San Francisco=foodie central

We've started the first leg of our (pre-wedding) trip to California, and I must say, the food has been divine! We have five days in San Francisco, a mecca for foodies and food snobs. So far, everything has been grand.

Satuday: Dinner
Pan Arabian Cuisine Restaurant - Mission District

Never mind that we finally settled on dinner here after a couple hours of deliberation, trying to hail a cab, having a 1.5 hour wait at our first pick at a nearby Mexican joint, etc. We were dining with a group of people, and that's difficult enough. Brian and I had tix to that evening's performance of the Empire Plush Room Cabaret. This place is definitely not a spot if you're ravished and time-pressed, although we did have some Becks and an amazing bellydancer entertain us throughout our wait. Brian and I ended up missing the show, and the food (and company) was probably worth it (I say probably b/c I don't know how good it might have been - and don't care to find out anytime soon!).

Le menu:
(Me): Morrocan filo- warm chicken mixed with cinnamon and almonds, and topped with powdered sugar.
(Brian): Chicken kebobs with what tasted like spicy tzatki over rice. Obviously the favourite; well over half our group of 7 ordered this; seemed to be the case of most patrons in the restaurant.

Sunday: Lunch
Fisherman's Wharf AKA "Tourist Trap"
Grabbed a clam chowder cup and crab salad sandwich from a random streetside vendor; Brian had pizza on sourdough crust, and we ate overlooking Alcatraz. Had a kahlua truffle from the Chocolate Factory for dessert. Everything was delish!

Dinner:
L'Osteria del forno - Columbus Ave, North Beach
Shared a tomato and french feta salad, tomato slices encircling the plate, sprinkled with feta, basil, oil and balsamic. It's simplicity made it delectable. I had the pasta special: homemeade ravioli with basil-essenced ricotta, in sauce, covered with parmesan. Absolute heaven! Waited 15 mins. for a table - there's only about 10 in there, which makes for a very intimate, warm experience; walls lined with olive oil bottles and B&W photographs.

Monday:
Brian and I had an appointment at City Hall to get our marriage license. We had granola bars in the car. I will eat a decent breakfast in this town before I leave! We decided to go down to the Ferry Building Marketplace for lunch, which was featured in Bon Appetit's Sept. issue. This is a food fan 's absolute paradise! A long sparkling hallway leads one past stands of organic fruit and homemade chocolate and olive oil. Restaurants are in full glory. We decided to go to the Slanted Door, but as we had a slight issue finding parking, we got to the restaurant slightly after 12, along with throngs of other hungry patrons. We were told we'd have to wait 1.5 hours without a reservation, unless we sat at the bar, which featured a full menu. We looked at the unappealingly crowded bar and decided to venture forth. While deciding our next strategy, we paid a pit stop to Sur le Table, a store featuring gadgets and gizmos and cookie cutters randomly shaped like Texas and dragonflies. I looked for a California one, but alas they had none. Settled on an extra-wide orange Mario Batali flipper and happily filed out of there, in search of food once more.

Lunch:
Perhaps the biggest problem there is that there are so many options! We decided to catch the ferry to Sausalito while we were there, and so settled on the take-out counters where we first entered. I went to Out the Door and ordered the lemongrass pork noodles, with peanuts sprinkled on top. Delicious! I also ordered the tropical juice, which had large chunks of fruit settled at the bottom that would come up through the straw. Brian went to Taylor's and ordered a burger with onion rings, that provided him will all the pick-up they promised. We hurriedly went through the building to pick up items for our planned picnic in Sausalito. We chose a 2002 Napa cabernet-?, picked up the Cowgirl Creamery chese sampler package (complete with Cowgirl spreader!) with St. Pat organic cheese and --- goat cheese; then headed over to Acme Bread, where we bought one simple, glorious baguette. Lulu Petite provivded our dessert - one deliciously glistening brownie. We boarded the ferry, sat back, and enjoyed the view on the 15 minute voyage.

Sausalito: Snack
Enjoyed a lovely stroll and ice cream in this chaming little town.
Ice cream-chocolate macadamia nut in chocolate-dipped waffle cone

Dinner:
When we returned to the dock in SF at 6:30, we decided on dinner at Mijita, a Mexican place we considered earlier when deciding on lunch options. For once we got the same thing: tacos with marinaded chunks of beef, loaded with salsa and cilantro, in homemade shells, and a side of pepitas roasted with cumin, corainder and jalapeno. The best tacos ever, ever, EVER.

Today we have tix to Alcatraz and afterwards we'll do the cable car from Hyde-Powell. Will post more tonight!