On our way to Big Sur
From MrFood.com Editor Caryl
Roll me home! After all I ate on my anniversary trip to California last week, I was sure that was the only way I’d get back. You know, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the jetBlue representative had charged me for MY extra weight!
California is so beautiful! My husband and I spent a week in the San Francisco, Napa and Carmel areas, and we so enjoyed the cool weather and hilly streets of the cities, and the picturesque, mountainous coastline. We have little cool weather and NO hills or mountains in South Florida, so it was a welcome change.
Let’s talk about the food.…We knew San Francisco is famous for its sourdough bread so, at every chance, we enjoyed the classic Boudin sourdough bread – either fresh, toasted, as the base for a grilled sandwich, or even as a soup bowl. Of course, the city’s also known as the birthplace of Ghirardelli Chocolate, so we HAD to sample that, too, along with a Ghirardelli chocolate croissant.
Then there was the Chinese food in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Mmm! My husband and I are pretty adventurous and willing to try the foods of the area (within reason!) when we travel, so we lucked out with recommended restaurants in Chinatown. Our favorite new dish was a hot beef rollup that included cold and crunchy raw pieces of a round Chinese squash that we’d never had before.
When we first got to the city, we did a tea-tasting in Chinatown. There are lots of places that offer these, and they’re free! We tasted and learned the benefits of and differences between green, red and black teas. We chose a couple favorites to bring home to our girls.
We also visited a popular fortune cookie factory in Ross Alley in Chinatown and watched regular and chocolate cookie wafers being shaped and hand-stuffed with fortunes. Yes, we took a few tastes and also brought home a few bags to share.
Have you ever seen fortune cookies being stuffed & shaped?
The pastries we had at Mara’s Italian Pastry Shop in San Francisco’s Italian section were unbelievable! My husband, a true chocoholic, will forever crave their homemade éclairs stuffed with real custard and topped with thick, dark chocolate. I prefer fruity, non-chocolate desserts, and I was in heaven with their fresh strawberry gelato and almond biscotti that had the perfect amount of crunch. And the coffee was outstanding there and everywhere we went in California – always mellow with no hint of bitterness.
The Italian pastries, gelato and coffee are awesome at Mara's!
Sonoma, Carmel and Napa were next on our itinerary. I’ll write about their food next time! Meanwhile, what’s your favorite travel food experience? Please share it!
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