I firmly believe that there are people in this world you are meant to meet, and that you should count yourself lucky when you do. Anita and Cameron are two that are now on my list. I have rarely felt so welcomed I did by the two of them and their wonderfully friendly pups.
Over the past 3 days they showed me how to eat my way through San Francisco and gave me a taste of what the city is really like. From dinner at Range (excellent), to breakfast at the market, to strolling The Mission, to salted caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite, to pie with Jen, Jennifer and Mark (all fantastic!), to a meal that did Dark Days proud, to brunch this morning, to Cameron’s Black Arkansas apple on the train to Sacramento, every bite was wonderful.
Last night Cameron grilled Marin Sun Farms pork ribs while Anita made Rancho Gordo beans and shredded Brussels sprouts. Mmmm. Paired with a California wine (didn’t catch the label), it was the perfect way to start the winter eating season off. Then we topped it off this morning with hash and poached eggs a la Cameron. The eggs, BTW, made it all the way to San Fran uncracked in my checked bag! Anita captured the ingredients and steps that I missed.
In true foodie fashion, we spent 20 minutes pressed to the window at Lucca’s yesterday watching them make ravioli. You know you’re among friends when you can all happily hang out and watch live pasta making for entertainment…
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Lest you think it was all, and only about the food, here are some photos to prove that we saw a bit of the city as well. I really enjoyed all of it that I saw, and realized as I sorted photos that I was often too busy experiencing to remember to take a picture. Check out Anita’s photos (and post), as she caught a lot of the bits that I missed.
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We had SO MUCH fun showing you our city, and we can’t wait for you to come back (with Mike next time?)
The wine was one of our faves, the 2004 Ottomino Zinfandel, grown and produced in Occidental (Sonoma County) and bottled in Oakville (Napa County).
What Anita said, only double. We had a ball. Thank you for the eggs and the chicken!
Salted caramel ice cream?! Helloo ice cream I’d actually like!
I’m jealous of your trip and all those lovely SF goodies.
Anita, Cameron - Thank you so much, I had an amazing time. Can’t wait to do it again either in SF or Seattle!
Eugenia - I know, it was excellent.
[...] ps: For more great photos of our meal prep, don’t miss Laura’s set and post. [...]
[...] along a table the size of most San Francisco living rooms. (I could descibe the whole process, but Laura’s slideshow does a much better [...]