Finally, the run of Caffe breakfasts can begin. Today it was Stella Pastry, and establishment which one patron introduced to his friend as the “best place of pastries, you’ll keep coming here”. And rightly so, everything is quite decadent. Large American portions, and liberal Italian use of sugar, butter and cream. I started today by going to the only pharmacy in the vicinity. It happened to be right in the middle of Chinatown where I found the following method of drying your laundry almost everywhere I went:
Walking down Grant street I also saw a shop offering “Free Vital Tea Tasting”. Inside was a man proclaiming the benefits of Siberian rosebud tea to a dozen tourists seated at a very low bar. I saw him brew a small cup of rosetea then pass it around and at one point suggest “This tea will give you, young lady, energy to do certain things…” at which point I left because I’m sure that girl’s parents were sitting right next to her.
I headed next for the Ferry Building. On the way I found another small treasure of San Francisco, assigned scooter parking:
It’s like parking for babies! (or at least parking for Julien). The Ferry building looks like this:
And is by-and-large filled with very expensive specialty stores. I was able to grab a cup of New Orleans style iced tea from the famed Blue Bottle Company. It was nice to spend a bit of time somewhere not as grungy as Broadway street where the hostel is.
Finally, I set heading for ‘wichcraft, a restaurant by Tom Colicchio whom my roomates and I idolized because of his role as head judge on Top Chef. ‘wichcraft is cool too. You order at the counter and then they give you a small sign that you take to whatever table of your chosing. A waiter delivers your sandwich and takes away your sign. The whole place is very modern and feels like an upscale fast food joint. However, the sandwiches don’t feel that way at all:
The slow-roasted pork sandwich was both extremely simple, consisting of nothing more than pork, peppers, cabbage and mustard, and also highly memorable. This is something I expect is difficult for simple food to do. However, ‘wichcraft has my strong recommendation although the prices are little steep.
Of course I couldn’t walk any further without stepping into this store:
and trying out a $70,000 grand piano. The sound is impecable. Playing the low keys softly is alone immensely satisfying.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on a walking tour of Nob Hill with two friends I met at the hostel. Plenty of history was learned and expensive hotel lobbies visited. I even saw the room where Tony Bennett first sang “I left my heart in San Francisco”. Actually the whole of the hill screams of the era of crooners and jazz greats.
So unlike yesterday, when you travel the San Francisco of San Franciscans you get the real feeling of the city. When you *use* SF transit, pharmacies, sidewalks and restaurants you feel less like a tourist and more like a participant. I have so much to see on Thursday though. I haven’t even made it down to the Mission once and that’s a day and a half of exploring.