Save Me, San Francisco (part 2)

What’s that, you say?  You want more Golden Gate pictures?  Sure thing!

Okay, that miiiight be all of them.  Who am I kidding…I still have more, but I think that might be all of the ones I’m going to post.  Those last two photos are from the sand staircase at Baker Beach.  It doesn’t look like much, but it’s was a killer!  Especially after our long hike at Muir Woods the previous day!

Speaking of Muir Woods…it was only our 2nd day in San Fran, but it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a little while.  The trees were ginormous and it was so quiet and peaceful (up on the hiking trail, not on the touristy main strip), we even spotted a couple of deer thanks to my hubs’ super sonic hearing!  We followed a trail that we knew would take us up, but omg, at one point I thought my heart might explode.  And then an older guy and an older couple came up and I suddenly got a burst of energy.  😉  I don’t super love hiking (bugs & dirt aren’t really my thang), but my hubby does, so like the ever so sweet wife I am, I participate to make him happy.  I’m so glad we got there early though because when we were leaving around lunch time, that place was cuh-razy!!

I didn’t have many touristy things planned during our trip, but I did have several ideas of where I wanted to eat/drink.  Some of them didn’t pan out (maybe next time!), but the ones we made it to, did not disappoint!

The Slanted Door won the James Beard award for most outstanding restaurant so of course, we had to eat there.  Thankfully when I realized I needed to make reservations, there were still a couple of times available.  Our reservation wasn’t until 5:30pm (the perfect time IMO since that’s when they open back up for dinner), but I’m glad we got there early because a line starts to form at the hostess stand and you have to wait in line whether you have reservations or not.  Our meal was delicious, the restaurant was beautiful and the service was great!  The waiter was really helpful with what items were gluten free or could be made gluten free.  We ordered the spring rolls, organic chicken, caramelized wild gulf shrimp (NOT gluten free according to our waiter even though I’d read differently online, but I ate them anyway, hubs did not), cellophane noodles and jasmine rice.

Blue Bottle Coffee was another place I had to visit.  I even knew what I wanted to order…the New Orleans.  Coincidentally, they were 1 block from our hotel!  Score!  I never had a problem with a long line, but I tried to go at off times.

Susie Cakes wasn’t one I had read about, but we ended up eating lunch at Blackwood with some friends and SusieCakes was across the street.  Both were  unexpected, but both were equally delicious!  I’m lying…while Blackwood was really delicious, my cupcake was beyond yummy.  I’m pretty sure I did the whole, bite and moan thing.   I tried taking a photo of the cupcake, but I ate it too fast.  😛

Other eating places worth mentioning…zpizza (I think they’re a chain, but they were right around the corner from our hotel and they offered organic ingredients as well as a gluten free crust!) and our last night in town, our friends treated us to a great dinner at Epic Roasthouse.  If you want a steak, that is definitely the place to go.  My hubs said it was the best meal our whole trip!

K, I feel like I left important things out, but if so, I’ll just have to make a [part 3].  After a day in San Francisco, I was saying I could totally live there and my hubby was thinking the opposite.  lol.  Oh well, it was fun to visit!  I’ll definitely be going back and will likely take the kids to all the touristy things we missed this time.