by Claire Star
On Tuesday, I flew home after a five day visit with my best friend in San Francisco. We’ve known each other since we were one so, despite not having seen one another since January, the conversation picked up right where we left off. All week the weather was balmy and, after a little trial and error, I think I finally mastered the transportation system (BART station platforms are more confusing than Grand Central during rush hour!).
Here are some highlights of my trip, including a perfectly curated bookstore, a funny coffee roaster, and some of the best dumplings I’ve ever eaten.
Here are some highlights of my trip, including a perfectly curated bookstore, a funny coffee roaster, and some of the best dumplings I’ve ever eaten.
Straight from the airport, my friend Andy took us to lunch at his favorite Chinese dumpling place on Taraval St in the Sunset neighborhood. Unassuming and with just a handful of tables, Kingdom of Dumpling had, by far, the best dumplings I’ve ever tasted. My favorites were the Shanghai soup dumplings filled with a rich broth that burst with flavor and the pork with Napa cabbage that were fresh and tangy.
We wandered around the infamous Castro street and saw Harvey Milk’s camera shop, now repurposed as the Human Rights Campaign giftshop. We also went to Eureka for Straus ice cream, because life is not worth living without eating it several times per week.
Over the weekend, we stopped by the Ferry Building marketplace to drool over fancy food and gifts. We sampled chocolate, expensive olive oils, and admired the views of the Bay. If you go, be sure to visit Heath Ceramics, Rancho Gordo, Blue Bottle Coffee, Stonehouse Olive Oil, and Acme Bread Company.
We also stopped by City Lights Bookstore in North Beach, a San Francisco institution. The store has is wonderfully curated with lots of light and a sprawling poetry room. On my favorite professor’s recommendation, I bought Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns for 622 pages of light reading. All jokes aside, Wilkerson has crafted an honest, engaging, and in depth history of the Great Migration and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
Nearby was Chinatown where, ironically, all the streets are named after U.S. presidents. On Washington St., I stocked up on my favorite White Rabbit candy (my teacher used to give them to us in 4th grade!) at Wang Chung Co, a friendly little corner store that I like to go to each time I'm in San Francisco.
On Sunday, we spent the day with my dad’s friend from high school who knows all the best places. He took us to Twin Peaks for the sweeping views of the city and across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito for lunch at Bar Bocce on the beach. Their garlicky pesto and kale pizza was unbelievably good.
Later that day, I stopped by Four Barrel Coffee where I admired their roast descriptions. If you’re going to charge $20 for a mere 12 oz of beans, you better make it witty. In true Portlandia-style, here's the description of their espresso: “Citrus flavors swan dive into fresh berry full forward fold, which jumps or walks back into down dog, then ascends into a toffee sweetness sun salutation. Swan dive.”
The last day, I took a misty walk along the Embarcadero piers while the sky was dark and misty. The female voice of Google maps barked orders (Right on Vallejo! Turn around! Up Washington! Calculating! Recalculating!) all the way up the hill to the delightful map store Schein & Schien. Some maps were over 10o years old maps and well out of my price range, but fun to drool over and discuss with the knowledgeable staff nonetheless.
After five days meandering up and down the city’s hills, my leg muscles are in great shape and I can’t wait to go back. Thank you, Andy! And I'd be remiss not to thank all the helpful commuters who helped me to navigate mass transit, too!
// all photos by Claire Star via my Instagram
Tags: by Claire, Coffee/Tea, Food, San Francisco, Travel, Travel Guide
After five days meandering up and down the city’s hills, my leg muscles are in great shape and I can’t wait to go back. Thank you, Andy! And I'd be remiss not to thank all the helpful commuters who helped me to navigate mass transit, too!
// all photos by Claire Star via my Instagram
Tags: by Claire, Coffee/Tea, Food, San Francisco, Travel, Travel Guide