The second day of our San Francisco weekend was as busy as the first – maybe busier!  With all the walking. I had to wear my hiking sandals, which I thought branded me a hopelessly goofy tourist… but hubby said that I fit right in with all the other granola-loving hippies.  Maybe he was right – it was hard to stop myself from humming “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” as we walked through Haight-Ashbury.

Doorway to a pretty blue Victorian house:

Haight-Ashbury.  Is no one going to help this giant lady?

Flowers in the botanical gardens, inside Golden Gate Park:

The Japanese Tea Gardens:

Serenity:

Painted Ladies:

Last but not least, the Golden Gate Bridge:

Awesome, awesome city.

Another place I had read about on the web, Tartine also came highly recommended by a friend and co-worker of hubby’s – and he did not lead us astray.  It’s not easy to get to – we must have walked half an hour, but then again, we didn’t really know the city – and it’s a little bit difficult to spot – in fact, I walked past it.  But I think those are good things, because they separate the wheat from the chaff and make sure that everyone who makes it to Tartine, and there was a long line, really earns their breakfast.  Because man alive, what a breakfast it was.  Here’s what hubby and I shared…

Gougere with gruyere cheese and black pepper, oh yum:

Quiche with cheddar and spinach (okay, hubby ate most of this):

And the crowning glory, the Morning Buns with orange peel and cinnamon sugar:

The Morning Bun ranks up there with my favorite dishes from the vacation.  It was sticky, chewy and crispy in all the right places.  I’m definitely planning to attempt to replicate it – I think it would be perfect on Christmas morning, for instance – so stick around if you want to see some fireworks.

In addition to the items we tried, the bakery cases at Tartine were practically overflowing with goodies, some of which almost looked too beautiful to eat.  Here’s a sampling:

(Apologies for the weird shadows.  I was trying to be inconspicuous and all of these delights were behind glass.)

To sum up: YUM.

The day of our arrival in San Francisco, we kept ourselves busy walking all over the city (and those are some hills, let me tell ya!) – other than the Ferry Building, hubs and I checked out Lombard Street, Ghirardelli Square, Chinatown, and so many other famous San Francisco sites.  Needless to say, we were famished by the time dinner rolled around.  Lucky for us, we had reservations at the Zuni Cafe, which I’ve read about on so very many blogs.  I’d worked myself into a frenzy of anticipation and fortuately Zuni did not disappoint.  The restaurant itself is quite unassuming; you could almost walk past it on the street and not realize that you were missing anything special.  But the food is divine and the service is wonderful.  Although the much-lauded mashed potatoes were not on the menu the night we visited (sad messy), hubby and I both enjoyed our dinners immensely.  Here’s what we had:

Salmon with green beans, shiitakes and fingerling potatoes (we each ordered the same):

Homemade ice cream sandwiches with the most flavorful strawberry ice cream I’ve ever tasted (we shared):

We had a great table; we were seated side-by-side with a direct line of sight into the open kitchen.  I loved watching the chefs at work:

Zuni more than lived up to its stellar reputation!  I’m so glad that I got the chance to eat there, and I’ll definitely go back the next time I’m in San Francisco (which I hope will be soon).  Stay tuned for more restaurant dinner profiles and scenes from the wine country!

Hubby and I worked up an appetite each day we were in San Francisco, trekking all over the city.  What better way could there be to burn off the previous night’s dinner and make room for the next?  In the meantime, we took in the city’s highlights and snapped pictures for you…

The ferry building:

The gate to Chinatown:

Chinatown streets:

Vibrant hanging lanterns:

Waverly Place (anyone who has read The Joy Luck Club will know how excited I was to see the street after which Waverly Jong – my favorite character in the book – was named):

Cable car!

Dried shark fins in a Chinese market.  They look intimidating, don’t they?

Rows upon rows of interesting, unfamiliar ingredients:

House on Nob Hill with beautiful windows:

The famed Ghirardelli Square:

Lombard Street:

City views from the Top of the Mark:

And finally, to conclude Part I, check this out – compost bins!  In public!  And people actually use them!  This warmed the depths of my crunchy heart.

Stay tuned for Part II, coming as soon as I can get them uploaded and sorted!