Given the situation, the sweet spot for visits is roughly 11 AM - 11 PM. As such, spending the weekend in San Francisco - despite being less than an hour from home - brings opportunities to do some things I normally wouldn't. The first, as I wake up at 7:30 AM to start the day, is to grab an Irish Coffee and breakfast at the renowned Buena Vista.
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| Irish coffee to start the day! 2017 The Buena Vista. San Francisco, CA |
Irish coffee is a very simple concoction. Hot water is poured into a chalice to pre-heat the glass. Once emptied, it is filled three quarters of the way with piping hot coffee. Two sugar cubes are added, and the liquid is stirred until they are dissolved. A full shot of whiskey is added, and then lightly-whipped whipped cream is poured over a spoon so it layers beautifully over-top the drink.
The end result is a delightfully smooth toddy with just enough whiskey bite. The cream top is the real-deal, made-from-scratch whipped cream that your Grandma used to make for deserts. It sits atop the coffee like an emperor on his throne, lending creamy notes with each sip from the chalice. There is good reason why the Buena Vista is a San Francisco institution, and so far I wasn't disappointed.
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| Dungeness crab omelette 2017 The Buena Vista. San Francisco, CA |
What many don't know, including long-time San Franciscans, is that the Buena Vista has pretty good food too. It is greasy spoon type place, but the breakfast is consistently excellent. They get fresh crab daily, so I decided to decided to order the dungeness crab omelette. If one is looking for something a little heavier, I have heard the dungeness crab Benedict is excellent as well. The dungeness crab meat was sweet, and added nice saline notes. The omelette was cooked perfectly; holding together yet fork tender. The potatoes had fresh herbs, which broke the monotony if weaker griddle fried fare. The final piece - sourdough bread toasted on the griddle - was superb with a little strawberry jam. All in all, a great breakfast to start the day.
After breakfast, I took a leisurely stroll past Ghirardelli Square out of Fishermen's Wharf and to Union Street in Cow Hollow. I grabbed a coffee at the Starbucks on Union and Laguna, waited an hour until 10AM, and walked over to The Brick Yard to catch the Michigan State-Ohio State basketball game.
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| For big games, the Brick Yard is a top 20 sports bar venue in SF Photo credit: Dave Pawlak. 9/17/16 San Francisco, CA |
The Brick Yard - one of the top sports bars in Cow Hollow and Marina neighborhoods - also happens to be the official Michigan State alumni bar for the Bay Area. BY features a full compliment of TVs, solid food, great selection of libations, and excellent bartenders and servers. While this Saturday's game wasn't very special, it was still nice to stop by and grab a drink at a familiar place.
Sadly Michigan State fell flat again Ohio State, leaving a slightly bitter taste in my mouth that even The Brick Yard's habanero fire wings could not remove. After the game, I dialed up an Uber and headed back towards the hotel for lunch and to find a place to do a little writing. After doing a bit of shopping at Westfeld, I picked up my tablet from the hotel and walked next door to Bluestem Brasserie for lunch.
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| Hand pulled duck confit salad 2017 Bluestem Brasserie. San Francisco, CA |
Bluestem Brasserie was selected because of the reviews I had read regarding its hand-pulled duck confit salad. With a big dinner tonight at Spruce (more on that experience to come!), I wanted something light but flavorful. This salad, featuring: lettuces, haricots, croutons, mustard-herb dressing, and a fried duck egg; seemed to fit the bill. I certainly was not disappointed.
Breaking the yoke, I tossed its golden goodness throughout the salad. This gave every bite tasty, egg yoke notes. The duck confit was flavorful, and along with the egg yoke, was complimented nicely by the greens and haricots tossed in the mustard dressing. Croutons added a final touch, providing a contrasting texture while also taking on some of the dressing and egg yoke notes. All in all, a tasty salad that was perfect to tide me over until tonight's big meal.
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