Also, I’ve decided I like the much hyped track from Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, “Round and Round.” It has fun and unexpected transitions between sounds. Download it here.

I just got back from a phenomenal spring break trip to one of my favorite cities, San Francisco. There were a number of highlights, but many of those were food-related. Here is an overview of all of the fantastic meals my friend Heidi and I had.

After taking the BART train from the Oakland Airport and checking in at our hotel, we ate at Brandy Ho’s, a Chinese restaurant of the Hunan variety. Housed in a cozy North Beach location just north of Chinatown and just south of the fantastic City Lights bookstore, Brandy Ho’s was a great introductory meal. We split the spicy General Chicken for an entree, but the definite highlight was the order of scallion cakes with a perfectly salty peanut sauce.

After wandering the shelves of City Lights, we headed down to SOMA to take advantage of a half-off Thursday night at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. When the museum closed at about 9, we walked a few blocks over to the Salt House, a place I had read about in Time Out San Francisco. SOMA is quiet at night (perfect for appreciation of the great contemporary architecture) as it is made up largely of corporate offices. However, the Salt House was packed to the gills – reservations were necessary even late on a weeknight! We ordered two appetizers and two entrees (not remotely cheap!) My personal favorite was the smoked trout, beet, broccoli di ciccio, cauliflower, and lemon-caper vinaigrette appetizer, as it was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. The winter salad, with immensely flavorful smoky blue cheese, hazelnuts, apples, and persimmons, was also a real pleasure to taste. The entrees lacked the delicacy of the appetizers, though my lamb and Heidi’s chicken were both very good. My least favorite part of the the Salt House was the pretentiousness of the clientele, which seemed displeased to have to people under thirty eating in the same space as them. The urban chic decor and the excellent food, however, more than sufficiently made up for this.

After waking up on Friday, we took a walk through Chinatown to get to Café de la Presse for breakfast. I had a very good (if not a bit pricey) Vanilla French Toast with berries and an espresso there in an authentic Parisian café setting. After all, it is located right by the French consulate!

We took a trip out to Alcatraz on Friday, necessitating a stop in the pinnacle of tourist traps, Fisherman’s Wharf. However, some very authentic sourdough bread is baked there at Boudin’s. While the space is chaotic and touristy, my roast beef sandwich was good, quick, and relatively cheap.

On Friday night we took a bus out to Haight-Ashbury to get tapas at the funky Cha Cha Cha. It was brimming with young San Franciscans, so we opted to sit at the bar, which still necessitated a half-hour wait. After sitting down, however, the food was served up quickly. The two of us split an order of Chicken Paillard, some Platanos Maduros, and some Calamari. They were all succulent, particularly the plantains, and were a great part of a very fun and cheap Friday night. Haight Street is great to walk up on a Friday as there are tons of locals out and about. We were craving ice cream, however, and could not find any in Haight-Ashbury, so we took a bus back downtown and then a trolly to get some at Sherman’s in the ritzy, but quaint, Russian Hill neighborhood.

Saturday morning was filled with sampling and enjoying the good weather at the San Francisco Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building. For lunch, we picked up a baguette and some Fromage Blanc with Herbs to enjoy on a bench the shore. We also could not pass up a cup of Blue Bottle Coffee, a perennial favorite.

Saturday night we headed down to the Mission for dinner. Valencia Street definitely tops Haight Street in terms of weekend nightlife. The majority of establishments for about eight blocks were filled with revelers. Before dinner, we stumbled into Ritual, a café with deep, rich, and freshly harvested single-source coffee and a beautiful modern interior. I couldn’t resist buying a pound to bring home. For dinner, we ate at Limón, a Peruvian fusion restaurant with a bright modern interior and a hip clientele. More importantly, it was one of the best meals I’ve had in ages. For an appetizer, we had some Empanadas de Carne, containing beef, raisins, egg, and onion. My entree was a whole red snapper, served with coconut fried rice and steamed spinach. Every bite was delectable, and the presentation, with the fish meat tucked inside the hardened skin of the fish, was unforgettable. To make things even better, dinner at Limón, though pricey, was substantially cheaper than dinner at the Salt House, and a bit less contrived, too.

On Sunday, we rented bikes and rode them around the city’s bountiful natural spaces, namely the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. A friend of my mother’s lives in the Richmond neighborhood north of the park, so we met up with her for Dim Sum in that part of town. Ton Kiang‘s two stories were packed that afternoon, predominantly, I’m sure, with locals. We ate an abundance of food, all excellent, including three varieties of dumplings, steamed bok choi, and sesame balls. It provided us with lots of energy for more bike riding.

We didn’t make plans for Sunday night, but decided that we were both in the mood for Mediterranean. A quick Google search yielded La Méditerraneé, which was located on Fillmore street, a surprisingly easy ten-block walk from our hotel. We didn’t know about this neighborhood and it turned out to be a real gem. The street surrounding the restaurant was lined with cute (but rather posh) little shops. The restaurant was packed for a Sunday night and it featured the standard Mediterranean fare (hummus, baba ganoush, tabouli, dolmas, felafel, etc.) at a high quality and a good price. We split a very good bowl of Avgolemono, and the highlight was the Baklava we had for dessert. It was served with a delicious mint cream sauce that looked quite nice when plated with the dessert.

For breakfast on Monday, we had some more Blue Bottle Coffee on the go, which was as impeccable as always. For lunch, we headed back up to Fisherman’s Wharf for seafood. Scoma’s is hidden behind a marina at the wharf, and it feels worlds away from the touristy garbage just a block away. For a very reasonable $23.oo, I enjoyed the Prix Fixe lunch, which came with Clam Chowder, a salad with Scallops and vinaigrette, and a chocolate raspberry tart. I also tried one of Heidi’s crab cakes, which were equally fresh and delicious. The decor in the restaurant was drab, but there was at least a nice view of the marina. While I am not one for upscale seafood houses, the meal was a truly satisfactory close to five days of heavenly dining. Let me tell you, the airport sandwich on the trip home was nearly inedible.