Work & Play in San Francisco

If you’ve been following B2B for a while, then you may remember reading some recaps (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) from the last time I went to San Francisco, which I can’t believe was 3 years ago! That said, when I had the opportunity to travel to SF this spring for work, I obviously didn’t mind 😉 What made it great was that we visited 2 companies, saving us an additional trip out there at a separate time. And! What made it even better than great was the fact that RM was able to come out and spend the weekend with me!

I hope you enjoy the recap below, and if you have any questions about anything, let me know.

Where We Stayed

Since my coworker and I were traveling for work purposes, we wanted to stay nearby the office that we would be going to. That landed us at the Harbor Court Hotel! It was reasonably priced (for SF, anyway) and in a great location for all financial district and ferry building activities. Not to mention the view! I paid up a little so that I’d have a bigger room since I was going to be there for 6 nights, and fully enjoyed waking up and going to bed with beautiful views of the Bay Bridge. The hotel rooms were definitely small, so I would suggest paying up for one that’s a little bigger and that has views – it’s worth it, trust me! Everything was recently renovated, we had access to the YMCA next door, they had a happy hour at night with free wine, a beautiful lounge area and coffee services. All in all, I was very happy with the hotel!

(Maybe some day I’ll learn to take pretty pictures without all my stuff everywhere…)

This view did not get old. Especially at night when it was all lit up!

Where We Ate

San Francisco has so many amazing restaurants and foodie options! Here’s where I ate throughout the week:

Epic Steakhouse – we didn’t eat here, but did have drinks at their outdoor bar before dinner on the first night there. We were told that they have great food, though!

Perry’s – We ended up eating here the first night since it was basically next door to our hotel, but the food honestly wasn’t that great. I had eaten there my list trip to SF and remembered it being better – oh well!
Tipsy Pig – This is another place that I went to the last time I was in SF and I loved it so much I knew I had to go back. We sat in the back patio area and sipped on a few of their delicious cocktails and some snacks before dinner. The menu looked awesome for dinner, though, so I wish I would’ve had a chance to eat more there.
Palmer’s Tavern – Again, another repeat from my last visit to SF. This is a landmark spot on Fillmore Street – it’s always busy! My coworker and I had dinner there that was pretty good, but I took RM back for cocktails and those were amazing! We sat outside and it was perfect.

ThirstyBear Brewing Company – This is an organic brewery that came recommended by my friend Kelly, who lived in SF for a while. The beers were great, but the food was what really stole the show! In fact, it was so good that I took RM there for dinner the first night he was in town. We both couldn’t stop raving about it!

Town Hall – My coworker and I stumbled upon this restaurant on the walk back to our hotel after watching the Bruins game (they won!) and were so happy we did because the food was SO good. Plus, the atmosphere was great and the waitstaff were so friendly. There isn’t a lot going on around this restaurant, but it’s worth a visit.
Calzone’s Restaurant – we popped into here with our scooters for a little mid-day break/pick-me up. Aperol Spritzers for the win! We didn’t eat the food, but enjoyed sitting outside and people watching 🙂

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Magnolia Brewing Company – We popped in here after a long day of site-seeing and thoroughly enjoyed everything about it! I actually didn’t realize it was a brewery until I just googled it for the link, lol. But that explains why the beers were so good! The food was also wonderful.

Montesacro – The second night RM was in town, we decided we wanted something more casual for dinner and both felt in the mood for pizza. But not just any pizza, we wanted good, Neopolitan style pizza. After some googling and yelping, I stumbled upon Montesacro and we decided to give it a try. Super cool vibe, great service (everyone was from Italy and spoke Italian all night!) and incredible pinsa. No, that wasn’t a typo – it wasn’t “pizza” that we had, but rather, PINSA. From their website it is: a blend of rice, soy and wheat flour imported directly from Rome, all GMO-free. It is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to digest. Part of the elaborated processing technique is the minimum 72-hours leavening process at controlled temperature, hydration of 80% (less calories) and the low content of olive oil (less fat), unlike traditional pizza will not complete its leavening during the digestive process. I wish there were more pinsa places because it was SO good.

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54 Mint – We loved our waiter, also a Roberto!, and when we got to chatting with him, realized they have a sister restaurant called 54 Mint. Since we enjoyed our meal at Montesacro so much, we made reservations for dinner at 54 Mint on Saturday night. Beforehand we stopped at Delarosa for a pre-dinner drink and then continued on to 54 Mint. Again, greeted with Italian waitstaff and a great vibe, we knew we were in for a treat. We shared salad, octopus and a pasta dish and everything was absolutely delicious. At both places, we really felt like we were back in Italy, which is never a bad feeling!

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Frog Hollow Farm – Saturday morning we felt like a lighter/non-sit down breakfast so we googled “best avocado toast near us” and Frog Hollow Farm came up, which was convenient since the Ferry Building was basically across the street! It was SUCH good avocado toast and we enjoyed eating it outside in the sun.

Copita Tequileria– this restaurant was recommended to us when we were doing our wine tasting (I forget the name of that place, but it was just down the road from this restaurant)and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed margarita’s, ahi tuna and fish tacos!

What To Do

There’s SO much to do in San Francisco, so I feel like I only touched the surface of all that the city has to offer! Here’s a glimpse at what we did. We didn’t make it to Alcatraz, but I had been before so I didn’t mind. It’s so hard to get tickets, so if you want to go, book wayyyy in advance!

Walk around – we covered so many miles! Also, the hills are no joke 😉

Ferry Building(s) – I think of this as a classier Quincy Market. It’s filled with awesome shops, mostly local ones, too. They also had a great farmer’s market on Saturday morning that was fun checking out. As you walk along the street, you’ll stumble upon lots of “piers” that are filled with different things, too – restaurants, shops, etc. Then you can walk all the way down and see the seals, which was my favorite thing. I was obsessed with watching them – such interesting creatures!

Fisherman’s Wharf & Ghiradelli Square – pretty touristy, but still worth checking out. Plus, you get great views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Walk through China Town, which is HUGE
Rent scooters (Lime and Bird are two brands that I can remember) – these were SO FUN! I was super nervous, but ended up totally enjoying them. One day we rode them for about 10 miles all over the city and to/around the Golden Gate Park. Such a fun an efficient way to get around the city.
Giants Game – my coworker and i were able to get to a game while we were there and while I am not a big sports person, I enjoyed the experience a lot. We could walk to the stadium from our hotel so we got a chance to see all the boats. The stadium itself was beautiful and had the most gorgeous views of the water. Oh yeah, and the tickets were super cheap. Definitely worth checking out if baseball is your thing!

Day trips! We were torn between Napa and Sausalito, but ultimately decided to go to Sausalito since it was much closer and easier to get to. What a cute little town right on the water with beautiful views of SF. We did a little wine tasting, shopping, walking around and had a delicious lunch.