We're on a roll with the Travel Schue series and I am SUPER excited to finally introduce you to a California city! San Francisco is about three and a half hours from Tahoe and we're lucky enough to visit friends there pretty regularly. Every time we go...it's a different experience. There are always new restaurants and shops opening up...and of course we love to cheer on the Giants! :) But I am definitely not an expert when it comes to the city, so I am thrilled to have Victoria here to fill you all in!
Victoria has a gorgeous blog vmac+cheese and new business venture vivaleur...oh and by the way, she's engaged! I love her style and just knew she would be the perfect tour guide through SF. Hope you enjoy!
Food wise, it's pretty difficult to make it in and out of San Francisco without eating well. Good food is just everywhere. My fiance Joe and I absolutely adore Mexican food, so we make it to Mamacita a couple times a month. It's Mexican food, but with an updated, California twist (no combo plates here! Though I can recommend a place for that too!). We love the tacos (the camaron al pastor and the mahi borracho are to die for), and their margaritas are lethal -- in the best way possible. If we're craving a pizza date, we like stopping in to Pizzeria Delfina. Great pizzas, yummy apps, and an interesting wine list. For a quiet, romantical kind of date, we head to Bistro Central Parc, in Nopa. Blink, and you'll miss it -- it's tucked away on a quiet street and is definitely a locals kind of place. Their filet mignon rossini will change your life.
Next time I'm in SF, I'm definitely checking out those restaurants! Yum! A special thanks to Victoria for such an amazing tour!
Here's where we've traveled before:
Seattle
Victoria has a gorgeous blog vmac+cheese and new business venture vivaleur...oh and by the way, she's engaged! I love her style and just knew she would be the perfect tour guide through SF. Hope you enjoy!
Hey Schue Lovers! Victoria from vmac+cheese here, happy to share some of my favorite stomping grounds from my current city of San Francisco.
I've lived in SF for almost six years, and have definitely been able to find a few places that I return to over and over again. Here we go!
Food wise, it's pretty difficult to make it in and out of San Francisco without eating well. Good food is just everywhere. My fiance Joe and I absolutely adore Mexican food, so we make it to Mamacita a couple times a month. It's Mexican food, but with an updated, California twist (no combo plates here! Though I can recommend a place for that too!). We love the tacos (the camaron al pastor and the mahi borracho are to die for), and their margaritas are lethal -- in the best way possible. If we're craving a pizza date, we like stopping in to Pizzeria Delfina. Great pizzas, yummy apps, and an interesting wine list. For a quiet, romantical kind of date, we head to Bistro Central Parc, in Nopa. Blink, and you'll miss it -- it's tucked away on a quiet street and is definitely a locals kind of place. Their filet mignon rossini will change your life.
If you're looking for furniture or other house hold goods, head to Hayes Valley. They have tons of great home furnishings stores, like Plantationand Lotus Bleu. You'll also find treasures on Union Street (check out Past Perfect -- it's a fantastic mid century modern antiques store), which has home goods options as well as lots of women's clothing boutiques. Same story on Chestnut -- and all these options have plenty of cafes and bars to stop in if you shop til you drop.
If the weather is nice in SF, it's always a good idea to head outside before the fog rolls in! We like driving north and taking a hike through Muir woods. The redwood trees are truly spectacular! If it's the weekend, you could also check out the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, or grab a seat at a Giants baseball game. If you are ready to brave the crowds, a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge is both inspiring and invigorating!
I definitely recommend a visit to SF. Sometimes I have to pinch myself -- I can't believe I actually get to live here!
Image Credits: Haute Living; Cupcakes and Cashmere; Bistro Central Parc; In Flagrante; Cheeky Living; Plantation Shop; all other photos by me
Next time I'm in SF, I'm definitely checking out those restaurants! Yum! A special thanks to Victoria for such an amazing tour!
Here's where we've traveled before:
Seattle
xo natasha
Of course I loved this post! I took Michaela and Michelle to Pizzeria Delfina when they were here for the blogger meet up last summer!
ReplyDeleteSF is on my must visit list!
ReplyDeleteI love Sf like no other city!!!! Something so magical about it.
ReplyDeleteSan Francisco is probably the #1 on my list of US places to visit. Loves these suggestions & will keep them in mind when I eventually get there!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to go to San Fran. Some day I will make it there!
ReplyDeleteI love SF! It's such a unique city, and has so much history form our parents' generation. I've been twice, and want to go again!
ReplyDeletewe went to san fran for our honey moon and LOVED it! my fave was hiking the redwoods! SO SO pretty! and one of my friends told us to eat at godzilla sushi and here we are almost 9 years later and this is still the sushi we will never forget. it was SO good.
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria! Love Delfina, one of the best spots in the city. Also love the Slanted Door and Pizzetta 211! Great roudup!
ReplyDeleteThis is great.. my husband & I are heading to San Fran in 3 weeks. Can't wait to try some of these recommendations!
ReplyDeleteMy hometown...yay!! Great post- I'll have to try that pizza restaurant sometime! And clearly going to the Giant's stadium is the most important thing you could do there-- go GIANTS :)
ReplyDeleteSan Francisco is one of my favorite spots in this world. It's fantastic and so diverse. There is never a shortage of beauty or amazing places to see. Fun post.
ReplyDeleteI have been to California a few times but never to San Francisco. I hope to go sometime. When I was younger my dream was to move out there after I finished college. God had other plans in mind so I ended up in Birmingham, AL.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great town. Wish I could spend more time there. I've only been twice. Thanks for doing this series. I think its great.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to the west coast, but I'm dying to go and experience it! It looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE SF!! We are planning a couple's trip back there in August so I will definitely have to refer back to this post before our trip!
ReplyDeletelove this series Natasha - so fun to see the inside scoop!
ReplyDeleteI love this series! Especially when its in a town that I live close by to! :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE victoria! And this just makes me want to take off to San Fran...it's always so much better to get an insider's scoop before heading off! (c:
ReplyDeletesan fran looks gorgeous!! this is making me yearn for a visit to a winery and a tall glass of red wine ;) thanks for sharing this natasha :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me today Natasha! I hope you guys can all come visit SF soon. I have tons more recs on my blog for those of you who mentioned you're headed this way! http://vmacandcheese.com/san-francisco-favorites/
ReplyDeleteBookmarking this page to refer back to when planning our SF getaway in October!!
ReplyDeleteA fun post! SF is such a great city and happens to be where I live! I just love it. I grew up here, went away to college and ended up settling back here where my family is.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! That bistro like fun and so does the shopping! It's been several years since I visited ~ I need to get down there and try some of your recommendations!
ReplyDeleteleslie
Great post! I'm bookmarking for when I go to SanFran. Can you believe I still have yet to go...
ReplyDeleteI LOVE San Francisco, it's such an amazing city!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tips, I saves it in my SF folder for the next time I am there - hopefully soon :-)
aww i just returned home from san francisco on tuesday and we had such an amazing time. it really is such a cool city and i can't wait to return in a few months -- i'll definitely be checking out victoria's recommendations whilst i'm there :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this post! My husband and I are planning a trip to San Francisco this Fall and this is just what I needed, a few insider tips on places to eat, shop, see, etc!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and CONGRATS ON BEING PREGNANT!! :)
Hi Natasha! You know that this is the one I've been waiting for! I was so excited to see it sitting in my Inbox this morning. ;)
ReplyDeleteVictoria, thanks for the great tips. My husband & I are heading there in early September for his bday. We already have tickets to see the Giants play the Dodgers! I'm curious if you'd recommend Sausalito for a day trip for San Fran newbies? We want to fit as much as possible in our 6 days there!
Mendi @ Her Late Night Cravings