Remembering San Francisco

Ah the travel doldrums of February. I find myself in Milwaukee, the lovely city that it is, for the next few months, with no real trips planned from now until the beginning of summer. While its been good to spend some time here and begin to feel more at home in my new city, I am beginning to get the travel itch again slowly but surely. With a need to save some money for trips this summer I am purposely not trying to plan anything in the near future, but this static state has left me nostalgic for past trips, and most recently the one that I feel was really the genesis for my state of mind as I write this blog.

It was San Francisco, and a weekend trip there with no other purpose than the need to use some airline credits that were about to expire, that was the genesis. I had booked the trip with no real plans, and amazingly despite the last minute preparations, two friends were able to join me as well. The next thing I knew it was a legit trip with friends.

There was very little on the agenda: walk around, eat good food, drink good beers, and try to see the Golden Gate Bridge. That was about it. And I'm happy to say that we easily accomplished all of our goals. San Francisco is easily one of the most charming, walkable cities in the US. The rolling hills provide a challenge to all the aspects of city planning there, and what you are left with is a city that twists and turns while doing its best to conform to the natural landscape around. This is really a rare sight in America, where our cities are almost always nested in plains and valleys. I think I could have easily spent another week there just roaming the streets like a dumb, lost hippie (how appropriate), admiringly endlessly the architecture and layout of the city. But alas, there was food to eat and beer to drink.

San Francisco is regarded fairly high as a culinary destination, so it was no surprise that we ate well while there. What did surprise me though was the quality of food we found for relatively little money. At the time I was without a job, and therefore quite budget conscious, especially considering we were traveling to one of the most expensive cities in the US. But thanks to some research and tips from local friends we made out well on a slew of meals for under $15, all while eating our way around the world.

The highlight was Shalimar, a Indian/Pakistani place that not only was cheap and delicious, but BYOB as well. There I tried my first dish of lamb brains, served in some sort of curry dish if my now augmented cranial capacity can remember correctly (I think that's what happens when you eat brains at least). The flavor was quite good, but the texture, light and slightly gelatin like, took a bit of getting used to. I find this to be most often the case with non-traditional (by western standards) animal parts that I have tried. It's rarely the flavor that gets me, its the texture. My damn Americanized palate likes what it knows and is familiar with; I was definitely raised on one too many chicken tenders.

In addition to Indian, we had Thai food somewhere around the Richmond area, Dim Sum in Chinatown, Sushi in a neighborhood I can't remember, and finally a stop at Ike's Place in the Castro neighborhood, a sandwich shop that just seems to epitomize San Franciscan culture down to the core. It was actually Ike's that brought back my memories of San Francisco in the first place, when I flipped on Man vs Food to see the bloated meat bag that is Adam Richmond talking to the owner in a segment on the place, and realized quickly that I had been there before.

For all of this, I think $25 for sushi was the most I spent on a meal the whole weekend, and this was while eating positively great food. But the food wasn't really the only reason to get excited about San Francisco. We were in the center for some of my favorite beers in the world: the pale ales and IPAs of Northern California. There's something about the cascade hops that are so prevalent on the west coast that hits me just right. Sierra Nevada is arguably my favorite and also one of the best known. But Lagunitas IPA, and Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewery rank very highly for me as well. Putting back more than a few Racer 5's on a cool August night while sitting on the patio of Zeitgeist in the Mission District will always be one of my favorite memories from San Francisco. Perhaps a return to Northern California for some brewery tours in the future will be necessary.

And with that, our trip to San Francisco was just about finished. Outside of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge (which was just as spectacular as I had hoped) and walking through Fisherman's Wharf (as disappointing as I expected, with the exception of the Musee Mecanique), we didn't do much else, and that seemed fine. We strolled through Golden Gate Park and Haight-Asbury to look at the burnouts, hippies, and weirdos, an entertaining look into the world of why our vices are usually best enjoyed in moderation. I will give a shout out to the drug dealer in Golden Gate Park for originality when he approached us with the line, "Congratulations! You're the next contestant on 'Who Wants to Buy a Bag of Weed?'".

I applaud creativity in all its forms.