Eats * San Francisco

Last September, my Mr. and I took a trip to SF for a wedding. We took a few extra days off to enjoy SF with some of our friends. And by enjoy, I mean eat the entire city. I am always amazed at how good the food in SF is. Everything is so fresh! I don't think I've ever had a bad meal here and we were averaging about six meals a day.

Ike's Place

3489 16th Street

San Francisco CA

Sandwiches galore! Our friend took us to this place right after he picked us up from the airport and it was the perfect meal. Their menu is massive! I wish I worked by this place so that I could try a new sandwich a day. The sandwiches are generously packed with fresh ingredients and there's something for everyone.

 

Hard Knox Cafe

2526 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107 

I had a random craving for chicken and waffles and lo and behold, our friends live right around the corner from an awesome southern comfort food place! Their chicken and waffles were lovely. The waffles were fluffy, the chicken crisp and juicy. And their sides... so tasty. I accidentally filled up on their cornbread before my chicken and waffles came out but I didn't even regret it. It was that good.

Bi-Rite Creamery

2526 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107  

Salted caramel. Lives up to the hype.

 

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot

215 S. Ellsworth Ave

San Mateo, CA 94401 

I'm pretty sure that their broth is made of crack. Usually when you eat hot pot, you have a little sauce on the side to dip whatever you fish out of the broth into before popping it into your mouth. No sauce necessary at this place. The broth is so flavorful and anything you put into the pot just soaks up all that deliciousness. It's a must eat for us when we visit SF.  My favorite add-ins are a-tsai and dduk (rice cakes) and my Mr.'s is fish tofu.

MissionPie

2901 Mission St

San Francisco, CA 94110

Pie! It's the new cupcake. Super charming place and friendly staff that are happy to point you to their favorites. We bought a mixed berry to share with our friends and a turkey pot pie for a snack. Delicious!

This was only a handful of the places we ate at during our trip. Can't wait to go back and discover more tasty things to eat!

away to taiwan

RT and i took a rather last minute trip to taiwan to spend some time with his family.

fo guang shan in khaoshiung

night market and the plague that is scooters in taiwan.

stinky tofu. a must try if you travel to taiwan.

good morning

din tai fung? xioa long bao?? yes please!!!

standard udon but i had to share a photo of my ridiculously cute fish cakes

private hot spring <3

wisteria

calla lilies at miau-ban garden

lotus ferns. can't find these in the states :( really delicious, light and crisp

steam rising from cracks in the mountains at yangminshan. if you walk closer, you can see the yellow sulfur building up around the cracks.

new haircut :) 

 beef noodle/dumpling soup. possibly my all time favorite taiwanese food.

tsong yo bing (scallion pancake). i know this looks very "meh" but it was so delicious and completely unavailable in the states. it's not even widely available throughout taiwan! it's a new style of making scallion pancakes... i am in love!

bizarre dusty haze in tokyo... lots of turbulence as we flew into narita. by the time i got off the plane my knees were weak and i was all shaky! 

hm... there are an awful lot of food photos here. strange because i had no appetite the entire trip! my jet lag and all the bumpy bus rides we went on really took a toll on my ability to eat. i was only able to nibble on all of these delicious things. but now that i look at them... i'm getting really hungry...

here, there, everywhere

i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! we've been traveling a lot these past couple of months and i thought i'd share a few photos from our adventures :)

after our wedding in september, we headed straight to hawaii for our honeymoon. hawaii is so gorgeous and the food! oh the food is too good.

wild chickens roam around kauai and cockadoodledoo all day long. i thought they were hilarious.

queen's bath. the waters around hawaii are so unbelievably clear.

power hang gliding. that's me in the back seat! i thought i'd be terrified but it was so much fun that i'd love to do it again.

i miss shave ice

malasadas! i'm searching for a place in boston where i can get these.

after we got back from hawaii, we packed up again for a visit to san francisco. 

our first mongolian hot pot experience. i'm not sure what they put in their broth but it was phenomenal.

i only had a few must-do's on my list and miette was one of them. everything was too pretty. i highly recommend their mini scharffen berger chocolate cake. the taste and texture are divine.

we spent thanksgiving in DC with RT's sisters. it was a wonderfully lazy weekend that included RT's 29th birthday celebration.

the national archives. i loved it here. they had on display pa ingalls's de smet homestead file. if you grew up with little house on the prairie books i'm sure you understand how cool it was to see it!

library of congress

hello mr. president!

the national postal museum. how cute is this mailbox from the netherlands?

whew, that's a lot of traveling for someone who's a total homebody. i do love to see new places but sometimes home is my favorite place to be :)

another day in new york

RT and i decided to take a last minute trip to new york, our last before winter settles in and it gets too cold to walk around. we went with no real plans... a first for us! it was nice to wander around aimlessly and just enjoy the city.

m&j trimming. i love this store. this is the mother ship of all trim stores. it can definitely be overwhelming since there's so much inspiration packed in every shelf! it literally goes from floor to ceiling.

tinsel trading co. i nearly hyperventilated upon entering. this shop is GORGEOUS. most displays in the trim district focus on function rather than design. the tinsel trading co. not only has lovely inventory but the store itself like a beautiful vintage treasure chest. i walked around the store clapping my hands with joy at all the vintage goodness. i so badly wanted to take photos of the inside but i was too shy to ask.

kinokuniya. i can not stay away from this place. it's like a drug. i got another scrapbooking book and some more pretty notebooks which hopefully will be filled using inspiration from the scrapbooking book. i'm going to test out a whole new scrapbooking style! new to me at least.

brunch at braai in hell's kitchen. i liked that their brunch menu offered pretty standard brunch fare but with a south african twist. makes trying new cuisines a lot less intimidating. my breakfast sandwich was made with an english muffin, eggs, spinach, onions, feta, and a tasty sauce that i couldn't identify. i loved the spicy potatoes and peppers that came with it. i think it's called chakalaka? unfortunately it took forever and was stone cold by the time it got to our table. i still inhaled it and had it been warm, it would have been perfect.

we ended our trip with tickets to how to succeed in business without really trying. we bought super discounted tickets using an online promotion and somehow ended up in the front row?! it is truly amazing to experience a broadway show up so close. especially one with dan radcliffe! i nearly fell out of my chair when he came within five feet of us. he's a pretty good singer and dancer! and i loved the set and costumes, so retro! the show itself has an incredible, infectious energy. i'm pretty sure i had a semi-crazed smile of wonderment and excitement on my face throughout the entire show. i hope i didn't freak out any of the performers.

last stop was chicken and rice and then a heartburn filled car ride back home. bye new york! see you in the spring ^_^

i was here

i stepped into blick to buy some posterboard and rubber cement and left with an awesome travel journal.

love the charming illustrations

and the ideas! i'm definitely going to start an international pad collection.

in the reference section, a guide to international dumplings. a definite must-know when traveling.

places to write what you ate

and people you meet. "what do you spread on toast?" never thought to ask anyone that.

i was here: a travel journal for the curious minded by kate pocrass

i'm a terrible traveler. i don't take enough time to sit back and really experience a place. we're usually on a tight schedule so i'm too busy trying to get from major tourist site A to major tourist site B. i wish i could buy a case of these journals so i could have one for each trip that i take. it really encourages you to observe your surroundings and see all the interesting things that your eyes would normally pass over. in addition to all the fun stuff, there are pages to help organize your plans and itineraries. there's also lots of space to doodle, scribble, and jot down random thoughts and notes. if you take the time to work through its pages while you travel, you'll end up with a really wonderful souvenir.