Marlowe San Francisco

May 02, 2015 by Ashley Heafy in travel

San Francisco is so jammed packed with an endless array of sensational restaurants, it's easy to get overwhelmed by options and end up revisiting your old reliables time and time again. We made an effort on this trip to try out newer restaurants, not only to us, but to San Franciscans as well. Once you've been to a city more than a few times, it's time to start experiencing the city like a local, and that means trying new hot spots.

We found the charming Marlowe on a few blogs and sites (Eater SF rarely fails us). We never went to their previous, smaller location, but word is that the menu is more extensive in this new location with a full liquor bar. As usual on our trips, we had already stuffed ourselves with breakfast, so by mid-afternoon (and a very long walking effort to work up a hunger) we made our way to Marlowe and shared a few dishes.

Although cramped seating, the interior design is on point! It feels French cafe meets American farmhouse, with a bright, light vibe and wall to wall subway tiling complete with a taxidermied bull (is that a bull? I'm not quite up on my grazing animals).

We started with the di Stefano Burrata. Burrata is a newer obsession of ours. If you're not familiar, it is a creamy mozzarella and cream blend with a beautifully soft texture. Mixed with bitter greens and savory sourdough, it's unbelievably simple, balanced, and satisfying. Marlowe's burrata dish included grilled pears, crunchy hazelnuts, and an oregano vinaigrette on sourdough. San Francisco sourdough cannot be topped!

On vacation, afternoon cocktails are a must. Matt had the smoky La Cuchilla - a nice blend of tequila, mezcal, grapefruit, and maraschino. I had a prosecco special. Marlowe's cocktail menu is extensive and diverse. Something for everyone!

If there's a burger at a New American joint, we almost always have to order it. A perfect burger is often a reflection of an entire menu for us. Maybe it's because we both grew up on cheeseburgers, an American family staple (at least in the 80s and 90s). Marlowe's burger, topped with a mild horseradish aioli and caramelized onions, did not disappoint. I'm guessing their fries are housemade as they are dubbed "Marlowe Fries" and they tasted incredibly fresh. They have a sister restaurant (Marlowe Burger) that we definitely want to try next time. Overall, a solid lunch spot with a vibrant menu. Next time we come here, we will try the Deviled Egg Sandwich, some hindsight regrets missing out on that!

Marlowe
500 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 777-1413
marlowesf.com

Creatures of Habit

October 18, 2014 by Ashley Heafy in travel, Baking

We love to try new spaces and places, however, we also have our list of never-to-be-missed spots that we continue to repeat every time we visit a city. San Francisco is probably the one city with our most tried and true favorites despite endless new places to experience.

Every time we are in San Francisco on a Saturday morning, we try to hit the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. It has grown to become a city and tourist favorite over the years, but hasn't lost any of its charm despite its growth. The building itself is beautiful and at over 100 years old, it was once a transportation hub for the city. We are always interested in spaces that allow you to experience history with a modern utilization.

We started our visit with coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee; it was a heat wave this trip so we opted for the New Orleans style iced coffee in lieu of our usual lattes; creamy and lightly sweet, it's the best iced coffee we've had this year.

Interior of the Ferry Building Farmer's Market

Ferry Building Farmer's Market San Francisco | Metal + Honey

We also always go to Primavera Mexican. We don't have a lot of authentic Mexican food in Orlando, yet it's one of our favorite cuisines. This trip we got the tamales and chilaquiles. Perfection!

It wouldn't be a trip to a farmer's market if we didn't bring back some goodies to keep the memories alive at home. This trip, we visited Dandelion Chocolate. We have a little bit of a fancy chocolate bar addiction, so we had to pick up some small batch dark chocolate. Be sure to head to their site and read about their artisan bean-to-bar process. If we lived there, we would definitely sign up for a class!

We also picked up some lavender sugar, but we basically love all things lavender. A shortbread recipe is definitely to come.

We also rarely miss a trip to the Miette shop because eating macarons is something that is best done as much as humanly possible. Perfect "feet" and impeccable flavors. We paced ourselves with just three.

Ferry Building Farmer's Market | 1 Ferry Bldg Marketplace, San Francisco, CA 94111

A Venture to the West Coast of the West Coast

October 06, 2014 by Ashley Heafy in travel

We make the trek to San Francisco quite often to get tattooed and overindulge in the bountiful offerings of the City by the Bay. Of our many times here, we haven't ventured to the coast before considering there is so much to do inland.

Like most people nowadays, we follow many talented and interesting Californians on Instagram and kept seeing visits to Outerlands pop up in the feed. Enticed by the beautiful photos, Four Barrel coffee with perfect latte foam leaves, and farm fresh ingredients, we made it a point to head out to Ocean Beach on this visit.

I checked in advance, and since there are no reservations, we were given the advice to head there early to beat the crowd. We thought 9:30am for San Franciscans was pretty early, but everyone else seemed to have the same idea. We only had to wait 30 minutes, and the weather was cool - it was well worth the wait.

It was a different experience being seaside - 15 degrees cooler than inland, lots of barefoot surfers waiting in line for coffee, and the laid-back vibe of the locals. We definitely recommend Outerlands as a must-visit, and we'll certainly be back.

Dutch pancake with baked apples and housemade ricotta

Smoked pork with crispy potatoes, fried eggs

Buttermilk scone with coconut and sweet potato

When you're on a trip for two, it's tough to get photos together, so we try to at least photo across the table when we can remember. We sat outside, as the wait was much less, but peeked inside to see the beautiful interior covered with wooden planks and a rustic vibe.