I spent a few days in San Francisco and had a great time exploring the diverse city! We didn’t get to hit up all of the sites because there are so many amazing things to see and do! Here’s a recap of my time there.
This place was soooo cute and had AMAZING food with huge portions! The folks at Kitchen Story hosted my husband, my mom and I for the loveliest brunch. We came here straight from the airport so we were very hungry and ready to dig in. We ordered a few different dishes to get the best idea of their brunch menu. I had their mushroom omelette with arugula, parmesan, tri colored potatoes and a fresh croissant. Mom had a veggie eggs benedict with beautiful mango pico and Joel had the soft shell crab burger with thick fries.
We also had to try what they’re most famous for: millionaire’s bacon. We got a flight, yes a flight of bacon. It came with rosemary, citron, cinnamon and classic. The cinnamon was my favourite- it tasted like a sweet and salty cinnamon roll. It’s super thick cut and chewy yet crispy. I don’t even like bacon that much and I LOVED this. Definitely a place to check out if you’re in town but MAKE A RESERVATION! We left around 12:30 and the line was out the door.
I am sooo bummed we don’t have this brewery in Austin. We are blessed with many awesome spots, but something about BHB blew me away. Mickey invited us to dine at BHB and we loved every part of it. The space was like a large open loft with tons of seating and homey touches like toss pillows in seating nooks. They also re-purposed a ton of wood from an old building in town that was torn down and you can see it throughout the entire space. BHB has a huge beautiful menu that was so hard to choose from but we narrowed it down to the fish n chips (it’s always necessary), flex your mussels, and Morgan Lee’s reuben with a side of brussels. Make it a point to visit here if you’re in SF!
Joel tried several beers there and one of his faves was the Hey Mickey You’re So Pine IPA. I loved my gin cocktail called the Doctor’s Note made with gin, honey, grapefruit, and smoked hop salt rim. So let’s talk about these fish n chips – rock cod, Barrel Head beer batter, tartar sauce, herbed fries and tangy coleslaw. It was one of the best fish n chips I’ve had outside of London. The fish was crispy but tender and not greasy at all. Joel’s a strict judge of tartar sauce and this was one of my his faves. It was all around a fantastic dish.
I fell in love with the mussels – easily the best I’ve ever had. It’s made with Barrel Head beer, Italian chorizo, butter, fresno chile, smoked chipotle, onions, garlic, tomato salsa, and thick garlic bread. It was just so dreamy. I sopped up all the leftover broth that I could. I even dipped the fries in it. The reuben was another solid choice made with housemade corned beef, puple sauerkraut, swiss, thousand island, and we subbed fries for some delicious sauteed brussels! It was soooo outrageously perfect.
We celebrated my beautiful sister and brother-in-law’s wedding at an intimate dinner in the upstairs space at Park Tavern. The decor and atmosphere was so sweet and romantic! And the food…. oh it was soooo good. I would definitely go back to sit in the general area (which is huge) and try even more amazing menu items.
Perfectly grilled shrimp with spicy mayo on a crisp cucumber and sauteed brussels with parmesan. YUM.
They brought out this bass with giant white beans and kale and the juiciest steak with hollandaise sauce. It was SO DREAMY!
E Tutto Qua
I wanted to love this place, but it was just way too loud/rowdy/obnoxious. The food was delicious but to me, the atmosphere is a big part of the dining experience. My sister even over heard one of the waiters have a typical American accent and then when he came to our table as our server he had this over the top Italian accent. So they put on a show like they’re all from Italy or something? We also had to wait half an hour even though we had a reservation and they stuck us in a weird spot that was not comfortable/seemed like an afterthought.
This was a super cool speakeasy with a very hidden door on top of a Chinese restaurant – great drinks, great atmosphere, and great company. I loved this spot! It’s worth hunting down if you’re in the area.
The Wedding
It was perfect. A quaint 20-something person wedding with my sweet Joel as the officiant at the beautiful City Hall.
Crissy Field Beach
We walked along the beach after our tour of Alcatraz and played with some dogs and basked in the sun. It was wonderful. Definitely come out here for a breezy walk in the sand!
Alcatraz
We used Alcatraz Cruises to take a tour of the abandoned prison and it was SO COOL. It was also sad, but it’s awesome that the Federal Parks and Rec have preserved it and organized the viewing so well. There’s an amazing audio tour that comes with your ticket and you hear from former inmates and guards about their experience. It is CRAZY and so awesome to visit! HIGHLY recommend doing this.
I know this is historically a very sad, oppressed place but it’s really beautiful.
PS we stayed at the Stanford Court Hotel and we really enjoyed our stay there. It was a short trip but a good one. Also, I never have bagels unless I’m traveling, so I had to have this big fat amazing lox bagel from Klein’s at the airport. It was fantastic. Until next time, SF!
