San Francisco
Went up to SF for the weekend to visit some friends. I opted to fly out of John Wayne airport since I'm heading to work after I land. The great thing about John Wayne is the ease of getting through the airport, the food outlets are always fast, and the customer service is always pleasant. I was able to get a complimentary upgrade as I was walking into the plane on United Airlines. I am always reminded as the plane takes off the crazy rules in Orange County requiring pilots to gun the planes off the runway.
Checked into the Hilton Financial District. Between the two city Hiltons, I think this property edges out the other because of the proximity to Chinatown and the rooms are bigger.
Grabbed dinner at My Tofu Place in Inner Richmond. Ordered several dishes to eat family style - bibimbap, tofu soup, daeji bulgogi and korean pancake. Overall, a satisfying meal!
After some digesting time, went to Joe's ice cream after talking about visiting BiRite creamery in Mission. I had the rasperry swirl, toasted almond and chocolate peanut butter ice cream. The ice cream was very good especially the chocolate peanut butter.
In the morning, I grabbed breakfast in the hotel. There is some construction happening next to the hotel and the front desk people upgraded my continental to "American" for the possible inconvenience of the construction noise. I would say that if you can get the full american breakfast - basically hot buffet - it is worthwhile. I will add that the continental selection includes some tasty doughnuts. Usually when doughnuts are given, you are eating stale dry ones but this particular time it was of excellent quality.
Met up a friend at the Cherry Blossom festival in J-town. Enjoyed playing catch up and looking at all the food stalls and promotional items. There was an all asian band playing for entertainment. Not overly crowded, it reminded me of a neighborhood block party.
Afterwards, went to Tartine Bakery for an assortment of desserts. I figured it would be great to have for after dinner. I saw the bakery showcased on Food Network and thought it be nice to cruise through the Mission district. Down the street, BiRite Creamery was packed with people. Since the bus stop I needed was nearby, I decided to make a pit stop. There is a creamery sit down and a to go soft serve window. Seeing that the creamery line stretched out to to corner of the street, I went for the soft serve. I really enjoyed the flavors of the day - salted caramel and chocolate. I was worried that it would be too much for me but the flavors melded well as a swirl. I can't say I like BiRite or Joe's since I didn't have ice cream at both places but I enjoyed both very much.
Afterwards, grabbed dinner at King of Thai #2 in inner richmond. I've begun to notice that pumpkin curry is becoming common in menus and ordered the chicken pumpkin curry. The sauce was good but I do prefer dark versus white meat. Pork may have been a better choice for me. I tried the duck fried rice and it is popular for a reason.
The next day, I checked out of the Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport/Burlingame. The hotel now offers beds that can be customized to a person's firmness preference. I didn't mess with the knob on the side of the bed but I thought it was interesting.
Checked into the Hilton Financial District. Between the two city Hiltons, I think this property edges out the other because of the proximity to Chinatown and the rooms are bigger.
Grabbed dinner at My Tofu Place in Inner Richmond. Ordered several dishes to eat family style - bibimbap, tofu soup, daeji bulgogi and korean pancake. Overall, a satisfying meal!
After some digesting time, went to Joe's ice cream after talking about visiting BiRite creamery in Mission. I had the rasperry swirl, toasted almond and chocolate peanut butter ice cream. The ice cream was very good especially the chocolate peanut butter.
In the morning, I grabbed breakfast in the hotel. There is some construction happening next to the hotel and the front desk people upgraded my continental to "American" for the possible inconvenience of the construction noise. I would say that if you can get the full american breakfast - basically hot buffet - it is worthwhile. I will add that the continental selection includes some tasty doughnuts. Usually when doughnuts are given, you are eating stale dry ones but this particular time it was of excellent quality.
Met up a friend at the Cherry Blossom festival in J-town. Enjoyed playing catch up and looking at all the food stalls and promotional items. There was an all asian band playing for entertainment. Not overly crowded, it reminded me of a neighborhood block party.
Afterwards, went to Tartine Bakery for an assortment of desserts. I figured it would be great to have for after dinner. I saw the bakery showcased on Food Network and thought it be nice to cruise through the Mission district. Down the street, BiRite Creamery was packed with people. Since the bus stop I needed was nearby, I decided to make a pit stop. There is a creamery sit down and a to go soft serve window. Seeing that the creamery line stretched out to to corner of the street, I went for the soft serve. I really enjoyed the flavors of the day - salted caramel and chocolate. I was worried that it would be too much for me but the flavors melded well as a swirl. I can't say I like BiRite or Joe's since I didn't have ice cream at both places but I enjoyed both very much.
Afterwards, grabbed dinner at King of Thai #2 in inner richmond. I've begun to notice that pumpkin curry is becoming common in menus and ordered the chicken pumpkin curry. The sauce was good but I do prefer dark versus white meat. Pork may have been a better choice for me. I tried the duck fried rice and it is popular for a reason.
The next day, I checked out of the Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport/Burlingame. The hotel now offers beds that can be customized to a person's firmness preference. I didn't mess with the knob on the side of the bed but I thought it was interesting.
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