Anyway, since snowboarding wasn't going to be happening, we decided to stick to our original SF plans with just the two of us instead. We left over an hour later than we wanted to due to all of the unnecessary drama, but because Jim and I move faster by ourselves, we made up a bit of time. By the time we left, it was after 1 pm, so we hit up In-N-Out on our way to the City. We got the usual Double-Double and Grilled Cheese meals with a large drink and neapolitan shake. Today, the place was absolutely packed. There was no extra sitting room when we walked in, but thankfully by the time we ordered, 2 spots at the bar opened up, so I snagged them while Jim got our drink. He got to use his gift certificate, so lunch was a little over a dollar.
As usual, I went out of my way to blot the fries. It's amazing how much grease you can get out of them. I really do like the taste better.
For the first time ever, I left In-N-Out very dissatisfied. First they messed up my grilled cheese by putting mustard on it. Other than pickles, I don't think there is anything I dislike more than mustard. I cannot abide by it at all. Jim asked them to fix it and they made it 10x worse by bringing me out a plain grilled cheese slathered with a gallon of ketchup! I tried, but it was completely inedible. Looking at it turned my stomach. Jim offered to go a third time, but I was so over it by then that we just left.
The drive into the City really wasn't bad at all, either weather or traffic-wise. We went into Nob Hill for our first stop, the Swan Oyster Depot. This was featured on Rachael Ray's $40 a Day show and is rated as one of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area by the Chronicle. It's a little hole in the wall shack place that serves fresh seafood at incredibly reasonable prices, which is why I thought sister J would like it. As far as I know, TN is completely landlocked, so they're not going to get good quality fish out there. While Jim thought we should just skip it for something more vegetarian friendly, I knew he had wanted to go, so I chose to stick with the plan.
Back to the restaurant itself. Even though it was about 2:30 pm and drizzling, the line was out the door. Part of the problem is that there are only about 20 bar seats in the place, but it's also simply super popular. While we were waiting to get in, we inspected the large window display of seafood on ice. It was very weird to me because, as I told Jim, that morning the little lobster was just feeling his way around the bottom of the Bay, eating scum, and now he's a publicly displayed corpse biding his time before getting consumed. But it did look awfully fresh.
We waited in line for probably about 20 minutes before snagging our seats. Jim ordered a bowl of clam chowder, a half cracked crab, and an Anchor Steam beer. I was a little surprised at the quantity of food he ordered, considering that we had just eaten at In-N-Out, but I guess it's so rare that I go with him to seafood that he has to get his fill. I nibbled on the bread, which I thought was pretty good, but Jim thought it was ordinary. I liked the heftier texture, although it was still plain French bread.
Afterwards, we decided to omit the Fisherman's Wharf stop and proceed onto the next destination, the San Francisco Brewing Company. There were a couple of parking issues, but we managed to arrive just after Happy Hour started, which equated to $2.75 pints. Jim ordered three over the hour and a half we were there. I had originally thought that sister J would like it since she loves beer and due to the happy hour prices, both she and TB could afford to get a couple. But it wasn't meant to be, and Jim and I found a place he enjoyed very much.
Union Square was up next. I've found a gem in the Ellis-O'Farrell parking garage--$6.50 for the entire evening! Cannot be beaten. It was my turn for fun, and we went to the Oakley store (to look at potential goggles for me) and Anthropologie before going to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. There was a 1.5 hour wait for our table, so I also got to shop at Macy's. Again, dinner plans were based on the original version. I figured a view of Union Square would be nice, and although the place is pricier than a hole in the wall, there's so much variety and you do have the option of ordering a reasonably priced meal. I found a pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans at Macy's and a sweater from Anthro. I was a happy camper, although I was absolutely starving by the time we were seated at 9:15.
Jim and I both love the wheat bread here. It's slightly sweet, nutty, and has a gorgeous texture to it--not too chewy or thick. And the sourdough baguette is nice and crispy with a soft and chewy center.
We ended up getting the sampler appetizer platter, which ended up being four full plates of 8 different appetizers, four of them vegetarian. The avocado egg rolls are what make the Cheesecake Factory for me. Ever since my friend S introduced me to them, I've been in love. They are absolutely amazing. While I understand that they sound gross (I happen to love avocados and I found them completely unappealing until I tried them), I really would recommend them to anyone without reservation. Jim doesn't like avocados very much, and he loves them almost as much as I do. On top of our egg roll, there were chicken potstickers for Jim, Buffalo Wings, calamari, and Vietnamese shrimp spring rolls. I had a quesadilla, spinach dip, and corn cakes, all of which were superb. The spinach dip actually tasted like spinach, which was both refreshing and appealing. The corn cakes tasted like Chevy's, except these were fried and topped with a smoky flavored sauce. And the quesadilla--what else can be said about a tortilla stuffed with melted cheese other that it's delicious. Jim really ate most of the platter for his dinner. I had a couple of egg rolls, one corn cake, half of the quesadilla, and some of the spinach dip. I didn't split it with him equally because I also ordered a vegetable salad, so the appetizer platter was his dinner.
I ordered the salad the last time I ate at CF, but it was slightly different this time in a good way. It's the basic romaine blend, with tomatoes, radicchio, edamame, asparagus, cheese, beets, and melon. Yeah, I wasn't sure about the melon. It was a little odd, but not disgusting. The salad dressing was pomegranate-based, but I couldn't taste any pom. It was tasty nevertheless, so I didn't mind at all.
One of Jim's coworkers raves about the Ultimate Margarita, so Jim ordered one and I tried a Georgia Peach, which was Absolut, peach liqueur, peaches, and strawberries. It was quite possibly the best alcoholic drink I've ever tried. Not that I'm an expert by far, but it sure was tasty. I couldn't taste any alcohol in it whatsoever, and I had to be careful not to drink too much of it. Based on the menu, they certainly seem to cater to fruity, girly drinks, because there were several others I wouldn't have minded trying. Jim's margarita tasted like pure alcohol to me, so I wanted no part of it.
It ended up being a very nice day, so I guess all's well that ends well.
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