This was our second visit to a Redwoods forest. It was no less spectacular. The sheer size of the trees and rich smell of dense forest made us an unusually quiet bunch.
This guy keeps taking pictures of us?
I had to give it a squeeze...and smell.
Kabuto
Kabuto Japanese topped off our SF trip like an exquisite cherry. Mike and Louise took us to their fav spot and ordered dish after dish of sashimi, creatively delectable rolls and famous house dishes. Sophia’s eyes lit up at the arrival of nearly every plate (exception: unagi). Alfie demo’d 10 pc’s of salmon sashimi and then started losing his sh*t and running back and forth with wild eyes. It was a slightly unfortunate end to a lovely eve, but like all restaurants we’d been to in SF Kabuto were well versed in the art of young children.
Starting the meal with a lot of yellowtail. Louise is barely able to eat as the kids wanted her as close as possible. Yes - Alfie is still wearing his bike gloves.
Sophia's hands reach for the spicy tuna handroll with cracked quail eggs.
Oysters 1849. A freshly shucked oyster with unagi, salmon roe, flying fish roe, quail egg and shaved gold. It was a mouth-gasm!
Leaving stuffed to the gills. Alfie's calmed and now Sophia is fretting over her choice of green tea ice cream over mango. Time to leave.
Off The Grid
Mike and Louise took us to the Fort Mason ‘Off The Grid’ food truck extravaganza. The Friday night food festival was a bustling parking lot jammed with food trucks, tents, carts and hoards of foodies lining up to get their hands on the goodies. Louise forewarned us of long line-ups and expensive prices, but that it was all worthwhile for the incredible vibe and unusual eats. Lets say the jumble of trucks delivered. I ate my fill and ended up with a gut bomb of the best kind. The kids kept up with our voracious tasting. Best part… switching back and forth between dinner and dessert?!
Ready. Set. Eat.
Mike is serious about his food. He does his research and follows his nose. No sooner has he gripped his hands on one tasty treat (piping hot empanada), he’s onto the next.
Chicken waffle. No - i didn't eat this.
Charlie chose French street food - sausage with caramelized onions and aoli and frites.
Creme brulee of all sorts. We ate mouthfuls in between Korean and Indian food. A weird combo. I don't recommend it, no matter how good the sea salt caramel creme brulee is.
On the Mission
We couldn’t miss the Mission District in SF. This east-central hood is gentrifying quickly. It’s eclectic, unique, inspiring, rare, rad, uncommon, unusual and most of all just COOL (note: defining ‘cool’ and ‘cheesy’ to a 5 year old is difficult!). It has everything you could possibly need, and never need all while being in SF.
We hit the Mission (Valencia & 16th to be exact) during lunch-time with our friend Hugh. He was a patient guide as we popped in and out of eateries, shops and parks with our rambunctious kids.
I’m a fan of drippy, juicy sauce-packed pizza on a thin and chewy crust. Farina pizza delivered. We packed back both a spicy salami and porcini pizza with a pear, walnut, arugula salad. Charlie declared it was the BEST pizza yet. (**Mike argues this isn’t the best. SF argues it isn’t the best here.)
About to dive in!
Yeah. So San Fran is a cheese bomb. There are so, so many places to gorge on cow/sheep/goat dairy..too many to list. Mission Cheese is arguably one of the best.
THIS is Dandelion Chocolate – a veritable chocolate institution. Todd, Cam + team have dedicated their lives to bringing real chocolate back to the Bay Area. They ‘roast, crack, sort, winnow, grind, conch, and temper small batches of beans and then mold and package each bar by hand.’
Not only do they prepare tiny batches of mind-bending choc from high quality beans, they’re also devoted to sharing their carefully crafted knowledge by teaching workshops and taking groups on expeditions to cacao bearing countries. Charlie, Hugh, Alfie, Sophia and I dibbled and dabbled in their sample section and finally decided on the treat to eat -- handmade s’mores with real chocolate. Sophia, the chocolate lover, ate most of it.
Craftsman and Wolves – a contemporary patisserie. We’re the wolves-- ready to pounce at all the deliciousness.
What better way to follow pizza and s’mores? Happy Moose Juice! We found Hugh a few steps ahead tasting these sinfully healthy sips.
Alfie really got into his juice. Here he is, just a little man at his bar. Tip: at night, this juice bar turns into one of the Mission’s best cocktail bars and restaurants - The Range.
A quick stop into the wild, fantasy-land of Paxton’s Gate set our stomach back to equilibrium. Well, almost. This collection of curiosities, succulents, crazy artifacts filled Charlie’s appetite for odd things. Alfie and Sophia were thrilled to see that Unicorns really do exist.
Let the palates come out and play
Who says kids can't eat (or try) everything? We've been watching Sophia's spectacular palate emerge over the past few weeks. San Fran was the perfect place to watch her taste buds bubble and overflow. If it was on offer, she ate it. 'Squid and octopus' are headlining as two of her top choices.
After a full day, we popped into Mason Pacific for a quick bite. Sophia ordered octopus. It was grilled to perfection and served with a fennel and arugula salad. Lets say she didn't get to eat it all...
Charlie and I fell head over heels for the spring arrival of Gris de Gris.
If this was our hood, I would vote MP as our local!
Dinner at Out the Door. Mung bean dumplings in a sesame soy sauce..
Salt and pepper squid rings. Spicy and salty goodness. Not on show were the slow braised short ribs and sauteed kale.
Windy, windy
Mr. Alf just loves any sort of transportation (apart from walking), so he's up for riding whatever we find. Boats, buses, trams and cable cars are a big thing in San Fran. We did them all.
On our boatride around the Bay. we joggled around kite surfers, sharks and Alcatraz.
Charlie's holding onto the wild flea so she doesn't jump off the boat.
On our way to the Exploratorium. Touted as the 21-st Century learning lab, it was the perfect place for little and big hands to prod, poke and explore for hours. Sophia's fav exhibit -- pig eyeball dissecting! Alfie just liked climbing and jumping. With his gloves on.
Time for a new shirt. When given the choice, Alfie chose all three colours of shirt. He's been a walking advert for San Fran since.
Girl Dog Walk
Sophia and Koa walk the streets of San Fran. Dog love is sinking deeply into Sophia.
Love Inc
Certain songs become a soundtrack to a part of your life. I like to play songs over and over again to have them sink into different parts of me. It's almost like the song morphs into my memories, or the other way around. Whatever it is, I've done it as long as I can remember. It's a handy way to trigger amazing (or poignant) times. Just play that song.
Charlie picked this song up from the 'Gregfather'. Love Inc has become the soundtrack to our drives in California. It sinks both kids and adults into an unforgettable zone.
Sausalito's a trip
We saw a sneaky red-masked man in our room. He may be the next Bandito to hit Sausalito.
It's all about the mini biking gloves.
H-Angry for food.
M-jack quesadillas and guac are going down easy.
Meticulous fondling of fish tacos by tiny hands.
After a mexican food-blast, we hit the jackpot of house boat piers.
Through the fog and out the other side. Central San Fran here we come...
Diavola
Gil and Penny know their food. They promised a killer, authentic Italian meal and delivered. If you're ever in the Santa Rosa region, trek to this delicious Italian resto in Geyserville. Diavola suits all palates and is a mecca for pizza, pasta, scrumptious salads and Italian prepared sea foods and meats.
Penny put me onto the Spritz drink. A venetian favourite. Perfect for warm climates. Easy to make and too easy to drink.
Breadstick kiss
House-made sausage and arugula pizza in the foreground. Gil's fav - spaghettini with pork cheek ragu is dwindling in the background.
Pappardelle with duck and oxtail sugo. We had demolished the local octopus and liver before snapping a pic.