I Left My Heart, No Make That My Palate– in San Francisco

When the memo announcing the annual conference of the IACP, a culinary group I belong to, arrived, I was thrilled to discover that the meeting this year was scheduled in the city by the bay. It had been more than 10 years since I had visited San Francisco so I quickly signed up and booked my airline tickets.

Ferry Bldg Farmers' Market on a Tuesday -spring onionsLast week I spent 5 days in this food lover’s mecca- not nearly enough time to enjoy its many culinary splendors. What I remembered and what is still even more apparent today is that this metropolis’ food venues, whether restaurants, bistros, food trucks, or food stalls, all use fresh and local ingredients to turn out mouthwatering fare. Why wouldn’t they since the near-by countryside is dotted with an abundance of farms, vineyards, ranches, and dairies.

Il Cane Rosso

Il Cane Rosso

Every day I seemed to find my way to the Ferry Building, an historic structure located along the Embarcadero. The building is a transit hub, but more important, it houses an outstanding marketplace of cafés, casual restaurants, cheese shops, butchers, fishmongers, bakeries, chocolate boutiques, and much more. At Il Cane Rosso, a small eatery owned and run by Lauren Kiino, I loved my curried chicken salad on a fresh, crispy baguette as well as an ethereally smooth rutabaga soup garnished simply with a slick of smoked paprika oil.

Miette Bakery

Miette Bakery

A picture-perfect lemon cup cake topped with swirls of lemon buttercream and a delectable banana cream tart with a hidden chocolate layer from Miette, a charming bakery, satisfied my sweet cravings. My husband stood in line for a cup of famous Blue Bottle Coffee, and declared his iced brew perfect. The Cowgirl Creamery displayed cheeses that rival those of France, and Recchiuti Confections boasted beautiful chocolate creations.

The Slanted Door interior

The Slanted Door interior

Later that week I had dinner at The Slanted Door, an acclaimed Vietnamese restaurant, also in the Ferry Building. There in an attractive modern space with a stunning wall of windows overlooking the bay, my husband and I and three other friends savored every bite of chef Charles Phan’s inventive fusion dishes. Mesquite-grilled pork chops with pink lady apples, sweet potatoes, and chili-lime dipping sauce as well as spiced duck breasts with Treviso and pomegranate hoisin sauce were both winners. Crispy imperial vegetable rolls and a grapefruit and jicama salad with red cabbage and candied pecans were palate pleasers too.

Crème Brûlée Cart on a San Francisco Street

Crème Brûlée Cart on a San Francisco Street

That’s just a sample of some of the delicious fare I tried while in this magical city. Once every ten years is not often enough to do justice to this epicurean epicenter. Where else but in San Francisco could you walk out of your hotel and find a food cart selling only crème brûlées!

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3 thoughts on “I Left My Heart, No Make That My Palate– in San Francisco

  1. We too, were recently in San Francisco after spending several days in Healdsburg in Sonoma County savoring the wonderful, fresh food everywhere. Dinner at Boulevard in San Fran and BarnDiva in Healdsburg were the highlights of the trip!

  2. Hi Betty thanks for the SF tips – we are heading there in mid May, after Paris, and I’ll check out your suggestions for lunch and dinner. Happy spring, at long last.

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