We were in the Bay area last week for business and pleasure. The first
stop was Foster City for business. The traffic on 101 north of Palo Alto
was hellacious. If the SO even remotely entertained notions of moving
down there, they were dashed quickly when it took over an hour to go two
miles. We had dinner one night at an excellent Thai restaurant just west
of Redwood City. The following night we went to Half Moon Bay and had
dinner at an overpriced seafood joint. We ordered paella for two, which
was more tomato-ey than what we make at home.

The following two days were spent roaming around San Francisco. We
managed to see two of the aborted America's Cup races, one from the
vantage point of Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge. We had lunch
at a fish store in the Ferry Terminal Market: Crab quesadillas and
soft-shell crab po' boy, with gazpacho and gumbo. These guys know from
seafood. Dinner the first night was at Osteria al Forno in North Beach.
The pancetta-wrapped figs were excellent, but SO was not happy with the
pork braised in milk. The next day we had a late lunch at the Marina
Bistro, a small Turkish restaurant on Chestnut Street. This was the best
random find of the trip. The meze platter was excellent.

Sunday we met friends who moved to San Jose back in June for brunch at
the Restaurant Bay Watch in Burlingame. Our former next door neighbors
and other members of our Friday night group were also down there for the
weekend, so we had a good crowd. The restaurant staff was fantastic
dealing with all 15 of us, as well as accommodating the gluten
intolerant folks in our group. After brunch, we took Highway 1 down to
Carmel and Point Lobos State Reserve. We visited this park on our trip 3
years ago and were fascinated by the wildlife. The critters didn't
disappoint this year, either.

Monday we had a rude awakening when the water main to the hotel where we
were staying in Carmel broke. The restaurant staff at the hotel handled
things as best they could and still served breakfast. The hotel took 1/2
off our hotels.com rate as compensation. Thereafter, we went to Monterey
Bay Aquarium to see the otters. Lunch was at the Clement Hotel down the
street. Their grilled veggie sandwich and homemade ketchup were
outstanding.

Dinner en route to the airport was at a hole in the wall Vietnamese
restaurant in San Jose. The name of the restaurant was Bun Bo Hue, and
they served a good version of that soup. We were the only non-Asians in
the place, which is always a good sign. The SO said I got lost on
purpose just so we could eat there. It wasn't planned, but it worked out
quite well.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

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