DAY ONE
Monday morning I arrived at Denver International Airport at sunrise.
I proceeded to fly over the Rocky Mountains.
And landed in San Francisco, where I went straight to La Taqueria to meet Niraj and get a burrito. La Taqueria won 538's burrito bracket and I was curious because I've always wanted to try a griddled burrito (you have to order Dorado style to get it griddled.)
I ordered the Super (adds avocado, sour cream and cheese) Carnitas burrito Dorado style with no beans.
The burrito was quite impressive. The griddled tortilla makes a huge difference and I wonder why every place doesn't offer the option. The meat wasn't as flavorful as I might have expected, but overall this was an outstanding burrito. I also opted try their Agua Fresca. (When in Rome) They had a bunch of flavors, I picked Tangerine. It tasted just like clementines, which I love.
From there we walked to Dolores Park and made some game plans.
After that we headed to Golden Gate Park to play 18 holes of frisbee golf.
Burnsdog crushed me. He was up 5 holes through 7.
But I did hit the best shot of my life. You can see my green disc in the basket above. I stupidly had already moved from where I took the shot for this picture, the shot was farther back and on the left. I'd say it was at least 50 feet out.
From there we went to Magnolia Pub & Brewery on Haight St.
I got the Proving Ground IPA, Devils on Horseback on Brussels Sprouts, and cheddar bacon burger. When they brought out the devils on horseback (bacon-wrapped dates) I commented that the Brussels sprouts were a waste. (I mean I like them, but they are no bacon-wrapped dates.) And then they turned out to be the best Brussels sprouts I've ever had.
From there we checked out the last night that Amsterdam (a bar) was open. But I was so tired, I didn't last long.
DAY TWO
We started the day by walking to Alamo Square.
From there we tried to go to House of Thai 2 but they weren't open yet, so we went across the street to Kate's Kitchen. I got the spicy chicken on baguette with their home fries. Delicious.
After lunch we bussed it over to Anchor Brewing for a 1pm tour. They're nice enough to give you a decent sample of Anchor Steam before the tour starts. And then after the tour, they give you 6 other Anchor samples.
After the tour we Ubered over to an Escape Room. 60 minutes to get out of a locked room. To read my full recap, go here.
After that we headed to The Social Study where I tried some Sanfrangria. Since the Escape Room was in Japantown, we were inspired to have sushi for dinner. We went to Hot Zushi and it was great although I didn't take any pictures.
DAY THREE
Here's the view out Niraj's window. Not too shabby.
A brief backstory. In December I got an email that a bar near me would be tapping Pliny the Elder. I show up an hour and a half after they open and it's already gone. So Niraj and I head to Monk's Kettle for lunch and I order a Pliny the Elder like it's nothing special.
Couldn't decide between the burger and the chicken sandwich so we get one of each and split one. Both are really amazing and the fries come with outstanding tomato jam.
Then we hop in a ZipCar and drive north to Petaluma. Home of Lagunitas Brewing.
Great stuff. In fact, I gave Aunt Sally's Sour my highest rating to date.
Here's the bathroom at Lagunitas:
After Lagunitas, it's just a short drive to Santa Rosa, home of Russian River Brewing. I really wanted to get a flight to try all their beers. But the week I was here happened to be the once a year release of Pliny the Younger, one of the most sought after craft beers. People have waited 8 hours in line for this beer. I wanted to try it too but didn't want to wait a super long time. So we show up and it doesn't look that bad.
Still in line.
Took us just over 2 hours to get inside.
After all that we we get a glass of Younger. And...to me it's hardly different than Elder. For some people waiting all that time might build it up so that they think it's something more than it really is. I think it had the opposite effect for me. Like, I waited this long for a beer that tastes like a beer?
The star of the show really is:
That's a 21-beer flight. 18 fit in their custom holder and three more served on the side. Most were good, some were outstanding.
And on the way home we pulled of at a viewpoint for a dramatic shot:
Simply put, another fantastic trip.
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