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CITY
BY THE BAY
October
2004 - After leaving rain soaked Louisiana, we landed
in Oakland, California under one of the most beautiful
blue skies I have ever seen and thus began our Culinary
Adventure. We were picked up at the airport by our tour
bus and whisked across the Oakland Bay Bridge into the
lovely city by the bay, San Francisco. Touring through
the city, we made a lunch stop at Pier 39, where we
enjoyed a wonderful meal at Chic's
restaurant that featured a hot and creamy Clam Chowder
served with delicious sourdough bread. Coming out of
the restaurant, we heard the roar of jets overhead and
looked up to see the Canadian Snowbirds, Canada's equivalent
of the Blue Angels, flying over the bay. They put on
a tremendous show which was an added treat for us.
We
then continued our tour of the city and headed for our
hotel, Villa Florence, located at Union Square. The
Villa
Florence is a handsomely decorated boutique
hotel with an excellent location for shopping, dining
and sightseeing. Located in our hotel was Kuleto's restaurant,
where we dined on light Italian cuisine that evening.
Day
2 started with a ride on the F-line Streetcar to the
Ferry Building Marketplace, where we met our tour guide,
Sally
Bernstein.  We
started our tour at the Ferry
Place Wine Merchants where we sampled wines.
Scharffen
Berger Chocolates satisfied our sweet tooth
with an interesting talk about chocolate as well as
delicious tastings. Next, came an olive oil sampling
at McEvoy Olive Oil before going outside to talk with
the local farmers about their products. The MarketBar
restaurant indulged us with a delicious lunch of Forest
Mushroom Pizza, Allstar Organics Sweet Pepper &
Tomato Soup, Steak Frites or Ahi Tuna Tonnato, Watermelon
Terrine or a delectable Crème Brulee with Pecan
Ginger Brittle. The evening brought laughter and delight
with a performance of Beach
Blanket Babylon. Since its debut at the Club
Fugazi, in the North Beach area 30 years ago, this musical
parody has played to sold out performances, night after
night. A late night snack at Scala's
Bistro was a perfect way to end an enjoyable
day.
Day
3 found us heading for the Napa Valley via the Golden
Gate Bridge, where we made a stop on the north shore
for a
beautiful view of the bridge and the city. Our first
stop in the Napa Valley was the magnificent Domaine
Caneros Chateau and winery. We were greeted
with a glass of champagne and were given a very informative
tour. Our next stop was Brix
restaurant, just north of Yountville, on historic Highway
29. We feasted on assorted pizzas, Caesar Salad, Pan
Roasted Halibut with Mint Couscous & Citrus Butter
Sauce and aFlourless Chocolate Cake with Espresso Gelato
& Caramel Sauce .
After a walk in their beautiful gardens and shopping
in their gift shop, we were on to our next winery, Niebaum-Coppola.
This is the winery owned by Francis Ford Coppola and
housed on a beautiful estate, where we tasted several
varieties of their wines. Before leaving the valley,
we enjoyed a brief stop at the Oakville
Grocery, a landmark in Napa Valley for over
120 years. We traveled back to the city and that evening
dined at Jeanty
at Jack's. Renowned Chef Philippe Jeanty,
formerly of Domaine Chandon, created a sumptuous menu
of outstanding French cuisine.
Day
4 was a free day we spent shopping in Chinatown and
Union Square. That evening we went to Caffe Sport in
the North Beach area, where we were treated to family
style servings of delicious Italian food.
We
had a great time in San Francisco, the weather was beautiful,
the food was outstanding and we hope to visit the city
by the bay on another Culinary Adventure soon.
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What's Cooking:
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of the Best!
CHICAGO...The
Windy City
City by the Bay
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