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| If this shot had been more thought out it would have included the giant ice cream cone on the outside. Ooops... |
One day in the near future we're going to be those annoying people you see in line who are fumbling through their wallets looking for the punch card for pretzels, burritos, smoothies and now ice cream (see photo below). Anyway, Giancarlo and I have been together for about two years now, and in that time we've pretty much exhausted my list of Carmen's tried and tested Bay Area (and Santa Barbara) eateries.
Situated on the corner of Dolores and 18th Street, Bi-Rite Creamery serves up the best ice cream your taste buds have ever had. With an offering of ginger, salted caramel, honey lavender, and balsamic strawberry how could you go wrong? That being said, it's not your traditional ice cream place, so the more conventional and non-adventurous eater may not dig it.
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| Giancarlo's choice on the left and yours truly on the right |
So there we were standing in the creamery that I had hyped up for days. While Giancarlo scanned the selection, we were politely asked if we'd like to try any flavors, and as always, I jump on the opportunity.
Brown butter pecan and chocolate coconut please! I go ahead and order my signature brownie sundae while Giancarlo still tries to decide what to get.
The idea had crossed my mind to order something new, but let's face it, that is never happening because--let's just say it's a quality I've inherited.
As the Bi-Rite lady prepared my heavenly dessert, a man prompted us to try the creme fraiche with the balsamic strawberry. Giancarlo's face lit up, and there was no denying that he got it right on the money. The proof is the photo above. A scoop of creme fraiche and balsamic strawberry for him, and a brownie sundae with chocolate coconut (vegan--mind you) and brown butter pecan. Also, it wouldn't be right if I went without mentioning the mind-blowingly delicious candied pecans on the sundae--UH-may-ZING!!
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| Journey across the street to the most precious store you've stepped foot in and grab lunch (after ice cream of course) |
If I weren't overcome with giddiness I probably would have taken a hundred photos of the inside, but there's nothing I can do about that now other than make a trip there in the near future! Focus on the silver lining..
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| It's a shame that you can't taste a sliver of cheese before you purchase it |
After our ice cream, we decided it was time for lunch. Being on a budget, a pricey local market may not seem like the wisest decision, but cheese and bread is classy, filling and relatively cheap. We eyed the Manchego but decided to skip on it. Costco and Bi-Rite may not seem to have much in common (other than they sell food, obviously), but they both sell Petite Basque. It's Giancarlo's official favorite cheese--he's even asked that it be his Christmas present. Petite Basque is made of goat milk and was invented by the French in 1997. It's
über creamy and nutty and no, it doesn't taste like Monterrey Jack. Christmas came early for we bit the bullet and grabbed a wedge of this fancy, expensive cheese and turned around to be greeted to the most beautiful bread wall...
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| Behold! The Bread Wall. It's actually much bigger than this, but taking pictures of people selecting bread is not okay |
Acme bread for days. Yep, it's the Acme from the Ferry Building. We ended up pairing our beautiful wedge of cheese with a sweet baguette. The texture of the baguette was on point: crispy and chewy on the outside and moist and flaky on the inside. Mix in some "window shopping" for homes in the city, gawking at skyline views, dreaming of living in the city, and filling the inside of your car with mounds of crumbs and you've got yourself an A+ day.
Oh, did I mention that the purpose of this excursion to the city was to pay a bill?
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