San Francisco Adventure--Day Two: Two Buena Vistas, Fremont Diner & Lombard Street

J & I started off Day Two in San Francisco with a 2.5 mile run at Hyde Pier and surrounding area. Hyde Pier is just a beautiful spot to spend some time early in the morning and late in the evening. We had a great run, which geared us up for breakfast. We chose a popular San Francisco eatery, The Buena Vista Cafe, which boasts the origin of the Irish Coffee in America. You can view the story here:
http://www.thebuenavista.com/home/irishcoffee.html

Deciding on breakfast was difficult--too many delicious options! I settled on traditional Eggs Benedict, though the Eggs Blackstone (poached eggs over grilled tomatoes) was tempting. The Canadian Bacon was the thickest I have ever seen, with a great smoked flavor. J opted for the Mexican Omelet, and upgraded the toast to toasted sourdough, of course. Papa W had a serving of corned beef hash (he was thrilled to the gills!) and side of sourdough toast along with sharing some eggs off of Mama W's Buena Vista Breakfast Combo (french toast, eggs & bacon). The food was wonderful and the staff even more so. Our busser, a very pleasant fellow, tried to encourage an early start with an Irish Coffee. While J & I would typically take the challenge and bypass the no-alcohol-before-noon rule by justifying with "it's after noon in Ireland", we were still lagging a little from the long day before.  The Buena Vista cafe is a must-stop if you visit San Francisco. It is also safe to say you should visit more than once, as the dinner menu is just as appealing.

After breakfast, we set off for Sonoma, a mere hour from Fisherman's Wharf. We were excited to get to make a trip over the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a beautiful bridge, and is worthwhile viewing from various angles and lookout spots. (More on that further down.)

We had set out specifically for the Buena Vista Winery, California's oldest winery.

It is a charming winery tucked at the end of a long road in Sonoma. From the parking lot is a short walk down a walkway lined with incredibly tall trees and exceptionally large wine barrels.

We spent some time outside reading the placards that tell the story of the winery's origin. We stepped inside for a tasting, and were warmly greeted by the staff. J & I were very satisfied with the wines we tasted, and chose the Syrah to bring home. After leaving the winery, we drove into town, where Mama W & I took some time to score some goods from the fair trade store Baksheesh. Not only do we find interesting and unique items when shopping fair trade, we also are grateful to be able to help support artisans in Third World countries.

Based on a recommendation from the winery staff, we stopped for lunch at The Fremont Diner. Before I go on to rave about this place, I have to be honest and say that we all agreed that had it not come recommended, we probably wouldn't have considered it, as it would not appear to be much from a quick glance while driving by.

Boy did we ever learn a lesson in not judging a book by it's cover! Since it was a sunny day, we opted to sit outside. We were immediately greeted by our waiter, who brought water to the table.

I was immediately charmed as I love old bottles and mason jars. I couldn't help but notice a group of ladies had biked to the diner and had an accessory that I absolutely need.

Once again, the tantalizing menu gave us some tough choices. Most of the ingredients the diner uses are from their own farm out back or from nearby friends and farmers. Mama W & I both chose the grilled cheese (goat cheese & asparagus) with a side salad,

Papa W had the Reuben with a side of baked beans,

and J, as always, could not pass up the burger.

The food was amazing, and to say The Fremont Diner was anything but awesome would be doing a great disservice. Not only is the food great, the staff fantastic, and a great view of a vineyard to the left of the outside dining area,

the diner is full of fun and charm.

Be sure to visit the gift shop for a t-shirt or trinket to take home. The Fremont Diner is a place you want to remember. You know what I remember most? The salted caramel milkshake I had for dessert. That's right--you heard me...

On the way back to San Francisco, we stopped at the Marin Headlands, a very hilly peninsula just before the Golden Gate bridge. There are several lookout points to pull over along the way, providing amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The photo below is taken at one of the first lookout points. The second was taken once we got back to the bottom of the peninsula, almost underneath the bridge.

The Marin Headlands are also home to Fort Cronkhite, Fort Barry, the Nike Missile Silo, Fort Baker--which is now converted to a resort (reminiscent of the Bedford Springs Resort here in Pennsylvania) and the Point Bonita Lighthouse. Unfortunately, the winds were so strong when we reached the area where we would have to get out and walk to the lighthouse, so I did not get to see it. J & Papa W braved it, and made it over the hill, however Mama W & I opted for the safety of the car. I knew I would be lucky to remain standing, and I figured it wasn't worth it.

Upon arriving back to San Francisco, we decided to take advantage of having the car out and some spare time to drive the hills of San Francisco to see some of the popular tourist spots, such as The Painted Ladies and Lombard Street. Just as I was glad Papa W was driving down the extreme hills of the Marin Headlands, I was also glad he was driving down Lombard Street when we took the plunge. It is an incredibly tight S shaped street and not for the faint of heart. I think the person driving two cars ahead of us had to stop and breathe each bend, as they came to a complete stop before embarking through the next curve.

We were all still full from our late lunch at the diner, that we bypassed officially eating out that night in lieu of lighter fare and snacks. J & I bought a bottle of wine at the Walgreens and set in for a relaxing glass of wine while reading. For as much as we were packing into a few short days in San Francisco, we were sure to allow ourselves some down time, space and freedom to do as we pleased.

Stay tuned for Day 3: Crepes, Chinatown and Cable Cars.

San Francisco Adventure--Day One: Boudin Bakery, Alcatraz and Sea Lions

Last week, J & I spent a week in California, one of our absolute favorite places to vacation. The main purpose of our trip was to attend the May 25 wedding of my fellow Diva, N and her fiance, T in San Jose, California. Considering factors like distance, time zones/jet lag, and money involved with getting there, we certainly thought it was worth our while to make a vacation out of it. Since San Jose is less than an hour from San Francisco and we had never been to San Francisco, we chose that as our starting point. My parents also joined us for the trip since they were also invited to the wedding, and this was their first trip to California. J & I were very excited to show them our favorite state.

We arrived very early into San Francisco--9:30am PST. While by the end of the day we were paying for it, it was definitely a perk to get there early and really have time to start exploring. We retrieved our luggage immediately after landing, and hopped the tram to the rental car area of San Francisco International Airport. Pickup was quick and easy, and we easily found our way to the 101 and were on the way to the hotel. I had booked us a suite at the Courtyard San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf. The Fisherman's Wharf area is one of the most northern areas of San Francisco, and I highly recommend staying there if you go. It is very convenient to almost everything--and the many reliable options for public transportation make it incredibly easy to get to other areas of SF.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sfocf-courtyard-san-francisco-fishermans-wharf/

I had requested early check-in, which cannot always be honored if the hotel was fully booked the night before. This was the case for us, but the front desk staff offered to store our luggage as well as park the car so we could begin exploring ASAP. We unloaded everything, turned the car keys over, and off we went. I had booked us a tour of Alcatraz for 1:45pm, so our main goal was to find lunch and fast, as we were hungry and cranky. We began walking down Jefferson Street, the main drag of Fisherman's Wharf.

Soon we stumbled on the famous Boudin Bakery, where San Francisco Sourdough was born.

http://www.boudinbakery.com/at-the-wharf

Part of the fun at Boudin is seeing them bake all kinds of crazy loaves of bread, even offering a "talk to the baker" window from the street where you can watch and interact with the bakers.

(Teddy bears, turtles and crocodiles, OH MY!)
J opted for the traditional Clam Chowder in Sourdough Bread bowl, and I had a delicious Grilled Cheese.

As carb lovers, I can assure you that we easily could have eaten half of the bakery. Everything looked delicious. The Wharf location offers tours of the bakery and in-house museum, which would have piqued my interest if it weren't for the much anticipated tour of Alcatraz. J & I (as well as a few of my friends) had gotten hooked on the Fox series Alcatraz (which, to all of our dismay, has since been cancelled), so we were definitely interested. My parents were on board too, as they had been told by friends that Alcatraz was a do-not-miss tour.

http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/index.aspx

I booked the tour about two weeks prior to our trip, as the tours commonly sell out. A ferry takes you from Pier 33 to Alcatraz Island. They suggest allowing 2-2.5 hours for your tour, though you can stay longer if you want, as they do post the return ferry times at both docks. Aside from bottled water and coffee sold on the island, no food or drink is permitted on the island beyond the dock. There is a picnic area there, so packed lunches are permitted only in that area. You can also grab a snack at the refreshment stand on the boat ride over. The ride over was very breezy and the water incredibly choppy. J & I found it amazing that any inmates ever thought they could swim through such conditions in escape attempts.

We were giddy with excitement as we approached Alcatraz, which is most famous for operating as a federal prison from 1934 until 1963, and boasted high-profile inmates like George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Al Capone, and James "Whitey" Bulger. The island is now maintained as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by the National Park Service. It boasts several rare flowers and plants (many which were planted by guards' families who lived on the island), and is also home to many nesting sea birds.

(Note the nest to the right of the gulls)

(The egg is semi-camouflaged into the nest, bottom right by the stone)

Approaching Alcatraz:

When you arrive on the island, there is a mandatory but brief greeting with a National Park ranger, who gives a rundown of the rules of Alcatraz as well as a brief history of the island. You may then embark on a self-guided audio tour (free of charge) or do like J &I did, and just go off on your own. I'm sure Mama & Papa W got more history and info than we did on the cellhouse and inmates through the audio tour, but J & I also had a great time exploring and learning about all of the buildings and areas of the island. The Alcatraz lighthouse was erected in 1854 and was the first lighthouse on the Pacific Coast.

Our last stop before catching the ferry back was the cellhouse. Very cool and kind of eerie.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and I have to say all the work that the Conservancy and National Park Service has put into restoring the gardens and Alcatraz shows. It really is an amazing place, and the flora and wildlife is as interesting as the prison and related buildings.

J & I got an earlier ferry back, and took a quick spin through Pier 39 to scope out the shops and restaurants. There we stumbled on a farmstand that boasted a lot of fresh, large, home grown fruit, and we greedily scooped up some fresh strawberries, apricots and other items to snack on. We also took a moment to watch the sea lions who live at Pier 39.

Upon our return to the hotel, we opted for a quick pizza dinner nearby at Fisherman's Pizzeria. J had wings, and the rest of us shared a pizza. J & Papa W had beers, I opted for a glass of Chianti. It was a little pricey, but we quickly learned that is to be expected.
http://www.fishermanspizzeria.com/

Afterwards, we went on a search for ice cream. Mama & Papa W ended up at Coldstone Creamery, while J & I did a little more walking and exploring, ending up at a Ben & Jerry's, then doing a little shopping before stumbling on Hyde Pier, which would soon become a favorite spot for us.

None of us made it past 9:30pm PST, however we quickly realized it was really 12:30am "our" time, and we had started our day 21 hours before in order to catch our early flight. We all slept well that night. Good thing, as we still had 6 days to go...

  

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Well let's just get the Ugly out of the way first--I haven't posted since January 18th?!?!  Where has time gone? I swore that I had posted more recently; I guess I need to get all those posts out of my head and typed up! I have all kinds of stuff for you all--cookie recipes, decorations, restaurant reviews...So let's start with a couple of those.

We'll start with the Bad. J & I recently took an awesome bike ride on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and planned ahead to stop for lunch. We had a Groupon for Local Bar + Kitchen, which opened last year in the South Side. We were excited to snag the Groupon some months ago, as Local looked like a really cool place, and well, we like to support local business.

We did take time to browse the menu and decide, as many items did appeal to us. The first thing that disappointed us was when we asked the waitress for a beer list, she said they had just changed several beers, so she didn't want to give us one. We could see a large chalkboard of what we assumed were draft beers, so we said we would just look at that. I ordered a Blue Point blueberry ale and J ordered a Chinook IPA. I was excited for the Blueberry ale as, after a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine several years ago, I was hooked on them. We were disappointed when the beers arrived and they were bottled. We wish she would have just let us see the draft list and helped us choose something that was currently on tap.

I decided on the Chicken Quesedilla ($9), and opted for the "with soy ginger filet tips for $3", as well as indulging in an order of Diesel Lounge Fries--fries loaded with cheese, bacon, sour cream, and chopped green onion. J ordered the burger with Swiss cheese and the cinnamon sweet potato fries. Both looked good upon arrival.

 The fries, however, were not what I expected based on the description. The dish didn't look appetizing at all, was missing the sour cream and green onion garnish, and was overall low on the presentation scale. They scored pretty low on the OMG YUM! scale as well.

My quesedilla was good--but just a note, the with soy ginger filet tips does mean chicken and beef both. I assumed that it was one or the other, but perhaps a closer look at the menu wording would have made me question the waitress as to whether that meant either/or or both. The filet tips were good, but I barely caught any hint of the soy ginger.

J's burger was "so-so". Average, in J's opinion, and believe me, J eats a lot of burgers. Basically everything looks good on a menu until he hits the burger section and all other considerations are off. So I trust his viewpoint of "average" held some water. The best thing about our meal was honestly J's cinnamon sweet potato fries. They were fresh, crisp, and...OMG YUM!

We also had the unfortunate timing of late afternoon when the Penguins were playing, so it got very loud and crowded partway through our visit. Typically, J & I make an effort to go out in the afternoons in South Side versus evenings, due to the desire of avoiding such crowds and noise. It seems to be a very popular place among the young crowd. It has a great setup for watching sports, the menu is appealing, and the interior makes a comfortable vibe for socializing. But I think some of these "young bucks" are missing the boat on some of the other neighborhood gems.

Overall, our experience at Local falls at about a 3 on a scale of 1-10. The couple of menu items that were good did not make up for the ones that weren't, or the lax service. Even though they have pizza (which we LOVE) and brunch (which we love even MORE!), I am not sure we are willing to give Local another go.

http://www.localpgh.com/

On the flip side of that , a couple of weeks later we had a great experience at Mario's South Side Saloon. My cousin A was in town with her new beau, Canada. While A grew up near Pittsburgh, Canada obviously didn't, so we began the afternoon with some tourist adventures. We started with a ride on the Monongahela Incline to Mt. Washington. I hadn't been on the incline for years. It was really great. Even when you live in a city for a long time, it's great to see your city from a tourist point of view sometimes. We spent a lot of time taking pictures from Mt. Washington, visited St. Mary of the Mount church (A & Canada could see it from their hotel room and were curious), and made a quick stop at a church rummage sale to see if we could find any treasures. After arriving back to Carson Street, we headed to Mario's.

We went there partially because there is some family history for us there--our great-grandfather built the building, and opened a men's clothing store that operated for many years. Our grandparents lived there, and A's mom lived there for a few years as a child.

We ordered some beers and took our time with the menu, as there is a lot to choose from. A & Canada decided on the crab dip and wings for appetizers, and J & I ordered fried pickles. If you have never had them, it sounds weird, I know...but they are SO. GOOD. Unfortunately, our waitress came back to let us know they were actually out, so we ordered the feta cucumber dip with fried pita bread. Our dip came first and we all dug in. The dip was delicious and the pita bread superb. It was warm and doughy, not greasy and not too crisp, and was a perfect complement to the cool, crisp cucumber dip. The wings also got a thumbs up. The crab dip, we all agreed, was a little too strong on the spice (Old Bay, I assume). J & I like things spicy, but it was just a tad too much and overpowered the crab.

Moving on to the meals, J had the spice burger, which is topped with jalapenos, banana peppers, and hot pepper cheese. While it didn't knock his socks off, J did find the burger satisfactory. A's Reuben came, and while I don't eat them, I have to say it looked delicious. On top of that, it was HUGE! The only reason she had leftovers was because she had already indulged in appetizers and got full. Canada went with traditional spaghetti and meatballs and cleared his plate. I typically do not order things out that I can make at home, so spaghetti & meatballs is usually something I bypass. However, just like A's sandwich, Canada's pasta dish made me reconsider what I order in future visits. Oftentimes when dining out, I much prefer to sample appetizers and add a salad or soup to top it off. As a French Onion Soup fiend, I had to try the soup. While it wasn't the best I had, it was a good soup and topped with the perfect amount of bread and melted cheese.

I'd rate our visit as a 7 on a scale of 10. Great atmosphere for a weekend lunch, however if you go for dinner, particularly on the weekends or during sports events, be prepared for more of a crowd. The staff is very friendly and great to talk to. We will definitely be going back to try more menu items, but the feta cucumber dip is always going to top our list. One of the best appetizers we have ever had! Now if I can just get those fried pickles...

http://www.mariospgh.com/southside/

http://www.stationsquare.com/info/inclines

If This Weather Has You Thinking Comfort Food...

....do I have the recipe for you! I previously mentioned in a holiday post that I had made my mom's tuna noodle casserole for a co-worker who was having surgery, so she had some meals in the freezer while recovering. Anyone who has ever had this casserole LOVES it, so I had to share the recipe with you all. It is easy, and delicious to boot!

First off, the recipe and what you will need:

Mama W's Tuna Noodle Casserole

8oz egg noodles
2 cans tuna in water, drained
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 325 F. Cook noodles & drain. Mix all ingredients. Bake 40 minutes.

So, those are the basics. Some notes before I continue. "Back in the day", I used regular egg noodles. Now with the wide selection of whole grain or whole wheat noodles, I usually use the local grocery store's wide wheat egg noodles. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that the creaminess of the casserole comes from the cottage cheese and sour cream instead of canned creamed soups. If anyone else out there has high blood pressure, you understand the difficulty in finding food items low in sodium. (Soups, frozen meals, sauces, etc.) Canned soups are notoriously high in sodium. In fact even the ones marked "low sodium" still have levels of sodium above the recommended allowance for someone with high blood pressure. I also now replace the sour cream with Fage 0% fat Greek Yogurt. Greek yogurt is another staple for me in my kitchen. (I use it in any recipe that calls for sour cream, I have mixed it with berries for a crepe filling, in place of sour cream on quesadillas, not to mention it can be a great snack on it's own--great protein boost!) The cottage cheese has some sodium, but the yogurt is extremely low sodium, as is the tuna. This is a way more low-sodium diet friendly casserole than most.

Another confession? I cheat with chopped onion in some recipes. One of the best things in the world (and on my lazy susan) is the giant container of dried chopped onion. I get it in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store, the brand is Badia. Any time I am making soups or a casserole, where the onion has juices or moistness to cook and soften, I totally bypass chopping a real onion and the burning, teary eyes and use the dried onion instead. It cooks right up like regular onion.

So I usually start the process by draining the tuna first, using the can lid to press out as much of the water as I can, then scooping the tuna into a bowl (and let the cats dig the remaining tuna from the cans as a treat). While the water is boiling, I prep all my other ingredients--cottage cheese and Greek yogurt into a large measuring cup, 1/4 cup dried onion in one measuring cup, the shredded cheese in another.

My large Pyrex bowl comes in extremely handy for dishes like this. First, I add the 2 wet ingredients, and add some fresh ground pepper.

Then add the onion:

Mix well. Add the cheese, stir again, add tuna, and stir again.

 Add the cheese and stir some more.

When the noodles are cooked, drain (but don't rinse!), and add to the tuna mixture.

Now, you can bake in a casserole dish, or if you want to separate some to freeze for another time, feel free. J & I recently joined a gym, so I have been looking for more dishes where we can have half when it is cooked, and freeze the rest for a week or so later on a gym night. Just thaw during the day, so that when we get home from the gym, we can reheat in the microwave or stove top, and still have a healthy meal. I used two individual Au gratin dishes, and put the rest in lightly sprayed muffin tins.

Then I add a little shredded cheese on the top,

bake for 40 minutes, and TA-DA!

When the mini-casseroles had cooled, I wrapped them in plastic wrap by twos, put them in a plastic bag, and into the freezer they went. This is how I made the casserole for my co-worker, but this is the first time I have tried it this way for us, so I am hoping it works out well. I like the idea of being able to grab two to thaw for lunch, or 4-6 to thaw for dinner, whatever the meal may call for!

I hope you consider giving this favorite a try--perfect for a cold winter day! My mom will be happy if you do!

Stay warm, and eat well!