Traveling on a whim…

A good late Sunday morning sleep in this past weekend and ahh catching up on some Anthony Bourdain episodes.  Talk about mixing our loves together, food and travel…yumm.  We were watching his special on Disappearing Manhattan, where good ol’ Tony explores some old classic New York restaurants.  Since we were heading into the Mission to follow my sister and her bandmates’, Chairman Wow, Long March tour, we started talking about some classic San Francisco spots that we went to growing up.  We started our list on some spots that have just been around for a really long time and we’re hoping will not disappear:

St Francis Fountain – My first home in the US was on 24th Street and Vermont.  Every weekend, my Mom, sister and I would head to the park on 24th and York, grab some pastries next door, and maybe do some food shopping at Ricci’s.   On special days, we would get to go to St. Francis Fountain.  My memory is getting a little foggy but I somehow remember a jolly old gentleman behind the counter serving ice cream and the whole place just felt so special.  I remember that they used to make their own ice cream and it seemed that we were back in time just like in the movies.  Since we were in the Mission, I thought I’d share a little bit of my childhood with my husband and head to St. Francis Creamery (this is how I always remembered it.)  The park across the street has been beautifully renovated and the old murals still up.  We walked into the Creamery and it had some of the old charm to it but it was a little different.  The jolly gentleman who would smile and wave to passersby when they walked by his ice cream shop is no longer there, they no longer make their own ice cream, and they have a full menu now.   They now serve Mitchell’s ice cream (I’ll have to write about that later) which is a good ode’ to another local favorite.  We had their tropical banana split and it was still a good treat.  The essence of the place is there but other parts of it have disappeared from what I remember from my childhood.  One thing that hasn’t changed is that ice cream cones are only served to go.

Tommy’s Joint – I can still remember walking in here with my family, sister still in her infant car seat, and me in my dried up sweat karate uniform on on a regular basis.  Standing in line while trying to read all the different kinds of beers from around the world they had on the board. Staring up the ceiling to see what’s stuck on it.  Mouths drooling in line while you watch the carver serve up the meals in front of you.  As a kid it was easy for me to pick what I wanted because where else would I be able to get a huge turkey leg and not have to wait until Thanksgiving.  For dessert, I would always switch back and forth from the carrot cake (my mom still makes the best carrot cake ever!! thanks Mrs. DeOcampo for teaching my mom) or the cheesecake with a dollop of jam on it.  I don’t know why but I always went for red things so I loved the strawberry jam on the cheesecake.  The last time my sister and I went, we recognized the carvers because I’m telling you we think they’re the same guys with full mustaches and all.  We were so excited and told them how we’ve been going there since my sister was a baby (she’s 25 now) but I’m sure they’re used to hearing that.  There aren’t a lot of places that we can go to that COMPLETELY brings us back to our childhood and hopefully this place will never disappear.

Welcome friends and family. It’s been sometime since we’ve used this space since our wedding. But we’ve happily decided to keep friends and family informed of all things we happen to do. We’ll share photos from our travels, stories from our day to day, recipes and cooking tips that we’ve made, or encountered. Personal jounral entries that may sometimes be private between the both of us. And those entries that we’d love to share with family and friends. Read on, comment, share and connect. We promise to make this home as welcoming and amicable as our real home.