We’re home from our San Francisco trip and had just as good a time as we expected. Even better, maybe, and we had pretty high expectations to begin with.
We did visit Mama’s and loved it. The wait was under an hour and the food was well worth it. I had the Bayshore Shrimp omelet while Stud Muffin had the French toast sampler with orange-cranberry bread french toast and banana nut bread french toast. The service was excellent. Even though the line still stretched around the corner, we never felt rushed or like we couldn’t stay and enjoy a second cup of coffee as long as we wanted.
The other city “main stay” we visited was The Stinking Rose. It bills itself as “A Garlic Restaurant” and it lives up to that. There’s a far of something that looks like pesto on the table, but it seemed to be more garlic and parsley than basil. Garlic-olive oil is on the table also. I had the Neon Ravioli which were filled with potato and cheese and served in an alfredo sauce. Dave had the fettucine in a garlic, butter, and lemon sauce. Both dishes were tasty. Because we all had plenty of garlic that night, I can’t say how long the aromas lingered the next day but I do know we’re all safe from vampires for quite a while.
Each day we splurged on breakfast, skipped lunch and for dinner either had snacks or went out.
Other restaurant highlights:
- Drinks at the View Lounge at the Marriott.
- Dinner at New Sun Hong Kong (very good, a recommendation from a waiter at the View Lounge when Stud Muffin asked where to get good noodles).
- Breakfast at Sears, a local favorite. I had Eggs Benedict, which is always dicey because I don’t love poached eggs, but these were excellent. Whew! Stud Muffin had the Veggie Omelet.
- Watching the Giants game at Bartlett Hall. The fries were A. May. Zing. We shared fries and had drinks while watching the game.
- Breakfast at Dottie’s True Blue Cafe. We needed another breakfast place so I searched for some Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives recommendations in the area and found Dottie’s. So good. Another wait in line, just like at Mama’s but also like at Mama’s, well worth the wait. I had the Fried Egg Sandwich special and it came with fruit! The first fruit I’d seen in San Francisco. Delicious! The egg was just like how Stud Muffin occasionally fixes his fried egg sandwiches: scrambled in a bowl, then poured into a hot skillet and cooked without further stirring, almost like an omelet but without any filling or turning. When the egg is done, he lays it on a cutting board and either cuts out a circle or a long strip that is folded and placed in the sandwich. Dottie’s egg was folded and topped with cheese and avocado, served on a small english muffin. I couldn’t finish it and I mourned leaving some of it on the plate.
- Dessert at Ghiradelli’s. I had a scoop of chocolate with some peanut butter topping. Stud Muffin can’t have peanut butter, chocolate, or really anything very late in the evening, so he shared a couple bites of mine but didn’t have a dessert of his own. My companions had hot fudge confections and malts and all kinds of yumminess.
We also picked up a flyer for an eating tour of San Francisco. You can tour North Beach/Little Italy, Chinatown, or all off the above. We may have to check that out on our next trip. So much good food, so little time.
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