My flight was supposed to depart at 9:10am, but after I got to the airport, I find out the flight is delayed nearly an hour. I checked with the customer service desk on the delay, and also ask about upgrades. I decided it was worth the extra few bucks to get some more leg room and priority on and off the plane. Free food and drinks was good too.
They did wind up boarding us a little early, but still past the time I should have been in the air. We left LAX at about a quarter til 10am. The flight was relatively uneventful – though very short. I managed to get one cocktail in, along with a few snacks.
Virgin flies out of Terminal 2 at SFO, which they have done up very nicely. It really puts LAX to shame. They have lots of good food and retail throughout the terminal, and it is well laid out with wide open areas and connecting hallways. I caught BART into town from the International Terminal. It’s a quick ride into the city center, and the cheapest option at around $8 (unless you can get a friend to come pick you up). I trekked up the hill from the BART station at Powell to my hotel, the Grand Hyatt at Union Square. It was around 1pm, and I figured I wouldn’t be able to check in, but since I have thankfully have Platinum status, they got me in and I was in my room in 10 minutes! Nice room too. Check it out, along with a view from my window on the 28th floor. I am looking east/southeast I believe.
I had texted my friend Ed about meeting up, and he took Muni on downtown to meet up with me and go to lunch and the SF Museum of Modern Art (he’s a member). We walked over to the Metreon on his recommendation on the food court. We settled on Coriander Gourmet Thai, and shared Sweet Basil with Crispy Basil, and a beef curry dish. The girl working there let us split it up in two boxes and split the side so Ed could get his Pad Thai and I could get some brown rice. The Sweet Chicken was actually very good for fast food Thai. It was spiced well, though could have had a little more heat. The Curry was definitely spiced up, and had a coconut milk base. It was just enough to sate my appetite.
Ed and I walked over to the museum, and thankfully were able to bypass the lines waiting to buy tickets. Membership does have its privileges. There were a lot of great exhibits. I was sorry I hadn’t gone before! Right in the entryway, above your head, is an installation of LED lights hung at different lengths. We met a woman who said that if you watch it, you can see birds flying in the lights. When we got to the top floor (we worked our way down), we checked it from there and yeah, you could see movement through the lights like a giant TV screen. It wasn’t until we got to about the 2nd floor on our way down that it was completely clear what we were looking at: it was a street scene of San Francisco with cars and people moving about. It was very neat to watch – all done with these hanging LED light bulbs.
We had spent several hours there and it was closing, so we checked out the museum store and then headed out. Ed took me by a chocolate store that he said I’d really like, Schoggi. This was the only store in the U.S. (they’re a Swiss chocolatier). I picked some out, but I haven’t tried them yet – maybe tomorrow! We also stopped at a Walgreen’s so I could pick up some things I didn’t bring (I only took a carry-on), and then Ed headed home. His back was killing him, and mine was starting to bother me as well from all the walking. I headed back to the hotel to unwind and freshen-up before I headed out to get some dinner.
I checked on Urbanspoon and Yelp for local recommendations, and a few turned up that piqued my interest. The first one I went to check out was Daffodil on Bush St. The menu looked interesting online, but when I walked over to it, the entire place was empty! They were open, but no one was dining. Unless a place has personally been recommended in an unfamiliar place, I find that empty restaurants can be a bad thing, so I walked out.
I went back down the hill towards Union Square, and ran across another one I had looked at online: Kutelo’s (www.kutelos.com). It’s an Italian place (that’s three times at an Italian restaurant this week now). The menu was appealing and the room was full, so I figured it was worth a shot. I was seated near the bar, so I had a decent view of the room. The place was hopping.
My server gave me a rundown of the specials, and one entrée, the salmon, sounded good, but then so did some of the pastas. I asked her what she recommends between the salmon and the two pastas I was thinking about, and she told me “Go with the Pappardelle.” The sauce they make for it is a Duck “Bolognese” , where they used ground duck meat in a tomato sauce. It was the right choice. It was rich, without being over the top. It was hearty, tasty and tickled my taste buds.
She tempted me with dessert, so I looked at the menu, and the Hazelnut Crème Brulee grabbed my attention. Being on vacation, I threw caution to the wind and ordered it. It came with an orange biscotti. The crème brulee was good, but the hazelnut was kind of in the background and understated. That I found a little disappointing, but it was still a good dessert. The biscotti, however….I could eat a whole plate of those. It was absolutely amazing! I asked, and they make them there fresh. I kind of wish they had them to-go as it would taste great with coffee in the morning.
Worn out, I headed back to my hotel for a HOT shower and some relaxing. More to report tomorrow!
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