San Fran Vacay - Day 2

Day two, and we have some big plans. Well, right after breakfast!!

Across from the hotel, Sears Fine Food comes highly recommended on my fave resource Roadfood.com. Sears is upscale old-school, if you get my drift. Comfort food with a higher price tag. This is Al's Special with scrambled eggs, hash browns, corned beef hash, and nine little pancakes. What you don't see is my broiled grapefruit, which was the highlight of my meal, although the corned beef hash was quite delish!

Click here for Sears Fine Food's website.

While we are having our breakfast, the final two guests were landing; two sisters from Alaska completed the party!!

While the Alaska sisters regrouped, and the New Mexico guest chilled, the rest of us jumped on a hop-on, hop-off bus and took a ride around the city.

We got off at Pier 39 (recognize Alcatraz in the background?!), took a looksie at the sea lions, chowed on some taffy and chocolate, and rode the two-level carousel.

Click here for Pier 39's website.

Woohooooo!! Back on the bus, we headed to Golden Gate Park and the Conservatory of Flowers.

This is my new favorite place! I didn't know the Conservatory of Flowers existed, although it dates back to 1879. I love the architecture and the serene vibes inside.

Oh, and the cool variety of pitcher plants!

Click here for the Conservatory of Flowers' website.

The birthday celebration was held at the famous Cliff House. We were seated by floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the waves crash on the rocks. Here's my choice for dinner: bacon-crusted Scottish salmon with potato puree and whole grain mustard sauce. WOW!!

Click here for Cliff House's website.

San Fran Vacay - Day 1

I'm off to San Francisco to celebrate one of my bestie's birthday. I connected at the airport with our friend from Hong Kong (who joined me in New Orleans for my birthday), so let the games begin!

We meet our birthday girl at her hotel in South San Francisco close to the airport, and we are soon off to Ed's Diner for the Mickey Mouse pancakes and other old-school specialties. As we had time to kill before checking into our hotel rooms at Union Square and big breakfasts to digest, we wandered through the nearby thrift stores and a quinceanera shop before finding a thoroughly clean bakery. 

Ed's Diner does not have a website. Street address is 348 Grand Avenue. Phone is (650) 624-9166.

Seriously, the canopy outside says Galli's Sanitary Bakery. Indeed, it was spotless inside! The gingerbread man was delish, too!!

Click here for Galli's website.

Our hotel at Union Square was conveniently close to some good shopping, from Marshall's to Neiman Marcus. We were waiting for our New Mexico friend to arrive before heading out to dinner.

And then we were four! We chose Daily Grill for its variety and easy walking distance from the hotel. Here you see the day's special blackberry-grilled pork chop with decorative onion ring, tasty fries and steamed veggies. YUM!! 

Click here for Daily Grill's website.

Par-tay-er number five is on her way to the hotel from Alabama as we are wrapping up dinner.

Punjabi Tandoor

Today's food adventure centered on a run to the OC, specifically Santa Ana, to look at an apartment my niece from New Hampshire wants to rent. Afterward, I decided to take the scenic route back after hearing about some crazy traffic clogs on the 5 Freeway. Lunch would be spontaneous and based upon whatever floated the proverbial boat.

After some meandering, I ended up in Anaheim. You know me and my Indian food, and the sign for Punjabi Tandoor was all it took for me to pull over.

Although the lunch buffet looked like a great option, I went with the regular menu. This is my special combination of matar paneer (peas and cheese!) and chicken tikka masala. Yowza, it was good and spicy! The naan was warm, and the rice pudding was cool to balance out the temperatures and flavors. I will look out for them next time I make this trip!

Click here for Punjabi Tandoor's website.

Big Fat Pita

I'm having a flashback night: dinner at Century City Mall and a show at the Troubadour. I'm feeling soo 1995!

Century City Mall is completely different from when I worked across Avenue of the Stars from 1994 to 1997. My chums and I would head over after work on Friday nights, grab dinner, and see a movie. Or, we would meet there and see a band (usually Brother, my onetime fave Australian bagpipers) at the Troubadour. Tonight, I'm seeing Yuna at the Troubadour, a sweet Malaysian singer I've seen perform several times over the last few years. Before the show, I stopped by Century City Mall for some dinner, and I scored on Big Fat Pita in the food court.

Here you see my classic gyro pita wrap on whole wheat with tzatziki sauce, with a side of dolmades. Delish!! Everything seemed really fresh, and I will keep Big Fat Pita in mind the next time I'm in the 'hood.

Click here for Big Fat Pita's website.

Clifton's Reopening

Clifton's has reopened after too-many years of renovations! (Click here for my 2009 post.) I avoided the first rush of looky-loos, and finally ventured down before seeing "Dawn of the Dead" at the Million Dollar Theater. Old-school kind of night, indeed.

As you can see from my tray, Clifton's menu has stayed pretty much the same. Well, fruited jello instead of confetti jello, but it is still early in the relaunch. The roasted ham dinner with stuffing and mac and cheese sides was delicious, and the greens with ham was a tasty addition. I will say that it felt more like a buffet with different stations than the traditional cafeteria style of making selections.

The grandest change with the renovation is this huge tree that reaches three floors. Some sections of Clifton's are more bar than restaurant, although people were eating in all the spaces. There are multiple taxidermied species scattered about for good measure, such as a bear, a bison, a lion, and a peacock. Moving forward, the valet parking option out front will definitely take some getting used to.

But, I will be back. Who wants to give the new Clifton's a spin with me?! Fingers crossed my confetti jello is available next time!

Click here for their website.

Mediterranean Delight

I started today's food adventure at the DSW in Pasadena after seeing a cute pair of shoes on their website. I wanted to try them on, since I'm generally between two sizes on the desired BOC brand. Pasadena did not have them in stock, but the Glendale store on Brand Boulevard did. The associate called ahead, and both sizes were waiting for me.

I raced over, and the size winner was clear within seconds. Check show purchase off the list, and it was time for dinner.

Mediterranean Delight started as a convenient choice, being right around the corner from DSW, and it turned into an awesome choice! This is my lamb kabob plate with super tender chunks alternating with grilled veggies. The side salad had lots of tomatoes and cucumbers, and a sprinkling of feta. YUM!!

Click here for Mediterranean Delight's website.

Ventura Piping Competition 2015

I'm back in Ventura for another piping competition, my final attempt at glory for this year. (Click here for last year's post.) This time, I have a craving for some mom-and-pop Mexican food, so I took a drive a few blocks off the Main Street drag to seek some tasty chow. I totally scored on Corrales  Mexican Food on Thompson Avenue. I joined the line and went with the fish tacos plate, plus chips and salsa. It looked like a mess when I opened the takeout box, but I hungrily dove in. The corn tortillas were soooooo gooooood that I ended up eating them covered with the refried beans and salsa, and pushed the fish to the side. WOW! I imagined someone's grandmother hand-patting the tortillas back in the kitchen. I actually was bummed that I couldn't finish them all, and I had to offer the extras to the trash container. Tasty as it was, it probably would not make for a good pre-competition breakfast. Sigh, but nice to know another fabulous Ventura meal.

Click here for Corrales Mexican Food's website.

The competition went fine, thanks for asking. It was about 9,000 degrees, so I can add another weather challenge to my growing list. My reward for toughing it out and doing my best was The Full Monty plate from The Welsh Baker booth. On the left is dark chocolate dipped raspberry welsh cakes (!!) for the sweet, and my fave Scotch egg and Irish cheese for the savory, with a lemonade to wash it all down. YUM!! I will definitely seek them out as I make the competition rounds next season!

Click here for The Welsh Baker's website.

It was fun to catch up with some friends at the festival, and I'm also meeting friends in Newberry Park on my way out of town so I have to put a pep in the step. I'll be back Ventura!!