SAN FRANCISCO

I've been waiting to talk about San Francisco! I went with my loved one for about four days! We did a lot of eating, walking, and game-playing  I took more blurry film photos than iPhone photos, which doesn't help remember anything that happened chronologically. We also had like no itenerary so I definitely won't remember all the good ass meals we had!

But our aim was a nice place that's well known, some Cambodian food, and a recommendation by our friends from work.

We stayed in Oakland, at Jack London Square! It's a cute part of town, perfect to retire in.

In no particular order, here’s some names I remember: 

Farmer’s Market: at the Ferry building when we first arrived! Huge huge huge! I had a basket of the best strawberries ever! There were food stalls and trucks. And we got half a chicken with taters, and a porchetta sandwich

Izakaya Rintaro: a suggestion by our dear friend Hannah. Her friend was actually working that evening, and sent us so many delicious things it was insane. We had a taste of plum wine while we waited, which I now like and will buy all the time! Cold udon made in house! I forget the word but they had the big egg dish that has to be made in a certain pan. Lots of 86’s for the skewers, due to our late reservation. 

Mensho Ramen: thick ass broth, like tsukemen. Deliciously hearty. Even if I prefer a light broth, it was a pleasant surprise and I would wait again!

Flour & Water: separates between its pasta and pizza audiences. We waited 40 min to accidentally go to the pizza spot, which smelled amazing, then waited some more for the pasta spot down the street. Mouth-watering stone fruit salad, along with its perfect pastas and a bit of red wine, for my gentleman! Second to last place we ate at.

Tartine bakery: also a different spot than I thought. The Tartine I was looking for was actually around the corner. Cute spot but very busy when we went!

Arinell's Pizza: thin crust, east coast style. Bob’s first experience with that kind of pizza, I think it changed his life! A low-down and almost dingy place, just like back at home! Served up by two comically punk characters.

Turtle Tower: Pho in the tenderloin! Probably the best chicken I’ve had in my life. Not just chicken pho, but chicken ever! Flat rice noodle and separated chicken parts to make sure they cook properly. 

Nyum Bai: Hip spot for classic Cambodian food. All the makings to bring in the white folks, same great tastes of someone’s homeland. We had damn near one of everything. I learned that there are plenty of dishes served at a family supper, which I got to try at the restaurant.

Chinese spot known for dumplings: Probably showed up a hot late because the dumplings weren’t droopy! But they have an excellent scallion pancake and fried rice.

Chinese food with excellent fried chicken: to cure Bob’s fried chicken fix.

Salt & Straw: well known ice cream bear Dolores park. I love all the parks lying around! I had an intense black sesame ice cream

Battambang: our very last meal, Cambodian food! This was a family restaurant that’s been around since the 90’s. The owner (I believe) got to chat with Bobby, about their families and the town they’ve seen change before them. I loved this salad with mint, red bell pepper, and sprouts. Auntie said it’s a more regional style.

Traveling People Activities:

Plank: basically a bowling alley? It has a small video arcade in it and they had a brand new Mario Kart machine, which I definitely won all times

Emporium: video arcade, where I won many pool games 

Fisherman’s Wharf: a tourist trap. There’s a big boat that you can pay to see, like a museum. There’s also a vintage gaming center, and I mean like penny-cost machines. My love rating is “clammy,” while Bob’s sexiness is “uncontrollable”

Thrifting: didn’t find much that made me go  but it’s always a fresh day walking in.

Japantown: way more organized than Little Tokyo! Not sure how sizes compare, but the shopping center is impressive! Spent some on those mystery boxes. I got a little blue dinosaur by Sumikko Gurashi! Bob got a tiny version of the Tonkatsu and Shrimp tail!

Ferry: we took a ferry from Oakland into town, and that shit’s pretty fast! Also makes for a scenic commute to town, no traffic necessary. You can even use the Clipper card as fare!

I’m surely forgetting something or somewhere. But that’s not to discount all the fantastic eats I got to explore with my looooovely travel companion

Also, take a look at my blog from a computer! I made the CSS by hand for four hours! 

Thanks for reading! Enjoy some not blurry photos

Around Chinatown!

It’s the place with the scallion pancake!

Emporium! It’s an arcade! Some classic video games and billiards, but less selection that I would have thought.

Classic English architecture. SF is super walkable, and appears way less tacky than LA