GFJ: Sorry NYC but I am cheating on you with San Francisco.....

Here is a guide to having the best four days in San Francisco…

Day One – Nothing says “Welcome to San Francisco” like Metts picking you up at the airport and saying, “these are your options: Sushi Sam’s or lunch in wine country”…. I mean, how can you go wrong with either? Since I hadn’t been to wine country in a while I decided that was the way I wanted to go.. And it was a wise decision.

On our drive out there Metts said, “can you look up the address for Bouchon Bakery?” In my mind I thought, “yes… Never been and so effing excited”… but I tried to play it cool and looked up the address and chatted him up about everything under the sun..

As we got arrived at 6528 Washington Street in Yountville we noticed that the restaurant was closed. Unfortunately the Bakery had a kitchen fire. Sorry Bouchon Bakery but thank you Bouchon Bistro for being next door. When Metts said “let’s just go to the Bistro” I could not keep cool. I was giddy with excitement and let it show. I mean, I even took my menu home. Totes going to frame that sucker.

After Bouchon Bistro we headed over to Round Pond for a little wine tasting. If you have the opportunity to sample their wine make sure Kelly is working. She has the most soothing voice on Earth. Like, she could tell you the worst news possible and you’d remain calm. She is auditory Xanax.

With our belly’s full we drove back to San Francisco. As we passed all the vineyards I kept on thinking, out loud, “it’s so pretty here.” The mustard plants, which serve as some sort of fertilizer, made everything look so cheerful. I had died and gone to visual heaven.

En route to see the little guy and Beej, we picked up some Slanted Door and raced home for QT with two of my faves. It was seriously the perfect first day in San Francisco.

Day Two – Just when you think your trip can’t get any better, Little S climbs into bed with you for some “morning time”. Nothing can melt your heart like a cute tyke smiling at you first thing. His little giggle kills me and I’m so glad I heard it when I joined Beej at his first dentist appointment.

After hanging with Little S this beast needed to get some work done. Yes, that’s right, I did some real office work whilst on vacation. I can’t help myself. When those work emails come in I can’t help but read them and respond. Ignoring it all makes me dead anxious. So I spent a few hours doing office work and blogging before Metts picked me up for a drive out to Half Moon Bay.

With the sun shining we drove along the Pacific Coast Highway. While I enjoyed the curvey road and enjoyed the scenic tour, Metts told me about the three-disc PBS special on Prohibition he watched..

Do you know why bootleggers were called bootleggers? The term was used during the Prohibition when booze loving men would sell liquor from flasks they kept in their boot leg. (Truth be told, Metts told me that the term came from people distributing booze directly out of their boot… like customers would stick straws in dirty, stinky shoes and get drunk….Wikipedia quoted the PBS “Prohibition” special as saying something else. HA!)

After a nice lunch at Moss Beach Distillery and a walk out to see the Maverick waves (where Metts wore his Gucci loafers on the beach and everyone was staring at us cause we were way too dressed-up to be out there) we went back to the city for a fun night out with Beej, JuJuBe and Mystery Van.

Minus the random girls tweaking out in the Tenderloin, Chambers is a great way to start the night. I mean, the bar does have the “Be Amazing” sign and while their martinis weren’t as good as the first one I had a Bouchon Bistro, the ambiance made up for it. Beej, you have to have a party there. Obvi I’ll fly out for it….

With my “Be Amazing” sighting out of the way we headed over to 25 Lusk for a delicious dinner. If you go, start with the Bone Marrow. It’s like butta.

Day Three – After spending two afternoons with Metts it was time for a proper solo catch-up session with Beej. We had a full day of beauty. Mani/pedi’s, a stint at Benefit on Fillmore (ask for Amanda… she’s the best at putting on eye-lashes and makeup), shopping and lunch at Woodhouse Fish Co. I mean, Beej is my pregnant hero. She’s about to give birth but walked around with me all day and then continued on at the delicious dinner hosted by Metts mom, Amanda Blake.

One of the many perks of being Metts friend is an invitation to Amanda Blake’s house for dinner. She makes a meal for seventeen seem effortless. Her Moroccan fair was divine and the presentation was spot-on. Oh and while I was over there, drinking my martini, I learned that I enjoy hard-boiled quail eggs. They are delightful…. as is JoJo’s gorgeous engagement ring.

I loved when JoJo gave it to me and excitedly said, “you want to wear it for awhile?”.. I totes did but I gave the beauty back to her. Seriously, cannot wait for her wedding.. Oh, wait, that’s another trip I’ll “have” to make to San Francisco… YES!

With a nice buzz, a full belly and some vintage items AB gifted me, we headed back to Metts and Beej’s place where I enjoyed a soothing pre-bed cup of Zen tea.

Day Four – When I heard Little S call my name in the morning I knew I had properly brainwashed the kid and that the day was going to be a good one. With the sun shining and Metts taking S for an outing, Beej and I walked over to Angelina’s for some bench time. While sitting there and touching Beej’s belly (in hopes that I’d feel the little bugger kick) I spied many cute guys and Beej figured out that the grandfather of the twins was actual the dad.

After our lovely people-watching session we headed over to KM’s for a ladies luncheon to celebrate JoJo’s engagement and AS pregnancy. Have I told you that I’m obsessed with her and Hottie’s apartment? Cause, I am. The space she has and the gorgeous decor left me with full-on apartment envy. I mean, she has a walk-in closet for christ-sake..

And the food that she and her sister made was scrumptious. The pizza was mouth-watering and went down quite well with the bellini’s she served. It was the perfect way to start Superbowl Sunday.

Ah, Superbowl Sunday… With Bags of Gold to nosh on, McCooch (who made fun of me all night and I loved it), Goldie (whose svelteness made me realize I need to go rexic), Metts, Beej and Little S, I couldn’t ask for anything more. It was the best way to end my trip…. a holiday I clearly didn’t want to leave as I almost left my wallet on the dining room table (in my defense, I thought it was Beej’s. We have the same wallet.)

And now I’m back in NYC and I have the shakes cause I’m going through San Fran withdrawal. Since Beej asked me to come back in March and Metts told me to plan my next trip I guess I won’t be jonesing for too long.

Oh, and West Coast Nanimal and Maisie, I expect to see you both on that next trip.

Wednesday
BREAKFAST: fage with strawberry and chia seeds
LUNCH: eggplant parmesan and salad
DINNER: Salad and Lala’s Mousaka

Thursday
BREAKFAST: Fage with strawberry and chia seeds
LUNCH: leftover mousaka
DINNER: soup and salad

Friday
BREAKFAST: Fage with blueberry and chia seeds
LUNCH: Bamboo rice with zucchini… I needed to eat something fat free for my Liver Cleanse… And the only reason why I did the Liver Cleanse because I was feeling dead beastly and thought that this would help me de-bloat.
DINNER: fast

Saturday
BREAKFAST: fast
LUNCH: Fast
Real lunch : rice with leftover mousaka and salad
SNACK: random korean food that my sister picked up… I love going to her house. She always has yummy things.
DINNER: Parmesan crusted chicken. My niece and nephew love it.

Sunday
BREAKFAST: Toast
LUNCH: chicken wings
DINNER: Soup and Salad
DESSERT: Swiss chocolates

Monday
BREAKFAST: Fage with strawberry and chia seeds
LUNCH: gluten free quiche and salad
DINNER: Salad and Rice with zucchini
DESSERT: Swiss chocolates

Tuesday
BREAKFAST: Fage with strawberry and chia seeds
LUNCH: Trader Joe’s Chicken Tacos and Salad
DINNER: Maialino with Coco

Coco and I split two appetizers. This delicious salad of Kale, Kohlrabi, Hazelnuts & Pecorino

This dish is my Maialino favorite.. Seared Octopus, Celery Root & Parsley

Malfatti al Maialino| - Braised Suckling Pig and Arugula

Maialino - Apple Tart, Toasted Walnuts & Maple Bourbon Gelato

Wednesday
BREAKFAST: Fage with strawberry and chia seeds.
LUNCH: nothing cause of the video Hollywood sent me
DINNER: Black beans and roasted root veggies

Thursday
BREAKFAST: breakfast sandwich at the airport….
LUNCH: Bouchon feast with Metts….

Just looking at this picture of Mett's French Onion Soup from Bouchon makes my stomach rumble.

After the delicious Oysters, I started with Bouchon's Frisee Salad

Bouchon Bistro's Truffle Fries with Steak Frites (pan-seared prime flatiron, caramelized shallots & maître d'hôtel ) which Metts and I split. It was dead rich.

Round Pond wine tasting pairing bites....

DINNER: Since we took time chatting to Kelly at Round Pond vineyard, we didn’t make it back in time to grocery shop for dinner. So, we picked up Slainted Door. So freaking yum. After S went to bed we munched on Shaking Beef, Spring and Imperial Rolls and Claypot Chicken.
DESSERT: Cookies and Cream ice-cream… Beej and I were dead comfy on the couch and Metts kindly fetched us mugs of ice-cream. It was heavenly….

Friday
BREAKFAST: bagel and banana chocolate-chip mini muffins which McCooch made and dropped off at the house. Loves him.
LUNCH: Lunch at the former Speakeasy, Moss Beach Distillery

The view from Moss Beach Distillery... Apparently this is the cove where Bootleggers received their shipments of booze during the Prohibition....

Moss Beach Distillery Fried Calamari.. I feel like every time Metts and I see Fried Calamari on a menu we split it.

Moss Beach Distillery Fish Tacos which I split with Metts

SNACK: I insisted on seeing the “Be Amazing” sign in true life so we went to Chambers for a cocktail, or two, and some small bites.. Thanks, JuJuBee for picking up the tab…

DINNER: 25 Lusk with Beej, Metts, JuJuBee and Mystery Van

25 Lusk - The most delicious bone marrow ever. We split a bunch of hors d'oeuvres and this was my favorite.. (sidenote: not pictured was the Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi and Kampachi Crudo)

25 Lusk Pork Belly Confit -kuri squash puree, thai basil, key lime, bitter chocolate reduction

25 Lusk Chicken Fried Quail - hedgehog mushroom pancakes, cipollini onions, dark kumquat sauce

Saturday
BREAKFAST: eggs
LUNCH: chowder and half a lobster roll at Woodhouse Fish Co.

J'adore that Woodhouse Fish Co has "make your own" lemonade. You can add as much simple syrup and fizzy water as you want.

Woodhouse Fish Co clam chowder... Since Beej and I decided to split the lobster roll we both started with a cup of chowder. So yum.

Beej and I split the lobster roll at Woodhouse Fish Co.

DINNER: An amazing Moroccan Feast at Mett’s parents apartment… Amanda Blake really out did herself. I’m so sad that my martini’s got in the way of taking a picture of the food. Mother Chucker.

Sunday
BREAKFAST: Eggs with Chicken Sausage
LUNCH: KM invited the girls over for a luncheon. The pizza’s she made were DIVINE. Like, she could go into business. I’m sad that I only took a picture of the arugula salad. I feel like you can’t understand how delish the za’s were without a visual. I could go for a slice of the leek, spinach and feta pizza right now.

KC's arugula salad

DINNER: After munching on my favorite Safeway frozen appetizer, Bags of Gold, we ate Metts lasagna. It was dead good.
DESSERT: Before my 11pm flight I picked up a Pinkberry at Terminal 2 at SFO…. I die that there is a Yoga Room in that terminal.

Monday
BREAKFAST: Nothing
LUNCH: Ramen
DINNER: I decided to make Chicken Vindaloo with rice… Oh and a large salad.

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