Thursday, December 26, 2013

North Beach Italian Restaurants

The North Beach neighborhood is San Francisco's version of Little Italy and is home to many Italian restaurants in the city.

One excellent Italian restaurant in North Beach is the aptly named North Beach Restaurant. It's an institution in the Bay area having opened its doors in 1970. 

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North Beach Restaurant specializes in Tuscan cuisine. Food we had was authentic and  very traditional.
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Complimentary Bread


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Caesar Salad


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Pasta Puttanesca


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Spaghetti Carbonara

Sotto Mare, a few blocks down North Beach Restaurant, on the other hand, is the go to place for seafood.
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Eating at Sotto Mare feels like going home to your nonna's cooking. Staff is warm and friendly and they serve good old comfort food.
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Crab Cocktail Salad


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Boston Clam Chowder


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Linguine with Seafood


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Fettucine with Smoked Salmon

Between the two, I prefer Sotto Mare more but I'm not saying that North Beach Restaurant is not as good. North Beach Restaurant is a good place to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions while Sotto Mare suits my preference of a laid back dining experience.

North Beach Restaurant is located at 1512 Stockton St. San Francisco California. For more information, click here.
Sotto Mare Oysteria & Seafood is located at 552 Green St. San Francisco California. For more information, click here.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Denny's!

Move over IHOP...

If there's one casual American joint I want here in the Philippines, it got to be Denny's!

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Denny's is a no-frills quick service restaurant that serves hearty comfort food. It is open round the clock with breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus to serve hungry stomachs any time of the day.

We trooped to Denny's one morning and below are the food we ordered from their breakfast menu:

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Buttermilk Pancakes


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French Toast 


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Grandslam Breakfast of Eggs, Bacon, Sausage and Hash Brown


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Country Fried Steak and Eggs




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Biscuit and Gravy with Hashbrown


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Fried Cheese Melt with Fries


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Chicken Strips with Fries

The plates at Denny's sure aren't pretty nor healthy; however, for a taste of classic Americana, Denny's is the place to be.

 Denny's has hundreds of branches in the United States. For more information, click here.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Boudin Bakery: A San Francisco Institution

Boudin is a San Francisco institution having been in the business of making breads since 1849. From a little bakery on Dupont Street, Boudin is now synonymous with San Francisco sourdough bread.

Boudin has many branches in San Francisco. My family and I went to Boudin Bakery & Cafe at Macy's for breakfast since it was near our hotel.

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Boudin at Macy's Union Square


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Sourdough Bread
The famous Boudin sourdough is made fresh everyday using the same recipe since 1849. The sourdough is actually French bread with a tangy taste to it. 


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Pepperoni Sourdough Pizza

Although made  from sourdough crust, there was no distinct difference in taste compared to the regular pizza crust.


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Chicken Pesto Sourdough Pizza
Same as above. 


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Tuna Salad Sandwich
Fresh and healthy. Just forget about the chips.


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Chicken Salad Sandwich
The freshly baked bread made all the difference!


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Soup and Salad Combo
If you will only order one item on the menu of Boudin, choose any soup served in a Boudin sourdough bread bowl as it highlights the sourdough the best. Comfort food at its finest.

Boudin has many locations in San Francisco. For more information, click here.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

San Francisco Food Trucks

San Francisco is a good city to experience the food truck scene because it's not that hard to hunt the food trucks and options are diverse. We first went to the Fort Mason Farmer's Market  to catch a few...


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We tried Happy Dumplings which had solid reviews on yelp. The long lines also helped in drawing us in but the food didn't live up to hype. 

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Cabbage & Pork Dumplings ($3)
The dumplings lacked authenticity. It was dry and bland.

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Green Onion Pancake ($3)
Better than the dumplings but that's not saying much.  

Good thing we also lined up at Roli Roti which offers healthy sustainable slow cooked chicken and pork. 

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Roli Roti



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RoliRoti Combo of Chicken and Potatoes ($7.50)
Juicy free range chicken with a side of potatoes. Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

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Gourmet Porchetta Sandwich ($9.50)
Roli Roti always makes it on the list of the best SFO food trucks and their porchetta sandwich is the reason why. An explosion of flavors with its winning combination of succulent pork with crispy skin, caramelized onions, arugula, and chewy bread. The sandwich also oozes with natural pork juices making it a yummy but messy culinary experience. 

On a different occasion, while exploring Union Square, I spotted Señor Sisig, San Francisco Weekly's best food truck of 2012 & 2013! 
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I got so excited because I've been wanting to try their famous sisig tacos ever since I heard of its existence a couple of years ago. It was also quite surreal to see the popular local dish sisig making waves in San Francisco. 
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Menu

Though still very full from my lunch at Umami Burger (more on that next time), I made room to try their signature tacos.
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Sisig Taco ($4)
 Señor Sisig's sisig taco was a revelation! They marinate the pork shoulder (not pork head) for over 24 hours, making the meat so tasty. The flavors are familiar but Señor Sisig managed to elevate our happy hour favorite with the use of  fresh lettuce and their own cilantro cream sauce.  Best of all, it's not greasy so you can probably pop a couple of tacos without guilt. 

Finally, we also hit El Tonayense, a Zagat rated food truckon Harisson St. near Best Buy for authentic Mexican food. 
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Tacos ($2 each)
There are a lot of  meat options at El Tonayense.  We tried the chicken, pork, and beef options for the tacos and enjoyed it all. 

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Carne Asada Burrito ($6.50)
I don't usually enjoy the beans but  El Tonayense's burrito was so packed in flavor that I didn't mind. 

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Super Quesadilla ($7)
My favorite from all the items we ordered. What made this quesadilla super was the inclusion of guacamole and sour cream.  Cheesy and hot with the right balance of acid.

For schedules and more information on the food trucks, see links below:
Happy Dumplings: www.happydumplings.com
Roli Roti: www.roliroti.com
Señor Sisig: www.senorsisig.com
El Tonayense: www.tonayense.com

You can also check out the website of Off the Grid here to know the schedule of weekly markets where food trucks gather.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

San Francisco: 9 Things to See

It was not love at first sight when I first visited San Francisco but the city has grown on me. Just look at the pictures and you'll know why...

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Golden Gate Bridge
A must visit for any tourist! No matter how many times I've seen the Golden Gate Bridge, I'm still in awe of its magnificence.

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City Hall
If only all city halls are built like this... 

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Lombard Street
Have a grand time driving down the crookedest street in the world! But truth be told, it's harder to maneuver inside Shangri-La Mall's old parking complex.

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Palace of Fine Arts
Big tall pillars!

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Japanese Tea Garden
Beautiful calming garden in the middle of the city.

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Coit Tower
Better seen at night when it's all lit up.

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Union Square
Center of commercialism in San Francisco. All the stores are here!

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Cable Car
Head to Union Square to ride on this iconic San Francisco mode of transportation.

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Fisherman's Wharf
Can be a tourist trap but a trip to San Francisco isn't complete without visiting the piers.

For more information on any San Francisco attraction, click here.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Grand Hyatt San Francisco at Union Square

Grand Hyatt San Francisco is a good place to stay for tourists when in the city. It's at the heart of Union Square making it a very convenient location for those who love to shop 'til they drop.


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Fireplace at the Lobby



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Hallway to the Rooms


Another plus is the fact that Grand Hyatt San Francisco has been recently renovated. Rooms and amenities are very modern.

Here's what a standard room looks like...
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Standard Room
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An executive room, on the other hand, features a receiving area aside from the bedroom:
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At night, this is the view from our room: 
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Grand Hyatt San Francisco is located at 345 Stockton Street San Francisco, California, USA. For more information, click here.
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