Monday, April 10, 2006

san francisco, not at all briefly

so it has been nearly a week since we got back from sf and i’ve been quite remiss in writing about it, as was pointed out to me this weekend by d’s dad. a and i had a tremendous time, as of course we would, because sf is a tremendous city – even in the rain. and there was much rain, as in, more rain than they’ve had since 1904.

but we did get a brief respite from it on saturday, long enough to bomb across the golden gate to the marin headlands, take a few windblown photos, and bomb back for crepes in cow hollow followed by some hardcore shopping (the san francisco economy did well by us; our bank accounts, not so much).

we also braved the crowds at ghiradelli square for what was, in fact, a phenomenal hot fudge sundae, even if i did order the wrong kind of ice cream (butter pecan?! what was I thinking?). and we saw the gift shop at the hyde st. pier (home of the lumber schooner c.a. thayer), if not the pier itself, because it was closed for the day.
on monday, even though it was pouring and we were in a borrowed mini cooper with a manual transmission (o, the humanity), abbs managed to pilot us skillfully up and down those murderous hills and through the “crookedest street in America” (not so, according to our guidebook).

and we went to chinatown. for the culture. more flagrant spending ensued.

other highlights of the weekend included a trip to the magic theatre to see a’s friend jonathan leveck in a new play about infidelity and infant death (woo hoo); a wonderful birthday party for her, hosted by friends in the mission district; dancing for, like, ever at a club in the “emerging SOMISSPO district”; a hardcore sushi throwdown; and a persian lunch feast for which we somehow got away without paying.

finally, i can’t not mention the meal we had at mayor gavin newsome’s old restaurant, plumpjack, our first night in the city. it was so insanely good. like, three different types (and hues) of sea salt good. i ordered the pan-seared halibut with gnocchi, spring peas and mushrooms. and it was divine. but nothing compared to ben’s yellowfin seared in a sesame crust with mashed potatoes. sounds so basic, but we all agreed, it was one of the best bites we’d ever had.

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