Bi-Rite Creamery @ 18th St, San Francisco

If there was any a store that I wish I lived on the same street, it would be this one: Bi-Rite Creamery.  It always has lines out the door, with people waiting with excitement and anticipation, wondering what flavors they are going to get, knowing that they will pick the ones they always have come in for...

Located in Mission Dolores, it's adjacent to Dolores Park, which makes it the perfect stop after a hot day laying out on the grass (I also love going to Bi-Rite Market across the street and getting a sandwich and some side salads for a Picnic in the park!)

The whole street that it's located on is a veritable food fest, you have Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina where you can get some of the best Italian food in the city, Tartine Bakery and the Dolores Park Cafe-all good food..



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Bird Pick Tea & Herb @ South De Lacey Avenue, Pasadena

I fell in love with this shop even before I went in! You can see from the outside through the large warehouse like windows, jars full of loose teas and condiments, Dark wood fixtures give it a Chinese Herbal Medicine Shop look with displays of woven baskets full of utensils...And even though we're not really Tea drinkers, (the hot variety, we are avid Ice Tea consumers) it's a really cool place to cool down and enjoy some window shopping to envision a life that's not really your style, but fun to  imagine!






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Supannee House of Thai, @ Shelter Island Drive, San Diego

So it was inevitable that at some point on our San Diego trip, we would have to have Thai food; and so on our last day, right before we ran to airport on our way home, we had lunch at Supannee House of Thai Restaurant in a beach town of Shelter Island.  I don't know why, but Thai is particularly tasty when it gets hot out, maybe it's all the sweet and spicy flavors so savory in the summer!

Located in a commercial center, it's a quaint little grouping of shops and restaurants; but be aware, parking is really tight in the front lot! (narrowest parking lines I've ever seen....)

The Town of Shelter Island has got an awesome sleepy beach community feel to it, the townsfolk strolling along the avenues, reading newspapers, and quietly join about their day, it's so funny that it's so close to the airport and Downtown...




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Umami Burger SF @ Union Street, San Francisco

I know, I know, there's a ton of places to go in SF without having to go to the same chain that we go to in LA, it's sad...But the Umami Burger is an addictive temptress and when there's the possibility of a local dealer for Burger crack...well at least it's not like we're going to an abandoned warehouse or anything....

Quite the opposite, Umami SF is located in the yuppie-esque neighborhood of Cow Hollow, where ergonomic baby strollers run amuck, the streets riddled with haute furniture stores cum massive price tags (delivery not included) and a bevy of bars where the drinks are abnormally flavored and sickeningly sweet, fecund with saccharin....

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Update: I-naba Japanese Soba Noodle Restaurant @ S. Decatur Blvd, Las Vegas

Update: so being as we can't order everything on the menu, we often come back to the restaurants that we thought were worth coming back for more.  One of these restaurants is I-naba Japanese Soba Noodle Restaurant (please see prior review for background and previously ordered dishes).

Now that it is full on Summer, it's time to order the dishes that best typify Japanese cuisine during it's steamiest months...


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FLOWERS!!!!

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Out The Door @ Bush St, San Francisco

Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf 

I don't know why it is, but whenever we're in SF, we end up eating mostly Asian food; whether it's Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese or Thai, (and Indian on a special occasion) it's the go-to cuisine.  Maybe because it's so much more prevalent there, or I just go crazy as soon as I'm transplanted back into an urban setting...

It was heartbreaking when the Westfield location closed down...yes, it was inside a mall...yes it was located adjacent to the Food Court...yes it's soooo touristy....BUT WE DIDN'T CARE!!! It was totally convenient for us, (The Ferry Terminal is cool, but sometimes, you don't want to trek all the way to The Slanted Door near the whipping winds and cold damp waterfront...) the environment is always casual and easy going...and you can go to Bearded Papas out in the Food Court for a Cream Puff afterwards! It's the simple things that are the best...

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