Meghann and Derek Explore San Francisco

From the east coast to the west coast – I am happy to say we made it to San Francisco!

I’m not going to lie – the flight from Atlanta to San Francisco was a long and boring one. I had all these plans to do great amounts of work, but I had an error with live writer and spent 2 of the 5 hour flight trying to correct it. 🙁

Derek didn’t do much better. After we took off he realized that the book he brought to read was not a good one, that his lap top had less than 15% battery as soon as he turned it on, and his battery for his ipod wasn’t in much better shape than hi lap top.  Bummer.

When we landed we were both cranky and hungry. Good thing Hertz had us wait in an hour and a half line to pick up our rental car. Grrr…

But, we had a good plan for lunch and we were sticking to it! So what if by the time we left the airport in our rental car it was 2:00pm local time and already dinner time back home. We were going to Ikes damn it and we were going to have the sandwich of our lives!

Derek had discovered Ike’s Place during an episode of Man vs food (no joke – he watched the San Francisco episode 5 times in preparation for this trip!). For those unfamiliar with Ike’s Place it’s a hole in the wall sandwich shop near the heart of San Francisco.

And by hole in the wall I mean this place is so tiny, they even have their register outside.

And you know a place is good when even at 3:00 in the afternoon there is a line down the block.

Ike’s has an unlimited amount of crazy, delicious sandwich concoctions which include those of the vegetarian and vegan variety! In fact a whole page of the menu is dedicated to each vegans and vegetarians.

The wide selection of vegetarian options was what really intrigued me. I ended up ordering the Wa Luigi Vegan Meatballs, Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers, Marinara, + all the veggies.

By the time I dug into my sandwich it had been who knows how many hours since my last meal and let me just say this was one of the most amazing sandwiches I have ever eaten in my entire life. Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers in a sub? Pure Genuis!

Derek was there for one thing and one thing only – the Kryptonite – which was so big it, it was more than two of my sandwiches put together.

The kryptonite was actually the sandwich they had focused on in the Man V Foods episode and contained Roast Beef, Corned Beef, Pastrami, Salami, Turkey, Bacon, Ham, Mozzarella Sticks, Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers, Beer Battered Onion Rings, Avocado, Pesto, EXTRA Pepper Jack, + all the veggies!

Derek devoured it! (well, one half of it)

I had a bite too and it was really good. I’m not sure I could handle the whole sandwich but the bites I had were pretty great.

With food in our bellies Derek and I were finally ready to explore the city.

I think Derek got a kick out of all the STEEP hills he was driving on. We had a little too much fun playing roller coaster in the rental car. 🙂

Derek’s one request was to drive down Lombard Street – the world’s most crooked street.

My request was to walk up it. 🙂

We ended up at Ghiradelli Square where Derek suggested we get a sundae.

We ordered the Dark Chocolate Intense Espresso Chip Sundae.

Mmmmm…. 🙂

Derek and I had fun playing tourist this afternoon.

It’s funny, when I was a kid I used to HATE exploring new areas in the car, but now as I’ve gotten older – I love it!

We eventually made it to the Cliff House just in time to watch the sunset.

Our first glass of wine to celebrate the kick off of our vacation.

I ended up grabbing an Arugula Salad from the Plant Cafe on our way back.

The hummus looked so good that I went ahead and ordered some to go, but only had a few bites because I wasn’t very hungry. It was some killer hummus though.

I really liked the Plant Cafe. I would love to go back sometime and actually eat at a table and order one of their fun and creative dishes that sounded so wonderful on the menu. 🙂

Reason #3244 I love blogging? Making friends where ever you go!

I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful, gorgeous, (and now expecting!) Beth T when I was in San Francisco last November. At the time she offered me an open invitation to come back anytime and stay with her and her husband. I wonder if she knew I would actually be taking her up on the offer? 😉

Thank you Beth and Cory for welcoming Derek and I into your wonderful home for the next couple of days! You two are amazing!

It is almost 3:00am back home, which means I have been up just shy of 22 hours. My body is drained and in desperate need of some sleep! Derek and I have big plans for tomorrow and we don’t want to waste the day in bed.

Better get some shut eye now.

Good night!