sf eateries and spontaneity

thursday

going for some macarons

lombard street

first customers for ice cream at 11 am
at bi-rite 

land's end

heading to sfmoma 

lunch at the toaster oven 

vu's tuna sandwich

my turkey sandwich

all the vintage toasters

couldn't guess what these were until i read the caption!

simple blue blur

a bed for two people, created with two separate curtains. requires imagination here.

time

oil on canvas. really cool.

here, a single egg is measured through the different sized screens to project how an item can be seen through different perspectives.

caffe latte from blue bottle coffee co 

we spy waldo!

raining by the time we came out

dinner at ikea

had vu and i not plan our sf trip in detail weeks earlier, we wouldn't have been able to explore each city destination to its core. yesterday, i finally got to try the classy two-level jane cafe on fillmore. can someone just build a jane cafe right in long beach? or preferably right in my dorm? it was my total dream come true, everyone. refinery 29 has been emailing the details since the beginning of its opening and i've been meaning to try it, but haven't found the right person to go with or the chance to check it out myself. luckily vu's adventurous persona makes my san francisco trips more enjoyable.

as for my cup of cappuccino, it was handcrafted beautifully and served in their own delicate coffee cup. yes, the perfection of enjoying a good cup of coffee inside without feeling rushed. to-go cups are fine on-the-go, but admittedly it's always more comforting when my coffee is served in a real coffee cup just in case i decide to stay inside for a quick read or people-watch session. the blueberry muffin tasted heavenly-with the top part of the muffin like a crispy homemade cookie and the bottom like a moist grandma cake- enough to not get too crumbly. i was reading some yelp reviews the night before and someone mentioned that the owner of jane is a pastry chef. wow! that explains a lot, i tell you! the baristas were all friendly as informed, and surely enough, they sparked small talk while we waited for our cappuccinos. now is the time when i truly embrace my name to the fullest potential. hands down, this is my next favorite coffee place to be in aside from philz and peet's coffee.

we also visited la boulange for pretty macarons, bi-rite creamery for earl grey ice cream, lombard street for an amazing view from an alice-in-wonderland-spirally-road-perspective, land's end for a breathtaking view of the ruins of a bath house from the 1800s, the toaster oven for surprisingly simple delicious sandwiches with crispy bread, and sfmoma for amazing artworks by locals and other aspiring artists. nude art has never been examined more profoundly. neato!

i also got a chance to finally try blue bottle coffee co., located on the fifth floor of sfmoma (san francisco museum of modern art). perhaps it's the way the counter and kitchen's set up because the simplicity of the colors blue, brown, and black inevitably attract my call for a pretty looking cup of coffee. i ordered a cup of caffe latte and it was just bittersweet enough to match my taste for the melancholy weather outdoors. it was not too milky and a whole lot better than what i get at other coffee shops besides philz. i bought a pound of bella donovan coffee beans for my dad since it was recommended as one of the most popular blends. i learned that blue bottle coffee co. does not blend its coffee to the darkest, so i thought bella donovan could be at a good level for my dad to try coffee at a "citrusy and wild" and somewhat darkish blend. if anything, black coffee is there for our backup.

to be honest, the macarons from la boulange cannot compare to masse's from berkeley because the macarons we had at la boulange yesterday were on the softer side and didn't taste too authentic. the macaroms from masse's are chewy and define macarons' tastes to their finest. i have jennifer to thank because now i know how good french macarons taste when they are baked and made carefully. of course, someday i will have to try the most authentic ones from paris, but until then, i'm still open for new places around! nevertheless, i enjoyed the chocolate hazelnut and raspberry ones the most out of the seven flavors we picked from la boulange. (can't say much about the coffee macaron though!)

bi-rite creamery (4,395 reviews on yelp as of right now) is supposed to be the bay area's most enjoyed ice cream shop in the neighborhood according to yelp. from the reviews, it seems to me that salt caramel and honey lavender are the two flavors that often receive the most thumbs up. but like vu says, "different strokes for different folks" because in my opinion, i didn't enjoy those flavors as much. instead, i really praise the earl grey and orange cardamom flavors just because i prefer citrusy, dark chocolatey, nutty, or tea-like flavors towards ice cream. but generally, i enjoy most ice cream flavors. i'd definitely say ici's and marianne's ice cream are still in the winning for my favorite ice cream loves in the moment. but as of right now, i can't wait to try paradis's fresh homemade ice cream in long beach! john and i always pass by it whenever we do our sponteanous tuesday roam-abouts, and he always tells me how much he wants to work there which always gets me all giddy. i can't wait to try it now because hand-crafted ice cream almost always, always gets me extremely excited on a whole new level- like never before!

at this rate, perhaps i just couldn't live up to the hype for la boulange's macarons and bi-rite's ice cream because i found my likings towards the style of their shops more than their famous sweets. however i'm definitely open for second visits just because i'm sure they probably have plenty of other delicious goodies!

everything else throughout the day was pretty spectacular mainly because vu was up for anything new food-and-adventure-wise. we stopped by ikea for dinner on the way home in east palo alto. okay everyone, ikea is the best place to purchase classic/traditional/modern gifts for a friend if this friend enjoys apartment-style supplies or just any home decor in general. i picked up a few coffee cups and saucers for my dad to keep at home and for myself to bring back to my dorm in socal. i'm super excited to brew coffee again with my mr.coffee!