Hello San Fran!

Hi, we have now been traveling for a little more than a week. After a couple of rainy (and chaotic) days in New York we have finally found a small apartment in the Mission District in wonderful, wonderful, wonderful San Francisco.

Even though we haven’t been spending a lot of time in the kitchen yet, we have still been eating good food. In New York we tried the Raw food restaurant Rockin’ Raw in Williamsburg, the macrobiotic restaurant Souen in Soho, and the amazing juice bar Liquiteria in East village. Here in San Francisco we have been trying tacos from a couple of the taquerias in the Mission district and yesterday we had portabella burgers at a local burger joint.

We have also been shopping groceries at Whole Foods Market – such a great place! – and we are soon ready to post our first recipe from here. Since our kitchen is incredibly tiny and it lacks some of the most necessary kitchen appliances, we can guarantee that our recipes will be kept simple and uncomplicated while blogging from here.

So check back soon for our first San Francisco recipe. Today we’ll just share a few pictures from our first days.

We had never seen Cactus in a grocery store before (not very common in Sweden), so of course we had to buy some. Now, can someone please tell how to prepare  it …?

Before finishing, we have to write something about Elsa. So far she has been such a wonderful baby to travel with. When she wasn’t sleeping on the plane, she was occupied showing her two teeth and her tongue to all the neighbours and the flight attendants. And even though we have been sleeping in a couple of different locations and been struggling with a nine hour time difference she has never been a happier baby. We are so grateful for this!

26 Comments

  • Ronnie
    That picture of Luise calls for "a flower in her hair". I'm glad you had a good time in our fair city. Wish I'd found your blog while you were here! I lived in Copenhagen for about 18 months when my daughter was 3-4. We had a wonderful time, though I missed fresh Californian produce in the winter. Did you break your vegetarianism to try Dungeness Crab? The sweetest crab on earth!
  • I just reread this post again and noticed the picture of the murals! We went there as well when we traveled to San Fran in November and I took a couple of pictures! http://www.athoughtforfood.net/2010/11/eating-my-way-through-city.html
  • Elsa Elizabeth Carlson
    Hey Guys! I am so sorry we didn't have a chance to say goodbye this morning! It was great to meet you...you are both compketely lovely...andmy little namesake is TOO adorable! Please addmeon facebook! Elsa E. Carlson...or let meknow how I can add you! Hugs to all three of you! It was a nice visit! I LOVE the blog and am telling my friends! Hope to see you again...in the meantime please keep in touch! Much love...Elsa!
  • So happy for you! x
  • I so admire your sense of adventure. I was totally intimidated to travel with my kids when they were babies and now I realize that it is the easiest time to do so! Congrats on getting stateside. You are truly in one of the most amazing cities we have to offer. Now, when are you coming to Seattle?
  • RedMango
    Very nice post!
  • I've never prepared nopales myself, they are hard to come by fresh in Montreal. But I do know that you are supposed to grill or char them to get rid of any remaining prickles -if you do get some stuck in your hand, you need to scrape them off with the flat side of a knife, or make a mud mask. They then get 'peeled', chopped and served in a salad. I've only ever had them in a salad, but I am sure that you can find more recipes on the web.
  • Beautiful baby pictures! I'm glad to hear you're having a great time so far in San Francisco. I thought I'd point out that Gwyneth Paltrow just wrote about a bakery called Tartine on her blog; you should stop by if you have time! (It's actually in the Mission District.) I'll have to check it out next time I'm up there. Here is the article: http://goop.com/newsletter/100/en/ Take care!
    • Thank you Janae! We have actually already discovered the Tartine Bakery. It was hard to miss, since they always have a cue outside because of their unbelievably large cakes and their warm sandwiches. You should absolutely check it out when you're here. /David
  • Oh, wow, I just got back from San Francisco and the BlogHer Food conference. We had so much fun - had dinner one night at Farina in the Mission district. Enjoy your stay. I'm looking forward to see what you guys are cooking up. Elsa is a treat!
  • Valentine
    I forgot to mention where you can get the Rainbow Salad, the Green Tea Salad, and the Samusa Soup...mommy brain! Anyhow, you can get them at Burma Superstar.
  • Valentine
    So fun to hear about your travels! I have been reading your blog from Santa Cruz over the last year and cooking some of your recipes for my husband and 15-month old. If you head to Santa Cruz, we would love to take you to the recently re-opened India Joze which is just fantastic. And while you are in SF, I highly recommend trying the Rainbow Salad and/or the Green Tea salad and the veggie Samusa soup. Oh yeah, and nopales are very yummy-- lots of ways to prepare them on the internet. I can't wait to hear how you end up preparing them. Have a wonderful time!
  • Leigh
    Hi, What a great trip. I've lived in san francisco off and on for years - am now in venice beach (los angeles). your photos are amazing and inspiring. couple of websites for cool things to do are www.7x7.com and www.sfgate.com (the second is the san francisco chronicle's online site). Greens is definitely recommended for gourmet vegetarian fare, and slanted door is simply outstanding for vietnamese (although now super pricy that it's at the ferry plaza farmer's market - definitely a must see, easy on muni to get to; it used to be in the mission and was edgy and cool). foreign cinema (mission) is great for outdoor cuisine plus film screenings, and i love delfina (mission) and isa (marina) is a kind of french tapas with a back covered patio and heat lamps. october is summer in san francisco and wine country. check out healdsburg if you head north to napa / sonoma. lovely little town centered on a main square. will email more if this is helpful. have fun and i look forward to seeing your family's adventures!
    • Hi Leigh! We are glad to hear that you like our recipes! Thank you so much for all the adresses, we have been meaning to go to both Farina and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market but haven't made it yet. All your other tips sound great too, we promise to check them out. Thanks again! /David
  • You went to a few of my favorite veggie places in nyc! I am sure SF is treating you well, it is such a wonderful city as well! Oh, and what great news about your lil one...not always easy to travel with babies! You are so lucky!
  • Carrie
    We were in San Francisco in August and I want to pass along two restaurant recommendations, both in the Mission District just blocks from one another: (1) Cafe Gratitude, a vegetarian restaurant on Harrison & 20th (www.cafegratitude.com), and (2) Humphry Slocombe, a kick-ass ice cream parlor with one-of-a-kind flavors on Harrison & 24th (www.humphryslocombe.com). Enjoy and happy travels!
    • Thank you Carrie! We are always looking to find new vegetarian restaurants and will most certainly stop by Cafe Gratitude. /Luise
  • Fun in the sun! You guys came at the right time. SF is usually coldy but this time of year it's lovely. I do hope you guys are able to make it to Santa Cruz (an hour and a half away). I would love to have you guys over for dinner and roam the Santa Cruz food scene + go to the beach.
    • Hi Damaris! The wether sure is amazing, and SF is unbelievable!! Absolutely, we're looking forward to come visit you & your family! We have planned to stay in Santa Cruz for a couple of days in the end of October ;) See you soon /Luise
  • I'm glad you're enjoying your travels! Elsa is SO CUTE :) Those cactus pads in Spanish are Nopales, so maybe search for recipes with nopales. Never tried them, but I've seen Rick Bayless cook with them and it looks delicious.
  • å bilderna är så fina, ni är så fina o elsa blir ju sötare o sötare för varje dag som går. saknar er här hemma men ni verkar ha det underbart o det är fint de! kul att ni uppdaterar här i bloggen. kramar från ett kallt men soligt höstsverige
  • Nicole
    Hi highly suggest you check out Rainbow Grocery at 1745 Folsom St. in the Mission. Such an amazing store! Enjoy your time in the city and I hope you like HOT weather.
  • Miss Becky
    wow, gorgeous photos. I love the one of the crabs and the kitty!!!
  • ann-charlotte bonner
    det sägs att japaner är de som äter med ögonen. Vilken myt! Ni finns ju!! Helt underbara recept för ögon såväl som kropp och själ. Hoppas ni har det fint "over there" Och vilket ljuvligt sött barn lilla Elsa är.
  • Maria
    Geetins from Portugal! What a nice trip you're having! Jamie Oliver once cooked with cactus in a program from the tv show "Jamie in America". Check it on. Enjoy!Maria
  • How exciting! Oh I'm so happy for you guys! I can't wait for more posts (no pressure! ;-) ), and the little Elsa is just too adorable! :-) Maria xxx

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