Even with my penchant for fine dining [read: pretentious locally-produced organic products with an outrageous upcharge, smothered in butter and served with anything described as a reduction make my toes tingle], I had to balance my favorite “trashy” noshes (after all, I am a Waffle House girl at heart) with what I already knew would be upscale meals at my friends’ restaurants. Luckily, my perception of San Francisco (food AND people?) has always been just that – a balance of simple and greasy but simultaneously legitimately organic and needlessly arrogant.

My challenge for myself during this trip – I absolutely had to hit up my old favorites from the year I lived in San Francisco, but I also had to try out all the new places my friends had been raving over. After realizing I forgot my giant bottle of Tums at home, I was a little disheartened, but refused to buy another and determined to commit to my challenge.

After my arrival (feeling gross, if you remember my previous entry) Stephanie and I hit up Clement Street first. San Francisco’s Clement stretch from Arguello to 25^th Ave is a really intense intersection of several Asian cultures that tends to overwhelm the Arkansas girl in me. Over 25 major languages are spoken here, and it’s not uncommon to hear Cantonese mixed with Spanish at the Korean donut shop. Within a few blocks you may encounter a Malaysian restaurant, Chinese bakery, Korean BBQ, Japanese sushi bar, and Thai noodle shop. Naturally, there are some misses…it’s best to go with a local.

We went to a takeout dim sum joint around 6^th Ave (Steph, if you’re reading this, leave a comment with the name of the place; I forgot to write it down) where Steph in flawless Cantonese ordered up a beautiful selection of sweet and savory bao (yet another foundational food of friendship). Our favorite was dai bao, literally translated, “big bun.” Stuffed with mushrooms, chicken, sausage, and egg, this thing was killer.

That night the bustle of the day hit me hard and we ended up ordering in for dinner. Nothing to turn your nose up to, though. My old standby, Extreme Pizza, may be nondescript and a little cheesy (figuratively), but serves up some really terrifically creative and balanced pizzas. The crust isn’t in your face because it’s not the star of the show – that honor is reserved for the fresh ingredients packed on top. Torn between the Paia Pie (Canadian bacon, Hawaiian pineapple, Mandarin oranges, fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, and cheddar) and the Boar’der (Shredded pork marinated in a really tangy BBQ sauce,red onions, fresh cilantro, cheddar, and mozzarella), we struggled with indecision for at least half an hour before landing on the Boar’der.

Oh, and if you’re ever around a BevMo, it’s worth it to check out the five cent wine sale they have every once in a while – buy one bottle of wine, get the second for five cents. Um…that’s cheap. I picked up a fruity Malbec from BevMo that was decent, but didn’t really command my attention.  Regardless, paired with the Boar’der, it was a great way to end the night. And I did it just like old times, falling asleep on Steel and Steph’s couch while the room bustled around me. Ah, the smooth ramp-in to a weekend of gluttony.  Much more to come.