A Brooklyn Life

Whew, I’m not as tough as I thought when it comes to cross-country trips. Thought I’d give a quick run-down of my experiences in San Francisco and mention a couple of places to check out, starting with food.

Blue Bottle Coffee Co. Best coffee I’ve had in years. They are total, complete, utter coffee snobs, but the coffee is so good, I will let them be just as snobby as they want to be. It’s that good. I risk sounding like a coffee snob myself here, but the coffee has dimension! I stopped by the little stand on Linden Street at Gough (map) every day I was in the city.

Hog Island Oyster Co. We ate some (OK, a lot of) fabulously fresh oysters at the bar in the Ferry Building (map), which is a good place for a run-through of fabulous San Francisco food. Acme Bread, Cowgirl Creamery, Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant and many, many more pack the indoor "mall" that reminded me of a much more open and airy Chelsea Market.

Tartine Bakery (map). Had not been party to the "morning bun" concept until I was introduced to this gem. A morning bun is the bakery’s much-improved version of the bun. I wish I had one sitting in front of me as I type this because I feel its taste sadly receding from my mind. Bits of orange rind zest up this light and airy creation that’s sprinkled with toothsome sugar. NYC bakers could learn a thing or two about how to make a scone from these folks, and for a total sugar rush, I’d recommend the almond croissant, which uses some sugary almond paste to get the taste buds pumping.

Pancho Villa (map).I heard much debate about where to find the Mission’s most fabulous burrito, and since I only had time for one, I don’t know if I made it to the best, but I certainly made it to a very good one. My taste buds have been dulled for so long on the New York burrito that these burritos were heaven in a flour tortilla. We had a carne asada (best) and an al pastor. I’d say the closest you can get to it in Brooklyn is the Red Hook summertime Latin food stands.

Luca’s Deli (map). On Chestnut Street in the Marina District, this old-school Italian deli is stocked with homemade deli meats, cheese, olive oils, prepared foods, and they’ll make you a great sandwich that you can cut into while enjoying a marina view.

Absinthe (map). Stumbled upon this place while wandering around  Hayes Valley and remembered it as a casual bistro recommendation from a friend. Can’t speak for the rest of the menu, but I polished off an entire burger myself–get the  spicy onions as a topper and split a cone of fries with a friend.

Gary Danko (map). Ok this was good, very good even, but I can’t quite give it its five Mobil stars. I think the reason is that we were sitting next to someone at the bar who used to work in the restaurant’s kitchen (and now is chef at the new Bar Tartine, if I overheard correctly), and he and his date were being served absolutely fabulous looking food, while ours was just very good looking. What did send me over the top, though, was the cheese cart. If you want to do this restaurant on some sort of a budget, sit at the bar, and order up a king’s ransom of wine and cheese.