Dining Out: Cafe Bellini

On my third day in San Francisco I was pressed for time for lunch. I had a super busy morning at the trade show and the afternoon was going to be just as packed. I walked outdoors and a short two blocks from the trade show was Cafe Bellini.

Here are all the reasons Cafe Bellini is an exceptional place for a work day lunch:

1) The menu is posted outside, on the sidewalk, making it effortless to check it out and see if you want to step in.

2) They have the nicest staff! I was greeted by two, young, bubbly blonds who were more than happy to answer any questions. They could tell I was in a rush (wonder what gave it away? Ha!) and they were sure to get me everything I needed quickly.

3) In case the sign outside didn't help you decide what you want, everything is on display in the case! A feast for the eyes.

4) Their tomato and mozzarella panini. The photo speaks for itself.

5) Their dessert offering! I hadn't had a single sweet since arriving in San Francisco (three days!) and I was craving chocolate. I went for the most decadent treat in the case - the peanutbutter, caramel chip brownie. It was so rich I had to tap out after four bites. I wrapped it back up and took it back to the hotel for later.

6) Outdoor seating! I only had ten minutes, but that was long enough to eat my delicious lunch in the sun and feel refreshed (thank you, Vitamin D) before heading back to the trade show.

Cafe Bellini is located at 235 Powell Street in Union Square. There are additional locations in San Francisco, see the full list here.

Dining Out: Puccini And Pinetti

Our second night in San Francisco we headed to Puccini and Pinetti to refuel after a hard day's work.

I couldn't tell if this was a one of a kind, nice restaurant, or one of a Paparazzi-like chain. We approached the host and he let us know there were no tables but we could sit in the bar area.

We took a seat at one of the bar tables, but after fifteen minutes, no one offered us a drink or menus. The host noticed this and let us know a booth had opened up in the back and he'd be happy to give it to us. Score!

As soon as we were seated our waiter popped over with ice water and focaccia bread with a delicious, mysterious spread. Some type of tapenade.

We were looking over the wine menu when he suggested the Valley of the Moon Sangiovese which he said had cherry, blackberry and chocolate flavors. Um. Yes, please!

We ordered a glass each and it was exceptional. So good in fact, I never snapped a photo! I was too busy drinking.

We each selected a salad to start. Beet salad for her, the warm spinach salad for me. We both agreed the salads were good, but not amazing. After all, we'd been on a roll with incredible food so far. I guess it had to end at some point.

Our entree courses restored our faith. Tomato, mozzarella and pesto pizza for her, ravioli with tomatoes, roasted corn and a pesto cream sauce for me. Both entrees were rich and delicious.

I noticed while we were dining there were a ton of families in the restaurant. This seems like a great place to take young kids when you're celebrating something like a parent or grandparent's birthday. If you're visiting San Francisco from out of town, Puccini and Pinetti is a spot you can skip.

Dining Out: Bread And Cocoa

On our first night in San Francisco, we had dinner at Colibri on Geary Street. On our walk back to our hotel, I noticed a super cute place called Bread and Cocoa. I made a mental note of it's location and resolved to come back later in the week.

On our second day in San Francisco my coworker and our client took a day trip to Palo Alto and I was all alone at the trade show. When it was time to break for lunch I decided to enjoy the sunny weather and walk the ten minutes back to Bread and Cocoa.

Bread and Cocoa is, in a word, adorable. I love the design of the sign and the awnings. It has a similar vibe to Boston's South End Buttery.

When I walked in I noticed immediately how sunny the space is. There are tables up against the front windows and a larger dining area in the back.

I also spotted this pink, palm tree painting which was very California.

I hopped into line and you grab a menu from the front end of the counter. The menus just happen to be next to two long plates of cookies! Very wise, Bread and Cocoa.

While in line, I couldn't help but notice the stunning orchids!

I ordered the Piemonte sandwich which came on incredibly delicious bread with portabello mushrooms, tomatoes, mixed greens, mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. Check out that melted cheese!

The sandwich also came with salad which was super fresh and had scrumptious croutons made from bread, not that store bought nonsense.

I also ordered a drink that was half chocolate, half espresso called the Coco Mocha. How could I resist a drink with that name? It was super decadent and perked me right up!

I sat down to enjoy my lunch and as soon as I took my first bite the stereo system started playing one of my favorite songs, Eric Clapton's "Layla." That was one of my first tapes. Since I don't know anyone in San Francisco, I sang along openly. Out loud.

Bread and Cocoa had delectable food and drink choices, a beautiful space and a relaxed vibe. Despite it's chill vibe, there was a hint of emerging technology right on the counter. They keep an iPad by the cash register so you can join their loyalty program on the spot. Genius.

For those of you that live locally, Bread and Cocoa also caters! You can order all of these goodies right to your office door.

After this wonderful break from the work day, I walked back to the trade show through Union Square and stumbled upon this sculpture:

Much love for San Francisco.

Dining Out: Colibri

For our first dinner in San Francisco, we headed to a restaurant recommended by the sales manager at our hotel, Colibri.

Colibri is located on Geary Street and it would be easy to walk right by it if you didn't know it was there. Hidden beneath an unassuming, navy blue awning with yellow text, lies a fantastic Mexican restaurant.

Colibri is so popular there were no tables available when we arrived. The hostess offered us two seats at the bar, which we happily accepted. I loved the light fixtures above the bar.

Once we were seated I noticed how nice the restaurant is! This is a perfect date spot. It just has that sultry vibe.

From our seats at the bar we had a view of the wall of tequila. We each decided to order a margarita.

My coworker ordered the macho margarita, which has jalapeno. In fact, they set the pepper on fire right in front of us before putting it into her drink!

I ordered the margarita con fruta (strawberry) and instead of having sugary syrup, it actually had fresh, muddled strawberries. It was so delicious! I might even go ahead and say, the best margarita I've ever had.

We took one look at the menu and knew right away we wanted to the freshly made guacamole. The bartender asked if we'd like it mild, medium or hot. We decided on medium and three minutes later we were delivered an enormous bowl of guac!

The guacamole came with warm tortillas instead of chips. I wasn't expecting that, but it was a welcomed surprise.

We also received three types of salsa to go with our guacamole and tortillas.

This serving size was so large that we were actually full and decided not to order dinner!

The Colibri menu looked incredible (I had my eye on the chili relleno). In fact, we tried to come back for entrees on our last night in town, but the wait was forty minutes and we were starving.

Gracias, Colibri, for that superb margarita and a fresh take on guacamole!

Dining Out: Cafe Bastille

On my first day in San Francisco my coworker and I checked into our hotel and headed out into Union Square to find a place for lunch. We assumed since we were in a major, metropolitan area, it would be easy to find a cute lunch place. Not so.

After a solid thirty minutes of wandering with no luck, I popped into the closest hotel (Palace Hotel) and asked their concierge for a recommendation. He pulled out a map of Union Square and drew me the route to Belden Place, an alley with several restaurants with outdoor tables.

We walked a few blocks to Belden Place and fell in love with this hidden row of outdoor cafes!

We walked the entire row and looked at every menu before deciding to dine at Cafe Bastille.

The host seated us underneath a large, yellow umbrella and handed us menus.

We toasted to our week in San Francisco with a glass of chardonnay for her and a raspberry caipirinha for me.

As we looked over the menu our waiter brought us a bread basket with two French baguettes. Yum!

My coworker decided on the beet and goat cheese napoleon which arrived in a beautiful presentation. These are two of my personal, least favorite foods, but she absolutely loved the dish.

I ordered the ratatouille crepe which came topped with a poached egg and accompanied by a side salad. I was about to take my fourth bite of the crepe when I noticed that it was stuffed with not only the ratatouille, but with chicken! I immediately went into panic mode, as I haven't had a single bite of meat in thirteen years. The waiter asked me if I'd like to add chicken to my crepe when I placed the order and I said emphatically, "No, absolutely not, I'm a vegetarian."

We flagged down the waiter, let him know of the goof and he quickly delivered me a new, chicken-less crepe. Aside from this genuine moment of panic, the crepe was actually exceptional. The side salad was also wonderful. The ingredients were fresh and topped with a zesty dressing.

The restaurants on Belden Place are adorable! It feels like being in Europe. I would love to go back and try others on the row. A big thank you to the concierge at the Palace Hotel for directing us!

Stay: Hotel Palomar

This week I had the incredible pleasure of spending my work week in San Francisco! One of my clients was kind enough to fly me out to the west coast to staff a trade show and live blog, live tweet, shoot Instagram photos and network for them on-site at this major, industry event.

One of the best parts of the trip was our hotel. My coworker and I were staying at the Hotel Palamor right in the heart of Union Square. The hotel is located on the corner of 4th Street and Market Street. Though it was right at a bus stop (shady characters everywhere), as soon as I spotted the hotel, I fell in love.

The stunning front doors were opened for us by the hotel staff and we were greeted at the front desk by the kindest employees.

In addition the people checking us in, we met the manager's dog, Maverick, who is also an integral part of check in! In fact, he has his own spot on the front desk. Too cute!

The animal friendly touches continued with the mouse pads!

The lobby in the hotel is gorgeous. I particularly loved the light fixture.

In addition to the beautiful decor, the lobby also has a complimentary refreshments table with water, iced tea, coffee and water for dogs! In fact, each day that we were there, the sign above the water bowl changed, welcoming a new doggy guest to the hotel! Too cute.

Also check out these signs above each of the drink pitchers. I love these kinds of thoughtful touches.

We took the elevator up to the 6th floor to our rooms. I opened the door and my jaw literally hit the floor. It was amazing! I had a queen size bed (notice how they stack the pillows!), an arm chair, a desk and a flat screen TV.

I love the patterned wall paper in the bathroom and the brightly colored toiletries by Etro. How chic!

Just when I thought my room couldn't get any better, I opened the closet door to hang my clothes and what did I find? Animal print robes!

Oh, I forgot to mention my view! From my room I could see a huge section of bustling Union Square.

In addition to my stylish room, on our first day the staff let us know there is a complimentary wine tasting each day for guests from 5:00pm - 6:00pm in the hotel bar. One our first day in town we had a meeting that ended around 5:30pm so we headed back to check it out.

On this particular day the wine tasting was being hosted by the hotel's sales manager who was incredibly sociable and friendly. We asked him for some restaurant recommendations and wound up checking out a Mexican place he suggested (more on that in a later post) and it was fantastic!

He explained to us that each month the hotels owned by Kimpton share the same wines with their guests. This month's selection is Stone Cellars.

I actually opted for their seasonal, summer offering, the white wine sangria! It was super delicious.

My coworker was asking about a specific Chardonnay and the sales manager offered to get their sommelier to come answer her question. The sommelier was so kind and attentive and even brought my coworker a half glass of another type of wine she thought she would love.

A few nights later, on our last night in town, we were so delirious from working fourteen hour days we decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. The sommelier remembered us and came right over to make a wine recommendation! So nice!

As I said, I was too exhausted to take photos of our dinner at the hotel restaurant, but it was wonderful. We shared a delicious cheese plate (five kinds of cheese), I ordered the ravioli and my coworker ordered the cheeesburger and french fries. We were two happy campers.

Absolutely everything about my stay at the Hotel Palomar was incredible. It's in a prime location, the building and the rooms are gorgeous, the free wine tasting is lovely and above all, this was the most friendly and thoughtful hotel staff I have ever encountered.

Thank you, Hotel Palomar, for giving me a wonderful place to call home this week.