Back at It

My husband has been hounding me for years about sharing my travel tips on a blog. I had been relunctant...when would I find the time, does anyone really care, etc. Well, I have recently become addicted to Pinterest and through this website, I have gotten reenergized to create a food and travel blog. Now I just have to put some time into it! So....I guess I am back at it and will continue to add to this blog as I go.

San Francisco

Palace Hotel Lobby

My husband and I just returned from a great trip to San Francisco! We had some wonderful meals and crammed in some sightseeing between my business meetings. Here are a few restaurants we tried, activities we enjoyed and what we would recommend for your visit.

Our home for the weekend was the Palace Hotel. I would definitely recommend this hotel. It is centrally located between Union Square and the Ferry Building. Rooms are small, but very clean and I especially loved the complimentary coffee each morning in the beautiful lobby.

Breakfast...Our favorite meal of the day. My husband and I started off at Dottie's True Blue Cafe. I recommend this restaurant, if you get there by 7:30 a.m. It is a very, very small place! I loved the grilled jalepeno cornbread and highly suggest ordering it as a side.

One of my favorite meals were the oysters at Hog Island Oyster Company. VERY FRESH with fabulous horse radish. Their Thursday night happy hour was great with $1 oysters and their patio is located on the water at the Ferry Building. Get there right at 5:00 or you cannot get a table. While you are in the Ferry Building give yourself some time to sample the local cheeses, hand-crafted chocolates and fresh coffee.

During our lunch break, we ventured out for some dim sum. I had heard about Yank Sing's from a friend and it was close to the hotel. This was a wonderful meal...but be prepared to tell the waitresses NO! They will continually put food on your table and will keep doing so until they are told not too. You will run your bill up quick. Don't miss the hot tea. It was terrific.

We also had a great meal at Beretta's http://www.berettasf.com/. This restaurant is super small, but has a great panzanella salad and the most fabulous panna cotta gelato I have ever eaten. The gelato is topped with EVOO which sounds strange, but it amazing!

Finally, on the food front, do not miss the fresh crab at the wharf. The bisque and freshly prepared crab are amazing and the price cannot be beat. We had lunch on the patio at Tarantino's and it was wonderful.

If you are planning a trip to SF in the near future and you want to go to Alcatraz, book early! My husband missed the tour because it was sold out and had been for many days. If you decide to see the city, I highly recommend the double decker bus, but literally dress like you are in Boston in the winter. The temperature was 30 degrees going across the bridge during the afternoon and we were there in August.

Happy Trails and Safe Travels!