Last month we took a weekend trip up the coast to California's most beautiful city San Francisco. We flew up on
SWA and checked into the
Marriott Marquis. It was an early morning so we took a couple of hours to begin our 2 day museum trek. After a quick tour of Union Square we were off to
SFMOMA the finest museum if you want to see iconic contemporary art. Most of the art displayed at SFMOMA once belonged to the Fishers the founders of the Gap.
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection is among the world’s greatest private collections of contemporary art. Founders of San Francisco–based Gap Inc., the couple began collecting prints to enliven the company’s offices in the mid-1970s, and they soon expanded their efforts to include paintings, sculpture, and drawings. The collection includes works by Alexander Calder, Ellsworth Kelly,
William Kentridge, Roy Lichtenstein, Chuck Close, Agnes Martin, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Donald Judd and Andy Warhol, among others. We had originally seen the works before the SFMOMA had been remodeled 2 several years back. We were also there to have dinner at the restaurant in residence In Situ. In Situ is the brainchild of Corey Lee who has several award winning restaurants in San Francisco one being Benu. Like a museum Corey Lee honors great chef's signature dishes and offers them on his menu. He rotates the dishes like art exhibitions so you will never get tired of having some of the most creative meals ever devised and served. The menu includes 11 items each of them curated from great chefs and paired with specific wines to bring out the best tastes. On the back of the menu there is an homage to the meal and the chef and the year it was created. These items come in small and medium sized plates so they are perfect for sharing.
We started our meal with the Wasabi Lobster, created by Berlin Chef Tim Raue in 2013. What a perfect start the piece of Lobster was tempura battered and fried and sat on a Mango Jelly with a Thai Vinaigrette and on the side a small Wasabi Flavored Marshmallow shaped like a star. These meals are immersion art, the lobster moist and explodes with flavors and a hint of Wasabi and the sweetness of Mango. We followed it up with a Glazed Chicken Thigh created by Kyoto Chef Hiroshi Sasaki of Gion
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| Wasabi Lobster |
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| Glazed Chicken Thigh |
Sasaki which is the most difficult restaurant to get into in Japan. Although the dish sounds like it could be heavy it is very delicate glazed in Teriyaki Sauce and sitting on a Butter Lettuce leaf topped with a Onsen Egg. Sweet with the teriyaki sauce and rich with the yolk of the egg this was a great small bite. What a wonderful dish this next one was The Forest created by
French Chef Mauro Colagreco owner of Mirazur, clearly this was the most delicious dish of the night Mirazur is considered one of the top restaurants in the world and this dish is one of the reasons why.
The Forest is exactly what you would suspect earthy mushrooms, green ferns, evergreen scents on a bed of Risotto. This was hearty and filling, I am writing this 45 days after we were there and i can still remember how good it was, Our last dish was from Chef Roy Choi, celebrity chef from LA and his restaurant LA Son. This dish Kalbi Jjim represents everything Roy Choi stands for great simple comfort food cooked to perfection and a great way to finish a meal. Literally it is a fantastic Short Rib Stew. In Situ is a great restaurant is a city of amazing restaurants. The service here is superb, the atmosphere is chic modern and very subdued. It is a restaurant that you can come in relax and enjoy great food and service. If you wish to experience some of the most creative dishes
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| Kalbi Jjim |
designed by the best chefs in the world this is the place to go.
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| I have this poster |
The following day we had a date with the DeYoung Museum to take in the Summer of Love music and art visual experience. I was 11 years old when the summer of love happened, San Francisco was a place where all the creative young people came to get a better understanding of their creative capability. The exhibit took me back to that time when rock and roll expressed the way they saw the world. Part of the exhibit was dedicated to the Art and Fashion of the time and we were there to uncover creative new ideas for Dixon Rand. This was a great exhibit I will tell my story with pictures.
Overall this was the best vacation of the year. Just proves that there are a lot of great places to visit that are very close to where you live.
