A Girls' Weekend in The City

What girl doesn’t love a girls’ weekend?  Yes, we’re talking about the time honored tradition of ditching the boys, grabbing some martinis and talking to the point of having your vocal cords bleed. The location and various activities don’t hold as much weight as the food and drinks, but the company you share them with certainly does (not to mention the obnoxious eighties hits to sing along to at the top of your lungs, possibly after imbibing one too many of the previously mentioned libations).

Thus, after months of promising to do so, Elizabeth shot up the 5, with a lady copilot in the passenger seat, to San Francisco, Lindsay’s home kicks.  As we’re sure many of you know, San Francisco is a fabulous place for those who love eating and drinking. And luckily for us, we managed to spend the weekend taking full advantage of what it has to offer.  

Upon Lindsay’s suggestion, we went with a group of fun-loving gals to Mission Street Food for dinner on Saturday night.  This special gem practices an unusual and innovative concept: borrowing the space of a Chinese restaurant deep in the Mission District on Thursday and Saturday nights, local guest chefs churn out some of the city’s most delicious and affordable food. Most dishes are around $6-$12, so price doesn't hold patrons back from sampling a bit of everything. The menu changes weekly; thus, every time you come back, there is something new to experience! 

A highlight of our meal was Lung Shan's Vegan Delight, a bowl of shiitake and oyster mushroom dumplings floating in a miso soup. The tender dumplings and sumptuous broth had us moaning with our eyes closed.  Another favorite was their take on an all-American favorite: cheesecake. A honey mascarpone filling atop an oatmeal lace crust and sprinkled with candied walnuts created a result that was soft and perfectly sweet on top, light and crispy on the bottom. Oooo-eeee! 

The menu that night featured other intriguing items that we ordered merely out of curiosity, like the Sonoma foie gras "corndogs" with homemade fig and bacon "ketchup". It’s items like these that keep people coming back again and again— it's difficult to find restaurants that offer delicious innovation at such reasonable prices, even in San Francisco. All in all, it was a lovely meal spent with some fabulous ladies. 

After stuffing our bellies and downing some wine, there was really only one thing left to do:  DANCE!  

It’s hard to mess up a Sunday morning breakfast following a night of spastic dancing and (maybe…) one too many drinks; however, it’s also hard to find a Sunday morning breakfast that hits it out of the park like the one we experienced at Outerlands.  Lindsay has been here many times and was happy to make the introduction on Elizabeth’s behalf. We let Lindsay’s boyfriend, Jack, tag along since he’s always a good time and game for culinary exploration.  We started our morning with a divine Blue Bottle Coffee cappuccino, but diverged with our entrees: Linds went savory and E went sweet.  Both meals were made with Outerlands' house-made bread and, if you’re like us, those two words together can only mean good things!  

Linds didn’t have to think much after seeing the cleverly named “Eggs In Jail” on the menu that morning.  Having been treated to her Auntie Kitty's version growing up, this particular dish held special meaning for her.  Early on, Lindsay's brother, Kyle, (who also happens to be Elizabeth’s husband) came up with with his own appropriate name for the dish: “Eggy in a Bready.” Tall and handsome compared to its homemade counterpart, the thick bread (coming in at two inches!) made for a dramatic jail for the eggs. The quality of the bread upped the ante, and tasted as delightful as anticipated. 

(See what we mean about the bread?!)

After much struggle, Elizabeth decided on the Moroccan French Toast, two thick slices of levain soaked in cinnamon and orange and topped with toasted almonds.  Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, it provided the kind of melt-in-your-mouth bites that one hopes for, but rarely gets, with French toast.  

It doesn’t take much arm twisting to get us to order dessert and thank goodness we didn’t stop ourselves this trip. Sublime is the only word for the butterscotch pot de crème we split after breakfast. A 3-inch ramekin filled with an exquisite combination of caramel crème, toasted pecans and fleur de sel. Every bite was perfection, and we don't use that word lightly! We wish we could show you what it looked like before we ate it, but alas…it didn’t last long enough for us to take a photo.  

Looking forward to our next girls' weekend... Possibly in LA?

Happy Eating,

Lindsay and Elizabeth