2014 - San Francisco, CA (II)

YERBA BUENA

Beard Papa's
I had a cream puff filled with vanilla custard... yummy!

UNION SQUARE

Westfield San Francisco Centre
This indoor shopping mall is connected with Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's. It has a very nice dome in the ceiling.
845 Market St, 94103

Located on the 4th floor, there is a Chinese restaurant specialized in noodles and hand-folded dim sum: M.Y. China. It has one of the best Chinese Chefs.

BART
In SF, there are 2 subway systems: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and MUNI. BART is faster than MUNI.

MISSION DISTRICT
In the early 20th century, Italian and Irish people lived in this area. Since the late 1960s, it became the Latino neighborhood. The Mission District has vivid murals coloured by the public in the alleyways and on building exteriors.

Taqueria El Farolito
This place is always crowded. 1 Regular burrito shared by 3 friends. As for meat, we selected the beef tongue. Very delicious. Can you imagine what is a Super Burrito?

MaestraPeace (1994)
Women's Building, 3543 18th St.
This mural is painted by 7 artists: Juana Alicia, Miranda Bergman, Edythe Boone, Susan Cervantes, Meera Desai, Yvonne Littleton, and Irene Perez. It celebrates women around the world who work for peace. (I forgot to take the other side of the wall...).

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop
3692 18th St.
A mix of banana and peanut butter flavours ice cream

Mission Dolores Park
19th and Dolores St, 94114
SF has very fun slides for both children and adults. 2 of the slides are located in the Helen Diller Playground at Mission Dolores Park.

Mission Dolores was the first mission of San Francisco. It was settled by Spanish clerics led by captain Jose Moraga in 1776.

 (I actually slid this slide!)

(I need to have a kid with me in order to slide legally.)

On sunny afternoons, Mission Dolores Park is a popular destination for people to gather, play, picnic, walk with their dogs and enjoy the beautiful view of SF's skyline.

The Little Giant
A few steps from the Mission Dolores Park, located on the corner of the 20th and Church streets, the Little Giant was the only working hydrant allowing firefighters to halt the fires during the Great Quake (1906). Locals paint the hydrant gold in celebration each April.

CASTRO
This district is the "gay capital of the world".

HAIGHT-ASHBURY
This neighborhood retains the 1960s counterculture: the hippies! The Haight neighborhood's decline began in 1917. In the 1960s, low rent and good karma attracted groups of infamous hippies to this area. Since then, it became the mecca of Love Generation. In 1967, the Summer of Love transformed the name of this neighborhood to Haight-Ashbury. Due to gentrification, the Haight has been reborn in the past decade.

Toronado Pub
547 Haight St.
94117
415-863-2276

Apparently it is one of the best places to grab a beer with some friends. We entered. We could not stay. Someone was under age. We had a baby with us! Gotta go back next time!

Rosamunde Sausage Grill
545 Haight St.
94117
415-437-6851

Are you hungry? Right besides Toronado Pub, it is sausage time!

Wing Wings
(Lower Haight)
422 Haight St.
94117
415-834-5001

How dare us forget chicken wings? As for sauces, we tried the Angry Korean and the Papalote Salsa. The Pa Paco's Rice Pudding is also delicious.

Painted Ladies
From the Alamo Square, you can view the Painted Ladies on the opposite side of Steiner St. These 6 Victorian houses were constructed between 1870 and 1900 and were painted in the 1960s. They survived the Great Quake. The original colors were neutrals. The hippies embellished these houses by painting them with bright colors (yellow, purple, fuschia). These colors accentuate the architectural details. San Francisco's Victorian houses are in 3 main styles: Italianate, Queen Anne and Sick or Eastlake. The "Six Sisters" were built in Queen Anne style by developer Matthew Kavanaugh.

Source: Art and History San Francisco

2013 - ByWard Market, Ottawa

http://www.byward-market.com/

It is nice to walk around in the Byward Market.

According to the "You Gotta Eat Here!" television show, I tried the following 3 restaurants:
1. Pressed :
Urban Gourmet Sandwich Bar. Casual and relaxed feeling. Check out the events on their calendar.
I went to brunch there on purpose for their specialty:  Waffle Brunch on Saturday & Sunday between 10am & 2 pm.

2. The SmoQue Shack :
I love this restaurant! Enjoy your meal while watching sports. I had the sampling plate in which you choose any 3 of the BBQ meats Pork + Beef Rib. I also ate the corn bread with fried pickles.

3. MurrayStreet Kitchen :

Asparagus.

Poutine.

Charcuterie.

S'more

Finally, I had to watch a hockey game, so I decided to go in an Irish pub named the Aulde Dubliner & Pour House: the Pittsburgh Penguins@ Ottawa Senators (Game #3). The Sens finally won the game during OT #2 by 2-1. Since the Habs lost, I cheered for the Penguins, but I was happy for the Sens. Unlike Montreal, Sens fans were very happy to win this game but they were also very calm. Habs fans are much more crazier.

Guess what? This pub gave me this Budweiser helmet!!! 

2014 - Berkeley, CA

In Alameda County, besides Oakland, there is this college town known for its liberal ethos: Berkeley. This diverse community has a great reputation for its academic achievement, scientific exploration, free speech and arts.

University of California
www.berkeley.edu
This university is known as one of the leading intellectual centers in the country and a major site for scientific research. The campus is beautified by the oak trees. Cal Bear!

Piedmont
Unlike Oakland, Piedmont Ave. in Berkeley is the major street for the fraternity area.

Source: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us

2014 - Sausalito, CA

Discovered in 1775 by Spanish explorers, Sausalito is one of the picturesque small towns located 2 miles north of Golden Gate Bridge, in the Marin County. This town has growing trees around its springs. It served as a port for whaling ships during the 19th century. Therefore, people named the town as Sausalito meaning "Little Willow".

Floating Homes
In the 1950s and 60s, Sausalito developed its bohemian style. A charismatic Greek portraitist, Varda led a group of artists. They established an artists' colony and houseboat community in this town. Today, there are more than 450 houseboats docked in Sausalito. Since then, it also becomes a major yacht center. From downtown, head north on Bridgeway and turn right on Gate 6 Road.

As you stroll along Bridgeway in downtown, there are boutiques, gift shops, galleries and restaurants. Parallel to the main strip, there is also a waterside esplanade.

There is a ferry service departing from the Ferry Building, SF and arriving to the downtown area of Sausalito. I went by car crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sausalito is a romantic and relaxing town.

Source: Fodor's

2014 - San Francisco, CA (I)

THEATER DISTRICT

Lotta's Fountain
Located at the traffic triangle at intersetion of 3rd, Market, Kearny and Geary Streets, the golden fountain was a way of saying thanks to her fans from Lotta Crabtree. She is an actress, singer and dancer. After each performance, Lotta was showered by golden nuggets and silver dollars. The fountain was dedicated to the city in 1875. Since then, it became a meeting place for the survivors after the 1906 earthquake. San Franciscans gather at this monument every April 18 at 5:12 AM for the Great Quake commemorative ceremony. Lotta's fountain is the oldest standing monument of SF.

CHINATOWN

Gold Rush
On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered flakes of gold at Sutter's Mill, in the American River at the base of Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma, California. It did not take long for the publisher, Samuel Brannan, to spread the gold discovery in the Sacramento Valley across the world. Struggling with famine and political change, thousands of Chinese from the Pearl River Delta region, in the Guangdong Province, speaking different Cantonese dialects decided to take a chance and therefore, installed in San Francisco. The majority of the new arrivals were bachelors. Due to the convenience, most Chinese businesses circled around Portsmouth Square (花園角). By 1853, this area became the Chinatown. SF Chinatown is the oldest in North America.

Chineses were harassed during the Gold Rush period and while working on the Transcontinental Railroad.
There were laws:
- Forbidding the Chinese from moving outside of Chinatown.
- Restricting immigration.
- Imposing special taxes.
- Forbidding men from marrying a white women.
- Preventing existing Chinese residents and American-born children from becoming naturalized citizens.

San Francisco hoped that the Chinatown will fade away. However, following the 1906 earthquake, a Chinatown businessman Look Tin Eli proposed to rebuild Chinatown in a tourist-friendly style.

好旺角

This restaurant does not have table service. It serves only take-out. It provides fresh dim sums everyday. People select their dim sum, pay and eat.

If you ever get lost in SF, simply take bus #8. It ends up in Chinatown!

NORTH BEACH

Also known as the "Little Italy", North Beach is the historic center of the Italian community. There is an Italian flag drawn on each street light pole.

Have a gelato at:

Mara's Italian Pastries

503 Columbus Avenue

94133

415-397-9435

FISHERMAN'S WHARF

Pier 45

Boudin SF Sourdough
This French bakery is established in 1849  by Isidore Boudin. In 1873, Isidore married Louise Erni. They had 2 sons and 1 daughter together. He died in 1890. During the 1906 Earthquake, Louise saved the "mother dough" in a bucket. In 1941, Boudin faced bankruptcy. Steve Giraudo Sr. purchased the bakery from Isidore's granddaughter. In 1962, his oldest son Steve Giraudo Jr. started working at the bakery full-time. In 1974, Boudin's unique logo was created and designed by Primo Angeli. Boudin's wholesale grocery business discontinued and began emphasis on the development of Bakery-Cafés in 1984. Steve Giraudo Sr. died at the age of 84, in 1997. Master Baker Fernando Padilla continues the San Francisco Sourdough French bread tradition. Boudin celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1999. The bakers carry on the tradition to hand craft each loaf by using a portion of the original mother dough every morning. On May 11, 2005, Boudin opened its new 26 000 square feet facility to the public at Fisherman's Wharf, including a restaurant, café, bistro, private dining room and a museum.

Steve Giraudo Sr. a.k.a. "Papa Steve" is born in San Francisco in 1913. In 1919, the Giraudo family returned to Italy, where his mother taught him to bake bread. In 1926, Steve left his family farm in Busca to apprentice at a local bakery. In the following year, the Boulangerie Hugo in Toulon, in the South of France hired him as a baker. In 1935, Steve returned to SF and found work at Boudin Bakery.

Boudin has a wide variety of handcrafted sourdough bread: crab, teddy bear, turkey and more.

In-N-Out
This fast chain has a special way to order food. I had a... my friend ordered for me.

Historic Streetcars
The Streetcar I rode was a 1938 from Philadelphia on the F-Line.

EMBARCADERO/ WATERFRONT

Ferry Building
Built in 1896, this building contains a 230-foot clock tower inspired by the campanile of the cathedral in Seville, Spain. The tower's four clock faces were powered by the swinging of a 14-foot pendulum. On the morning of April 18, 1906, all four clock faces stopped at 5:17 and remained still for 12 months. Renovated in 2003, the Ferry Building is a marketplace with shops and restaurants.

Have an oyster for $2 at San Francisco Fish Company and a cup of coffee at Blue Bottle Coffee.

FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Japanese Sweets 
(Minamoto Kitchoan)
Looking for Wagashi? A traditional Japanese confectionery.
648 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94104

Sources: Fodor's, history.com, pbs.org, SFMTA and Boudin.