My date and I stopped in for a quick breakfast the other morning at the famous San Francisco cafe, Blue Bottle. They are known for their Artisanal Micro-roasting. I found out about Blue Bottle from a New York Times article raving about their 20,000 dollar Japanese Siphon bar. It is a halogen powered coffee pot, that you must see in person to believe. Blue bottle uses only certified organic coffees from all over the world. For a “regular” cup of coffee, they don’t just pour a pot that has been sitting on a burner for god knows how long, or pull a tab from a large coffee machine, they use the filter drip method. On the website you can read about the process of the filter drip, along with french press and mokka pot (stove top espresso).
Now for the food, we split Judy’s farm poached eggs atop thick toast and whipped butter. It really was perfect. There was the same dish with some prosciutto, but we weren’t in the mood. For only 9.50, we started the day off utterly satisfied.
66 Mint St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 495-3394
Weekdays 7am-7pm; Sat 8am-8pm; Sun 8am-4pm
Zuni Cafe is one of the top rated and most popular restaurants in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley. It is impossible to miss, taking up a full corner on Market St. with a giant yellow awning. I have read a bunch of reviews, and everyone raves about the oyster selection and burger. We caught great weather and decided to sit outside on Market. Probably the most entertaining meal of my life; this is by far the best place to people watch in the city.
To drink we had a bottle of Saison Dupont and a balsamic bloody mary. The Saison Dupont is hazy orange with a pure, fluffy, white head. Lots of lace and sediment at the bottom. The nose and mouth get similar experiences with extra citrus (lemon/orange peel) and a touch of coriander. There is hidden spice that comes out in the dry finish. It’s kind of bitter, but sweet and spicy at the same time, which creates a fantastic combination of flavor. There is something about this label that I love, it’s great that the orange look of the beer matches the checkered bottle. I was a little hesitant at first because it was so intense, but it grew on me for sure.
Although I was leaning on a glass of Chateau la Louviere 2005 Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend (12.80gl) from Bordeaux, I opted for the Balsamic Bloody Mary (9.25). My favorite part was the minced red onion which added a lot of flavor and a great texture. It wasn’t spicy enough for my liking but it did have the perfect balance of sweet and sour with their special ingredient, balsamic.
My date and I were both craving hamburgers, which is why we ended up here in the first place. Their House ground burger is described as being on a grilled rosemary focaccia with garden lettuces, aioli, and Zuni pickles. There were extra options to add, Gruyere, Mountain Gorgonzola, grilled onions, and portobello mushrooms. We got the Mountain Gorgonzola and grilled onions. The “zuni” pickles served on the side of the plate made this burger perfection. With the add ons to the burger it came out to 18.25. SO worth it. One complaint, the ridiculous plate of “french fries”. HA. They did call them “shoe string” on the menu, but come on. All I wanted was a french fry to go with my amazing burger, instead I got dried potato sticks that were impossible to pick up and awkward as hell to eat. Using a fork for french fries? NO thanks. Other than that, GREAT lunch!
Zuni Café
1658 Market Street
San Francisco, Ca 94102
415.552.2522
www.zunicafe.com
