San Francisco Part 1

I was recently away on vacation for 2 weeks, 5 days of which were spent in San Francisco.  My boy toy and I are use to packing light for hot Caribbean islands, our go-to vacation spot for the summer time.  So when I suggested that we go to San Francisco, where temperatures are usually peaking in the 60's, his response was "meh!"  I understood where he was coming from. I spent so long packing, trying to decide what to pack and coming up with plenty "what if" climactic scenarios in my head.

Despite the chilliness, we had a blast in San Fran.  We visited Little Saigon, Japantown, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, Sonoma and Napa wineries, Golden Gate Park and the Fisherman's Wharf.  Here are some of the many food adventures:

The first thing that we wanted to do at Little Saigon was to try their Banh mi!  I found on Yelp a highly recommended spot called Saigon Sandwich, a boutique store that specializes in banh mi and banh mi only.  Yes, I wanted a cup of iced Vietnamese coffee to accompany my sandwich, but unfortunately, they don't make them, which explains why their sandwiches were so delish!  Unlike the ones that I've had here in NYC, Saigon Sandwich (SF) did not fill the bread with roast pork.  Instead, they used pulled pork, which was a pretty nice touch given its extreme softness.  One thing that kind of turned us off, however, was the pate.  The filling contained a huge slob of pate, which kind of overpowered the sandwich.  The 2nd time we ordered from Saigon Sandwich (yes, it was that good), we asked for it without the pate, and gave it a whopping 95%.

Because they didn't make iced coffee, we walked about a block away to Lee's Sandwich to grab a cup.  Loved it!  We did stop by to try THEIR banh mi another day, but I completely forgot to snap a picture of it because I was starving.  Anywho, the sandwich was abnormally long for a banh mi, lacked filling and just couldn't compare to Saigon Sandwich.  I advise that you walk the extra block then stop by for iced coffee at Lee's.  By the way, sandwiches were only $3.75 vs. the $4.50 that I pay here in New York!!  What the dilio...

My boyfriend modeling for me, free of charge

At North Beach, which houses San Fran's version of "Little Italy," we made a stop at Tony's Pizza Napoletana, another highly recommended spot on Yelp, for some pizza. We started off with some bread that came with 3 dipping sauces:  olive oil, garlic, and sweet chili.  It was a sweet treat to have while waiting for the pie.

Don't be fooled!  It didn't only come with 4 clams.  The entire pie was topped with pieces of clam ... Yum Yum!

To be continued...