Bay Area Vacation, Part III: San Francisco

One of the top culinary destinations I'd had in mind for this trip was Millennium, the legendary gourmet vegan restaurant in downtown San Francisco. I had always wanted to eat there, but hadn't yet had a chance (or the disposable income--dinners there are quite pricey!). This trip, we made it a priority--we definitely had something to celebrate! (And BB and I know that fine dining is going to become a bit more complicated in the near future.) So, needless to say, I was very excited for this meal. We arrived with J&M, and were meeting my sister Kisk and her friend AM there, but they had not yet arrived. So we decided to get the party started--J&M picked out some wine, and I was a little bummed that I couldn't choose something from Millennium extensive drink menu. But I wanted to try something non-alcoholic, so I ordered a pomegranate juice. It was delicious, thick and fresh, with a pleasing bitter aftertaste, and was even better when cut with a little San Pelligrino. We also had the table bread to munch on--a whole-grain sourdough served with an herbed white bean spread. Although the spread was good, I think I would have preferred a more straightforward topping of high-quality olive oil (I couldn't help but think about the fabulous shallot-infused oil served at Seattle's Carmelita and the buttery, slightly peppery olive oil at Cafe Flora--it's hard to top those, in my opinion). We were soon joined by my sister and her friend, and then decision time was upon us. We ordered some appetizers--a flatbread platter with some incredible spreads (but served with only 4 small pieces of flatbread, not nearly enough) and the sesame-cornmeal crusted "oyster" mushrooms (which were fabulous, but turned out to be portabella mushrooms instead of oysters, which was a little disappointing; I'm sure the texture of the oyster mushrooms would have added a lot to the dish). Soon, it was time for the main courses: I had ordered the Stuffed Verze (napa cabbage stuffed with smoked tempeh, quinoa and dried currants), and BB selected the South Indian Crepes (similar to dosas).

BB's South Indian Crepes

My Stuffed Verze (oops, didn't get my hand out of the way in time!)

BB's crepes were definitely the winner--they were impeccably seasoned, accented with rich sauces, and had a luxurious mouthfeel. My stuffed verze, however, did not seem quite as inspired; the dish was good, but not mind-blowingly unique or special. Oh, well; we've had similarly uneven results at the aforementioned gourmet veg restaurants in Seattle as well. We lingered over our meals, enjoying the delicious food, great company and good wine/pomegranate juice. Then it was time for dessert! It was an almost unanimous choice for the pumpkin cake with white chocolate ice cream; the only defector was J, who chose a chocolate-almond mousse cake. I was lucky enough to be sitting next to her, so I got to sample both.

The pumpkin cake was heavenly--we were confused when it was served, because it looked different from what we had all imagined from the description. However, it was a happy surprise--there were two layers of pumpkin cake with the ice cream sandwiched in between and covered in chocolate. We determined that it was like a more gourmet version of an It's It; I enjoyed every bite. J's mousse cake was likewise incredible, with a rich, silky texture and crumbly, nutty crust. I couldn't decide which I liked better. All in all, a very satisfying ending to a delicious meal. We're so glad that we were able to experience the glory of Millennium with such excellent company! (Although, we definitely don't feel like we're missing out up here in Seattle, since we have two great choices for gourmet veg restaurants to celebrate at.)

The next day, we started out in Berkeley, intending to see a show at the Berkeley Art Museum, but unfortunately the gallery was closed that day. Still, we stopped at Cafe Muse for a raw lunch (figuring it would help to balance us out from all the indulgences we had thus far enjoyed), and weren't disappointed--the dishes (raw sushi rolls for BB and raw lasagna for me) were well-flavored and satisfying. Then we BART-ed over to San Francisco and walked around the Ferry Building, stopping to enjoy our Eugene brownies on the back deck overlooking the bay. They were wonderful, rich and fudgey. The raspberry-almond one was my favorite; the fruit added a nice tart counterpart to the chocolatey goodness.

The rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around SF with my sister, who guided us to a great tea shop, Samovar, in the Yerba Buena Gardens. Although the gardens had been seemingly taken over by the huge Oracle convention, we secured ourselves a seat out on the patio, where it was warm and beautiful. I loved everything about the aesthetics of the place, from the menu on a wooden board to the rustic, handmade-looking cloth napkins to the well-placed gong inside the shop. I was so happy just sitting outside, soaking up the sun and the glorious atmosphere. Our waitress was really sweet (and vegan, too!) so was able to recommend some great things on the menu. Kisk ordered some Lapsang Souchang with Tofu Jook to eat (congee with tofu and all sorts of marvelous toppings), BB got some "Maiden's Ecstasy" pu-erh tea, and I decided on the squash dumplings. Everything was delicious (though BB thought his tea could have been better), and we lingered out on the patio for quite some time, until it was ready to pack up and run some errands with Kisk.

Our dinner stop that night was Lettus, which I had been to on my last SF trip. It isn't totally veg, but the food is so good... I had a grilled tofu sandwich last time, and the carmelized onions on it alone were worth the trip. The aesthetics there are great too, especially the bathroom--I felt like I was stepping into a spa every time I went in to wash up (which, I admit, I did more frequently than was strictly necessary). This time I ordered a tempeh picatta, served with garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. I was especially pleased with the mixed vegetables; instead of a boring old combination of broccoli and carrots (for example), I was given a mixture of roasted squash, green beans and mushrooms. Yum! However, the picatta sauce was a bit too lemony and tangy, which detracted somewhat from the dish. BB, however, was entirely pleased with his soup, salad and 1/2 sandwich, and realized that it was miles more sophisticated, in an understated way, than the similar meal he'd had at Herbivore the day before. And for dessert, a chocolate-peanut butter cupcake--very yummy, but I think I could have made one almost as good! (Around this time, we really started slacking on taking pictures, so I have no photographic evidence of this meal.) After our lovely dinner, we went to a Stars concert at Bimbo's 365, an awesome venue. They put on an excellent show, and we had another wonderful evening!

The next day, we walked around Fisherman's Wharf with Kisk, her husband G, and their adorable, attention-getting Brussels Griffon puppy. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican chain restaurant, which was unremarkable for everything except the sunny outdoor seating area. Then it was off to Santa Cruz (see next post). But we popped back in to San Francisco a few days later to do some tea tourism in Chinatown, where we ate at Lucky Creation, a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant. (We couldn't remember where it was, so we popped into a shop to ask someone but he didn't speak English--so BB got to use his Mandarin! It was a lot like being back in Taiwan, with all the people bustling about, the fruit and vegetable markets, the signs in Chinese characters, etc.) There, we had some very tasty spring rolls (crispy on the outside with melt-in-your mouth tender veggies on the inside) and a good, filling meal of chicken fried rice, almond chicken, and mixed vegetables. For dinner later that night back in Berkeley, we enjoyed a home-cooked meal of spaghetti and meatballs (with homemade sauce made from my aunt's fresh tomatoes) and spinach-radicchio-strawberry-avocado salad with veggies from J&M's CSA. After all that eating out, it sure was nice to have some simple, homemade food.

We also got our fill the next day of some wonderful vegan appetizers that my family made for our baby shower. They did such a great job putting a beautiful spread together... complete with a fantastic ice cream cake from Maggie Mudd! We had a wonderful time at the shower, and it was so great to see so many family members all at once, but the downside was that it was all over too fast, and it just reminded me how much I miss them all!! We are so lucky to have such wonderful, supportive family and friends.