Breakfast in the City - Le Marais Bakery

It was a Friday morning and I didn't have to be in the office that morning. Mijo and I decided to pay this cute bakery tucked inside the Castro neighborhood called Le Marais Bakery.

As always, our breakfast was good, relaxing and dreamy.

Desserts in Sonoma - Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pies

After our lunch at Barndiva, we walked around the corner and found Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie. We were craving for something sweet so it was a lucky that we chanced upon this ice cream and pie place.

It was a great addition to our day trip to Sonoma Wine Country.

Ice Cream in the City - Garden Creamery

Mijo and I stumbled upon this delightful little ice cream place in San Francisco's Mission District called Garden Creamery.

It not only serve ice creams with tropical flavors, we also liked the laid back vibe, the location and the friendly service.

Everyday Coffee in the City - Guatemala Antigua Dark by Peerless Coffee and Tea

We opened one of the bags of coffee we brought home with us from our trip to Peerless Coffee and Tea a few weeks ago. It is great drank alone or paired with food.

We paired them with both savory breakfasts and sweet snacks and the coffee tasted so good. We really loved this medium roast coffee.

Farm in Sonoma - Kozlowski Farms

We saw the Kozlowski Farms sign from the highway on our way to Joseph Jewell Winery. We didn't have plans to go to Kozlowski Farms but we ended up going there later that afternoon.

I am glad we decided to stop by Kozlowski Farms for a quick coffee and applie tart. We even brought a whole pie to take home with us. That's how we loved it!

Bakery in the City - Pan Lido

I love bakeries and their freshly baked breads. I also enjoy going to bakeries and get a whiff of oven fresh aroma.

San Francisco has lots of supply of bakeries and one of my favorites is Pan Lido. We go there to get our Salvadorean bread fix.

Ice cream in the City - Bi-Rite Creamery and Bakeshop

If you are familiar with the San Francisco summers, it does not get hot in the city until later in the summer through autumn when the days are clear with little or no fog.

And when it gets warm in the city, Mijo and I know the places where we can cool down. We went to Bi-Rite Creamery and Bakeshop twice last week. It is always such a nice treat to go there.

Cafe in the City - Mission Pie

Here's another cafe to where Mijo and I enjoy going. Mission Pie, as their name suggests, sells savory and sweet pies. I've tried a lot of their pies but one that stands out for me is their banana creme pie.

We also enjoy going to their cafe because of their good coffee and welcoming cafe scene. It truly is a neighborhood gathering place. 

Artisan Chocolates in the City - Cocoa Bella

I discovered the joys of tasting artisan chocolates when Mijo and I went to Rome for the first time in 2006. I rediscovered that same joy when we went to Florence last year.  I made a mental note that I should sample the artisan chocolates made or sold in San Francisco.

That's exactly what I did and since then, I discovered several chocolatiers  and purveyors of artisan chocolates in the city. One of them is Cocoa Bella. Bellisima!

Almond Croissants in the City - Tartine, La Boulange & Destination Baking Co

I just learned today that California produces 80% of the world's almonds. Wow!  That is a lot of almonds! I suddenly thought of my favorite fragrant flaky bread - the almond croissant. Since most of the almonds come from this state, could this be the reason why there are a lot of bakeries in the city that make very good almond croissants? For that matter, could the city be the almond croissant capital of the world? Almond croissant capital or not, I know that the almond croissants here are good and I have a short list of favorites.

Dessert Crawl in the City - The January List

The binge eating that started in December didn't stop on New Year's eve and continued on to January. For this blog entry, I am not going to bore you with all the dinners, fabulous or not, that I've had in restaurants in the city. What I will do though, is tell you all about the desserts I've sampled for the entire month. I think that is more interesting.

When I say dessert, it is something sweet and eaten after a meal. More often than not, dessert, more than the main meal, is something I totally look forward to when dining out.

Happy New Year!

I've been away in Asia for a month and I miss the city and I miss sharing anything that is San Francisco. For now let me share you this photo of the dessert Mijo and I had for New Year's Eve in Pied Piper. It is a duet of flourless chocolate cake, raspberry linzertorte, and vanilla bean creme Anglaise. It was muy buy bueno and a great taste to welcome the new year! Pied Piper is located inside the Palace Hotel on New Montgomery St.


~rl

Bakery in the City - Destination Baking Company

I love our sleepy neighborhood Glen Park. I'd like to think it is San Francisco's hidden gem. If you want to witness SF locals in action, this is one of the places where it happens. I always chuckle when I see tourists by the Glen Park subway station totting cameras and spreading open their maps and looking like they're lost. 

Chocolate Festival in the City

When I went to the Chocolate Festival for the first time last year, I overdosed on chocolates. I had this terrible headache the next day which is probably a hangover from the chocolate withdrawal.  Instead of enjoying all the delicious confections,  I ended up developing an extreme revulsion for them. I didn't eat, smell, or touch any form of chocolates in the next couple of months after the event. In fairness to the chocolates, they were blameless . I was the culprit and my mistake was that I didn't share.

For this year, I made sure I brought Mijo with me not only to avoid another overindulging fallout but also to split the glorious calories that go with the chocolates. For $20, you get a tasting passport containing 15 numbers. Each tasting corresponds to a number on the passport that gets crossed off after trying a sample. A sample maybe a slice, a small bar or an entire piece. It depends on the vendor. This year's was not as exciting as last year's because there were only a handful interesting chocolate vendors. The rest were bleh. I wonder where were the local confectioners like See's, Tcho, Cocoa Bella or Scharffen Berger? Or the local creameries like Mitchell's or Birite Ice cream?  What about the liqueur producers from the nearby wineries? The organizers should get them on board next time if they want this event to matter.

Here are the choco-tastings that made an impression:

Sterling Truffle Bar. A tasting is a slice of a truffle bar. There were three truffle tasting choices. Pinapple ginger macadamia nut, strawberry orange liqueur and double hazelnut caramel. I asked the vendor to select for me and they chose the Pineapple one. It was very good. Chocolate crust with fruity chewy soft and smooth filling. I am not sure if they only ship their products.  You can find them at http://sterlingconfections.com/. My only regret is that I saved off the remaining tasting so I can try the other vendors which are so-so. I should have spent two or more tastings here!

Ciao Bella. This has a good bang for your buck. You get a whole cup of sorbet or gelato for a tasting. Not a meager teaspoon but the whole cup. We decided to get two tastings here - Mijo got a chocolate gelato while I chose the blood orange sorbet. Since we are splitting the spoils, I enjoyed sampling both flavors. The gelato's rich nutty chocolate flavor complements the tangy orange taste of the sorbet. Yumm! You can find one of their stores at the Ferry Building.

Kara's cupcake. For a tasting here, you get a whole mini-cupcake. We got two tastings here - one chocolate and one vanilla cupcake. The cupcakes were moist and tasty. The frosting added extra flavors and the sprinkles added extra texture. Everyone must have heard about how good the cupcakes were because their line was the longest that day. Kara's Cupcakes has several locations in the Bay Area.

An honorable mention goes to the Hot choco by Ghirardelli Chocolate.


The Chocolate Festival is an annual food fest where one can sample over 20 vendors selling sweet confections which is mostly made of chocolates. There were also live music, food games for kids and baking demonstrations.  The Chocolate Festival is held on the month of September on Beach Street by Ghirardelli Square and it benefits Project Open Hand.

 ~rl

Bakery in the City - Arizmendi Bakery

I am carrying the escalation pager the entire week so I have been confined in the city for the Labor Day weekend. It would have been nice to go wine tasting or go camping in the mountains this long weekend but that is not the case.  A consolation for staying in the city is the end-of-summer sale happening all over the place. Bargains galore! Most of the SF folks are out of town too so this means shorter queues in restaurants and cafes this weekend.

I took this opportunity to try out a new bakery on Valencia St. called Arizmendi Bakery Panaderia and Pizzeria. When we got inside, it took us a while to figure out what to get because there were a lot to choose from. The good thing about this bakery is that you get to pick the baked goods yourself because you are upclose to what you're getting.  In other bakeries, the trays are all behind the register or inside a glass shelf so you order by telling your server what you want or by pointing to your selection.


Here are the ones Mijo and I tried.

Chocolate Ginger Bread Pudding
Chocolate and ginger is a combination of taste that I have never tried before and it is actually good. The chewy and a little burnt crust is another good combo for the soft and moist core. I tasted a hint of rosemary but I didn't see it listed as an ingredient in the bread's description.

Brioche Knot
This brioche is chewy, fluffy and moist. I like that it is not overwhelmingly sweet. Perfect for a strong regular coffee.

X Roll
Lots of savory flavors going on in this roll but the dominant flavor is the cheese. Smells good too.

Curry Cheese Bread
This one, we took home. Enough carbs for one day I guess. :)

Now, time to hit the tennis courts. :)

~rl

Organic Ice cream in the City - BiRite Creamery

The fog is now back in the city so we are back to the usual cool weather. However, the heat was turned up a week ago. Everyone was out in full force enjoying the welcome summer weather. The temperature was nearing 90F when we stepped out of the house which for me is the perfect sunny day. I was kind of hungry but I was craving more for something cold. Under normal circumstances, we would either go to Mitchell's on Valencia St. or Eggettes on Diamond St. for ice cream or frozen yogurt. Since we also wanted to hangout at Dolores Park, we went to Bi-rite Creamery to get our ice cream fix.


This place is known for their local and organic ice cream on organic cones. The queue can be quite long so be prepared to wait in line. Mijo and I each sampled a scoop of malted vanilla and a scoop of toasted coconut. The one I ordered came with peanut brittle and milk chocolate pieces. It was good though I can't tell the difference in taste between an organic ice cream from the others that are not. I guess I have to go back and try their other flavors and one of their ice cream pies and cakes.


Bi-rite Creamery and Bakeshop is on 18th St and Dolores St., across the street from the Dolores St. Cafe.

French macarons in the city - Miete

I first heard of Miette from my good friend Dinah. As a foodie, she's raved about the macarons being delicious without tasting ultra sweet. It didn't register at first because I don't see anything special about macaroons. (Yes, I thought it is the one with coconut.) One time, Karen, Dinah and I went for coffee at the Ferry Building after having brunch at Prospect. On my way to the men's room, I remember walking passed a pastry place in pastel colors, mostly in pink, and there was a long line. It was Miette. I thought "OK, I am going to give this place a try just because Dinah raves about it." I bought one cupcake and one macaron. I realized the macaron is not the macaroon I was thinking of. And Dinah is right on the money! Both cupcake and the macaron were very tasty, fluffy and moist without being sweet. By the way, the macaron tastes different from a macaroon.


Mijo and I did our produce shopping at the Ferry Building on Saturday and I remembered to drop by Miette to get a box of 7 macarons. That is one macaron for each flavor - rose geranium, pistachio, hazelnut, chocolate lavender, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. They were all chewy, moist, delicious, and the serving is just perfect for two small bites. They are also nice to look at. I believe the presentation is part of the Miette experience.  


Special mention goes to their Chocolate Lavender macaron. I never really got used to eating sweet food with hints of lavender because the taste makes me think of soaps. However, their Chocolate Lavender is a good balance of chocolate, cream, lavender and nutty flavor.


I tried one super moist cupcake before but I will explore it more the next time. And their cookies. And their shortbreads, and their caramels and licorice. Here is their website if you want to check it out. http://www.miette.com/

Sweet inspiration in the City

My hands were clasped around the warm cast-iron tea pot to keep them toasty. Earlier, I had to politely ask the barrista for an extra tea cup because he mistakenly assumed I was alone. I've been waiting for mijo, for what seemed like forever, inside the Sweet Inspiration cafe.

I was seating by the window close to the door so he could see me right away when he arrives. It is not at all this easy to get a table by the window. Not in this neighborhood, not in this cafe, not on a friday afternoon. One of the effects of recession, I thought.

I could see all the people passing by outside were all bundled-up. I remembered it haled earlier and it is snowing on higher elevations today. Suddenly, someone stood infront of the cafe, blocking my view of the outside. I noticed the cards on his hands and then he started scribbling something. He flashed them against the glass window and I obliged to read them.

Did you eat my lunch?

Was it tasty?

Rat race, choices, number.

I am tired of my job.

Effects of recession, I thought. Desperate for a Valentine's date, perhaps?

~ral

(Above is a photo of a French bistro on Diamond St. in San Francisco, CA)