San Jose and San Francisco


So my brief stay last time in San Francisco compelled me back to the Bay area for the weekend. Okay, not really but it sounded nice to say that. I grabbed a last minute fare up to San Francisco Airport on United Airlines and joined my siblings. I came too early for them to properly wake up and check out of the Holiday Inn San Mateo hotel. So I napped a bit before heading up to the city. I can't recall if I've ever stayed at one but it seemed a nice enough location/facility. At least the suite was spacious and comfortable. On a side note, there are several Holiday Inns around SFO so be sure you are looking for the right location before jumping onto the shuttle.
Ready for some donut noshing!

Rustled up part of the group and left the hotel to downtown San Francisco. On the way to downtown, stopped at Dynamo Donut in Mission. The group tried the maple bacon, coconut, strawberry earl grey, and fleur de sel doughnuts. All the flavors were represented well by each doughnut even though I didn't care for the toasted coconut flakes on top of the coconut doughnut (ironic, huh?) and I think the fleur de sel could have had a stronger caramel flavor. I later tried the chocolate chai doughnut and found the quality good. I can't say I loved it because I don't like chai flavored food but it was still a well made chocolate doughnut.

Prosciutto and Purgatori pizza from Pizzeria Delfina
Afterwards, ran around the city on some errands before settling for lunch at Pizzeria Delfina. I recently saw an article on Food & Wine on the best pizzas in the nation. Being a fan of pizza, I thought it would be great if I could try all these places at some point in my life. This will be number two off the list as I have gone to Pizzeria Bianca in Phoenix last year. I accomplished one without even knowing! :) The Prosciutto Pie and Purgatori Pie was ordered. I personally preferred the Pargatori and I thank Foursquare for providing the off-the-menu tip.
Doubletree San Jose King Room

Checked into the Doubletree San Jose hotel that night and headed to Hukilau for dinner. Given the late lunch and morning snacks, I wasn't super hungry and shared the Da Bruddha combo which is two entrees of your choosing. Opted for the short ribs and chicken adobe. The ribs were ok and the chicken was good. I was ok with the spam musubi but I haven't really found a good spam musubi place ever since the korean mart in Honolulu retired. I have resorted to making my own to satisfy my cravings.The spicy ahi poke was good and spicy! I also tried the lava flow which was ok, I suppose I should only order when I'm in Hawaii. :)

The next day, I checked out the continental breakfast offered at the hotel. Nothing great, nothing bad. The cold food was an assortment of breads (croissant, sourdough, wheat) and muffins (blueberry and bran). The hot looked ok but I wasn't willing to pay the extra money ($5) for it. For an airport hotel, this facility is really big and the Spencer restaurant was rated well on Yelp. The rooms are very spacious. Even the hallways seem super big and there is an on-site club somewhere in the hotel. Parking was a challenge since there was a wedding, clubbers AND hotel guests all vying for a spot in the parking lot. Luckily, the front desk folks waived my parking charge when I told them it was a challenge to find parking in their lot.

As a side note, there is a casino hotel across the street. So if you're up for gambling, it seems like a pretty swanky place. Something unexpected in San Jose. At least for me.

For lunch, stopped by Bun Bo Hue An Nam at 740 Story Rd, Ste 3, San Jose, CA 95122. I've always known there is a large Vietnamese community in the area so I was hoping for some tasty Vietnamese food. I was not disappointed. I ordered the pho dac biet and it was a solid. The bun bo hue was good as well. A good thing since that's the name of the restaurant. I also enjoyed the nuoc mia with the splash of orange.

Went back to downtown SF for some last minute shopping. Made a pit stop at Koi Palace in Daly City to pick up some dragon beard candy. Not too many places will make the candy fresh. For those unfamiliar, it is almost like cotton candy but in threads wrapped around a nut filling. Not cheap at $9 per box for 10 pieces but the quality is defintely there.
Westin San Francisco Airport Double Room

Checked into the Westin San Francisco Airport hotel that night for my early bird flight the next morning. For an airport hotel, the location is excellent as it is right next to the airport and a 15 minute walk to the Milbrae Bart station. For fans of the Aloft brand, there is one under construction right next door. The room was a little cramped but the facility was quite nice. The gym was under renovations but the temporary gym served well enough. I did like the indoor pool but it wasn't warm enough for my taste to dive in.

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