The rambling recipes & travels of a home baker

I just got back from a lovely weekend in San Francisco visiting my brother, college and graduate school friends. Thanks to all who hosted, drove and fed me.  You all make San Francisco such a lovely place to visit and every time I think I could move there…..alas, the house…and well, I’d have to find a job and then it just wouldn’t be as much fun….

So the title of this post is My Multicultural Belly.  It goes like this:  I arrived in San Francisco late Friday evening and my brother took me to his favorite tacqueria near the corner of 29th and Mission where we split a quesadilla and I had a fresa (strawberry drink).  

The next morning (after a late evening round of Wii tennis – Ernie crushed me, it wasn’t even fun for him) we went to Tartine Bakery and had lovely french pastries early in the morning.  We barely avoided the big crowd that lines up each day.  My favorite moment was when the toddler next to us two-handed his chocolate croissant and took a big (little) bite out of it and left his cute teeth marks! 

Later that day, I met my girlfriends at Lovejoy’s Tea Room in Noe Valley where we had High Tea chock full of tea sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, jam and shortbread.  And tea too, but quite British!  A few of us headed to Richmond to walk off the food and after short walk around Clement Street, Emily (our expectant mother who is very agile on her feet!) and I stopped into Good Luck Dim Sum (where you order at the counter and you eat in back – no rolling carts here!) and we had tasty green chive dumplings.  As my friend, Melody, once pointed out, the soy sauce is for some reason thick and sweet….

We then went over to Susan and Wen’s where I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and Wen bbq’ed some steak and Korean Kalbi Style Ribs.  The next morning, Melody and I headed to brunch at Suppenkuche in Hayes Valley where we had german breakfast – mine was called Semmelknödel mit zwei Ei und Bratwürst (Bread Dumpling with two Eggs and Bratwurst).  A simple explanation, the bread dumplings smushed into a dough pancake and pan fried, served with an over easy egg, potatoes and small bratwurst – yum.  A little damage to the credit card, some coffee at Blue Bottle (smooth decaf mocha).  A trip to see Shanon, Sean and little Finn and it all ended with a quick stop into Bay Bread on Fillmore for some tasty canneles for a repeat French Patisserie ending.

Then a quick flight home on Virgin America, which rocks and their lighting is pink and purple and you can watch TV.

What fun.  My very multicultural belly is quite full.