We met up with Katie for lunch down by where she works, which happens to be the most amazing workspace I have ever seen, just about a block down from the Ferry Building and right along the water. I guess that can be expected for Gap, Inc., though.
(The Ferry Building)
Her building was this extremely hip space flocking with even more hip, young, and fashionable employees coming in and out. Katie's office was a not-shabby-at-all room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the Bay Bridge and surrounding areas.
Yeah, pretty incredible. Anyway, we enjoyed a nice lunch outside while we basked in the sun and caught up with an old friend.
Next Huan and I began our walking adventure which would lead us to ultimately conquer the city of San Francisco by foot (well, not quite, but I like to think so). We walked from the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero (which is basically just the waterside) toward Fisherman's Wharf, which is much junkier and touristy than I remember, then we proceeded to stop at Patagonia for a little shopping break. (Funny random story, I thought I recognized one of the guys who was there, but it seemed too bizarre for me to actually know him, but it turns out he used to work at the DC Patagonia.. crazy, huh?) Anyway, we proceeded to climb what felt like the biggest hill in the history of hills-- Hyde Street (though not the steepest, as I've found out that honor is bestowed upon the nearby Filbert Street, at a 31.5% grade, or 17.7° slope-- I think that math is right).
(View up Hyde Street)
I vaguely remember the hilliness of SF from my previous trip, but I guess back then I wouldn't have dared walk any of it with my parents, so this time I realized the true extent of the rollercoaster topography of the city. It's outrageous, really. I can't imagine being like 80 years and old and walking home, or trying to push a baby in a stroller (What if you got distracted and let go for a split second! Runaway baby!)
From there we stopped atop Lombard Street and watched fun tourists descend the "crooked" road in their cars and also admired the amazing view over the city.
(View from the top of Lombard Street)
We made our way down Union Street, a cute little area with small boutiques and shops, which led us directly to the middle of Pacific Heights, this upscale neighborhood with beautiful Victorian homes. It was no coincidence that we'd ended up here, as I was on a mission to see Mrs. Doubtfire's digs as well as that of the Salingers. Lucky enough for me, they were practically neighbors! When I got there I felt a bit awkward, since people actually lived inside, but after a little prodding Huan got me to sit on the stoop and pose for a picture (I'm such a tool!!). My reactions are that Mrs. Doubtfire's house (now when I say that I actually mean the Hillards house, but I don't have to explain that...) is smaller than I thought it would be (though still beautiful and I'd live there in a second), and the Salinger family's house is much bigger than it ever should have been for a bunch of orphaned kids. Again, still beautiful.
(2640 Steiner Street, aka Mrs. Doubtfire's house)
(The Salinger residence.. just around the bend)
On our walk back toward the east side of town, we passed by more ridiculous homes and of course a few very ridiculous private schools. It looked like something out of The O.C., with views overlooking the Bay and all these preppy kids outside. Kinda crazy.
(Other cool homes)
We checked into the Ritz that afternoon (this is the beginning of the bling-bling portion of the trip-- gotta love a corporate hotel discount, though) and headed down to some more shops nearby to end the long day. We went to the hugest Banana Republic ever, it was like museum-sized, and I wanted a small map so I could check off which rooms I had entered. Unfortunately, I missed checking out the Apple store this go-round, and everyone knows that's my "thing." (Just as Huan's "thing" is Niketown.) We passed by it on the way out to the airport though, and it looked pretty awesome.
Out to dinner that night and then to "the Mission" for drinks... apparently that's the fun, hot spot of the city. Finally back to the hotel where Kim & Natty showed up and we had the fab 4 intact.
Saturday the weather was paying us back for the clear blue skies of the previous day. It was cloudy and overcast, and we battled downpours all day, but it didn't dampen our spirits! We enjoyed delicious Californian dim sum and headed down to the Ferry Building to check out the Farmer's Market set up outside. Ok, so it wasn't a great business day for those folks, but we did pick up a delicious bag of California oranges which we enjoyed over the rest of the trip.
(Chinese New Year Parade starting outside the Ferry Building)
We headed back to the hotel for a break to change socks and blowdry our pants, then headed out for another city adventure on foot. We walked through Chinatown, through the North Beach area, which was packed with cool bars that all seemed to serve Fat Tire, one of our favorite beers from Colorado. We stopped briefly again around the Fisherman's Wharf area to catch an ominous view of the Golden Gate Bridge, then after it started pouring again, we headed back to homebase. Luckily the rain didn't last long, and we again found ourselves climbing up Hyde Street and turning around to the amazing view of the entire Bay, the GG Bridge, and Alcatraz.
(Look! Tourists caught in the rain!)
We headed back to get ready for an exciting dinner at the Slanted Door, a restaurant we had read much about and which has been hyped as one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the country. I was skeptical, however, because from what I'd heard it had a "modern" take (combination of traditional Vietnamese using U.S. based ingredients), and I feared a "fusion" disaster. It turned out to be quite a different experience, though. The food was actually really good, but that definitely does not mean it was the best Vietnamese restaurant ever. I could probably find the same quality of food at Eden here in VA at one of my fave local places (say, Huong Viet), but I guess part of the idea behind the "best" mentality is the fact that at Huong Viet you don't get the breathtaking Panoramic view of the Bay Bridge through huge windows as you're dipping into that nuoc mam. (Funny side story: we had to ask them for rice bowls, and as most of the diners were eating like civilized people with forks off the fancy plates, I noticed all of us were eating like we do at home, chopsticks in hand literally shoveling the rice into our mouths with our bowls up at our face!) On top of the amazing view, the atmosphere was just very nice, and there was a super trendy bar area and the food presentation was of the highest quality. I guess that's where the whole "modern" take comes. Modern/Fusion sometimes just refers to things other than the food, I guess. The good part was, we enjoyed the meal immensely and the food itself wasn't "fusion" or whatever other term you want to use. It was excellent, and with the exception of a couple of dishes that were clearly a bit altered to American tastes or otherwise a clear departure from Vietnamese as indicated on the menu, it was spot on. It was about halfway through dinner that I realized what the hype was about, though. Most people don't eat that kind of food on a regular basis, and you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere else in SF. I guess I take for granted that in a 20 minute drive to Eden, or at home on a regular basis, I can eat "authentic" Vietnamese every day. For the average diner who has a different experience, though, I can see why it's a novelty and worth all the hype. They need to add some real Vietnamese desserts to the menu, though! I mean geez, throw me a bone with some Che Ba Mau or something. That could be a hit served up in a trendy little martini glass type thing!
After dinner Huan, Natty, and I had the bright idea of tracking down some Fat Tire Ale after we had spotted it earlier in the day. After sensible Kim went back to the hotel room to her pajamas, we ventured out of the hotel and basically looked for "BAR" signs. At this point I was in boots for the first time all weekend, and we had made the wise decision to leave our umbrellas behind for this excursion. It was probably after we entered our third bar to check for Fat Tire that it really started to pour, and we kept trekking, searching for that elusive pint of beer. Finally, after we were dripping from head to toe and standing under an awning, we decided to hop in a cab and head to a bar where we knew we'd seen the Fat Tire logo at an intersection we had remembered from earlier in the day. Success! The first sip tasted so good and though I'm not sure I'd do the rainy-walk-in-boots adventure again, I didn't regret it. We chatted cable car mechanism theories over a round of beer... How very San Franciscan of us.
Onto Sunday, probably my favorite day if I had to pick one... likely for the over-indulgent aspects which I will immediately get into. We hopped into our rental car, which was also the ugliest car ever (Pontiac Aztec), to get a head start out to Napa. En route, we were trying to find a place to grab a quick "breakfast," and had come up a bit short on our way out via the Golden Gate Bridge.
We finally told ourselves we'd only stop if we saw an In-N-Out burger, and as if by magic, at that very moment one appeared at the side of the road just before we hit the highway. It was like a good food karma experience. Knowing about all the In-N-Out hype, the burger, fries, and strawberry milkshake was still everything I could have asked for to start the day. Quite delicious for a fast food burger joint, and they pay their employees starting at $10/hr! Might have to pack up and move out West for fast food wages like that.
So, to Napa we carried on... driving through beautifully bright green rolling hills and rows and rows of grape vines everywhere we looked.
After all was said and done, we'd visited and tasted at five different wineries...V. Sattui (bottles sold only at the source), Niebaum-Coppola (Had no idea about this one. They had the Coppola family tree up and everything... was a little too Hollywood for even me, but still set in a beautiful mansion on some 1500 acres), Domaine Chandon (where our fave Newlyweds Nick & Jessica visited), Goosecross (relatively tiny and homey family-owned place), and finally St. Supery (where I picked up a delicious Sauvignon Blanc that tasted like Guava... mm mmm). I will say, after having watched "Sideways" just before this trip, I tried to actually make an effort with the tasting (it's tough to be discriminating after you've been in college drinking wine out of a box) and by the end I was talking about tannins and smelling everything before I drank it and sucking it in my mouth and all that.
(The whole gang in front of the Niebaum-Coppola mansion)
To "kill time" before dinner, we headed to the Napa Valley Health Spa where I was pampered with an amazing massage that put me in a lull and definitely felt great after two days of walking the hills of SF. God, I really sound ridiculous right now. Anyhow. To dinner we go... (If you thought I was ridiculous before... here we really go!)
We dined that evening at French Laundry, one of the finest restaurants in the country. The restaurant is set in an old historic house (once used as a "French Steam Laundry"), seating only about 60 people, which makes for a very cozy and warm ambiance, but still very elegant. The service staff was like I've never seen before, absolutely professional, not to mention young and attractive (haha- ok, I had a dinner crush on a waiter, so sue me! He was a dreamboat.) We enjoyed a delicious and supreme quality 9-course tasting menu that was probably the best meal I've ever eaten and likely the nicest meal I'll eat until I'm 50 or something. Highlights for me were the oysters and Russian caviar served over this incredible tapioca concoction that tasted heavenly. That and this rare Australian beef cooked to absolute perfection. The meal was mostly indescribable, but one I won't forget for some time. Last night I came home and immediately fixed myself a serving of MAMA ramen noodles just to have utter contrast to the night before. Those were also delicious, however.
That concluded our trip, and it was not a bad way to go out. We headed back to SF, packed our bags, and after a couple hours of sleep, Huan and I were up and out around 5 AM to catch our flight back home. It was a mere "long weekend," but we packed in a lot of punch and it felt like much longer. For those of you who have actually made it this far through the update, I highly suggest visiting California. It's a great place, even in the rain, and in obvious and not-so-obvious ways that are hard to immediately describe, it's very different from the East coast. Just remember to pack your sneaks (and an umbrella just in case) if you head to SF!
Current Music: Angels of the Silences, by Counting Crows
Current Mood: pooped (this blog is really like work sometimes!)
2 comments:
Weird, the whole time I thought our car was a Buick.
umm you skipped on the full house digs? i can't believe it!
anyway, the potiac aztec really is the ugliest car ever made. it looks like a retarded trapezoid.
but seriously, i am not a big fan of california at all, except for northern cali. i love, love, loved SF and napa valley when i went. i think it is the only place i would want to live if i were in cali. next time, you should make you trip longer and drive down to santa cruz and carmel/monteray. it is beautiful and the 17-mile drive (huan would love pebble beach and spy glass, etc) is incredible.
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