The last part of our vacation involved two nights in San Francisco - has it really been 4 years since my previous visit? Gosh! San Diego, LA, even Chico since then, but no San Francisco? Ah well. As was the case in 2002, we stayed at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins
in the Nob Hill neighbourhood.
It's a handsome old hotel, and I treated Conrad to a Club Level room. Which, I should note, landed us a smaller room than last time, but with greater amenities (most notably use of the very fine club lounge with all of its refreshements).No sooner had we arrived, really, then we had to freshen up and head out to catch BART out to Berkeley. Dinner that night was to be an early (6:15) seating at Chez Panisse.
How I'd looked forward to it! I'd dined at the upstairs cafe with Conrad and his colleague and friend Una and her husband Eric 4 years ago, and I was keen to try the dining room. Chez Panisse is really one of the seminal restaurants in California and even American cookery in the past 30 years and it is still outstanding. The commitment to local, organic, and seasonal produce is admirable. More interestingly, in the dining room, you get what you get. The menu is prix fize only with no options (save for some accommodations they can and will make for people with allergies, for example). We could have looked up the menus for that week online, but how much fun it would be just to show up and see what they would surprise us with. And how funny was it to then show up that Friday night and learn that - after a week of fish and tropical flavours - we were in for a seafood dinner and that some Pacific Rim flavours would again be present. I kind of wanted something different, but heck, it's good to go with the flow. I also love how Marcel Pagnol is a tocuhstone for Alice Waters - La gloire de mon père was a favourite novel of mine in undergrad French, and Jean de Florette is a gorgeous film.We were slightly early, in fact, so some wine in the bar started us off.
Yes, that is pink wine, get over it. Once downstairs, we left it up to our waiter to bring us wine by the glass paired with each meal, and he did a fine job. Our meal progressed in this fashion:Tuna tartare with avocado, fennel, and beets
Lemongrass and sea scallop soup with ginger and basil (such clean, fresh flavours; perhaps my favourite)
Grilled local white sea bass with wild mushrooms, runner beans, and red wine sauce (a sauce that had both of us reaching for bread to mop with)
Coconut sherbet with huckleberries and tapioca pearls
We dined and drank well, as you can see. And then we met Conrad's friend Rafael and his wife for another glass of wine before heading back to the hotel! Amen for king-size comfy beds!
It was a leisurely Saturday morning in the Club lounge for us before we finally wandered down the hill into town. A bit more clothing shoppng for us - losing weight has its ramifications! Lunch on this gloriously mild and sunny autumn Saturday was at the Four Seasons,
then a bit more shopping before heading uphill to the hotel. Conrad and I kicked off the evening with cocktails and relaxation in the lounge before dinner around the corner at a place the concierge had secured for us, Rue LePic. Gerard's might learn a lesson from this place. It's a simple little bistro, and the service, menu, and food are all reflect this. Still, it was quite enjoyable and reasonably priced. This was birthday dinner part 2 for Conrad, and joining us were some of his San Francisco friends - Howard, Steve and Susan, Una and Eric - and friends from Chicago, Allan and Paul.
I took fewer food photos, so only the sweetbreads (not as good as Bayona, but far better than those I had on Maui)
and the passionfruit (of all things!) mousse.
And then it was back to Chicago the next day. Conrad nabbed the last upgrade, but I was too far down the list. No matter - I re-watched The Devil Wears Prada, ate my sandwich, and read my book, content to be ending an excellent vacation so reasonably.
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