Last night we enjoyed a great dinner at Hana Zen’s. The service was very authentic as patrons were not offered traditional western utensils. We split an order of Hana Zen Dinner. It consisted of salad, soup, sushi, and tempura. It was all very good.
This morning we took a cable car ride to California street where we transferred to the California line. We rode it to the end in the financial district. We took the bus back via Market. We stopped for lunch at Macy’s Marketplace which is a food court. We ate at Boudin’s. Jaime had clam chowder and roast beef sandwich and I had beef chili in a bread bowl. Food was great!
After lunch, we sat for a while in Union Square. The sunshine was warm and the sky blue. A perfect day for chillin’ in the park!
Tonight we are going to eat at the Grand Caf? French Bistro. I’ll make the report on our return.
We’re Baaa-aaack!
Dinner tonight was really great. Plus, we didn’t have to pay a lot. We ate the Grand Caf?. We sat in the bar, ordering from the bar menu. Jaime ordered skirt steak with mashed potatoes and fresh saut?ed veggies. I had a pepperoni pizza. Jaime’s steak was delicious and very tender. Mine was covered in cheese and lots of pepperoni. We had a real value for $28. total. We are taking a trip to Monterey tomorrow. This blog won’t post until tomorrow afternoon.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Trip to the Ocean
This morning we picked up the rental car for a drive to Monterey. We picked up the Nissan Sentra at 7:30 and head out Geary for the Pacific ocean. The waves were absolutely huge! We stopped at the Pacifica pier. Waves were crashing into the boardwalk. We took some good video.
We drove on south passing Half Moon Bay. We stayed 3 days at the Ritz-Charlton here in 2001. Driving through Santa Cruz, we reached Monterey about noon. We had planned to see the Aquarium, but the line was very long and it took us longer to reach Monterey than we had anticipated.
We eat lunch at Charlie Moss’s in Moss’s Crossing. I had an open faced burger topped with bacon and mushrooms and served with Asian slaw and Jaime had a whole steamed artichoke.
We came back via the interstate. We arrive in San Francisco at 4:30.
We drove on south passing Half Moon Bay. We stayed 3 days at the Ritz-Charlton here in 2001. Driving through Santa Cruz, we reached Monterey about noon. We had planned to see the Aquarium, but the line was very long and it took us longer to reach Monterey than we had anticipated.
We eat lunch at Charlie Moss’s in Moss’s Crossing. I had an open faced burger topped with bacon and mushrooms and served with Asian slaw and Jaime had a whole steamed artichoke.
We came back via the interstate. We arrive in San Francisco at 4:30.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Dec 26, 8 pm
We are back at the Powell Hotel. It’s been a long day and we’ll be going to bed soon.
After leaving Ghiraradelli’s we caught the cable car back to the hotel. We decided to go to a nearby restaurant for dinner since there was a threat of rain in the area. There are two restaurants on our recommended list (Frommer’s from $70 a day), Hana Zen and Puccini & Pinetti. I picked the Italian.
We went about 6:00 to beat the rush. We were seated at the Expo Kitchen. This area is designed for guests to both eat and view the chefs working. We ordered Antipasti, tray of cold meats, fresh and marinated vegetables, and goat cheese. We were also served freshly baked bread and an olive oil and vinegar dip. We ordered two glasses of house merlot.
The food was very good but watching the chefs’ work was the treat. We identified several prep stations. The two chefs directly in front of us prepared saut?ed and steamed foods. They worked at break-neck speeds.
After dinner we returned to the Powell.
After leaving Ghiraradelli’s we caught the cable car back to the hotel. We decided to go to a nearby restaurant for dinner since there was a threat of rain in the area. There are two restaurants on our recommended list (Frommer’s from $70 a day), Hana Zen and Puccini & Pinetti. I picked the Italian.
We went about 6:00 to beat the rush. We were seated at the Expo Kitchen. This area is designed for guests to both eat and view the chefs working. We ordered Antipasti, tray of cold meats, fresh and marinated vegetables, and goat cheese. We were also served freshly baked bread and an olive oil and vinegar dip. We ordered two glasses of house merlot.
The food was very good but watching the chefs’ work was the treat. We identified several prep stations. The two chefs directly in front of us prepared saut?ed and steamed foods. They worked at break-neck speeds.
After dinner we returned to the Powell.
Dec 27, 5 pm
We got a 9:00 start this morning. Forecast for the area is for rain and wind as a storm is moving in from the Pacific. Since we have a 7 day pass on the cable car, we decide to ride and maybe find a place for breakfast. We rode to the end of the line and back to Sear’s World Famous Pancakes. Sear’s was only 4 blocks from the hotel. A little wait at 10:00 but worth it. I had pancakes (silver dollar size) at $.50 each! Jaime had two eggs (apparently golden) $9. Breakfast was good.
On the walk back to the hotel, I decided to stop at Borders and Jaime went shopping at Petite Sophisticates. We were to meet back at the hotel in a couple of hours.
Looking for an afternoon activity and with the treat of rain, we opted for a movie. We went 4 blocks to the Lowes theatre located in the Metreon. This was high tech, gaming version of the Hollywood Connection in Columbus. Lots of unusual food court options, also. We saw The Family Stone which was very funny and a little sad at the end.
On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped at the Apple Store. It had a very techie d?cor with many hands-on computer displays within the 2 story store. The 30” Cinematic screen is on my wish list.
We are now at the hotel writing this blog. We plan to go the internet caf?, post the blog, and get dinner at Hana Zen.
On the walk back to the hotel, I decided to stop at Borders and Jaime went shopping at Petite Sophisticates. We were to meet back at the hotel in a couple of hours.
Looking for an afternoon activity and with the treat of rain, we opted for a movie. We went 4 blocks to the Lowes theatre located in the Metreon. This was high tech, gaming version of the Hollywood Connection in Columbus. Lots of unusual food court options, also. We saw The Family Stone which was very funny and a little sad at the end.
On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped at the Apple Store. It had a very techie d?cor with many hands-on computer displays within the 2 story store. The 30” Cinematic screen is on my wish list.
We are now at the hotel writing this blog. We plan to go the internet caf?, post the blog, and get dinner at Hana Zen.
Afternoon, Dec 26th
We’re currently relaxing on a bench at the Ghirardell Chocolate Factory near the end of Columbus Avenue. It’s near mid-afternoon, temperature is about 58, and there is a harmonica blowing guitar picker entertaining the folks here in the courtyard. People are beginning to put up their umbrellas. Not a good sign.
After leaving the internet caf? this morning, we went by our trusty car rental agency (we’ve used them a couple time before) and reserved a car for Thursday. The forecast for Thursday is good so we are planning a day trip. The destination is yet to be decided. Monterey is the likely choice.
We then hopped on the cable car to Chinatown. I took some good video on the way. I had a great standing position in the front of the car. We tried two recommended restaurants (Italian) that were closed. Nearby on the edge of Chinatown was the House of Nanking which Richard Hyatt had recommended to me. He told me that you should look for the man with salt and pepper hair and then tell him “I’m hungry”. You don’t have to order anything specific. They’ll just start bringing you food. Well, we weren’t that hungry so we just asked the waiter for a recommendation. He had salt and pepper so we think he was the same person referenced in Richard’s story. He asked us which meat we preferred. We chose chicken and asked about a pancake that we had seen on an adjacent table. The waiter told us that was called “Mu shu”.
It sounded good to us. We also ordered hot tea. The tea came out first. Jaime says that it was the best she had ever had. It was made with green tea leaves and flowers (among other things).
As we waited for our meal, I looked around the restaurant which was very small. The walls were covered in white ceramic tiles. Both side walls displayed framed newspaper and magazine reviews of NanKing.
We were quickly served the Mu shu Chicken. The server actually spooned the chicken mixture into the paper thin pancake, wrapped the it, and then served them to us.
It was really good. The chicken was quite spicy, but in a way that we had not experienced.
We spent just a little money. The bill was less than $16.
After leaving Nanking’s we walked back to the cablecar line and returned to the hotel for a little while before departing again by cablecar for Ghirardelli’s.
Ghirardelli treats everyone to free chocolate samples as we are herded into the small gift shop. Jaime made a small purchase. I went over to the ice cream shop for a cone. After waiting in line I slowly moved close enough to the ordering station to see that a one scope cone was $4. I quickly left the line, not will to part with my $4 for a single scope!
After leaving the internet caf? this morning, we went by our trusty car rental agency (we’ve used them a couple time before) and reserved a car for Thursday. The forecast for Thursday is good so we are planning a day trip. The destination is yet to be decided. Monterey is the likely choice.
We then hopped on the cable car to Chinatown. I took some good video on the way. I had a great standing position in the front of the car. We tried two recommended restaurants (Italian) that were closed. Nearby on the edge of Chinatown was the House of Nanking which Richard Hyatt had recommended to me. He told me that you should look for the man with salt and pepper hair and then tell him “I’m hungry”. You don’t have to order anything specific. They’ll just start bringing you food. Well, we weren’t that hungry so we just asked the waiter for a recommendation. He had salt and pepper so we think he was the same person referenced in Richard’s story. He asked us which meat we preferred. We chose chicken and asked about a pancake that we had seen on an adjacent table. The waiter told us that was called “Mu shu”.
It sounded good to us. We also ordered hot tea. The tea came out first. Jaime says that it was the best she had ever had. It was made with green tea leaves and flowers (among other things).
As we waited for our meal, I looked around the restaurant which was very small. The walls were covered in white ceramic tiles. Both side walls displayed framed newspaper and magazine reviews of NanKing.
We were quickly served the Mu shu Chicken. The server actually spooned the chicken mixture into the paper thin pancake, wrapped the it, and then served them to us.
It was really good. The chicken was quite spicy, but in a way that we had not experienced.
We spent just a little money. The bill was less than $16.
After leaving Nanking’s we walked back to the cablecar line and returned to the hotel for a little while before departing again by cablecar for Ghirardelli’s.
Ghirardelli treats everyone to free chocolate samples as we are herded into the small gift shop. Jaime made a small purchase. I went over to the ice cream shop for a cone. After waiting in line I slowly moved close enough to the ordering station to see that a one scope cone was $4. I quickly left the line, not will to part with my $4 for a single scope!
Monday, December 26, 2005
First Full day in San Francisco
We arrived in San Francisco about 3:30 local time. We managed to miss our plane in Atlanta and had to catch a later flight. We rode the BART train from the airport to the Powell Street station. The weather on arrival was rainy. We really didn't get wet accept to get from our terminal to the Airtran which is the train transportation within the airport. If we knew our way around the airport, we might have avoided this rain. Our hotel, the Powell is the best location for us in San Francisco. It is next to the Powell street station. It is also at the end of the cablecar line. It is also a block off of Union Square.
We are still planning a "chill" vacation. We don't have firm plans to do anything. We can do this without feeling too guilty about missing attactions because we have seen almost everything on prior trips. The weather forcast isn't very encouraging. This morning is beautiful but rain is forcast for this afternoon.
We ate at Tad's steakhouse last night. It was the only thing open on Christmas. It was very good. We just had a burger and ham sandwich.
Coffee this morning was at Starbuck's. The prices were the same as the Barnes and Noble in Columbus!
We are still planning a "chill" vacation. We don't have firm plans to do anything. We can do this without feeling too guilty about missing attactions because we have seen almost everything on prior trips. The weather forcast isn't very encouraging. This morning is beautiful but rain is forcast for this afternoon.
We ate at Tad's steakhouse last night. It was the only thing open on Christmas. It was very good. We just had a burger and ham sandwich.
Coffee this morning was at Starbuck's. The prices were the same as the Barnes and Noble in Columbus!
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