as "the city" once or twice.  (Don't worry, New York, you're still THE city in my eyes! <3)

But I had the most wonderful time in SF this weekend and absolutely cannot wait to come back.  Sarah was trying oh-so-hard to recruit me to move there, and I can't say that I'm not thinking about it.  I LOVED SF and think it's actually a great match for me.  We'll see... ;)

I know I'm skipping over a bunch of things I said I'd write about... like the cruise and a fabulous dinner party, but I'm still excited about San Francisco, so I want to get to it!

Starting with... Brenda's Soul Food!  It was recommended by two separate people, so I figured it had to be tried.  Alex and I braved the notoriously sketchy Tenderloin district for our first SF meal.  (Fine, our 2nd SF meal... we went to Whole Foods for dinner and snacks when we arrived on Thursday night, of course!)  It.was.AMAZING.  Everything was like buttah!  Would totally make Paula Deen proud.

Alex and I had gone for a nice hilly run in the morning (complete with a double Ghirardelli tasting), so I had worked up a pretty serious appetite.  It felt so good to run!  The weather was mild, and the marina was so pretty.  We did about 4 miles plus some hill-walking, and no knee aches!  Some shin splints from the hills, but nothing too bad.  Yay!

I ordered the goat cheese and shrimp omelet with grits and a biscuit.

And then I spent the rest of the day weekend talking about it.  The omelettey outside is hiding the good stuff, but there were shrimp, caramelized onions, and a ton of goat cheese inside, and it was covered with this bacon tomato relish amazingness.  The grits were SO creamy and rich, and the biscuit was, according to Alex, a southern girl at heart, the best biscuit she'd ever had.  The way it flaked!  Oh, SF was off to a good foodie start.

At every table there was a different type of homemade jam.  Ours was apricot or peach.  Not sure.  But it was incredible.  Juicy and fresh and chunks of real fruit.

I was told I had to get the chocolate beignets, but there was no way I could eat another bite.  So I got them to go!  I nuked one later that night for dessert.  Chocolate heaven.  Didn't get a pic because they were not as attractive a few hours later, but still so so tasty.  This place is a must-go.

After our amazing brunch/lunch, we headed over to the National rental car station and picked up a car for our adventure up to Sonoma County to meet the one and only Jenna!  The smell of beignets filled the car, which was both amazing and such a tease, but we made it up to Healdsburg with the help of Ursula, our bossy little GPS.  We met Jenna for some awesome fro yo in the adorable little town of Healdsburg.  I was taken back to my dreams of being a Murphy Goode employee... sigh.

Anyway, we had so much fun chatting with Jenna about boys, food, blogs, and life in Cali.  Thanks so much for meeting us, Jenna!

I thought I could use a little caffeine for the drive back, so we stopped in at the Flying Goat afterward for a lowfat latte.  SO strong, and SO good!  And so much prettier before I delved in.

It had been like a little fern or something.  Did the trick and kept me awake for the drive!  Phew.

After returning Ursula and the car, we headed over to another Jenna-rec: La Mediterranee.

Alex and I were so ready for some veggies.  We split a salmon kebab with amazing rice and a truly unique chicken lemon soup, and the Salad Mediterranee, which I am modeling for you.

Does it look like a giant mess of veggie salads and legumes?  Good, because it was.  And it was awesome.  We passed on dessert and then went home (Sarah's apt) for some tea and microwaved beignets.  Mmmmm...

In the interest of not having killer long posts, I'm going to split up the weekend into a few posts.  Check in soon!

Loving San Fran!

Alex and I are having so much fun in San Francisco and pretending we live at my friend Sarah's apartment!  We may or may not be eating our way through the city, but, hey, what else do you expect from me?  I won't be able to get pics up until later this weekend, but I did want to share our bit of fame care of Jenna...  It's only a matter of time before people start recognizing us on the streets, right?  I'm headed to Napa tomorrow with Sarah and her friends, so I'm looking forward to some beautiful scenery and awesome wine.  Can't wait!  Have a great weekend!