America - San Francisco - Bar Tartine

You know when you're really looking forward to dinner somewhere, but then on the day you're really annoyed with yourself because you're full even before dinner begins? That totally happened for me at Bar Tartine. It's impossible on the way from the BART station to the restaurant not to pop into everywhere else along the way and sample the goodies abound. 

Damn you Mission district for being so delicious!

When I visited San Francisco (back in June now, eep!) Bar Tartine was highly recommended to me by many food lovers, so it was one of the few places that I booked way in advance, once we had our dates. 

So it was with high expectations that we arrived a little earlier than our booking time at the lovely Bar Tartine. 

The lingering sunlight made for gentle and lovely lighting, emphasising the wooden decor, from the woodgrain in the table to the wooden pillars by the bar, giving an earthy appeal and a rather soothing atmosphere. It was all quite elegant, without being snobby.

Brad and I couldn't help but be bemused when we discovered our waiter had a hipster beard, as it just seemed so fitting, but he was also very polite and quite friendly and was quick to make sure we had menus and water. 

The menu is short, and sweet and oh so delicious sounding. It's painful to not order everything.

I think this dish is the curried squash with hazelnuts and kefir buttermilk (I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it is), a rather artistic vision of green and white. I'm surprised that this is actually served cold, with the heat of the curry coming up through the back as a late surprise. Quite interesting, and delicious.

I don't think our trip to San Francisco would have been complete without kale popping up somewhere, so we tried it Bar Tartine, where it's roasted and served with rye, seeds and yoghurt. I just adore the simplicity of this dish, but the rich layers of flavour that it contains as well. In contrast to the curried squash, this was served piping hot, and was so warming and comforting, the yoghurt acting as a nice contrast to the seeds, which can I say, is just perfect with the earthy kale. 

I also believe there were chunks of crunchy rye bread in there, which added more beautiful textural goodness. 

The smoked potatoes with ramp mayonnaise is a friendly nod to American's love for bacon and barbecue, without either being included. How fun! I was surprised the potatoes came out looking so black, but they were just so sinfully delicious with a strong smokey flavour, making them taste like bacon. Bacon potatoes. What more in life do you want?

Our last savoury was a green chili fisherman's stew with collards, which I just loved. From the vibrancy of the colour, to the wholeness and richness of the stew. The consistency was so light, like that of a broth, but it was so rich with a bit of spicy and a lot of ocean flavour in the mouth, making it so comforting to sip on. Out of all the dishes, I would very easily order this just on it's own again. Although bacon potatoes come in at a close second. 

Although I was bursting at the seams, having eaten ice-cream and a croissant before dinner even started (I did say the Mission district was delicious), I still had to make a little space for dessert. 

Brad never chooses the desserts, as he really could go without (gasp) and only really eats the desserts to help me out. Taking one for the team here isn't he?

So after a bout of fickleness, I settled on the rose geranium custard with strawberry and flowering herbs. It's just so pretty on the eyes, without looking overdone. I was quite surprised with how much the flowering herbs added to the flavour, taking this from a very light and fruity dessert to something with a little more substance, giving it a hint of freshness and savoury (from what I can recall now). 

I finished with a ginger and roasted buckwheat tea, to aid the digestion, with a happy smile on my face.

In all honesty, whilst I don't think Bar Tartine totally blew me away (as I thought it might from what I heard), I still left very impressed with the creativity of the food and the generous play on flavours. I also loved how fresh everything tasted, obviously stemming from quality produce. For me, I think it was missing the 'more-ish' factor, but that might stem from me not being very familiar with some of the ingredients (kale, ramp, squash, etc), so instead my palate got a good education in some new flavours! 

Despite my nitpicking (you can't help it when there's hype), I would definitely recommend a visit to Bar Tartine, should anyone be in the area, as I can't think of anywhere back in Melbourne that's doing food like this at all, and it's an amazingly priced meal for what you're getting. I also consider it a very good sign when a restaurant has single diners, and there were multiple at Bar Tartine. 

Also, really guys: Bacon potatoes (and chili fish stew)!

Bar Tartine

561 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA

94110

View Larger Map

America - San Francisco by Suburbs

A lot of people who have been to both San Francisco and Melbourne tend to say the two cities are alike. I guess on a surface level I didn't always see it, but I certainly felt a similar energy, and I think this translates to how the city is laid out. There's a happening little CBD, and a bunch of little cool clusters outside of it...just like Melbourne!

Our fourth day in San Francisco is when we decided to explore some of these areas in San Francisco, a little outside of the city. In one day, we took a bus down to Hayes Valley, then from there walked passed the Painted Ladies, to Haight Ashbury, from there to the Castro and wound it up at the Mission. It was a lot of walking, but a great way to make some space to eat a whole lot more!

So in those post, let me highlight a couple of things we enjoyed in each spot. 

Hayes Valley

Hayes Valley is a rather cute little area of San Francisco, fashionable, chic, lined with trees and bright and cheerful street art. Brad and I strolled down Octavia Street, as we had read this is where a lot of the food and shops were to be found. 

There are also gentlemen who keep their macaw's on their shoulders while in Hayes Valley.

We stumbled onto Straw Cafe, which I had read about online and had drooled over their carnival inspired dinner menu. Unfortunately lunch was not as heavily themed, but there were goldfish on offer instead of bread. Hadn't had these since I was in primary school, think my face must have lit up like a little kid's!

Even though the lunch menu wasn't really 'Carnival' food, the colourful and quirky little spot was still serving up some real goodness. 

Brad's Portobello Cheesesteak, with sauteed mushrooms, capsicums, swiss cheese and mayo was a whole lot of hot, melty-stretchy cheese goodness, all wrapped up in soft bread and skewered with a plastic pirate sword. Bliss. 

My 'Dark and Gruesome' salad, with mixed greens, roasted chicken, maple-glazed bacon, apple, blue cheese, candied walnuts and apple cider vinaigrette fortunately did not literally represent it's name. America knows how to do it's crunchy bacon bits, and they were to absolutely die for here. The fresh crisp apples added a lovely sweetness to the otherwise heavier flavours. 

From there, our next stop was Miette cafe, and it is magic. Magic.

You step in and you're transported into a candy store housed in a dollhouse. Soft pastels, beautifully delicate floral wallpaper and just a smorgasbord of sugar to be had out on display. Kid in a candy shop? You know it!

It was really, really hard not to leave with arms piled full of cakes, sweets and macarons, but I restrained and behaved. A little anyway, and left with a graham cracker and creme-fraiche ice-cream sandwich and two of their macarons. 

Whilst there are more typically sweeter ice-cream sandwich flavours such as chocolate or strawberry, I was absolutely delighted with the creme-fraiche variation, as it was so light and so refreshing, the biscuit and ice-cream softly melding into each other with each bite. Just perfect for a post-lunch snack that doesn't feel too heavy!

We had our macarons in front of the Painted Ladies, which disappointed me. The texture was just too soft and there wasn't much flavour present. 

Speaking of….

The Painted Ladies

So uh, Brad and I were told to check out the Painted Ladies, because a friend said they were cool but we didn't do much reading up before we went to see them. 

We must have walked up and down this street two or three times before we realised…the houses are the Painted Ladies! Doh.

"Painted Ladies" is a term used in American architecture for Victorian or Edwardian houses that are painted in three or more colours that enhance their architectural details. Probably should have read that before we went hunting for them. 

These particulary famous ladies were built in the 1890's and make for a stella example. 

There's a park across the road, which makes for a nice little picnic place, or a spot to just put your feet up and have a break from all the walking you've been doing (like we had been!)

Haight Ashbury

Haight Ashbury is well known for it's history in the hippie subculture, which sadly today has turned the area into a big of a tacky touristy area, with the world's biggest tie-dye t-shirt on one shop and a string of places selling similar things. 

There are a couple of nice op-shops in the area, and it is in Haight Ashbury that I first discovered Buffalo Exchange, officially one of my favourite places to shop in ever, across the country. Oh god. Brad should have never let me in.

It's still a cool area to walk around though and see how the culture of the area translates to how the buildings are decorated and the generally enthusiastic use of colour. I guess I do approve.

The Castro

Ah, the Castro. One of the first gay neighbourhoods in the United States and still the largest. You know you're in the area when the ratio of rainbow flags to poles  goes up to almost 1:1. It just makes you smile.

Also you might see a man wearing speedos, in roller-skates with a parrot on his shoulder (seems to be a thing in San Francisco). I suggested Brad ask to have a picture with him but I think he was a little scared.

The shops in the Castro are quite cute as well, although of course, geared more towards the LGBT community. We had a couple of laughs seeing some of the t-shirts in shop windows and I was almost tempted to buy Chai his own gay pride shirt. Almost.

I also made sure to stop in Hot Cookie. Why? Anatomically correct penis cookies. 

Yes I am a child, let me have my amusement!

Even if you do not want penis cookies, essentially a chocolate macaroon coated in a dark chocolate, which were surprisingly heavy, the store smelt heavenly and there was a wide range of other non-sexual cookies available as well. 

From there, we made the trek over to the Mission, stopping in another park for a breather in-between…San Francisco you really spoilt us with some of the most stellar weather. 

The Mission

No visit to San Francisco these days is complete without a visit to the Mission district. It is so utterly hip, cool and chic. I utterly regret that we didn't spend more time here, as we strolled down Valencia Street, which is lined with independent fashion designers, cafes, restaurants, local hot chocolate and so many many other things I wanted to see, do or eat. 

While we were there many of the shops had an 'anti-Jack Spade' poster in their windows, protesting about a big mainstream fashion brand that was due to open up on the street, instead arguing that it would detract from the character of the strip and that they should continue to support the local merchants. I thought that sense of community was just so wonderful. 

So yes, the Mission is delicious. We first topped at Bi-rite Creamery, where I waltzed past non-existent lines, they had airport style barricades up that suggested that lines can get a bit ridiculous, and was then met with the incredibly difficult choice of which ice-cream to sample.

Balsamic strawberry was a very good move. Very good. 

From there, to Tartine Bakery. Even though we were an hour out of our dinner booking, I had to go in. Had to. Even at 5pm, all tables in the surprisingly spacious bakery (I expected it to be about half the size!) were taken and there was still a healthy selection of baked treats to tempt. Cookies? Bread and butter pudding? What about just some bread? The choice was difficult and most of the customers before me left with great big brown bags filled to the brim with baked treats.

However, I decided to keep it relatively light, and got the croissant the size of my lap. I mean look at it! Ginormous! It was just beautiful though, so airy and so fluffy, the crust with a gorgeously fragile flakiness.

Our night finished with a gorgeous meal in Bar Tartine, but I might cover that in another post, as it'll probably double the length of this one otherwise! 

Fisherman's Wharf

To wrap up this post though, I will finish up on Fisherman's Wharf, which we visited on our last day in San Francisco. Yes, incredibly touristy, but there's just something amazing about watching dozens, upon dozens of crabs come out of these giant hot vats. 

I think I must have just been standing there with my mouth ajar, probably drooling away. I'm all class guys.

There are endless amount of places to get your clam chowder and crab roll fix down this way as well. Is it much good? Well I'm not educated enough to be sure, but it was pretty cheap and hit the spot for lunch. 

One cute thing that we did accidentally find, was a working coin machine museum, with some beauties from the 1800s! From machines with dolls who would laugh and dance, to those that told your fortune and informed you of your love making prowess, to some modern day goodness with Pac-man and Centipede, the collection was just astounding and quite intriguing!

With this matador themed machine we found out that Brad has the strength of a clerk. Least I got a man, and not a boy!

Chinatown

Okay I lied, one more area. Although we ate at R and G lounge on our first night, we hadn't had the opportunity to actually walk around Chinatown and my gosh, it's so crazy during the day! The streets flooded with pedestrian traffic, combined with some intensely angled hills make it quite an extreme area to navigate. But it is just so charming and so fascinating, I almost felt like I wasn't in America for a second while I was there, instead I could've been in a busy city in China. 

Some of the side streets in Chinatown have some gorgeous street art and is possibly one of the most colourful Chinatowns I have ever seen. Wish I had had more time to walk around and actually suss out where the best of the edible goodies could be found, but I think Brad and I had reached out limit for walking at the end of a five day stay in San Francisco...!