date night with friends

Saturday night was full of my favorite places in the city. I have so many but this a go-to date night and one that I tell visiting friends to do too! I was so excited when our friends Holly and Jeremy were planning a San Francisco getaway and wanted to meet for dinner. They love food as much as I do so I knew it would be a perfect food coma kinda night.

We started with cocktails at Churchill.  Huge windows, seasonal drinks and open space make it one of my favorite spots.  I don't remember what drink I picked, but it did have the largest ice cube I've ever seen.

We headed to the top of Dolores Park for quick view of the city.

Deflina was our next stop. Pizzeria side is best. On a sunny day, 18th street is hoppin' and I just love watching people out and about. On a nice busy day the wait is long but I never mind because we usually order a bottle of wine to share outside. 

Which is what we did.

For starters we got the Calamari dish which was insanely good. We ordered the Prosciutto Pie to share and it was layered with Prosciutto, mozzarella, panna, arugula and we added basil. 

Did I mention that they love food as much we do?

Then off to Bi-rite Creamery where at 9:00 at night the line still is crazy. But oh so worth it. The line moves quite fast.  It was the longest I've seen it but it gave us time to chat, digest dinner, and decide what we wanted. According to an article in GQ, Bi-rite has the best ice-cream in the country!

 I love Bi-rite but Mitchell's ice cream also has my heart. Kris was daring and tried their olive oil flavor but ended up getting Salted Carmel (a must if you haven't had) and Ricanelas (cinnamon with snickerdoodles). I went with a simple but delicious scoop of Mint Chip on a sugar cone.

We got a quick after dessert drink at Elixir then headed to the View lounge at the top of the Marriot Hotel downtown (since I've been watching Downton Abbey, I can never spell downtown right the first try!).

Of course the view is Ahhhmazzing.

The Tempest Bar was our last stop and it was packed. We had a quick drink but really their bar food was what I was really excited about. 

They have THE best last night food. You get everything you crave in late night food. It's so well made and just enough grease to make you feel happy but not queasy.  I love their chicken and waffles with sirachi maple syrup and their fried pickles are absolutely perfect.

I was in a food coma after our lovely double date but I loved every moment of it.
Hurry back friends!

~Katharine