I recently visited one of my lovely long-time high school friends in San Francisco. This was my first visit to the beautiful bay area, and I was overwhelmed by the number of independent coffee shops, corner produce markets, and adorable bakeries. Before I visited the bay area, I had filed it away in my mind under the label "hoodie." I expected to pick my way through a city swarming with hipsters and vespas (see footnote at bottom of page regarding hipsters). But when I arrived, all I noticed was the abundance of coffee, pastries, cocktails, and sourdough (in that order).
Here are a few of my favorite spots:
1. Bin 38 Wine Bar: After stopping by Joy the Baker's book signing in the Marina, we stepped into Bin 38 to kick off our epicurean marathon weekend with a bold and well-balanced (and reasonably priced!) bottle of Malbec, chosen mainly due to the menu's likening to Tebow's media coverage and Lady Gaga's wardrobe. We started with the "fried" brussels sprouts (not breaded, but amazingly light and crispy) dressed in a tangy citrus juice, and then worked our way through a chicken roulade with ricotta gnocchi, artichokes, and truffle jus and a burger dressed up with pancetta, onion jam, smoked cheddar, and arugula. We had to surrender before we could even think about dessert.
2. Neococoa at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market: We got to the Ferry Building too late for the full Farmer's Market experience, but we still made it in time to pick up a box of salted caramel milk chocolate truffles. These creamy little gems were not the traditional caramel dipped in chocolate; instead, the caramel is actually mixed into the chocolate before being molded, resulting in a surprisingly soft and creamy consistency. Topped with Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt, these babies were everything I look for in a confection.
3. Tartine Bakery & Cafe: While I visited an unreasonable amount of coffee shops on this trip (including the famed Blue Bottle), this bakery wins my caffeinated star of approval. Their espresso was rich, sweet, and not too acidic. It married perfectly with the enormous flakey frangipane croissant with an obscene amount of almond cream inside that we used as an appetizer while we waited for our lunch... which leads me to my sourdough epiphany. Until this weekend, I had little to no understanding of San Francisco's sourdough obsession. I mean, sourdough is okay, but come on. Ciabatta is where it's at. Well, Tartine helped me figure it out with their sopressata, fontina, and broccoli rabe pesto hot pressed sandwich. The sourdough was fluffy and thick, soft and crusty all at once- I almost didn't even notice the freshly sliced salami or uniquely spicy pesto.
Now, in case my comment earlier about noticing the food more than the hipsters alarmed anyone, don't worry. The hipsters are still there. Here is a picture of some hipsters hanging out on a giant leather couch (how did they get it there? did they drag it across the street?) in the middle of the park filled with other hipsters. Enjoy!
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