San Francisco Trip - Friday in the Bay

This blog has moved to a new domain: HurraBier.com. Please take a moment to update your bookmarks.

New URL for this post: http://hurrabier.com/san-francisco-trip-friday-in-the-bay

After flying in to the San Francisco airport very late on Thursday night, I was glad to have the opportunity to sleep in on Friday morning.  Unfortunately, I was quickly reminded that I am cursed with the inability to sleep in, and I was still on East Coast time.  At about 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning, I was wide awake and raring to go.

My friend Tony treated me to breakfast at Javaholic in the Inner Richmond, and we fueled up on some seriously strong coffee and delicious bagels and caught up on the goings-on since we last visited.  Afterward, I made my way down to Union Square for the Nike Race Expo.  I've participated in lots of races that have expo's, but none quite like this.  Nike, as the primary sponsor, made for a very specific and controlled event. Instead of a convention center ballroom jammed full of different types of vendors, this expo had a consistent look and a very "Nike" feel throughout, and any samples or giveaways were specifically themed for the event.  An oxygen bar sponsored by Cole Haan, and a bike-powered smoothie machine station sponsored by Safeway, manicures given by Jet Blue - very different than your average race expo.

Post-expo, I hit the Ferry Building on Embarcadero - one of my all-time favorite places in San Francisco. Recchiuti, a local chocolatier, makes a Fleur de Sel chocolate with caramel and sea salts that is insanely good, so naturally I picked up two squares and savored them while strolling along to see all of the other vendors - familiar places like Cowgirl Creamery, Prather Ranch Meats, the mushroom vendor, and one of my favorite plants shops that specializes in beautiful succulents.

I met up with my friend Katie, and we purchased ferry tickets to Larkspur.  But, we had some time to spare before our ferry left, so we each grabbed a taste-sized glass of an Austrian Gruner Veltliner at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in the Ferry Building.  She describes this as a great breakfast wine - which is just one of the many indicators that she is a great person to spend a day with.


The weather was perfect and the view from the ferry was monumental.  Days like this are exactly why people, myself included, fall for this city.

Once in Larkspur, we trekked up the hill to Marin Brewing Company.  Upon entering the brewpub, we ran in to some of Katie's friends, and we all had lunch and brews outside on the patio together.  Katie chose the Raspberry Trail Ale, and I started with a pint of Marin Hefe Weiss.  Delicious.  This beer has won tons of GABF, WBC, and local awards, and it's obvious why with every sip.  Just the right amount of hazy yeast, and on a sunny day this was the right choice.

Second on the drink lineup was a half pint of the Point Reyes Porter, also the recipient of several prestigious awards.  Just as the website claims, this porter was definitely rich and velvety. 

After an afternoon in the sun, we ferried back to San Francisco.  And second only to the view, the ferries in San Francisco are the best in the world because you can order from a full bar. How great is that??  God forbid we should be without options for the thirty minute journey.  I took advantage and ordered a Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewing.  I can't get Deschutes in Washington, DC, so I felt sort of a delicious obligation.  Good choice. With Mt. Tam in the background, bidding us farewell, we said goodbye to Marin County.

Back in San Francisco, I walked up through my Chinatown, into Nob Hill and my old neighborhood, over to Polk Street, and met up with friends and my sister at William Cross Wine Merchant.  It was just as wonderful as I remembered it! Great art on the walls, painted by the bartender/shop manager/wine guru/artist Jeremy Armstrong himself, and interesting music playing in the background.  We all took a seat at the bar and enjoyed drafts of Weihenstephaner Dunkle and Steigl while we laughed and caught up with one anothers gossip.  My sister tried to purchase some of Jeremy's art, but at $7000 a canvas, we determined that they were a little too big and a little too expensive to fit in her carry-on. Damn.

Apparently, Weihenstephan beer comes from the oldest existing brewery in the world, The Bavarian State Brewery, which dates back to 1040.  Steigl beer, from Salzburg, comes from a word meaning "stairs" and was reportedly the biggest brewery in Salzburg back around 1650.  Both were delicious, but my favorite was the Weihenstephaner.

At the end of the evening, Kellan and I cabbed back to her house and stayed up chatting for awhile before deciding to call it a night. Tired and full, I fell asleep in no time.  Not bad for a Friday.