Bay Area Trip (Day 2)

THURSDAY, DAY 2, was spent with our family friends: Auntie Carrie (who is one of my mom’s best friends and almost like a second mom to us), Uncle Bobby and their daughter Margriet. Also in from LA, were Auntie Carrie’s sister, Auntie Gloria and her family (Uncle Adolfo, Sam and Nico). We all met at Margriet’s lovely apartment on Nob Hill. It was a very beautifully furnished 2-bedroom apartment that became a bit crowded with 12 people in the living room. But it was a comfortable space and of course, nice being with family and friends on Thanksgiving so we didn’t really mind.

Lunch was Spiral Ham and Roasted Turkey with all the trimmings (corn relish, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry jelly) and then for dessert we had champagne, amazingly good lemon squares, three kinds of liquored bundt cake, petit fours and coffee. The food was really good and our hosts were delightfully gracious.

After lunch, Uncle Adolfo and Uncle Bobby took us on parts of the 49-mile scenic drive around the city. It was a great way for my dad to see the sights that make SF distinct -- the Coit Tower, Union Square, Transamerican Building, Golden Gate park, North Beach, Chinatown, The Cliff House, Palace of Fine Arts, SF City Hall, Lombard Street, and rows and rows of lovely Victorian style homes.

Back at Margriet’s place, we took a walk to a nearby park (across Grace Cathedral) which was really nice. Uncle Bobby told us this was where he walked every morning amidst old men and women doing tai chi. After our walk, we rested for a while back in the apartment.

Later on we went to dinner at the House of Prime Rib on Van Ness. It is a place well known for, well, prime rib. In fact, it is so well known, half of San Francisco was there that night. In spite of Margriet’s making reservations months ago, we had a long wait for our tables. But it turned out to be just as well, since we were slowly building up an appetite. House of Prime Rib is almost a replica of Lawry’s Prime Rib (ambience and food wise). And since we all thoroughly enjoy Lawry’s, things were looking up. Dinner started with the house salad – again chilled and served the same way, we had our prime rib dinners (cut and cooked to our specifications), Yorkshire pudding, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, au jus gravy, and of course, whipped horseradish! For dessert, there was raspberry sorbet, crème brulee or fresh strawberries. And for entertainment, we had a very vivacious server that provided us with quite a show. The evening was every bit as good as expected and my only complaint is I couldn’t take my leftovers back to the hotel!