SF -- day 3

On our third day in SF, we slept in and then Marc practiced his conference presentation, so when we headed out, it was for an early lunch. (Marc attended a session the day before by a group called Chow Hounds -- anyone heard of them? They have a website where people post about their favorite food finds in different areas, and some of the locals gave the attendees a tour of Chinatown.) One of the Chow Hounds said his favorite restaurant in SF is The Chef and the Butler Bistro, and since it was only a few blocks from our hotel, we were excited to check it out.

It was definitely off the beaten path -- I don't think we ever would have found it -- and it was wonderful! Small, very authentic, delicious. We had the best boeuf bourgignon either of us had ever tasted, with fresh olive bread on the side.

The French chef came out and talked with us for a little while and was very friendly. We both wished we had more time to go back and sample their crêpes, quiches, and desserts. Definitely worth a detour.

At this point, I had to go back to the hotel and change my shoes. Walking was pure torture on this day, and I had to go for the most comfortable pair I own, even though they didn't exactly go with what I was wearing (gasp!), as there was no way I was going to miss a tour of Chinatown. But first, a little more shopping around Union Square.

We found a Richart in SF! This is a chocolatier that I found in Paris not long before we left, which was sad because they are so unusual and so so good. You can imagine our excitement, then, to see one of their stores. The chocolates are about 1/2" square and cost $25.00 for a box of 16. They have flavors like: passionfruit ganache, curry, and green tomato/basil (which I swear are all amazingly delicious).

Finally, on to Chinatown, a feast for the senses.

These red lanterns are strung back and forth across the main drag and create such a festive atmosphere.

This character, Domo, dominated one of the shops we went in -- on t-shirts and in plush. I didn't really want to spend $30 to buy one, but I think he is so cute! Maybe I will try to re-create a Domo of my own someday...

We bought a bunch of gummies for the kids and some mango ones for us. So yummy! I wish we had bought more.

I loved walking through the food markets (but then, I always love that) -- the colorful produce is beautiful!

We saw a lot of these dried roots, so many varieties of the pricey little buggers. I wish I knew what they were!

And at a fish market, a bucket of live bullfrogs! You don't see that every day.

After sampling some Chinese pastries (not my cup of tea) and getting our fill of the shops and street musicians, we bought some souvenirs for the kids and went back for Marc's presentation:

He's never one to choose a boring topic. With this one, he even coined a new term. I can tell you that he was far more interesting than the other two speakers on his panel! He told me later that he saw me nodding off during their presentations -- oops! When it was over, he stayed to talk with some other attendees and I went upstairs to lie down for a half hour.

Then we took Amy's advice and went to North Beach to l'Osteria del Forno, a tiny little Italian restaurant. We only had to wait outside for a few minutes before we were seated. It was obviously run by Italian people, but they also spoke excellent French with a couple sitting nearby. Marc had the pumpkin ravioli and I had the roast pork with garlic potatoes, both were delicious. Thanks, Amy!

After dinner, we crossed the street to get some gelato. I had dark chocolate, blood orange, and coconut and it was SO good.

We went to a huge mall near our hotel and went to Borders to scout out possible publishers for Marc's ABC Paris book. (We got some good leads, too!) Then we went back to our hotel, packed, and bemoaned the fact that we didn't have more time to spend in San Francisco. What a delightful city.