Vacation planning can be exhausting – especially when you’re vacationing someplace you’ve never been before.  When I was growing up, my family tended to go back to the same places over and over again, which was great because we knew the best restaurants, the best beaches, and what to do to maximize the fun.  Going back to the same places made our vacation spots feel like second homes.  So, naturally, when hubby and I vacation in a new place, I sometimes get a bit tired at the thought of finding new hotels, new restaurants, new activities… sure, that part is fun, but it can be tiring too.  Because of this tendency, I flamed out one night as hubby and I were studying the Zagat guide, threw up my hands, and took the wild step of leaving one San Francisco dinner unplanned and unreserved.  I decided to trust to chance to find me a restaurant on Saturday night.  Adventurous, no?  (Or maybe insane?)  The night we left open in San Francisco, hubby opened the Zagat and gave me a choice – Greek, or Basque.  Because we have a good friend who happens to be Basque (hi, Gorka!), we decided on Piperade, the Basque choice.  I’m glad we did!  The food was fresh and delicious and beautifully presented.  Instead of ordering entrees, hubby and I picked out several appetizers and made ourselves a pseudo-tapas meal.  Here’s what we had:

Lentil soup, absolutely delicious and one of my favorite comfort foods:

Baby peppers stuffed with soft cheese and pine nuts:

Giant bean salad with egg, my favorite dish of the night:

Incredibly flavorful tomato tart:

Tower of crab salad:

And finally, a creamy, cheesy scalloped potato dish with Manchego:

(When I was a piano teacher, two of my students – who were sisters – tried to convince me to come live at their house and be their big sister by bribing me with their mom’s cheesy potatoes.  The bribe didn’t work, but I imagine the cheesy potatoes tasting something like these.  Yum.)

Piperade was an outstanding restaurant.  Every dish was full of flavor, and I’ve been thinking about that giant bean salad ever since.  And I think I learned a valuable lesson – playing it by ear is good; sometimes you find treasures like this place.  From now on, I think I’ll leave one dinner unplanned on each vacation.  (Or maybe that’s just an excuse to quit planning before I’m actually done – the world will never know.)

KISS Seafood is a tiny little place (only three tables and a small sushi bar) in Japantown – but what they lack in size, they make up for with HUGE flavors!  This was some of the freshest sushi and most creative Japanese cuisine that hubby and I had ever had, and we enjoyed every second of it.  We ordered a tasting menu and, with the exception of our requests for no scallops and no raw shrimp (which they were happy to honor), we were completely at the chef’s mercy – and what a fantastic ride it was!  Behold…

Sake in a pretty glass:

Ground soybean paste, a perfectly light, delicate flavor and great texture:

Octopus and veggies:

Sashimi course, the freshest and most delicious I’ve ever had:

Savory Japanese egg custard:

Steamed clam atop veggies and soybeans, in broth:

There was also a sushi course, but I was too excited and forgot to snap the picture.  Sorry!  Dessert was a slice of perfect fresh honeydew melon.  KISS was a fabulous experience, with fresh, creative dishes, perfect pacing and attentive service.  I’d certainly recommend it to sushi lovers – but be sure to book ahead, because tables go quickly!

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!