Califonia Luu-uuv

So I spent the last week and a half trekking through Cali and of course you know I was on the lookout for some good (and cheap) eats. I started off the trip in SanFran & the Bay area, worked my way south and finished off in San Diego.

This was my first time in the west coast, but I will most definately be going going back back to Cali Cali... I loved it!!!! SanFran's got so many interesting neighborhoods with tons of character and of course lots of great food. Here are my favorites from each neighborhood--

Chinatown:

Easily one of the best I've been to... it shits majorly on the Starbucks flooded "Chinatown" we have here in DC. Aside from bangin' restaurants, markets and tea shops, there's some really dope retail and gift shops. One of my highlights was this fortune cookie factory that was hidden away in a small alley:

... I gotta get my hands on one of those cookie presses. Mmmm.... hot off the press cookies!!

The Wok Shop on Grant Ave was also one of my fav's :)

Chef Jia's (just outside of Chinatown) has one of the best Chinese food spots ever... and for de cheap! All of this was $5 + it comes w/ a bowl of hot and sour soup. Forget $40 a day... let's aim for 25!

The honey chili chicken had a thick batter and was perfectly fried, then coated with a sweet and spicy chili sauce- awww, man!

SF = best farmer's markets ever. I would love to spend my lunch break like this everyday:

Fisherman's Wharf:

Boudin's Sourdough bread factory at the Wharf was awesome. They've got fun bakery demonatrations and you can peep the whole factory from outside or sourdough museum. Check out their cute little bread animals & see them make it on site

And you can't go to SF & not get a sourdough bread bowl, mmm Mmmm... just thinking about it makes me salivate- No Pavlov
*focused*

Golden Gate Park:

Be sure to pack your own food... there are endless picnic spaces here. Also stop by the Japanese Tea Garden for some warm tea w/ wasabi rice crackers and cookies.

Mission:
I had some of the BEST Cambodian food here ever... easily the best I've had since being in Cambodia.

This sour beef salad was the BEST. The meat marinated in a citrus, chili's, sugar and fish sauce and served rare/ uncooked (similar to ceviche). It's later tossed with beansprouts, peppers, carrots, mint and other goodies before its served over a bed of salad.

They also have imported beer from Thailand and they make an AMAZING Lemongrass Iced Tea... (which I will be making at home from now on until the end of summer :) The service was top notch and the owner was super sweet. All adding to the wonderful experience.

Delicious + Affordable = all smiles :)

Japantown:

This sushi place was pretty cool. The sushi circles the table on a floating boat and you just pick what you like.

The concept was really cool, but you have to wonder how long some of the food had been sitting on those boats. Also, since the place was pretty packed it seemed as if the chefs (who were preparing the sushi in the center of the table) were sort of in a rush to get the food out and I think they skimmed on a quality a tad.

If you're in SF, definately take some time to checkout the Oakland scene. Its accessible on public trasportation (the BART) for a few bucks.

House of Chicken and Waffles in Jack London Square was one of my highlights:

Each dish is named after family members of the owner with portraits of each member painted the interiors walls. I had Paige's Palette: 2 Southern Fried Chicken Wings, 1 egg and a waffle... MMMMmmm! The waffle has a slight cinnamon taste that went perfectly with the maple syrup.

We need more joints like this in DC.

Check out pt deux of my California post where we make out way down south to San Diego