Hello from San Francisco!
I have been looking forward to my trip to this beautiful city for months. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I’ve loved my time here so far.
Unfortunately it was a big headache getting here! I ended up arriving in California in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday thanks to lots of delays. By the time I crawled into my hotel bed, I had been awake for 24 hours.
It was a rocky start, but things have drastically improved thanks to the public relations and marketing team behind Smartfood, the company that sponsored my trip.
I am here with a team of bloggers to help unveil San Francisco as the SMARTest city in the United States (SMART = Savvy, Motivated, Accomplished, Responsible and Thoughtful), but I will share more about that later since the big media event surrounding this announcement is actually happening in Union Square this morning. If you live in San Francisco, please come say hi! We will be in Union Square through the early afternoon.
Wednesday
My first full day in San Francisco kicked off around lunchtime on Wednesday. I met up with four other bloggers (Kelly who contributes to Makobi Scribe, Sarah who writes for The Bold Italic, Sarah from Sarah Fit and Louise from Mom Start) and we grabbed a quick lunch at La Boulange with the public relations team from Smartfood.
Knowing we’d be sampling lots of goodies soon after lunch, we kept things light and I ordered a salad and a cappuccino.
It was really good and I can see why La Boulange is a hot spot in San Francisco!
After lunch, we had our first official event to attend with Chef Jody Denton.
Chef Jody has more than 30 years of experience and has worked with some famous chefs, including Wolfgang Puck! His mission for the afternoon was to create delicious dishes inspired by the flavors in Smartfood products. He said it was a bit of a reversal from his normal duties, since he now creates flavors for snack foods based on other dishes!
First up was a buffalo cheddar king ranch chicken dish, based on Smartfood Selects Buffalo Cheddar Popcorn. It was good, but a little heavier than something I would prepare for dinner myself. I’ll stick with the popcorn!
The second dish was a fava bean puree with garlic, tomato and basil, based on the Smartfood Garlic Tomato Basil Hummus Popped Chips.
It was vibrant, fresh and incredibly flavorful. Easily my favorite dish of the day!
We were given permission to share the recipes we tried today with you guys, and this is one I think many of you would really enjoy!
Fava Bean Puree with Garlic, Tomato and Basil
Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound peeled, dried fava beans, soaked overnight in water
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 white onion, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup whole peeled garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 pints teardrop or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup sliced garlic cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 cup (packed) fresh torn basil leaves
- Parmesan for grating
Directions:
- After the fava beans have soaked overnight, place them in a sauce pot along with the chicken stock through the sea salt and half of the olive oil (1/4 cup). Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until beans are tender and falling apart. Add more water if the liquid level falls below the beans. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Preheat broiler on high. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, toss lightly in olive oil and broil until they begin to pop open. Remove from broiler and set aside.
- In a skillet, warm remaining olive oil and sliced garlic cloves together until garlic just begins to brown. Add chili flakes, stir for 15 seconds and add basil leaves, stir, add blistered tomatoes and remove from heat.
- Place a large spoonful of warm fava bean puree on the plate. Spoon tomato basic mixture over puree. Grate parmesan over top and serve immediately.
After the fava bean dish, the next two dishes Chef Jody made for us to try were crowd favorites!
The spicy watermelon salad with feta cheese and mint was based on Smartfood Selects Feta Herb Hummus Popped Chips.
I am a huge fan of watermelon and feta salads and this one was delicious! Chef Jody added a pinch of cayenne pepper to the salad which added a nice kick to the dish.
The dish I couldn’t stop eating was the honey blackberry Greek yogurt dip that Chef Jody made to accompany the ridiculously addicting Smartfood Selects Cinnamon Brown Sugar Hummus Popped Chips.
To make the dip, simply combine, 1/2 pint of blackberries (smashed), 3 cups of Greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Simple and tasty!
Our group had a really fun time talking the Chef Jody and made sure to thank him for sharing his delicious dishes with us!
Exploring San Francisco
After our event with Chef Jody was over, our group had the opportunity to explore the city. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (no sticky humidity!) and I loved walking around and taking in the sights.
Angry vizslas love San Francisco!
Of course we had to be total tourists and ride a cable car!
While we were out and about, we made a pit stop for cupcakes at Kara’s Cupcakes.
I bought the chocolate velvet cupcake made with bittersweet chocolate buttercream icing and it was fabulous! Yelp reviews promised the cupcakes would be delicious and they didn’t lie!
More San Francisco fun to come!!
Fab Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to…
- Lydia: “I would love the ice tea maker, my family loves tea and adding fresh mint or fruit would be tasty and save some $$$ making it at home!!!”
Please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your mailing address and I’ll ship the iced tea maker to you right away!
Question of the Morning
- San Francisco folks: What are some of your must-see sights in the city? Any restaurants I must try while I’m here? We have a free evening tonight, so if you’re a San Francisco local or have visited the city in the past, I’d love some restaurant recommendations!
Emily says
I laughed out loud at “angry vizslas love San Francisco.” 🙂 Have fun, enjoy!
Amy says
Try to go to the ferry building! It’s my idea of heaven. And blue bottle coffee is AMAZING! Have fun!
Kelly says
i went to this really great place called marketbar in the ferry building with my girlfriends on our san fran trip! we went after the farmers market and it was deeeelish! have fun!
Jen Shaw says
So many to choose from! The Ferry building has so many wonderful local food artisans. And Bi-Rite creamery and their market are unbelievable! My favorite ice cream flavor, Rincenelas, is fabulous! And the market has the best local, seasonal food. I never miss stopping ther whenever I’m in town. Have fun in the best city in the world!
Jenn says
Dinner at Tyler Florence’s Wayfare Tavern is a must! For some laughs and fun times, try out the Tonga Room!
Hannah @ PalmBeachRunner says
I love the greek yogurt dip idea! Now, I just need to try those chips! Have fun in San Fran!
Patty says
If you like garlic you should check out The Stinking Rose, their food is delicious!
Primož says
I heard about that restaurant in one of the novels about Sam Fisher (spy). I’ve thought that this place was made up.
Your comment really surprised me, because in the book they used a lot of garlic too.
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake says
This looks like such a fun trip! And I love Smartfood!
Nicole says
San Fran is my all time favorite place! I recommend Millenium for an amazing vegan dinner even my carnivore husband loved it! You have to stop by the Ferry Plaza farmers market on Saturday it’s such an experience! Have a Blast
tracy says
I love the red purse you are sporting…can you tell me the brand please?
K says
I would like to know this too!!! Lovvvve that purse!
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers says
steve madden. 😀
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers says
thanks! it’s steve madden.
Shannon Reed says
I just moved to the city from Ohio! If you’re able to go to the Ferry Building for breakfast, go to Il Can Rosso and get the Olive Oil Fried Egg Sandwich. It’s amazing!!
Jan @ Sprouts n Squats says
Looks like such a great trip! So makes me want to go.
Loving all the food pics 🙂
Melinda says
Please please check out Source cafe! The absolute most unique and delish vegan/vegetarian restaurant I’ve been to… I don’t usually go to restaurants more than once in sf since there’s so many to try but this place is an exception!
courtstar @ star systemz says
I love San Francisco something about the city is so special and unique! I could never get enough of it! Thanks for sharing all the yumminess! Love + Shine courtstar
Emma says
You should check out Off the Grid tomorrow at Fort Mason (happens Fridays over the summer). 30+ food trucks and beer, it’s a lot of fun and if you haven’t had the true food truck experience, I would say this is a must do!
Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie says
I want to ride a cable car so badly! They look like so much fun!
Am says
I know this is a little late but if you are in SF again you have to run through Golden Gate Park. It is beautiful and there are so many people walking around, running, biking, etc. It’s also one of my favorite places to just sit and relax and take in everything.
Kara says
I’ve lived here for 11 years and have never had a bad meal! Knock on wood. Here are my faves in SF
Zuni Café (always and forever!!)
Cotogna (means quince in Italian)
Delfina pizza
Flour & Water
Bocadillos
Locanda
Slanted Door or Out the Door
Okoze Sushi
Michelle says
Is that Sarah from Sarahfit I see there? Also, that’s what I always order for breakfast too 🙂