A Quick Spin through Bay Area Eats

Dec 29

I recently took a five day trip to San Francisco and it was filled with delicious food, great drinks and new experiences - including the first ever tornado warning?! Wild.

Below I will take you through most of the places I visited and what I loved. I have attempted to organize them into breakfast, lunch, dinner, cocktails and dessert. I hope you enjoy!

Breakfast + Coffee

Burlap Coffee was walking distance from where I was staying, so I decided to head over after sleeping in.

Burlap Coffee

Coffee Shop
511 40th St, Oakland, CA 94609

I grabbed a quick cold brew, but they have an array of hot and cold drinks, plus bagels, muffins, pastries and cakes. The decor is rustic, laid back and homey. It feels like having a coffee at grandma’s house. I spent an hour or so there before heading off to explore more of Oakland. It’s right by a BART station but I wasn’t brave enough to test that out on my own.

Andytown Coffee Roasters

Coffee Shop
3655 Lawton St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Andytown Coffee Roasters was the perfect spot for a quick coffee and sandwich between hikes. We were trying not to eat too much before lunch, but their sandwiches were too hard to resist. Fresh, house-made bread? Yes, please.

Their Cheese Toastie was gooey, greasy and perfect. It’s simply cheddar cheese and mayonnaise on their pan de mie, grilled to perfection.

They also had some of the most interesting coffee I have ever tried. The Original Bird is Andytown’s signature beverage (and I stole this image from their menu). “Sometimes described as an espresso cream soda, the Snowy Plover consists of sparkling water over ice, espresso, brown sugar syrup, and our house-made whipped cream.” The sparkling water adds a crazy kick!

Lunch + Dinner

Co Nam

Vietnamese
3936 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Because I had no schedule for the day I hung out at Co Nam for about three hours. I had the best time.

I started my afternoon with an order of Fresh Oysters and the Umami Old Fashioned. The Old Fashioned was on the “Strong Personalities” list and consisted of Akashi whiskey, agave simple syrup, yuzu liqueur, orange bitters, fish sauce, umami bitters, and bonito flakes. It was incredibly enjoyable.

The oysters were lightly salty, perfectly chilled and very refreshing. Seeing a tray of oysters in front of me just makes me giddy.

Not knowing my friends were coming to Co Nam for lunch meant that I got to stick around and try more dishes. The Mochi Dumplings were insane - shrimp and pork dumplings, fried shallots, scallions, Thai chili, nước chấm. I had to grab this image off of Google because I ate mine too fast to photograph. Absolutely 10/10 recommend.

What happened next was a whirlwind of cocktails. I tried all of the below and would order them again:

IG Post - Sông Cái Dry Gin, lemon, Tempus Fugit liqueur de violettes, maraschino liqueur, simple syrup. Citrus cucumber fresh air infused.
Polka Dot Bikini - White cane rum, coconut milk, pineapple, Angostura bitter, lemon.
Street Peddler - Peloton de la Muerte Mezcal espadin, agave simple syrup, muddled Thai bird chili, ginger, and lime.

My favorite was the Street Peddler, but be warned - the chili is HOT HOT! I can’t emphasize that enough. Nibble at your own risk.

Molinari Delicatessen

Italian Deli
373 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

I was drug along to Molinari Deli but I am very happy that I was. The experience was a little intimidating (it’s actually not hard… just take a number, wait for it to be called, and order) but I survived.

I got the turkey sandwich that included ingredients like oven roasted turkey, fresh mozzarella, sweet bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and basil spread - “the fixin’s” as I’d like to say. It was massive and the bread was a crunchy mouthful. My husband said he’d rather have mine that what he ordered - he loved the basil spread.

When your sandwich is done they’ll hand it for you to take to check out.

If you’re just wanting to shop for fresh pasta, cheese, meats, gifts and more, grab what you need and head over to the express checkout!

There are a few small tables right outside the front doors, or you can take your meals and purchases to go.

Trattoria da Vittorio

Italian
150 W Portal Ave, San Francisco, CA 94127

An hour before closing and lost on where to find dinner, my husband and I stumbled into Trattoria da Vittoria hoping to grab the very last table. It was a busy Friday night and the restaurant was buzzing. Even with the rush and the late timing, we were greeted warmly and offered a table.

When the couple beside us said hello and gave suggestions on what to order, we did not hesitate.

After ordering a few glasses of red wine and the garlic cheese bread, we shared the orecchiette pasta - homemade orecchiette with spicy sausages, broccoli rabe, and 'nduja. It was exquisite. Great texture. Spicy and tangy but not overpowering. Getting each of the ingredients into one bite was heavenly.

I’ve since had this dish locally, and it did not have the spice and POW that the dish at Trattoria Da Vittorio had.

I loved this restaurant so much that I suggested that my group of friends visit. I went on Friday and again on Sunday! We had a large group of thirteen and they took great care of us. They are so friendly there - it feels like family. I highly recommend Trattoria Da Vittorio.

'Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage from the Calabria region of Italy.

Ocean Ale House

American Pub
1314 Ocean Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112

Live music and flowing beer was the set up for an incredibly happy evening.

Ocean Ale House was yet another place in the Bay where I couldn’t help but demolish all of my food before taking a single photo. The photo I took here is of all my pals’ food!

It was December so many of us were feeling cozy - patty melts, buffalo wings, soups and brussel sprouts galore. The fries were thick cut and comforting.

I switched between cocktails - the Pica Me (a spicy tequila drink with tamarindo, habanero, lime and a tajin rim) - and beer while bobbing to the music on stage.

Very important to note - I was highly entertained by the two bathrooms… one is Star Trek themed and the other is mermaid themed.

“Our philosophy at Ocean Ale House is to create a menu with as many house made and farm grown ingredients as possible. Our seasonally inspired, spontaneous interpretations are made to order from our cooks and creators Daniel, Jayro, And Cornellio.”

Drinks + Cocktails

Oakland Yard Wine Shop

Wine Shop
420 40th St #2, Oakland, CA 94609

A wine shop in walking distance? My dream.

The shop is upscale and modern, but not cold. I enjoyed the bright atmosphere while I looked around at the plethora of wine options.

One of the owners, Daniel Schmidt, I believe, took my questions and assisted me in picking out a bottle that fit my palate.

After tasting a few of the suggested wines at the bar they have in the shop, I came home with the Villa Sant'Anna Chianti Colli Senesi 2020 seen here. The color is gorgeous and it tasted fantastic. I love dry reds and I can vary in purchasing ones that taste “spiced” versus ones that are “berry-forward” and everything in between.

Parche

Contemporary Colombian
2295 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

Parche has an incredibly cool and dark atmosphere in the evening and would be great for a date night and a fun little dress up moment. I only stayed for one drink, but it was fantastic.

Manabana - Gruven vodka, guanabana puree, d’aristi guanabana liqueuer, banana syrup.

Dessert

Humphry Slocombe

Ice Cream Shop
Multiple Locations
2335 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

Unique flavors in a fun little shipping crate.

I love that it’s not too cold to walk around and get ice cream on a dark December night in Oakland.

I got the Secret Breakfast on a sugar cone - a bourbon ice cream with corn flake cookie mix-ins. The flavor was very nice but nothing mind-blowingly memorable. The single scoop was the perfect amount for me. A nice end to a smooth travel day.

Thanks for reading!

Have you checked out any of these places?

Drop me a note and let me know what you had and what your thoughts are!

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Steph Rupp https://stephrupp.com

A Quick Spin through Bay Area Eats