Weekend Wrap Up: San Francisco!!!

I am a day late but cut me some slack. From the moment I flew from Seattle to San Francisco, I was on the go the entire time hanging out with friends. I needed Monday to just relax, I know you all can understand.

ALCATRAZ ISLAND

Alcatraz Island is a must-do tourist activity. They have multiple cruise tours that go all day and depart frequently. The round trip is about 30 minutes. You have the option of touring the entire island on your own or going through the audio tour.

We did the audio tour and I recommend doing it that way so you are able to hear the history of Alcatraz Island. Allow yourself at least 2.5-3 hours for the cruise over, audio tour, and visiting the rest of the grounds. I can easily see people staying even longer not only because of all the things to see but the view looking back into San Francisco is amazing.

AlcatrazCruiseFEB19

AlcatrazCollage — This was MY block. I think I look like I mean business. lol

Golden Gate Bridge

We signed up for the hop-on/ hop-off tour and the Golden Gate Bridge was one of the stops. You can not visit San Francisco and not see the Golden Gate Bridge!!! I plan to bike/walk it on my next visit.

The weather was not in our favor so we did not make many stops. Don’t you worry I plan to have a re-do and I will most certainly make up for it.

Eats & Treats

Here are a few places I suggest:

4505 BBQ & Burgers – I could smell the smoky aroma before I approached the place. They use a wood-burning stove that made everything I ordered taste delicious. I had the brisket, chicken, spicy fries topped with chimichurri sauce & lemon parsley aioli and collard greens. The meal came with a roll and pickles.

Roam– This was one of the best burger spots I have gone to. You can order your burger with beef, turkey, bison, veggie, elk
My Order: SEASONAL – WINTER Quince Spread, Brie, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Mayo, Arugula. I couldn’t decide which fries I wanted so I ordered all The Fry-Fecta which is russet, sweet potato and zucchini onion. They also make in house flavored soda and milkshakes.

Smitten Ice Cream – When you walk into this place don’t expect the ice cream to be displayed. This is made to order by the scoop made with a fresh ice cream base. The base of the ice cream and your chosen flavor is combined with liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream. Some of the flavors are earl grey, Meyer lemon, chocolate ganache, and cookie dough with pretzels & chocolate chips. I ordered the cookie dough with a waffle bowl. It was delish!!!

Sweet Maple– If you are looking for an A-mazing breakfast/brunch, Sweet Maple is the place to go. They are most famously known for their Millionaire’s Bacon. The Millionaire’s Bacon is extra thick, sweet and spicy, and slow-cooked for hours with brown sugar and spicy peppers. The menu has American classics with a touch of Asian influence and they do a good job delivering that twist. I ordered the Bay Bottom omelet, fresh Dungeness crab, scallion, spinach, lemon, Swiss American, parmesan. For those of you who know just how packed a Dungeness crab is, believe me when I say there were no shortcuts taken on this omelet and with each and every bite, my mouth was filled with Dungeness crab. There was so much in the omelet it would fall out as I continued to eat my way through it. I also ordered a side of millionaire bacon because there was no way I was going to Sweet Maple and not trying what is the talk of the town. Let me tell you this bacon did not disappoint at all. The caramel macchiato that I ordered completed my breakfast just right.

Boudin – I went for the suggestion by my friend Karon, the clam chowder sourdough bowl. She and I are the same when it comes to food and we can be food snobs so I knew she wouldn’t tell me wrong. She was so right I don’t even have a photo to share with you all. It was yummy to my tummy. If you choose to eat at the one on Jefferson street there is an office where you can sign up for the hop-on/hop-off within a 5-minute walk. It is the same company we used.
Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop

And then it was Superbowl time, which was hosted at the home of one of the most loving husband and wife that I have ever met. I could not thank them enough for opening their home to me. They are the family of some of my friends who I was with while I was on vacay in San Fran. The party was filled with family and friends and I know for a fact everyone had fun.