Hi hi my friends!! I just submitted my last assignment for the semester! Woooohoooo! Wow, this one flew. I have a couple week breather before starting a pretty intense semester- getting into the nitty gritty of my advanced nursing courses with advanced patho and phys. I’m really excited about this next course, but a touch nervous considering we have a huge move, my sister’s bridal shower, bachelorette party, and wedding all within a couple month span. All great things- but I just hope I find a way to stretch each day time wise.
ANYWHO, talk about digression right off the bat… lol.
This post is all from Sunday April 7th. Tammy and I made a whole day out of exploring SF!
I do have to add an asterisk to this post. **It was a Basic Bae day in the Bay minus one. We missed our Dani dearly. It was not complete without all three of the Basic Baes of the Bay trio, but was still one of my all time favorite days exploring SF!
I woke up around 6:00 am and ran about 7 miles. Tammy met me at our apartment then we drove down gorgeous 280 into the city.
We arrived around 9 am after the hour drive. Parking is always the most difficult part of navigating the city, so I dropped Tammy off to get our names on the wait list at Zazie– the brunch spot we chose to try!
It took me a looong time to find parking, but finally I found a spot near this school with a eye-catching mural.
Time to walk, walk, walk.
Made it!
We ate in their main restaurant, but they have a serenely beautiful back garden area you can dine in too! We were more eager to get food rather than wait longer for a garden spot haha.
Zazie is considered one of the best brunch spots in SF. They are a french inspired restaurant known for their awesome Benedicts, french toast, and pancakes. They have miracle pancakes which are rotated every few weeks too! I would like to go back and try those at some point- they have a lemon curd one, but they weren’t serving it while we were there.
Rarely do I go to a breakfast spot where the coffee blows me away… but I took one sip of this, and it was so smooth and scrumptious.
Tammy enjoyed their yummy chai tea latte.
We split two dishes- first up was the La Mer with hand picked California Dungeness crab, avocados, and chives. I honestly didn’t think anything could top Bill’s Benedicts– but this is a serious contender. You guys, this is maybe the best Benedict I’ve ever had in my entire existence. HOLY STINKIN’ COW. I don’t know what they put in it- but wow. And the potatoes are even served with whole garlic cloves.. the whole dish is a flavor explosion.
We also ordered the gingerbread pancakes with lemon curd and Bosc pears. It was one of the items people raved about on Yelp, and I totally see why ! They were super satisfying- they reminded me of fall <3 *Sigh*- is is fall yet? Lol. The combo of the ginger/lemon/pear was wonderful. I will say I am more of a thinner pancake fan, so the actual texture was a bit too fluffy for my personal preference, but the flavor was so good I would eat them in any way, shape, or form! Also a fun fact about Zazie- they do not accept tips because the “tip” is worked into the original price. They provide their employees the following from their website: “a living wage, revenue share, paid family leave, fully funded health & dental insurance, paid time off, and a 401(k) with employer match for all of our hard working employees”. How cool is that? I wish all restaurants did this.
After our wonderful brunch we hiked Marin Headlands for a bit.
These views never get old. The Golden Gate suddenly appeared in the distance.
We killed time until we were able to see the Point Bonita lighthouse, the last manned lighthouse on the Californian coast! It is only open on Sundays and Mondays for a short window of time (only about three hours). Around 12:30 we headed over- right when it opened. On our way, we took in the sights and lovely blooms.
On the way they had “cell audio stops” where you could call a number and hear fun tidbits about the place you were viewing.
If you look very closely you will see the path to the lighthouse in the picture below and the tunnel that crosses straight through the mountainous landscape to get there.
The tour guide was a sweet older man that volunteered for the park- his last name was “Van Winkle” which we found so endearing. About five minutes before it “opened” he gave us a bit of the history about the lighthouse which was so fascinating. They actually do not know who hand carved the tunnel to get to the lighthouse- its all a bit of a mystery!
Time to cross through the tunnel! I was a bit nervous knowing we had to go through a tunnel since I am mildly claustrophobic, but it was wide enough that I was just fine.
What awaited us on the other side was this breathtaking, unreal lighthouse. I mean the pictures cannot even fully capture the beauty!
Time to cross the bridge!
We walked around, read a bit of the history on the inside of the lighthouse, and enjoyed the spectacular views.
LOVE this pic of Tammy- she’s so photogenic.
Time to hike on back to the car.
Back through the tunnel..
The Marin Headlands area has got to be one of the most breathtakingly beautiful areas in the Bay. On our way out we spotted a mini super bloom (is that an oxymoron?). We wouldn’t be able to call ourselves the Basic Baes if we didn’t pull over and grab some pics with all the poppies! We were surprised we were the only ones there?!
Frolic, frolic, frolic.
A little lady bug joined in on the photo shoot 🙂
Naturally, we were hungry again- so we browsed spots in the city to check out. Tammy stumbled across The Dorian– a placed I’d wanted to try for a while too! Even from the outer decor this place was a winner.
Inside was decorated with an ode to the 19th century, but somehow maintained modern Californian vibes.
Tammy ordered their famous Frose (Yes, it is topped with nerds!), and I had a glass of their regular Rose.
We also split a couple deviled eggs (I just took off my little bacon bit).
We also were craving oysters, so we split some on the half shell. I loved the fixin’s they served it all with- it all just hit the spot. Perfect to “cool down” after our high energy explorations.
And saving the best for last- Stonemill Matcha *Heart eyes heart eyes heart eyes*.
We ordered a whole bunch to sample and just took home all leftovers since we were heading home after.
To start with- the black sesame puff!
Mmm mmm! This was fantastic! The texture… flavor… just satiating. The next day I had the second half with coffee- perfect combo!
The main thing I wanted to try here was the matcha creme pie. It surpassed expectations. WOW-ZA. It was creamy & fluffy, full of flavor, and insanely delicious.
The next dish I couldn’t help but try because of its true uniqueness was the Matchazuke. This is made with rice, salmon, nori, green onion, and a matcha dashi (Japanese type soup). I had no clue what to expect, but this was magnificent. The combination of the flavors made this one of my favorite salmon dishes I have ever had.
Tam ordered their famous Katsu Sando- Look at that hearty pork slice!
She also ordered the pork gyoza, which she raved out! It was served generously with rice, miso soup, and pickled cabbage.
The spread!
While walking back to our car, we saw another eye catching mural we had to stop and admire.
We also passed a dog park and stopped to watch the pups play before heading home.
Thanks for reading!
Questions for you:
- I’d love to hear a highlight of your life right now!
- What is something you are looking forward to?
xo <3
