Final Day in San Francisco

...Finally the end of our foodie inspired San Francisco trip!

We were doing Chinese for lunch so that meant that we were just having coffee for breakfast. Kirk is OBSESSED with any Asian food but specifically loves Chinese. I had read so much about Mission Chinese (they call their cuisine Americanized Chinese) literally everywhere that it was a must try for us. The company started as a food truck, turned into a pop-up, and now shares restaurant space with another Chinese restaurant, Luan Shan, where both menus are offered. The Chef/Owner Danny Bowien has a great background working all over NYC and California, and was even nominated in this years Food and Wine The People's Best New Chef, California category.

I wanted to make sure we were there just at opening since we were on a little bit of a tight schedule, and there was already a little line growing. When we got in, Kirk described it as his perfect Chinese restaurant atmosphere. It had icicle lights, a dragon that took up the entire room, and was playing loud music from Jay-Z/Kanye's album. I also didn't notice that amazing horse picture on the wall until now. 

When we share food, Kirk will just start listing what sounds good to him, and I will usually agree on a couple so luckily it all works out. We decided on three dishes.

1.Hainam Chicken Rice: dressed in Shaoxing wine and duck fat, cilantro, & roasted peanuts

2. Thrice Cooked Bacon: rice cakes, tofu skin, bitter melon, scallions, black bean, and chili oil

3. Slow Cooked Pork Belly with pineapple & plum sauce (this was a dine in only option so we figured we had to try it)

Top: Thrice Cooked Bacon Bottom: Slow Cooked Pork Belly with Pineapple and Plum Sauce

The Thrice Cooked Bacon dish was delicious! I love rice cakes so that was an extra bonus. I think we liked it so much because literally every bite took on a different flavor. Yum. The pork belly was plated beautifully and was HUGE. It was really good but definitely too much for two people, so very rich. The chicken rice, which I didn't picture, was also tasty, it came out looking basically like white rice with the added cilantro and roasted peanuts, but OMG does the wine and duck fat add crazy flavor. We ate the whole thing. If we lived in the area, we would be going back!

Later on in the day, we stopped by Bi-Rite Creamery. I had like three ice cream shops on our list but this is the only one we got to (I think because we already had way too many sweets haha). I recently read a review on their ice cream book they put out which had all great reviews so I was excited. We each got a single scoop which we split into two flavors and no cone... we had already indulged way too much this weekend. I got the malted vanilla with peanut brittle, and roasted banana. Kirk got the coffee toffee and brown sugar ginger swirl or something crazy like that. It was awesome, and I loved it. I am pretty sure it beats out Molly Moon's in Seattle by a mile. 

Note: Kirk is wearing his 21st Amendment T-Shirt. He got asked by the Bi-Rite cashier if he worked there haha.

After this we limped around to a few other spots in the area before making our way to the airport and back home with Maxie & Bell. Now this week has been all about eating clean and getting back on track... I actually don't think I can even think about going out to a restaurant this weekend.

...Get ready for an exciting announcement soon!

Exploring SF. Day 2!

Not going to lie... I definitely just had to look up our San Francisco album to remember what we did on Saturday. It has felt like we have already been home for a week, crazy busy with some exciting news to share in the near future :)

We started our day off at Blue Bottle Coffee. I was super excited for this for the following reasons: 

1. They just had their Parmesan Fennel Shortbread featured in Bon Appetit Magazine, the same article that Hot Cakes was featured in.

2. They really care about their pastries and make their own, instead of sourcing them from many other vendors.

3. The girl who came up with the cookies comes up with unique flavor combos that I love and are totally my style (being completely cardamom obsessed is one of them)

4. During Thanksgiving, Kirk's Cousin Mitch and his girlfriend Raleigh (who live in San Francisco) brought up a whole bunch of varieties of coffee that they brewed for us that were SUPER delicious.

I got my usual latte. Probably in my top three latte's EVER along with Stumptown Roasters & Lighthouse Coffee Roasters

Top: Ginger Molasses Cookie with Black Cardamom & Double-Chocolate Recchiuti Cookie 2: Shortbread with Parmesan and Fennel Bottom: Snickerdoodle with Saffron and Vanilla Bean - Yes we had try all of them for "research"

As you could probably tell, we had a great experience, and I really enjoyed the cookies so I highly recommend if you are in SF (or NYC!) to try their delicious product!

After Blue Bottle, we walked down to the Ferry Building. On Saturday's they have an AMAZING market! Like so amazing that if I lived there, I would fight the tourist crowds and be there every weekend kind of amazing. So many great vendors selling fresh produce, flowers, food trucks, artisan ice creams & cheese, freshly squeezed organic juices - seriously everything. I was so in love, that the only thing I remembered to take out my camera for was a pic of some produce, so enjoy that ;)

After the market, we started on our next walking journey to the Historic District. Seriously so much walking, my feet are still hurting. Anyways, after a quick 30 minute walk we made it to 21st Amendment Brewery. We have been big fans of 21st for a long time! I think the first time a couple years ago at the Portland Brewer's Festival I tried their watermelon beer and was hooked. We got a great seat by the open window and just relaxed!

I had the Mr. Pooms which was a wheat beer, definitely my idea of a perfect beer. I also tried the South Park Blonde which was pretty nice. Kirk started with the Opening Day IPA which is only brewed once a year. I think it is the one in the picture (a VERY light IPA) I also want to say he tried the Amber Waves. Not pictured is Kirk buying a cute little 21st Amendment Brewery T Shirt. I'm definitely a big fan! Oh, and PS. if you read the descriptions of the beer in the picture above you will see they actually have a stout that is brewed with oyster shells! Not my thing, but I found that pretty interesting.

After hours of more exploring (and a nap), we headed to Roam Artisan Burgers. If you know me at all, you know that I take my cheeseburgers VERY seriously and am very picky. Kirk and I split an organic grass-fed beef classic burger with aged white cheddar. I believe getting the "classic" at a place definitely speaks volumes. After one bite of my half, I instantly regretted us not getting our own. So good, and everything tasted super fresh which is sometimes hard to find in burgers. OH and they make their own pickles which happens to be another one of my favorite things. They also make all their sodas in house, so we got a caramelized pineapple soda and Blue Bottle Coffee milkshake to share (which was gone so fast we didn't get a picture.)

After dinner we just walked around the neighborhood (which very much reminded me of Queen Anne in Seattle) and explored some more. We make a quick stop at a little wine bar called Pe Yale, than decided we should make it an early night so we could fit in a full last day. Whew! Till next time :)

San Francisco - Day 1!

Kirk and I had been talking about going to SF for months and months, so when I saw a great deal on flights/hotels I booked it. The only problem was that I had booked this trip in early February and wanted to keep it a complete surprise for Kirk's birthday, so I couldn't talk about it, and it was killing me! Normally Kirk and I would be researching restaurants, bakeries, markets - EVERYTHING so doing this on my own was really tough to say the least, but I was successful and I, nor any of my friends gave up the surprise :)

I had been emailing Kirk's boss once I booked it, requesting he was able to take Friday off, so she scheduled a fake marketing off-site meeting so he was able to complete all his work he needed to. When Kirk came home telling me the marketing meeting sounded "fishy" I almost died laughing, but kept it together.

Our flight was at 6 AM, so when my alarm went off at 3:45 I woke up Kirk and told him we were leaving in 15 minutes. He looked super grumpy and suspicious, but got up quickly when I told him he either could fit in a shower or not. I had packed his bag the day before, so I instructed him to just wear something comfortable for the day and we were off! My sweet, sweet friend Katelyn met me down by my car at 4AM so she could drive with us to the airport and take my car back (it was all about keeping the surprise going till the very last minute) Oh, I also blindfolded him and made him put his iPod on so he couldn't hear Katie and I talk :) -- THANK YOU KATELYN <3

Once we were at the airport, I checked in, Kirk saw the boarding passes and goes "you sneaky wife." 

Ya, we look a little rough, but it was EARLY!

Once we got off the plane, the first stop was Tartine Bakery! I really, really admire the owners, husband/wife, bread baker/pastry chef, Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt! We didn't eat breakfast knowing we would be coming here. We were in line for about 20 minutes, but came out victorious with a coconut macaron, Valrhona chocolate eclair, pain au chocolat, and an open faced croque monsieur. SO DELICIOUS! The pain au chocolat was by far the best I've had in my entire life. We had meant to save it but it was gone so fast, we didn't even get a picture!

Top: Open Faced Croque Monsieur, Kirk with his Valhrona Chocolate Eclair, Me outside Tartine (touristy, I know)

I swear, we walked around the city all day (we estimated about 25 miles on day 1, literally!) and explored random little shops, but most of these pics are from all the delicious bakeries & restaurants :)

For lunch, our journey led us to Sweet Woodruff for lunch. I was super curious about this place. The owners/chefs Matt McNamara and Teague Moriarty are both Michelin starred chefs from their other restaurant Sons and Daughters, but Sweet Woodruff was their creation of a more casual and affordable place for lunch. They use very few, and simple ingredients, and just let them speak for themselves, something Kirk and I definitely appreciate. 

Top: Our view from the counter where we ate lunch - I loved how they displayed their desserts, and the wood block counter, where they made our lunch.

2nd: Where they stored a lot of their produce, LOVED how they displayed it, and would constantly be going to retrieve different items for different lunches.

We made a stop by Miette, I was DYING to try their sea salt caramels I read about in Food and Wine. Super charming little shop. We also left with a bag of their lavender shortbread, and a chocolate macaron.

After we had dinner, we went to Bourbon and Branch. When I was researching cocktail bars in the city, this one came up a lot which oodles of strong recommendations. If it wasn't for the homeless guy on the corner, I don't think we would have found this speakeasy at all! Luckily, he pointed us in the right direction and we used our secret password to get in. I have no pictures of this, because one of the house rules is no photography. I got a gin cocktail called the Naughty Sundress, which was definitely spirit forward, but a good cocktail with peach and basil bitters!

I'm trying to keep these somewhat short, so for Day 2, you will just have to wait :)

The First Heinrich Easter!

I can't believe it is already April! At this time last year we were in the middle of pure craziness planning a wedding, and moving to Kirkland from Seattle. Now we've been married just over eight months and were celebrating our first Easter together as a married couple. It was my first Easter off from work in YEARS! I finally have found a job in the restaurant industry where my company acknowledges (most) major holidays and I was so excited! With both families being close, we didn't quite know what do, except have TWO Easters! Maybe I was sub-consciously just to making up for lost time :) 

We started off our morning by heading to my mama's for an Easter Brunch. My mom has recently discovered Pinterest and has been obsessed. Although I make fun of her for it, she has the most amazing pin boards. Her brunch was very much "pin-inspired". She had a little juice bar, breakfast casseroles, fresh fruit in whipped cream cups - the works!!

To the left is my moms signature potato dish, it is definitely not a holiday unless its on the table. To the right was her breakfast casserole - YUM

It was also extra special occasion, because both Kirk's fam and mine let us have our dear friends Katie (from New York) & Carissa (from Sweden) join us! Since their families were so far, we wanted them to celebrate with us!

After we left, we went home to prepare for the Heinrich/Coogan Easter. I had the girls help me with my appetizer of gougeres and making Chloe's purple cupcakes. Chloe just turned three on the previous Thursday so we added her birthday celebration to the mix, and her request was PURPLE CUPCAKES. I swear for the last three months of going to her house, I was asked to make those. It was fun having Katie's and Carissa's help in the kitchen, and I hope I didn't get on their case too much with techniques or what to look for ;)

Our gougeres with Gruyere cheese and chives

It was big party as the Coogan's house, I think there was about 15 people! We all had a great time watching Chloe do an egg hunt in the backyard (in the sun!) We ate appetizers, drank champagne, and just relaxed. I don't know what else I could have asked for, it was perfect.

Kirk, me, and his dad drinking champagne in the sunshine

Chloe loved her purple cupcakes!

It was such a great day, and Kirk and I had so much fun with our friends and family. Couldn't think of a better way to spend two Easters! :)