birthday celebration in san francisco, monterey and carmel

 

 

It was my birthday last weekend and my parents were here to help me celebrate.  You plan and plan and anticipate and prepare it seems (and is) for weeks, and it is over in the blink of an eye. But what a great time we had.

Mom and Dad came down to the San Francisco Design Center on Friday to visit me and get a tour of the Showcase and Galleria. We also went to Restoration Hardware which is truly one of the most beautiful showrooms in the city.  We had a delightful lunch at Perry's--I had delicious ahi tuna poke tacos and mom's chicken/avocado BLT was very good as well.  A little shopping, relaxing and off to dinner at Sodini's in North Beach.  As you may know, I love the old school restaurants and Sodini's is one of my favorites in North Beach--a little slice of history started in 1907.  Start with the calamari or mixed frito misto.  I happily move on to my favorite dish, the fresh clams and linguine, a creamy dish of garlicky goodness. You also can't go wrong with the carbonara or tortellini and the pizzas are devine.  A couple glasses of smooth Merlot doesn't hurt either.  Stop for gelato down the street, Sodini's doesn't take reservations and they don't serve dessert, they just do dinner very well.

Saturday, we went down the coast, stopping at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, enjoying a great key lime pie at lunch at The Fish Hopper on Cannery Row in Monterey, down 17 Mile Drive and into Carmel.  On the way we stopped at the farmer's stands outside of Watsonville.  We picked up artichokes, strawberries, grapefruits and the most amazing crisp/sweet red cherries--I am still enjoying them.  I just wish great weekends like this lasted as long.