Cruising the City, Part 2

And the trip goes on.

Saturday in San Francisco. In July. The high is 75 and windy. What's summer again?

Whenever I'm in San Francisco on a Saturday, I always try to make a trip to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building. I know...it's a little pricey and not the hugest selection, but I luv being near the bay...and the street performers help.

On this particular trip, I found lemon verbana (what I'm going to do with it, I don't know...but it smells lemony fresh and amazing) and these adorable bell peppers.



Bell peppers that Kobe would be proud of. Yay Lakers!

Nicole and I also have a tradition of taking a picture on the hearts we see around the city.



Saturday was also Foreign Cinema brunch day! A belated Mother's Day present. Well worth the wait, if you ask me. I've blogged about this place before, and there's nothing else I can really add except that I luv it. Lots.



Strawberry salad with shaved fennel, toasted hazelnuts and arugula with balsamic crema. The salad was just barely dressed and the fennel was a great addition to the strawberries.



My mom had the zucchini and crab frittata with goat cheese, frisee salad and drizzled with a basil oil. Lots of crab chunkies and that goat cheese was creamy and delicious!



My dad had the pulled pork simmered in a garbanzo bean stew topped with a baked egg. Kinda reminded me of a huevos rancheros...but with garbanzo beans. Super hearty.



Nicole had a mushroom and lager omelete coupled with these fabulous potatoes! Their omeletes are so light and fluffy!



I had the bagette french toast. A favorite of mine. The hint of orange in the custard is the magic maker.



Clean plate club!

And another visit to Bi-Rite. My dad is addicted...and price sensitive. He figures that he's better off buying a pint (yes, a pint) of ice cream for $8 as opposed to a $6.50 3-scoop banana split. Umm...yeah. I was under the impression that he was going to eat it over a period of time. Like..30 minutes...40 minutes...but nope. That ice cream was gone in about 12. 12 minutes. 2 cups of super rich and creamy balsamic strawberry ice cream. Devoured. Don't mess.

Nicole: "He's not gonna be ok...no one can be ok after 2 cups of ice cream."
me: "I don't know..." (glancing at Daddy). "He looks pretty peachy to me."
Nicole: "No, I refuse to believe anyone can be ok after that."

1 hour passes, 2...then 3...

He's fine. Like gravy. What a champ.

And what goes better with ice cream than...pizza? Well, maybe not immediately, but we took a BART ride and an interesting walk to Little Star Pizza for dinner. Interesting due to the side street iPhone suggested we take...and interesting due to the very loud bum talking to himself for 2 blocks. The ohana was not amused. At. All.

But they did enjoy the wonderful pizza that is Little Star.



Half chicken pesto, half zucchini, tomato and mushroom. Thin crust, please. I was a little confused by the squirts of pesto on top rather than as a sauce, but it definitely works.

Since we celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday, we had to then celebrate Father's Day on Sunday. Daddy is a big fan of Diners, Drive-in's and Dives. Me...ehh...not so much...it is fun to watch. But hey, it's Father's Day. So we were off to place from the show, and he selected Dottie's True Blue Cafe in the Tenderloin area of the city.

Apparently, we weren't alone in our quest for the quintessential diner breakfast. We waited...and waited...and waited...for 75 minutes. And I know why. The place only seats about 12-15 customers at a time.

So here I was expecting your normal diner fare, eggs, toast, potatoes...but what I far exceeded expectations. Prosciutto? Feta? Frittata? Excuse me? Cardamom spiced french toast? Sold.



My dad had a scramble of prosciutto, basil and tomatoes. Yummy! I had a frittata with zucchini, avocado and goat cheese! Which I ate too quickly to photo.

On the way back, I made this disturbing discovery!



Alpaca? You don't suppose they sell...



Ahhh!!! Lenney the Llama!!!!! Sweaters??? Hats?? I'm going to be sick.

And who knew...



Toothbrushes under lock and key? Seriously? Didn't stop me from sticking my arm in a small crack I detected.

On the way back to Irvine, our plane was running ahead of schedule, so the pilot took us on a scenic tour.



And