Monday, March 3, 2008

San Francisco Quickie Food Tour

This is one of those reviews I wrote a while back, but never posted. I've just finished up (I can't believe I remember something about every place that we went to!) and now I'm finally posting something! YAY!

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I had a couple friends in town the week before Thanksgiving and of course that meant food-motivated trips to San Francisco. Here’s the run down for a delicious day through North Beach and the Wharf:

North Beach

Stella Pastry and Café
446 Columbus Street
San Francisco
www.stellapastry.com

Sacripintina to die for + Cannoli to kill for + A hottie to lust over = Oy!

We had to hit up Stella’s on our second day because they were out of cannolis the first time. The second trip was worth the drive alone. Absolutely the best cannoli I have ever had! I’m pretty sure that there’s a more pronounced cinnamon flavor in the crispy bit and that’s what makes it more me. Plus the creamy filling is so smooth...ugh…must get some STAT! Smoothest I’ve had (I hate gritty filling, therefore I remember gritty filling). Selena ordered the Sacripintina (try saying that 3 times fast) because she heard that this was THE place to get it. I agree, despite having only had it here this one time. Didn’t get anything else, but I’m sure to go back again. Oh, and the Italian guy who “no speaka good English”… HOTT! Only problem is that the place is sooooooo small so there weren’t any tables to oogle the Italian guy from. Had to get everything to go.


Caffe Greco
423 Columbus Street
San Francisco
www.caffegreco.com

Super friendly people run this place. This is where Selena I went on the first trip when Stella’s was out of cannoli. We ended up sharing one, as well as 3 flavors of gelato. I had an almond Italian soda (one of my favorite treats) and Selena had a cappuccino. The whole experience of this place was awesome. It’s much bigger than Stella’s, so if you’re a bigger group or you actually want a seat, this place is good. The cannoli are great – not as good as Stella’s, but they give them a run for their money. I really really liked their gelato; much more than the actual gelato shop down the street.


Gelateria Naia
520 Columbus Ave
San Francisco
www.gelaterianaia.com

This is the gelato place down the street. It was good and it’s the same company that has a shop on Shattuck in Berkeley that I always wanted to go to in between classes. They also have one in the new Oakland Whole Foods. Their gelato is displayed with some sort of corresponding flavor item in it. Very cute! I like their gelato too, but there was just something about it that wasn’t as good as Caffe Greco. Maybe it was because I was really in the mood for one of the flavors from there and it wasn’t at this place. Maybe it was because the façade of the building was undergoing some work and there was scaffolding everywhere. I dunno. I’ll have to give it another go. It was very nice to grab some gelato and eat it at the park while watching dogs play.


Fisherman’s Wharf and Area

Boudin Bakery
Fisherman’s Wharf
San Francisco
www.boudinbakery.com

Okay, so we didn’t stop to eat here, but I do recommend their clam chowder in a bread bowl over anyone elses! We picked up some bread here – I got the garlic sourdough loaf. SO ADDICTIVE!! The epitome of “once you start you can’t stop”. I need to go back and pick up some more. Or order online and it will show up at my door. How awesome is that?!


Capurro’s
498 Jefferson St
(between Hyde St & Leavenworth St)
www.capurros.com

We went here for dinner one night and honestly I can’t remember much about it. I know we ordered a lot of food so that we could share. I think I remember being disappointed about something – maybe it was the prawn pizza? I don’t know. The live jazz band was really good. There’s a bar, but we didn’t drink anything. They were prompt with refilling my water glass. It’s just the food isn’t terribly memorable. Maybe I had fish and chips? I dunno. I think mine was good. Selena had some sort of salad and Christie got the funky pizza that she didn’t end up liking. They were shooting something that night and half the time I was blinded by the spotlights. Not the best place to grab something on the wharf, but definitely not the worst. I’d go again if others were going and they weren’t filming anything.


Buena Vista Cafe
2765 Hyde Street
(between Beach and North Point)
www.thebuenavista.com

So another place we didn’t eat at, but this is THE place to get an Irish coffee. Seriously. If I could handle it and afford it, I would have 3 – one right after the other. They’re kind of pricey, but if you like Irish coffee, you have to try it at least once. The food looked really good too and maybe I would have liked this place more than Capurro’s. I saw a lot of breakfasty stuff going on that night, but it also looks like they have other typical bar/diner food. Have to save up some moolah and go back.

That's it for now! I really do have more reviews lined up, but I'm not going to blow my wad all at once. Check back soon for Sushi Boat and Hayward Area lunch places.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Poor Neglected Blog

This is pretty sad, isn't it?

2 or 3 months without a post, let alone a review.

I have reviews written at home, I swear! I just need to post 'em. Sit tight, they'll come rapid fire right quick.