Except for one lunch, literally every single place we went to eat had wild salmon on the menu. And it was as good as my aunt told me it would be. Although I need to admit...I did not order it a single time. Luckily, my aunt and I are both food-sharers.
If you are a food sharer, you know who you are...the person who orders based on what everyone else chooses cause you just know that you'll get a few forkfuls from the other person by trading some of yours. The very idea of someone who WON'T give you a bite goes against your very existence (or maybe that part is just me...)
Luckily I was with a group of food-sharers, so I got delicious bites of everyone's food and we shared appetizers, which allowed for us to try even more food, which, as you all know, is my goal in life. I think I came back 5 lbs heavier, and I think I'm perfectly fine with that fact.
And now, the food.
Lunch at the Stinking Rose, a restaurant whose slogan is "we flavor our garlic with food"
bagna culda, or "garlic soaking in a hot tub": garlic cloves, oven-roasted in extra virgin olive oil & butter with a hint of anchovy, served with focaccia. YUM
my lunch: clams with fresh black linguine in a garlic parsley shallot sauce
my aunt's lasagna, which was filled with wild mushrooms, roasted eggplant, garlic, peppers,
onions and swiss chard and topped mozzarella & tomato cream sauce
our friends simple yet incredibly delicious fresh fettuccine with a sauce of garlic, parsley and butter topped with shrimp
my cousin's garlic braised boneless short rib with swiss chard and garlic mashed potatoes
Drinks and appetizers at Servino's in Tiburon
our view...just rubbing it in!
crispy Monterey squid served with aioli and spicy marinara
Not pictured: heirloom tomatoes with burrata and basil sauce
Dinner at Farrallon, a restaurant designed to look like an "underwater fantasy"...take a wild guess what they serve?
Not pictured: our appetizers since they didn't make interesting photos
I had a selection of West Coast oysters
My aunt and friend both had the "mixed baby lettuce" salad with apples and blue cheese
My cousin had the "little gem salad" with trout and peaches
Both my aunt and cousin had the grilled King Alaskan salmon, which was served with cream poached yukon gold potatoes, roasted pancetta and a white corn veloute
Our friend and I both had the pan-roasted Alaskan halibut, which came with heirloom tomato ravioli, blue lake string beans and corn brodo (or broth)
Dinner at Scoma's Restaurant in Sausalito, which was RIGHT on the water and we pigged out at. PIGGED OUT.
Once again our appetizers are not pictured. What did we get?
chilled shellfish platter (oysters, clams, dungeness crab and shrimp) plus a side of oysters for yours truly--I'm a BIG oyster fan
PEI Mussels steamed in coconut milk with garlic Thai curry - YUM
My main course was our waitress' #1 recommendation: California petrale sole crusted in parmigiano and grilled with capers in a lemon butter sauce
my cousin got the scallops parmigiano, which were also crusted and sauteed in a lemon beurre blanc sauce
my aunt (who clearly didn't wait until I took a picture to dig in...) ordered the salmon simply brushed with olive oil and charbroiled
our friend's meal with one of the specials--mahi mahi crusted in macadamia nuts and grilled, served with pineapple and pepper salsa. #thiswassogoodiwantedtostealit
my cousin and our friend both got the cheesecake with raspberry sauce for dessert
my aunt had the zabaione with fresh fruit
All of this food could easily have taken up two posts and now you know why I loved San Fran so much! I can't wait to return and eat even more--next time I'd like to try some of the smaller (read: cheaper) restaurants and food stands. Can't wait!
