REALITY BITES (SOMETIMES)

This weekend I made a little trip to San Fran. Trips to The Bay have become one of the easiest things ever... sort of like how easy it was for me to hop in a car and drive to NYC from the DC area back in the day. It's becoming more and more common for me to hop on a plane to San Fran on a whim. Yes, the hour-long plane ride is so worth the while. I'd probably spend just as much (if not more) on gas. But why waste almost six hours on the road?

So San Fran... I've been many times already, and I feel like I've done it all. So this time around was more of a laid-back trip. I got in late on Friday night, and took BART into the city from SFO. I checked-in to my hotel, ordered room service, then called it a night. But even though room service cost me an arm and a leg, it was yum: a quesadilla with chorizo (yum) and steak fries (of course). Well, it was either yum, or I was just way too buzzed for my own good. Oh well. I still ended up signing the $30+ check. Boo.

Next morning, I was up early and walked around - hitting up H&M and a few other spots around the hotel. I even came away with a new pair of shoes (of course). When the Godsis and Godbro came into the city, they scooped me up and we headed to The Ferry Building. The Saturday morning farmers' market was alive, and we were hungry. After deciding not to wait for almost two hours for a table at The Slanted Door, we opted for cheap/casual eats a few doors down at Mijita . I had the chorizo con huevos, which was yummm. I wish I took a pic of it before I devoured it. They also had some of the greatest chips and salsa I've ever had. And I'm usually not discriminative when it comes to chips y salsa. Seriously, throw me a bag of chips from Chipotle, a little salsa, and I can call it day. Gross, I know. But that's just how much I don't pay attention to chips y salsa. But Mijita serves their chips thick and crunchy. And the salsa - absolutely understated; not too strong, and not at all flavorless. For sweets, we went inside and grabbed some Parisian macaroons at Miette. Yum, again. I tasted the hazelnut and the pistachio macaroons, which were amazingly soft, chewy, yet not overly rich. Len got a rose-flavored one, which she let me taste. It was interesting to say the least, but I'd rather not gnaw on something that reminded me of my mom's perfume from 1987 or something. Bleh!

Since the weather was amazing, we decided to jump on the ferry to Sausalito on-the-fly. Sausalito is a nice, quaint place. Too bad we realized later that we weren't in the mood for "nice" or "quaint." The heat made us sleepy, and we stopped in at Starbucks for a pick-me-up that lasted about an hour. After walking around more, we decided to hop back on the ferry and return to the city. We headed back to my hotel for the complimentary hors d'oeuvres (mini quiches and egg rolls were the hi-lites here) in the Executive Lounge, and then got ready to meet up at my sister's. We went to my sister's place in the Potrero Hill area to meet with her and my nephew and nieces. We all went out for dinner and drinks at Lingba, a Thai-inspired restaurant/lounge. The spot was nicely dim, but very chic. The food smelled awesome. I, on the one hand, did not indulge in any traditional Thai dishes. Perhaps it was the effects of the alcohol, but for some reason I was swayed more to eat an L.A.-esque "dinner" of six pieces of kanpachi tartare, which did nothing to help absorb the alcohol. BUT it was tasty, to say the least... as were the pieces of sashimi that my nephew and I split. Surprisingly enough, the sashimi was fresh considering it was (1) a Saturday night, and (2) it was a Thai restaurant (as opposed to an authentic Japanese spot). When that was over, we dropped off my sister at her pad, then headed back to the hotel where I decided it would be apropos to throw up...and then an attempt to eat a slice of pizza was made. Gross attempt, btw.

Next morning we scooped up Tes, and headed to Napa. We stopped for lunch in Sonoma, at a charming little spot called The Girl and the Fig, where I had the best Quiche Lorraine ever. It was soft and silky as if it were butter, and the flavors were bursting. It was paired nicely with a side salad of mixed field greens, and a huge portion of julienne French fried potatoes. When lunch was done, I was desperate to buy flip flops, and luckily I was able to switch out my annoying ass Chucks for a pair of Havaianas. We drove further into Napa, and made a pit-stop at Domaine Chandon for a four-flight sparkling wine taste. YUM. Afterwards, we drove our sleepy asses back to my hotel for another evening of hors d'oeuvres in the Exec Lounge (this time: fried mushrooms w/ranch dipping sauce, and fried jalapeno poppers filled with cream cheese). Later that night, the gang took me to Cafe Colma at the Lucky Chances casino, where I had a Filipino "rice plate." I guess that's supposed to be the "Filipino" equivalent of a Hawaiian "rice plate," but instead of chicken katsu and rice, I had longanisa (and a porkchop - it was a "combo" plate) and rice. Yum and weird at the same time.

My last night was spent packing, and the next morning I pretty much hung out for a little bit, met up with a college buddy for a split second, then a quick lunch (spicy teriyaki chicken bowl from Mr. Hana) with Len before hopping on BART headed back to SFO. I was back in L.A. in no time.

The thing I love about San Fran is that it has that "big city" feel that I miss about the East Coast. I think the slow-pacedness of SoCal is something that I have truly began to acclimate to, but I still can't deny that I'm a city guy at the core. I thrive in quick-paced, high-voltage living. I am so not made for a life too simple. It's just not me.

My weekend mini-vacay was much needed, and reminded me of how important it is to step out of your comfort zones from time to time. I've got my life pretty-much scheduled-out these days, so to be able to run off someplace once in a while is definitely a blessing. Getting back into the swing of reality is what bites... sometimes.
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Random: I'm watching an episode of Work Out (which I never watch ever) on Bravo, and that new trainer named Greg totally used to work out at the Gold's I went to back in Arlington (VA). He's way too over-muscled, and looks like he wears eye-liner. I can't believe he's on TV.

(Photos from TOP to BOTTOM: The Ferry Building logo; view of Mijita restaurant through it's store-front window; Parisian macaroons from Miette Patisserie; inside view of Lingba Restaurant/Lounge - Potrero Hill; main entrance - Domaine Chandon winery; headshot of Greg Plitt from Bravo's Work Out.)