To There and Back Again...
It was another quick trip. (What an opening line. It sounds like "It was a dark and stormy night...") But quick trips seem to be the only type we make out to San Francisco nowadays. At least this one was for a happy occasion - Pop's 82nd Birthday! Since only three of us six kids actually live in San Francisco, it's just about the only time all six of us actually get together anymore. It's a wild and crazy time when everyone gets together! The kids, the grandkids, the great-grandkids... We are not a quiet family...
We flew in Thursday, and immediately headed to Big Joe's on San Mateo Ave in San Bruno for a burger. Now, if burger quality is judged by the amount of napkins needed whilst enjoying a perfectly grilled burger, Big Joe's comes out waaaaaay on top. I used easily a dozen for my "Joe's Burger" a half-pound burger with avocado, bacon, and cheese. Not a diet plate by any means! Damn, it was good! It's the type of burger that has to be cut in half to even begin to try and eat it, and one has to take bites here and there to finally get it in ones mouth. It's just too huge to chomp right into. Stuff goes sliding about, hands get greasy and messy... It's pure heaven!
It seems every trip west is a food-fest of some sort, and this was no exception. We stopped by and visited with Pop and then headed over to my sister Eileen's for dinner. Knowing we had gourged ourselves at Joe's, she mad a simple but rich split pea soup with homemade cornbread. Yum-licious! It was still early by California time, but late by Pennsylvania time, so, fully sated, we headed to bed.
Friday was another fun food day! We headed down to Redwood City to see our friend Deb who works at DreamWorks! After a tour of the studio, we got to eat in the commissary! Free Lunch! It was "Tailgate Party" theme in honor of the Super Bowl. There was so much to choose from! I had grilled sausage on a really great french roll, potato salad, iced coffee... There was fresh fruit everywhere, salads, nacho bar... These folks know how to eat! sadly, Deb finally had to get back to work, so we headed back up the penninsula...
We did a bit of shopping at our favorite lamp store - Lamps Plus. (I really wish they would head east! We stopped in and bought a new light for the kitchen. It should be shipping any day now... ) Then into the city to meet everyone at the local watering hole.
Saturday was Pop's official Birthday - and the official party! That, of course, meant lots of food! We headed out shopping early. Not only was it a Saturday - my least favorite day to grocery shop - but it was also the day before the Super Bowl. Junk food junkies were everywhere!
Loaded with supplies, we headed back to Eileen's to start cooking. The party was at Judy's, but Eileen has a better-equiped kitchen. We did a baked ham, stuffed eggs, macaroni salad, potato salad, spinach dip in a hollowed out french boule. Loaded up with our goodies, it was off to Judy's.
Judy lives in San Mateo, just down the penninsula from San Francisco. Great weather, great old houses. She has lemon and tangerine trees in her front yard, camelias, jade plants. All the typical west coast flora that I miss! And a great house built in the '30's.
More food started arriving. Debbie made a great ambrosia, and a huge crudite with every assorted vegetable imaginable. Sadly, Mike dropped half of it in the street bringing it in. Oh well. At least the dip survived!
These trips are too damn short - and we eat waaaay too much. I love the second part!
Denny's and Diners...
We had to make a quick trip up to Boston this week - definitely not a pleasure trip - and after the 6 hour drive and checking into the beautiful Day's Inn Danvers we headed next door to the local Denny's Restaurant for a quick bite.
I think what I found most interesting was that we were 3000 miles away from the last Denny's I had visited, but here were the same employees - and the same customers! Talk about being the same everywhere you go! This would make a great sociological study! Are the same socioeconomic people attracted to the exact same places nationwide?!? Well - I guess that would explain shopping malls (the exact same stores and products in every city and town in America) and every other chain restaurant there is... Some folks really do need their predictability...
I guess we're a bit out of the loop because we rarely - if ever - go to chain restaurants. It's nothing personal, really - it's just that I never think to go to one. There's plenty of them around us (we're only a few miles from the huge King of Prussia Mall) and the area is rife with chains) but... there are too many other places around...
Back to Denny's... I had a Chicken Ranch Melt A golden-fried chicken breast on grilled ciabatta bread with a zesty garlic spread, lettuce and tomato. Topped with melted Swiss cheese and crispy bacon. Served with a side of ranch dressing. It wasn't bad - but I never did get my side of Ranch dressing.
Victor had the Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt A golden-fried chicken breast covered in a spicy buffalo sauce on grilled ciabatta bread with a zesty garlic spread, lettuce and tomato. Topped with melted Swiss cheese and served with a side of ranch dressing. He did get his ranch dressing after asking... It wasn't bad. In fact, it was actually okay. Not something I'd make a habit of having every day - and something I could make better at home - but definitely not bad...
The Ciabatta bread was a sort of Ciabatta roll - standardized sizing, of course - and not the sort of Ciabatta I generally buy or make, but it definitely beat the rolls and buns chain sandwiches usually come on. And we upgraded - for an additional 39 cents - to the "Seasoned Fries" that really weren't worth it. All in all, it worked.
The following morning, our friend Dorrie took us to a little diner in Danvers for breakfast. (Portside Diner, 2 River Street, Danvers, MA 01923 (978) 777-1437.) She had passed by it for years, her mom had eaten there all the time back when she worked for Sylvania. But Dorrie had never been inside. It was a treat!
Typical diner in every sense of the word. It had charm that no chain restaurant could ever have - and really good food. I had eggs over easy with a great Greek Sausage (You ain't gonna find THAT at Denny's!) Dorrie had eggs sunny side up with bacon, Victor had French toast with a side of bacon. Breakfast for three, with coffee - $19.10. We sat for an hour getting our coffee refills and chatting away in a booth that could have been built around the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Beautiful old wood, stainless steel, and tacky Christmas decorations still up. I was in gastronomic heaven!
And therein lies one of the best reasons to eschew the chains in favor of local places. This sort of food and decor evolves over time. It can't be created in a test kitchen, nor can the decor be reproduced from a catalog - or by a restaurant designer/consultant. It happens naturally - slowly over time.
It was the perfect way to jump-start our drive back to Pennsylvania!
Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
It's a great place to spend the day - and a lot of money - but the quality... oh...my...goodness... The quality is unbelievable. Fresh. Organic. Wonderful.
The Ferry Building opened in 1898 as the main departure/arrival point for the billions of ferries that plied the bay before the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built. In 1957, the Embarcadero Freeway went up in front of it, and sealed its fate for the next 42 years - until the 1989 earthquake. The freeway was supposed to circle the city and connect the bay and Golden Gate bridges, but when the folks saw what it had done to the waterfront, they said NFW! and it became a long offramp to Broadway Street. I have vague recollections of it being built. the plan was also to make 19th Avenue a freeway from the peninsula to the GG Bridge. (We lived on 19th Avenue at the time!) Anyway... The freeway came down, the Ferry Building went through a multi-million dollar renovation, and the Ferry Plaza Marketplace was born!
The shops are all high-end inside, with an organic farmer's market outside 4 days a week. Everything from Stonehouse Olive Oil (I LOVE their Blood Orange Olive Oil!!) to Caviar, and Cowgirl Creamery to Peets Coffe and other great foods. A fun side note.. I used to work for Tsar Nicholai! Well - I worked for California Sunshile Fine Foods - which is the umbrella company for all the different ventures. I was the shipping manager, shipping gourmet foods all over the world, as well as purchasing all of the specialty produce at the produce terminals in SF and at thr airport every morning at 4:00am. I also ate a LOT of really, really, really good caviar!!! It was a fun job!
But I digress - again...
The Farmer's Market itself is just plain awesome. There are scores of booths set up selling everything from Watermelon Radishes to Brussell's Sprouts still on their stalk. Every imaginable (and a few unimaginable!) fruit and vegetable all lovingly grown in Northern California.
It's a must-stop and must-see if you're ever in San Francisco!