San Francisco: The food

 You'd be surprised (or maybe not at all), but as soon as we arrived in San Francisco, we went to get Mexican food. Still fresh from the airplane, barely after dropping off our luggage at the apartment where we stayed we stumbled upon Taquería  Guadalajara. We even joked that perhaps we had arrived at the other side of the border, as the Mission is full of Mexican little shops, from bakeries to taquerías; from esoteric paraphernalia, to groceries. You can find Maseca, Mole, Chocolate, all kinds of Bimbo products, Mexican medicines (XL3, Desenfrioles, pomada veterinaria de la tia...), piñatas and a huge variety of fresh products. We had avocado on sourdough bread and mangoes for dinner and breakfast pretty much every day. Oh and let's not forget the pan dulce.

When we were not enjoying Mexican food that is 95% the real deal, we were having Dim Sum. We had the best at a small Chinese place somewhere in Clement Street with 6th . The area is properly nicknamed "The new chinatown":

"Clement is where visitors can shop for the same roasted ducks, ginseng, tropical durian, mangoes and star fruit as Chinatown, but also browse for old records, flowers and books. The streets are often filled with the hustle and bustle of visitors who come to sample dim sum, Thai, Persian, French or Burmese cuisine—or get a cup of coffee. "It has a highly Asian flavor," said Harold Baum, owner of the Clement Street Bar and Grill. "But there’s a subtle difference. Chinatown connotes that all the businesses are Chinese, but the ones here represent a cultural mix."

 Obviously we also tried Dim Sum at the real Chinatown, but there we weren't as lucky. We chose a place randomly because it was full of local, Chinese old ladies, but we were disappointed as the food was cold and did not seem so fresh. 

Kamel and Lauren introduced us to Pancho Villa taquería, a kind of Mexican fast-food concept: you order when you enter, then wait at the end of the line, get your aguas frescas or jarrito, some complimentary nachos and proceed to the salsa bar. It was truly delicious. 

While walking along the Marina district we stumbled upon The Grove (Chestnut street 2250) and decided to have a bite. I had a bagel with avocado, rucola and alfalfa sprouts (if I remember well) and the boy had a Florentine steak. It was delicious. Apparently the place is very popular, they call the place "the living room of San Francisco". 

In Sausalito, we serendipituously found the best hamburgers ever. We knew they must be good because the place was tiny but there was a long line that went all the way to the street. The place is simply called "Sausalito hamburgers" (737, Bridgeway,Sausalito), you'll recognize the place by the circular rotating grill by the window. We ate our hamburgers at a bench at Plaza Viña del Mar, with the cutest elephant statues as company.