Slumming in Puerto Vallarta

The whales were breaching, the iguanas were rutting, but unfortunately our camera situation just was not working. Crazy how things work out like that, you know, sometimes….uh.



Starting in Puerto Vallarta, we loitered around the Playa Los Muertos, soaking up the sun, drinking sangria, enjoying the local flavor. An exciting city, P.V. is full of great restaurants, art galleries and for those people that just can’t get enough, foam parties just about every night. For us, the Senora and I, most importantly, lazy beach living and quite romantic evenings spent watching the fireworks over the Banderas Bay.





After a few days of the easy P.V. life, we rented a car and trekked north along the Pacific coast, past Sayulita to our final destination, the tiny town of San Francisco (San Poncho). Our days were spent drinking cold beer and laying in the sun. And when the fancy took us, head in town for a serving of red snapper from the Café Del Mar or maybe a massive 16oz Argentinean rib eye cooked to perfection from Mar Plata.



Back on the near empty San Poncho beach, giant shrimp filled cocktails, enjoyed with shots of Don Julio 1492 tequila ($4), forget the $20 Don Julio shot at Vivo in Austin, and always the endless sound of the sometimes 6 foot waves, breaking on the shore. San Poncho was just that tranquil sort of place the Senora and I needed. A well deserved vacation away from the sounds and smells of the cityscape.






Sayulita proved quit a surprise. We parked the car and slowly made our way down to the beach only to discover upon arrival a vibrant hippy crazed surfer movement going on. An amazingly beautiful town, Sayulita is tucked into a cove of small jungle covered hills dotted with inexpensive hotels and condos. Sayulita is a true haven for the budget minded soul that reads High Times and digs surfing, then all combined with a love for a fantastic beach to lie around on. Cool man.



We had a tasty margarita pizza from Don Pedro's (nice crunchy crust, kinda like Austin's own East Side Pie), washing it down with a mojito or two. After that we just kicked back and relaxed checking out the beach from our perch at the restaurant. Hard living, folks!

Yank Sing - San Francisco

The morning of our second day in San Francisco, with the success of our previous evening restaurant discovery - Café de la Presse - still on our minds, Senora Foodblog and I began walking toward North Beach while passing through China Town on the way. We had plans to meet an old friend downtown around noon and have lunch at the renowned Dim Sum restaurant Yank Sing. Until then, we were on a mission of discovery and decided to just let our feet guide our way.

Walking through China Town, I stopped at a small grocery store and was blown away by what I saw. Huge bags of dried mushrooms, shark fins of all sizes, dried sea horse and many bags of wild ginseng. These are the few items I actually recognized. And the smell, I won’t even try to describe to you. I truly felt out of my element.

As we came to Washington Square we turned left onto Columbus Street, and entered the North Beach Area or “Little Italy”. Beautiful little deli’s tempted us with windows full of salami, proscuitto, and mouth watering breads. A seemingly endless choices of places to eat, Calzone's, Figaro Ristorante Italiano, L'Osteria del Forno and even America’s oldest Italian restaurant Fior D'Italia lined the street before us. Quaint little places to sit and enjoy a coffee or glass of wine, sample a sandwich or a plate of fresh pasta were just starting to rock with the early lunch crowd. This had to be one of my favorite neighborhoods the Señora and I visited during our trek through the city. So much like parts of Chicago or New York, I just loved it. Señora Foodblog and I came back a few days later and had what I think was our best meal in California at the North Beach Restaurant.

As we kept walking, we quickly found ourselves at The Cannery and Fisherman’s Wharf. Señora Foodblog was eager to visit the Boudin Bakery at Pier 41 while I was looking forward to the Dungeness crabs on display at the many crab shacks. At the Boudin Bakery, we ducked into the coffee shop, grabbed some drinks and a table. The Señora took this opportunity to try some Boudin sourdough bread. She tells me that the yeast culture used in the bread has been the same for over a hundred years.

Jumping a trolley, it was time to start for Market Street and hookup with our friend Joe B. If you are a cigar smoker in the Bay area then you may know Joe from the Grant’s Tobacconists Cigar Shop. Lucky for us, when we arrived, he wasn’t too busy, and was able to join us for lunch. We were headed to Yank Sing which is rumored to be the best Dim Sum served outside of China Town.

We had missed the lunch rush of dim sum-deprived office workers, whom I understand are usually lined up out the door. Giant windows allow plenty of light to fill this stylish restaurant. The second our drink order was taken, the dim sum began to arrive. With a selection of over 80 different items on any give day, a person could spend a lot of cash trying to sample everything available:

Stuffed Lotus Leaf
Spring Roll Crisp
Scallion Prawn
Peking duck
Potsticker (Wor Tee)
Stuffed Crab Claws
Yank Sing Fried Won Ton
Egg Custard Tart
Mango Pudding

This is but a short list of the many plates of food offered us. The food was fantastic. Before we knew it, our table was covered with plates. My favorite had to be the Stuff Crab Claws - crab and shrimp mousse croquette encasing a whole snow crab claw, deep-fried until golden brown. Just to die for. I had five! Senora Foodblog really went for the many different types of dumpling offered, so many we couldn’t keep track. I was a little overwhelmed by the rush of food plus I never saw any prices for the food. I had no idea how much we were spending as we chose plates from the carts. Happily, our meal, enough to fill three plus some beers and hot tea only came to $85 + tip. I was very pleased with our meal and the incredible service. Check out Yank Sing’s web site for beautiful pictures of their food and sample menus.

Senora Foodblog was ready to begin some serious power shopping. Feeling mercy on me, she bids me farewell and heads off with the credit card. I on the other hand ambled back to the hotel, kicked off my shoes and digested a most wonderful lunch. Our evening plans involved dinner with Joe B. and Brother-in-law-Food, who just happened to be in town on a gig. Our goal was a sushi feast at a little place on Filmore; you may know it, Tsunami.

Tsunami Sushi - San Francisco

My good friend, the Fin, had told me once that the best sake is always served cold. So when Joe B made reservations for dinner at Tsunami Sushi Restaurant both the Senora and I were very excited indeed. Tsunami is well known around San Francisco for its deep sake cellar, superb fish and not so friendly prices. All dressed up, we hailed a cab, waved good-bye to the hotel and made our way to 1308 Fulton Street and our evening of sushi.

Small with a low-key vibe, Tsunami is a San Francisco sushi hipster hang-out. Mellow house beats combined with dim lights and hard wood paneling only add to the restaurants uber relaxed feeling. When our server arrived at the table, I had a hard time hearing anything that she said. The room had become quite loud. I guess the sake was kicking and my fellow diners where starting to become a little rowdy.

One of the restaurants big draws has to be its extensive sake cellar. Hard-to-find sakes are offered by the glass, bottle or flight. I decide to try the Luxury Flight, a mid level tasting. The sake came much like a wine fight, served in small glasses with a card explaining what you are drinking. I must say that I had never tried good cold sake before and was pleasantly surprised. All three were very smooth and pleasant to sip. It wasn’t long before I started to get the warm sake glow.

The Senora and I both had miso soup and shared some edamame as our starter. For our dinners, the senora had a salmon roll and a five piece sashimi, chef’s choice. I had the sixteen piece chef’s choice sashimi. Joe B and Bay Lady order three different kinds of house rolls, while Brother-In-Law-Foodblog had the Fudo Make and a tuna roll.

The fish was fresh and tasty like good sushi should be and was exactly what we expected. The Senora loved her roll and the fish. My sashimi was also outstanding. The cuts, a little small, were like heaven to my mouth. Unfortunately, I was so caught in with my meal and because I was having a hard time hearing anything our server said, I can’t tell you what I ate. Sadly, while we were eating, we received little service and our glasses went dry and stayed dry for most of the evening. When our server would notice our table and give us the time of day, it would take 15mins to get a refill of H2O or a bottle of beer. Senora Foodblog’s and my share of the meal came to $130.

Senor Foodblog says one spoon for Tsunami. I really liked the layout and the feel of the place. The food was wonderful and the sake so smooth. I can understand why Tsunami is so popular with the in crowd. If only the service was as good as the food, then the restaurant would be well worth all the hype. But until then it is nothing more than just another expensive place to eat and be seen. I guess Senora Foodblog and I are officially hipsters now…cool.

San Francisco Tripping One

Some months back, Senora Foodblog found crazzzzzy cheap air tickets to San Francisco and like a good wife, immediately bought them.

Senora Foodblog booked a quaint room at the sexy boutique hotel, Hotel Rex, part of the Joie de Vivre hotel family. Small in size but very romantic with that 1920’s feel, Hotel Rex reminded me of some of the hotels I stayed in while traveling through Europe. Presiding in the heart of town, with Union Square, China Town and North Beach just blocks away, we couldn’t ask for a better location to start our California adventure.

Arriving at the hotel around 7pm we got our luggage comfortably to our room. I upgraded to a king for an additional $20. Well worth the money, the room change gave us a great view of the street and also some well needed extra space. After the long day of travel, the Senora and I both agreed not to make a big deal about dinner and just find something close to the hotel instead.

Next to China Town (the corner of Grant and Bush), we found this warm, inviting little place, Café de la Presse. Before writing this blog, I hit Google and discovered a huge amount of blogs/reviews praising this restaurant. I guess the Senora and I just got lucky.

Upon entering the restaurant, the waiter/bar keep greeted with a smile and sat us at a small table for two with a window by the side of the bar. We had a great view of the famous China Town entrance arch.

Within a short time Michael (bar keep/ server) was showing us pictures of his scooter (which he was very proud of indeed) and telling us of a recent scooter event in town. He tells us that he is a big fan of the Austin scooter scene. Café de la Presse definitely had the laid back feeling that the Senora and I like so very very much.

For our meal, we started with Tarte Flambee Classique (bacon, onion, crème fresh tart). Imagine the very lightest pizza you have ever eaten, only square. The tarte was amazing with huge flavor. We both liked this very much. The Senora followed with a light tomato/basil salad and onion soup as her main. I decided to try the old tried and true French favorite, Boeuf Bourguignon, a hearty beef stew with carrots and potatoes, cooked in wine with herbs. This had good flavor but not outstanding. Served in a small cast iron pot, the presentation was rustic and cool. In hindsight, I kind of wish that I had tried the duck, which looked fantastic. With wine, some laughs and wonderful memories of Senora Foodblogs eyes, the meal came to $65 + tip.

It was beginning to get late so we slowly made our way back to the Hotel Rex, holding hands, enjoying the cool San Francisco night. We finished the evening with a chilled bottle of Piper Sonoma in our room. We were both pretty tired but excited and restless, filled with anticipation about the next day and our continued adventure in San Francisco. I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face, dreaming only of Dim Sum.