First, Hotels. I have stayed at the Fairmont- elegant, stately & a piece of history in SF ( I recently stayed at one of the Fairmont Hotels in Montreblanc, Quebec, Canada & it was magnificent!) and my last trip to SF, I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental, in the Financial District, which was luxurious, ( sort of in between a large luxury hotel & a boutique hotel rolled into one) with the most spectacular views and beyond gorgeous rooms & bathrooms, and was planning on returning there but my concierge at American Express suggested The Four Seasons, as it is more centrally located. The hotel was lovely- large but not overwhelmingly big, and the rooms were very nice, pretty, lovely amenities, great bed linens, and very large bathroom with both a large jacuzzi tub and a large glass shower, so all was fine. (& one of the "highlights of my trip" was meeting two of my all time favorite musical artists- at the hotel- on my floor!) Hint...... CK & JT (more about that later)
As we were arriving early evening, we wanted someplace easy to get to and close to the hotel, (which is why the location was so great) everything is a few blocks in any direction, we
went to John's Grill, which is not only like "Sardis" of Manhattan, due to the fact that every famous person has been there at one time or another & has their photo on the wall, including the likes of Keanu Reeves, Renee Zelwiger, Hilary Clinton, and Johnny Depp , but due to the fact thay it is a National Historic Literary Landmark, since 1908, and the setting for the novel and subsequent movie, "The Maltese Falcon", so it is quite unique. It is a very casual dining experience, with very fair prices.
Featured on the menu is Jack Lalanne's "favorite salad", so as I always like to do, as it was featured as the most special salad on the menu I ordered it and it was delicious! Chock full of large chunks of fresh local dungeness crab, shrimp, avocado and tomatoes over seasonal greens with their house blue cheese vinaigrette dressing. Yum. While they are known for their Dry Aged T bone, Thick Bone in New York Steak and Porterhouse steaks, they were also featured in Gourmet Magazine for their Oysters Wellington, which is one of my favorite items. Usually, they are done in their own shell- these were baked in puff pastry with a touch of sherry cream- so good!
Next day, Breakfast.
Now, a little something I would like to say about breakfast. To me, or at least, in my opinion, breakfast is for eating- dinner is for dining. The greasy spoon- type diners are usually the best. And, on top of that, as I mentioned before, I am not a big breakfast eater. I love cooking it, serving it and watching others eat it, but I really don't like "breakfast" items in general- never have. NO pancakes, french toast, waffles, or basic eggs in general. However, that said, I do occasionally partake in an occasional order of eggs benedict or unusual omelette. So, Lori's Diner. A 50's style diner- upstairs on Geary street. The walls are filled with parts of old cars, old jukeboxes, the old fashioned ones on every table, and lots of 50"s memorabilia all over. Very cute place and breakfast, while nothing fancy, was very good,, and I ordered "The California Omelette", because, as they say, 'when in Rome" - smoked chicken sausage, green onions, avocados and cheese. It came with fresh fruit instead of home fries, which I liked. The basic fare includes french toast, all types of pancakes, eggs, and omelettes, and of course, lots of burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and salads for lunch. A fun place with lots of decor to enjoy as you are eating.
That day, as the weather was so beautiful (escaping the heat wave of NY!) to no humidity, blue skies, and temps of mid 60's, we did alot of walking. I mean, maybe 10 miles. We walked to Fisherman's Wharf, which is more of 'tourist" spot, but they do have "In & Out Burger" (one of my daughters favorites) , Scoma's,, which had been around forever for seafood, and of course, Ghiardelli Square, and The Cannery, etc. (Also, lots of souvenier stores).
We then walked off breakfast, and walked to Chinatown. Now, another opinion, and I will eventually have a separate, much larger post about Chinese Food, but for now, lets just say that I am not a big fan of most "typical seedy" chinese food joints and am, admittidley, a bit of a snob when it comes to Asian food. However, on my last trip to SF, the concierge at the Mandarin Oriental highly recommended this place called "The Oriental Pearl" and it was fabulous. It is on Clay Street, and believe it or not, has tablecloths, and has won the Michelin Award for Food Excellence 6 years running, and Zagat rated as "the best chinese food" every year since 2001. Everything is cooked to order, including the Dim Sum, so be prepared to wait a bit- they don't just bring it all out-, but well worth the wait. Their 'signature" appetizer is fantastic- the House Special Chicken Meatball, (one per person) - a delectable meatball made of ground chicken, shrimp, mushrooms & virginia ham wrapped in egg whites and served in a scallion infused egg white sauce that is out of this world! OMG!! There is not a bad dish on the entire menu. If you just want Dim Sum, Yank Sing is the place- they have 2 locations, but the best one is in the Trans America Center.
We then opted to take a trolley ride thru the city, and then back to our hotel, and later that evening, walked to the AT&T Field (no longer Candelstick Park) to see the NY Mets play the SF Giants. I am amazed, even after going to many games at Citi Field, of the eaieries at these ball parks. What ever happened to the traditional hot dog? Yes, they have them, but I never saw such an array of food items & choices! Lo Mein, Tacos, Carribean Chicken, Greek Salad in Pita, Kosher Deli ,and Garlic Fries- an apparent favorite in Sf- French Fries drizzled with Garlic, Parlsey & Butter instead of Ketchup- wild.
That evening, we dined at a fairly new funky spot- Piazzia, owned and operated by a young, handsome Italian gentleman and his partner, and where the homemade brick over thin crust pizzas with dozens of toppings, and fresh pastas were wonderful.
Next Morning (are you feeling full yet? LOL) , we were gong to walk around to find a place or two that Guy had recommended on his show "Diners, Drive Ins & Dives", called 'Tommy's Joynt' & 'Dotties' & not in such a great area, but when we asked the doorman, he replied "that is sort of a dive & in a REALLY seedy area, so don't walk there- take a cab but instead, but definitely go to "Dotties- but there will be a long line ! " We took a chance & walked there and left our comfort zone of all the designer stores and boutiques, and the streets changed after 5 blocks or so, and the hotels looked more like the flee bag hotel that Tom Hanks stayed in after becoming"BIG" when he had to hide out the first night in NYC- these places were scary looking but then suddenly, a long line & "Dotties True Blue Cafe" . Heaven. This place has only 9 tables and a counter that seats 4. Its max is 32 people. The line- an hour & WELL WORTH THE WAIT!!!!
The only nice part about waiting on line, is you get to talk to other people who are also waiting in this ridiculous line and sometimes you meet some really nice, interesting people, which was the case- BOTH days (yes, we went back the next day & waited over an hour & a half)
Now, when you finally reach the promised land, (the inside) , there is a small chalk board on the wall with about 20 "specials". we were offered a table, but opted to wait (yes, waited some more) for the counter, to watch what goes on there & it is a show! I am embarrassed to say I normally carry REAL pure maple syrup when we travel, but believe it or not, in this joint, this dive, this treasure , was REAL maple syrup!
When we finally were seated, we read the menu, were poured some fresh delicious hot coffee, we watched the GRILL master- doing 4 orders at a time. The music in the background is Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, and the likes, and photos of the same all over the walls, and fridge, which is in the grill area.
The specials included such items as Zucchini pancakes with poached eggs, butternut squash pancakes, a frittatta of eggs, feta tomatoes, and andouille sausage, and dozens of others. YOu can also customize your omelette , which I did, and the choices were wild! You want Sausage_ You can have Chorizo, andouille, smoked chicken apple sausage, lamb & fennel, or mild italian, etc. Cheese- goat cheese, french gruyere, jack, cheddar, etc. and so on. All the orders come with home fries and their own homemade buttermilk dill toast and you can order their own thick cut french toast or a short stack of pancakes- whole wheat with ginger and cinnamon, fresh blueberries, chocolate chip, buttermilk, cornmeal, etc. Just amazing!!
So, I had the lamb & fennel sausage omelette with goat cheese, mushrooms and avocado- just incredible!
I could write volumes about this place- it was outstanding! A must for anyone who loves breakfast (& even for those who really don't) **Don't leave without getting one of their huge iced cinnamon buns or their blueberry cheesecake bars!!!
More to come!!
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