I had one day to enjoy San Francisco. I flew in the morning, had a meeting at 12noon and then rushed off to my hotel, freshened up and taxi'd to Bar Agricole. I had great foodie friend give me some recommends. Read Dylan's amazing suggestions at Eat Drink +Be Merry, here's his San Francisco post.
Bar Agricole was unfortunately closed and we wanted a cocktail so we taxi'd to the area by our restaurant and ended up at West of Pecos. I had to go here, I hiked through the Peco's wilderness my whole childhood. Most cocktails on the list had mescal and tequila, not my type of liquor, though I'm thinking I might need to venture out. I settled for the bourbon drink called the Devils Tooth and I'm kind of obsessed with the big ice cube these days (see above).
Next up was a walk across the street to Bar Tartine. Several recommends and write-ups on this restaurant. This place is not to be missed and has been nominated for a James Beard award this year. I hope they get it. Another thing I like, but can annoy most people, is the no sign on the door anywhere, it's like you have to be in the know to know this is even here. Annoying or cool?
Please note all images are with my iPhone, I couldn't fit my camera in suitcase so it's was the phone only on this trip.
Below is the menu, it's one of those menus you look at and really not sure what it is or if you'll like it, that's the great thing about places like this, you are forced out of your comfort zone to try new combinations and inventive cooking. Also if your vegetarian our whole meal was all that. And we went home full.
Suggestion was to order about 2 items per person, it was a lot of food, but glad we did, as it gave us the option of trying a variety of items.
Some of the most inventive flavors I've ever tried. The kale below was so good, nutty with tart yogurt and a surprise sesame seed tahini, plus they used yogurt dust. No idea what that is, but it was GOOD.
Next up was the goat cheese with peas and edible flowers. This was served with sesame seed crackers. Creamy, tasty and beautiful presentation.
The potato flat bread below was rich and filling I remember a slight smokey taste to this dish. These are definitely items to share as eating the whole thing would be too much.
Smoked potatoes were crazy good. Smokey, crunchy and soft inside, these were amazing (in the back of the image below). Farmer cheese with beet was a great combo and a fun try.
Finished off with a cheesecake that was bursting with flavors, ripe and under ripe strawberries, and crunchy popping cookie crumbs. It's indescribable.
The next morning we got up early and drove to Tartine Bakery & Cafe. I've seen so many Instagrams of this place and it's owned by the same people as Bar Tartine. Our waiter told us to get there early. So we were there before 8AM, short line inside. I bought the biggest Almond Croissant ever and a Frangipane tart. Wow both of these items and my coffee were wonderful, if only we had enough time to linger and munch.
This Fangipane tart was filled with light almond cream in a flaky pastry shell and wild blueberries. It's a seasonal fruit tar so it could be filled with anything depending on what's ripe. I really loved this and savored it for the next day with my Philz Coffee in San Jose. I found Philz on Yelp and there was a location around the corner from my hotel. When did coffee get so complicated, it's not small, medium or large or a tall, grande soy, non-fat latte world anymore. Philz is inventive in the coffee category, and who wouldn't like to order a coffee called "So Good" every morning. Next up is a coffee tasting day, it's all the rage these days and we all know how much I love coffee. Enjoy these suggestions the next time your up in San Francisco.
West of Pecos
550 Valencia Street
San Francisco, California 94110
Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street
San Francisco, California 94110
Tartine Bakery & Cafe
600 Guerrero Street
San Francisco, California 94103
Philz Coffee (San Francisco, San Jose, Menlo Park areas)
