Greetings from Northern California where the air is a bit cooler and taking public transportation is a bit easier than down south. We are enjoying our time here in the Bay, and are very fortunate to have friends that are letting us stay with them while we search for jobs. I have been training with a well known contortion coach in SF and looking for performance jobs in and around the city. I have booked two gigs (yay), and need more work to sustain, but are very hopeful that I will find more work soon. It is difficult to say to oneself that it’s possible to do what you love to do and earn an income doing it. Angelo has been doing some freelance jobs and creating really great flyers and doing video editing for some dance events. People keep asking us if we are going anywhere else; we would love to travel thru Canada and South America. I also have an older brother in Utah who I would love to see. Anyhow, that’s a little update with how we are.

Moving on, we trekked out to SF last week and stuffed our bellies full of some pretty good food and I feel compelled to share with our readers. I am one of those people who prefer to eat at home or when I do eat out, I go to a reliable favorite. We do not refer to ourselves as “foodies” and rarely try new restaurants. But one of the things that readers have suggested is to have more food posts, so here we go!

Tartine, 600 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Located right in the heart of the city, Tartine Bakery needs no introduction. It’s a great bakery that has breads and pastries. Go there. I am not going to be one of those reviewers who are like, “the croissant didn’t have enough layers” or crap like that. It’s a wonderful bakery and everything is good, so try all of it. I bought the strawberry rhubarb cake, which was delicious and not too sweet. Oh, and I also got an iced coffee which was pretty good too. Sometimes there is a line outside, but when we went there wasn’t – if there is a line, don’t worry – it moves quickly.

Bi-Rite Creamery, 3692 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

A very popular ice cream establishment in SF, it will have lines of excited people waiting for a scoop of small batch ice cream. They also have a soft serve window. I tried the salted caramel, it was divine. I guess the only setback is that its kinda expensive, $4.50 for the small size. But they use really good ingredients and probably have to pay a hefty price for that SF rent. Go there.

Humphry Slocombe, 2790 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Another ice cream establishment, a good friend had suggested this place because of their innovative flavors. Angelo had the Strawberry Szechuan Sorbet, which he said wasn’t peppery at all, but the strawberry was good. I had the Fluffernutter which had marshmallow creme and peanut butter flavors. It was really good, very sweet, thus I could only eat one small scoop.

Ramen Izakaya Goku, 3232 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Unfortunately, I only have pictures on the sashimi bowl I ordered. It was pretty good, although I wish the sauce that came with it was a bit more flavorful. Angelo and our friend Kaity got Ramen bowls, they looked and smelled great and I believe they liked them. I would suggest this place if your in the area and want a reasonable place to eat.

CREAM, 3106 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

This is a small chain ice cream and warm cookie spot. You can order what you want, in a cone, in-between two warm cookies or just a scoop. I have to say this was my favorite ice cream place so far. It’s not expensive, the quality of ice cream is good and the cookies are soft and delicious. Oh, the employees are super nice and they like to dance while they scoop your treat. Double win 😉

Samovar Tea, 411 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Right near CREAM and the Ramen place is this tea house, which wasn’t planned in our review. I got a cup of green tea because the sun was setting and getting chilly out and I wanted something to cut the heaviness of the ice cream I had eaten an hour earlier. The type of tea I ordered is called Ryokucha. It was awesome, probably some of the best green tea I have ever had. They also have other locations with food and seating. If your ever in town, I would definitely try one of their drinks.

Thousand Tasty Restaurant, 50 Dixon Rd, Milpitas, CA 95035

Last night we met up with Angelo’s cousin and girlfriend for dinner. Normally, I am not a big fan of Chinese food because it’s a bit too heavy for me. But we were both pleasantly surprised by how good the food was, and also the waitstaff was very friendly and attentive. I ordered the garlic eggplant and Angelo had Beijing fried chicken. Both items were really tasty. We also ate scallion pancakes, which I really enjoyed. It’s not expensive here and they give you good amounts of food.

Ok, so there are some mentionable places! It’s quite expensive to go out to eat, I think we will take a little break and try to do one more food post of places in the East Bay before we leave. There is soooo much good food here in Northern Cal, I feel so spoiled! What are some of your favorite restaurants/joints in the Bay?

xoxo,

Oni