back to SF, adventures continue

After spending the first half of the day in Yountville, Mr.S and I were welcomed back to a chillier, windier SF by that towering golden gate.

We hit up American Rag over by Van Ness and Sutter to do a bit of vintage browsing. I tried on a pair of faded red Tsubi jeans, but couldn't get my behind into them (damn those stick-thin Japanese girls); could've also been the massive French meal I'd just eaten at Bouchon too!

We then walked through Japantown to feed Mr.S's expensive addiction to Japanese stationery. At the Kintetsu/Miyako shopping center, a large complex of specialty shops and eateries, is the Kinokuniya bookstore with a vast collection of Japanese manga, magazines, books, stationery and toys. Inside the mall, there are small cafes and restaurants, including this creperie, Sophie's Crepes.
The fillings, all Japanese-inspired, range from red bean and green tea, to a standard Nutella and banana, to a savory ham, cheese and Kewpie mayo, to a seafood salad made with crabstick.

We also stopped by Nijiya Market, a small supermarket of all your Japanese culinary needs.

Whenever I find myself in an Asian market, I always buy a ton of snacks. They are just so damn cute! I can just picture those ad people sitting around a roundtable, discussing if a cartoon puppy on the cookie box should be winking or not. The pre-packaged sushi and cold salads in the cold case looked fresh and appetizing. We were also really impressed with their selection of green teas, loose and powdered. There was also a whole aisle filled with all flavors of mochi and daifuku. We checked out with a basket full of pan (filled sweet breads), boxes of cute cookies and Pocky, a strawberry crepe, sichimi (Japanese chili pepper mix), some toys, and green tea.

furano melon sweet roll- it tasted like honeydew

these little button cookies were a favorite of mine growing up; they're made of potato starch!

I got a case of the chills as we walked up Fillmore, so Mr.S suggested we stop in to get some hot chocolate at Bittersweet Cafe. This was by far one of the most extensive selections of artisanal chocolate bars I've seen. There was Bonnat, Michel Cluizel, Vosques, Amana, Valrhona, El Ray, Guittard, Scharffen Berger, and much more. The ambiance is dark and mellow, warm like a cup of chocolate. As to their drink menu, they had a good selection of hot chocolates, chocolate-espresso combos, chais, a chocolate Thai iced tea, and steamed milk. Trying to decide between the "Bittersweet," a deep chocolatey, non-dairy drink, and the "Spicy," a hot chocolate flavored with pepper, cinnamon and rose, I decided on the latter for its interesting blend of flavors.

Thick and luxurious, with a deep flavorful palate of spices, it was just the right sweetness. If we hadn't been searching for a restaurant, I'd probably have gotten one of their marshmallows or adorable mini pastries to snack on. We also noticed that they make their own granola, served up with some awesome toppings.