San Francisco Part Three

Today was a good day my friend.

Seamus and I started out the day by going to the Mission. I gotta say, it's not my favorite part of San Francisco by a long shot. We had lunch at The Pork Store, which was not as good as I had hoped, and sat pretty heavy. However, it was decent and fun. Mission is FULL of hipsters and rather seedy people, and it was not very interesting to look at in general. It is obviously in the middle of a huge gentrification effort, and so a large part of the main corridor is torn up, with the Mexican families moving out and the hipsters moving in. The Mission is a big night-life area, but seeing as Seamus and I hate clubs and the people that go to them, we weren't too interested.

Our reason for even going to the Mission was Four Barrel, a coffee joint recommended to us by John at D'bolla. Now, D'bolla is the best coffee in the world, and I have never heard of let alone met someone who was more conscientious about coffee than John, but Four Barrel was supposed to be pretty remarkable so I kept my mind open. It was, to be honest, but it was not as good as D'bolla I am incredibly happy to say. The building was better, but I'm so so so so so pleased that the best SLC has to offer beats SF in this category, with the added benefit of being served by adults rather than bloody bearded hipsters, even if they are friendly (and surprisingly clean) hipsters.

We headed to Japantown after Mission and had a blast there. Seamus wore out pretty quick, but he was a good sport letting me look at endless ceramics. We ended up getting some nice ramen bowls there, as well as spoons and some teacups. The ladies who run the shop were so funny and sweet. I wish I had some more money to blow as they had some very nice Imari stuff, and some pretty impressive higher-end teapots. In the Japanese mall we went to a confectioners and got a few things, but the rest of the mall was pretty unremarkable with restaurants that were poorly rated on Yelp, so we didn't eat there. However, we got some creme brulee that was incredibly good, especially given that it was in a friggin' mall and was about $2. That was something Seamus and I both with existed in SLC. It was so rich, and we were pretty exhausted, so we went back to the hotel for a while to nap and recharge.

Now, my faaaaavorite part; Maykadeh.

Seamus and I didn't know what to do for dinner. We thought seafood because, hey, we're in San Francisco. However, we couldn't decide where to go, having nixed going to Tadich. (not wanting to spend $30 an entree) We were going to go to Sotto Mare in Little Italy, but it was surrounded and filled by drunken bimbos, so we went to the Persian restaurant up the street that was our second choice.

This was one of the best meals I have had in memory.

Seamus and I both very much love Middle Eastern food to begin with, and this was amazing. Fresh, hot flatbread. Fresh, tart, smooth hummus. Lean roasted lamb and vegetables. Saffron rice. Proper mint tea. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Then the ice cream.

Rose ice cream with poached pears in a Shiraz reduction.

I cannot explain how much I enjoyed this. I have never seen Seamus slow down and really savor something, but he loved it so much he was eating daintily. Yes, you read that right. Seamus ate daintily. We were thinking, hey, maybe we could make this since we can get rosewater from Pars Market back home, but we asked the waiter about the ice cream and lo and behold; they get it from a Persian bakery in L.A. So, we're going to try and get some... and if we do, you're all getting some. Seriously, it was the stuff of dreams. The pears with it were also extremely good, very wine-y but in the right way. I almost didn't get the dish because usually someone in a wine sauce is too much for me, but this was perfect.

The setting was very nice too, surprisingly romantic. Great, unobtrusive, service...just perfect. I love that we didn't feel out of place, as there were no hordes of 20-somethings out for a night on the town, or any uncontrolled children. It was all people pretty much like us, only a bit older and Persian. We both had an amazing time, and it was a perfect last big meal before we go home.

Tomorrow we're leaving for the airport at about 3:00 (we'll be back in SLC around 7 your time) so we won't be doing tons of stuff, probably just finishing up some shopping and getting sushi. For now, we're going to head next door to the Irish Bank (no idea why they call a pub a bank..) for a few pints and then hit the hay. Hope you all had a great Saturday too!