Free Today- 90 Minute Cruise!

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the impressive San Francisco Bay Bridge, embark on this 90-minute cruise that sails under both the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay Bridges, while discovering San Francisco history and landmarks via headphone audio in 12 languages. It’s a stunning and informative way to experience the breathtaking views of San Francisco’s downtown skyline.  There are several different dates available.  Get tickets here.

Social Events

National Doughnut Day

Happy National Doughnut Day!  I don’t know about you but they are an obsession of mine.  Who doesn’t love a delicious maple bar?  If you answered me, this relationship could never work.  But I digress.  In honor of this joyous holiday, Dunkin Donuts is giving away one free doughnut when you purchase a beverage and Krispy Kreme is giving away any doughnut of choice (no purchase necessary).  Thank you Jimmy for the angry BBM this morning regarding no mention of free Krispy Kremes.  Happy Doughnut Trails!

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Old Navy, Rebecca Minkoff, J.Crew, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Last Call, Shoes.com, Ideeli, Giants Tickets, Restaurant.com

Groupon has a great deal for Old Navy which is $10 for $20 worth of summer apparel.  This deal ends tonight at midnight!

Rebecca Minkoff is having a sample sale this Saturday, June 4th from 10am-4pm at Madrone Studios

J.Crew’s summer sale starts today in stores and online…

Saks Fifth Avenue is having their Designer Sale with up to 40% off.

Neiman Marcus is also having their Women’s Designer Sale with 40% off of original prices.

Last Call by Neiman Marcus is giving an extra 30% off of all jewelry today and an extra 40% off all Kooba handbags in stores and online.

Today is the last day to get 15% off already reduced sandals at Shoes.com.  Use the code SANDALSALE

Ideeli has sales on Kitchenaid, Hype, Isabel Lu and many others.  I definitely recommend checking it out!

Get $6.80 off Giants tickets in June by using the code KNBR.  Good on tickets from Standing Room to Club Level.

Get 60% off of gift certificates from Restaurant.com by using the code MEAL.

Shopping, Social Events

June Festivals: Union Street, Unwind on Union, Bay Area Brewfest, Fairfax Festival, North Beach Festival

June is here and you know what that means…Festivals galore!  It’s an action packed month so get y0ur calendar ready!

Union Street Festival is June 4th & 5th from 10am-6pm between Gough and Steiner in San Francisco.  The festival includes tons of arts and crafts booths, live entertainment, and gourmet food booths (gyros, fish n chips, Vietnamese sandwiches, BBQ).  This is the 1st year that alcohol will NOT be allowed at the event so no beer tents.  Luckily there are tons of great bars lining the street so there are plenty of places to booze it up.  Cafe Des Amis, Perrys, Betelnut and The Brickyard are some good bets.

Since the weather-people are predicting rain this weekend (which could mean a heat wave may happen), a good bet is Unwind on Union for their 1st Annual Beer Garden on June 4th & 5th.  They are converting their greenhouse back patio so you can enjoy warm weather despite the rain.  Enjoy beers on tap, drink specials, food and entertainment.

The 4th Annual TAPAS Grand Wine Tasting event is Sunday, June 5th from 2-5pm at Fort Mason.  This event will feature over 43 different varietals of domestically produced Spanish and Portuguese wines.  Tickets are $60 at the door but you can get them for $30 now.

The 2nd Annual Bay Area Brewfest is Saturday, June 11th from 2-5pm (1-5pm VIP) at Fort Mason.   The event will feature dozens of international and domestic beers (Pyramid Ale, Trumer Pils, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Gordon Biersch, Full Sail, Black Star, Mendocino Brewing Company to name a few) and SF’s best food trucks (food sold separately).  This one is guaranteed to be a boozefest/shitshow.  Tickets include unlimited tastings for 3 (or 4 for VIP) hours.  Designated drivers pay $10 at the door.  Enter code TRAVEL to get a 10% discount.

The 34th Annual Fairfax Festival is June 11th & 12th.  The Fairfax Festival Parade is Saturday, June 11th from 10am-noon.  The festival is from 1-5pm on Saturday and 11am-6pm Sunday and is fun for adults and kids.   There will be live music, arts and crafts, and flea marketers.  EcoFest will feature organic wine and beer tasting featuring over 30 different wineries, locally produced olive oils and cheeses in addition to other delicious food.

The 57th Annual Northbeach Festival is June 18th & 19th from 10am-6pm located in the North Beach district.  It is very similar to the Union Street Festival with the majority of the action in the Washington Square Park.  Parking in this area is a bitch so here are some recommendations for parking: Validated Parking is available for $3.00 from 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM: Golden Gateway Garage, 250 Clay, between Battery & Drumm. A “Park & Ride Shuttle” bus departs every few minutes. Ask for the Broadway/Columbus stop. The festival is one block north. Return stop at Grant & Broadway. Look for the red and white “Park & Ride” sign. The ONLY validation stamp is located at Calzone’s Restaurant, 430 Columbus. No purchase necessary.                                                                                                            Additional Parking is available at :735 Vallejo (south side of street) between Stockton and Powell, 766 Vallejo (north side of street above Central Station) between Stockton and Powell and on Filbert between Columbus and Mason.

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Portland, OR Part Deux

The next morning we went to The Stepping Stone which was featured on Man vs. Food.  I have been here once before and really enjoyed it so was looking forward to Round 2.  This time around I got what is called the Smothered B.A (short for Bad Ass) because only a Bad Ass would eat this artery clogger.  It’s an omelet stuffed with chicken fried steak, cheddar cheese, hash browns, fresh jalepenos, and covered with sausage gravy.   Deeeeeeelicious! My friend got the biscuits and gravy and it was 4 FULL biscuits with gravy on it. Filthy.  The special of the day was the country benedict which consisted of a biscuits with sausage patties, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on it.  Hmmmm I can’t imagine why Americans are so overweight?

For dinner we went to a new Asian fusion restaurant called Ping, which GQ named one of the 10 best new restaurants in the US.  Their sister restaurant, Pok Pok, was also on DDD and I visited them last time I was in Portland.  The wings at Pok Pok were so effing amazing that I knew Ping would be good and they didn’t disappoint especially since the sign of the former restaurant was still up which reads, Hung Far Low.  We started with the quail egg (wrapped in bacon) skewer, the Vietnamese style short ribs and the satay set which included a chicken, beef and lamb skewer.  My favorite part of it was the side of roti which is Malaysian flatbread that is fried- yummy!  The 2nd round included the yum yai, which is a thai-style green salad, the yam khai khem and the laksa nonya soup.  The green salad consisted of boiled eggs, chicken, prawns, sprouts, pickled garlic, scallions, cilantro and tofu with a peanut dressing.  I could’ve eaten chopped liver with that peanut dressing it was so delicious.  The yam khai khem is a salad with house salted duck eggs mixed together with lime, chiles, fish sauce, shallots, and ginger.  If you like salty, this is the dish for you.  The laksa nonya is a Singaporean coconut curry rice noodle soup that is full of prawns, chicken, boiled egg, fish cakes and bean sprouts.So flavorful and comforting.  For the last round (after another round of the satay set and short ribs) , we got cha gio (fried egg rolls) and the nonya-style green beans.  The egg rolls were good but these green beans were orgasmic.  Served in a spicy curry sauce with deep fried shallots on top, I made room to eat them even though I was seriously regretting not wearing an elastic waistband.

After dinner we went to Glowing Greens Miniature Golf, which is an underground, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course.  It was 18 holes of awesomeness and I am jealous that there isn’t one here in the Bay Area.

After the strenuous 18 holes we headed to Portland City Grill for spectacular views of Portland.  It is Portland’s version of the Starlight Room without the dancing.  As with most restaurants in Portland, after 9pm they were offering a happy hour.  Sure, why not?  $5 cheeseburger, $4 sushi rolls and fordessert- freshly baked, warm cookies (white chocolate macadamia and chocolate-chocolate chip) with Haagen-Daas Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream.  The cookies were gooey in the middle and the chocolate one was like a flourless chocolate cake.  Sinfully delicious!  A must see if you are in Portland.

For breakfast the next morning we went to Mothers Bistro and Bar and like most restaurants named Mothers, this one did not disappoint.  I shared Breakfast Nachos which was roasted red potatoes sauteed with bacon, caramelized onions, a touch of cream, and topped with cheddar, green onions and sour cream.  To die for.  The carmelized onions are what really took this dish to the nextlevel.  I also shared a stuffed fritatta with bacon which is an open faced omelet with bacon, cheddar, and potatoes topped with sour cream and green onions.  Sounds very similar to something else I had just eaten…

The last stop on the Portland food crawl was Bunk’s Sandwiches, also featured on DDD.  I got the Pork Belly Bahn Mi and was not disappointed.  The bread was freshly toasted, the pork belly savory and flavorful and the vegetables crisp and fresh.  A testament?  I wanted to take a picture but gobbled it down before I could remember.  Whoops.  And this ended the food crawl of Portland.

Portland is such a great city for foodies because it has so many great stick-to-your-ribs joints in addition to many gourmet spots.  There are blocks dedicated to permanent food trucks and almost every restaurant has at least 2 happy hours a day with food and drink specials (3-6pm and then one late night).  Any place that serves alcohol is required to serve at least 5 items to munch on.  If you are someone that has food allergies (like a gluten-free diet), many restaurants and cafes cater to these dietary restrictions.  The best part is that if you are used to paying San Francisco prices, Portland feels very inexpensive.  And you gotta love no sales tax (on everything!, Shop away!)  It is near impossible to go hungry here.  As Adam Richman would say, “In the battle of woman vs Portland, woman wins!”

(If you missed Portland, OR Part 1 click here)

I would like to thank Adriana and Trevor for being such gracious hosts!  See you guys next week 🙂  Stay tuned for my adventures in Seattle, Washington!

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Giggle of the Week

Giggles

Saks Fifth Avenue, BCBG, Shopbop, J.Crew, Gap, Restaurant.com, JetBlue, The Cosmopolitan, Yelp

Saks Fifth Avenue is having another 24 hour sale (50% off!) on fabulous dresses from BCBG, ABS and Stuart Weitzman bags.  You have 19 hours to get in on this deal…

Shopbop is also having their Designer Boutique sale which includes designers like Thakoon, Calvin Klein, Herve Leger, Temperley London, DSquared2 and more.

J.Crew is giving 20% off on Women’s shorts and flip flops on line and in stores.

This is the last day to get an extra 30% off of sale items at the Gap online by using promo code GAPSAVE.

Also, it’s the last day to get 30% off at BCBG for their Friends and Family Sale.

This is the last day to get 80% off of Restaurant.com gift certificates with the promo code FLAG.  I highly recommend Espetus, the Brazilian Steakhouse in San Francisco.

JetBlue is having their Get-It-While-Its-Hotter Sale today only with fares as low as $44.  Did you need an excuse to take a vacation?

And why not go to Vegas?  The Cosmopolitan is the newest hotel on the Strip and the place to see and be seen.  Studios include a sitting area, a 110 ft square private terrace and small kitchenette.  Hotel has 3 loungelike pool areas where featured concerts include Death Cab for Cutie and The Flaming Lips and a nightclub run by the Tao Group.  With rooms starting at $130, why are you still reading this?  Deal ends in 5 days

Yelp is offering a deal to get $30 worth of drinks for $15 at the Red Devil Lounge.  I know it;s hard to spend $30 on drinks but I’m sure you can make it work.

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Trivia Night in San Rafael

Do you fancy yourself Smarter than a 5th Grader?  Go test your skills at Trivia Night at Hanna’s tonight in San Rafael.  Located at 1700 4th Street, Hanna’s is normally a charming and quaint Italian & Mediterranean restaurant with a great outdoor patio for the summer.  But tonight, and every last Tuesday of the month, Hanna’s will be host to trivia night.  Bring your thinking caps and appetite.

Social Events ,

Bar Bocce

Sausalito recently got a new restaurant on their waterfront just in time for the summer.  Bar Bocce, a pizzeria from the Real Restaurant Group (Buckeye Roadhouse, Bungalow 44, Bix, Betelnut), just opened at 1250 Bridgeway and is sure to be a summertime hangout.  With amazing views of the water and Tiburon, it also has 2 bocce courts and an awesome firepit.

With Robert Price (executive chef of Buckeye) heading up the kitchen, you know the food is going to be amazing.  The delicious sourdough pizzas come have fun varieties like potato, bacon, and organic egg or dungeness crab, meyer lemon and avocado creme fraiche.  The sea salted crust on these pizzas are the icing on the cake.   Yuh-meee!  If you don’t feel like pizza they have yummy meatballs (or meatball sliders) with pinenuts that lend great texture to them.  The kobe beef lasagne is not to be passed up.  (I really meant to take pics of the food, but it accidentally jumped into my mouth before I could).  Or just go to enjoy a drink on the water.  There is no liquor but plenty of wine and beer on tap.  Service can be scattered as people try to fit themselves wherever they can fit and servers don’t seem to have set sections.  If you are just going for a drink, you can just go inside to the bar.  With summertime around the corner, this is the place to be.

*My friend reminded me to take a picture of a pizza before devouring so here it is- smoked bacon, marble potato, and fontina with the option of an egg on top 

 

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Memorial Day Sales, Giants Games, Golf Lessons, Hawaii

Have you been itching to go to a Giants game but don’t feel like dropping $50 on a ticket?  Get tickets to see them play the Washington Nationals or Cincinnati Reds for as low as $8.  Click here and use the code JUNE. 

If you are thinking of taking a late summer trip to Hawaii, there are direct flights from San Francisco to Honolulu as low as $162!  This deal will end quickly so take advantage now!

If you’ve ever thought about taking a private golf lesson to take your golf game to the next level, this is your chance.  Choose between a 1 hour ($60) or 2 hour ($120) private lesson with golf expert Mitch Lowe at the Arnold Palmer designed, award winning championship Half Moon Golf Links.  This deal expires Saturday, May 28th at midnight.

The Gap is giving 40% off your purchase on select styles in stores until May 30th.  Online its an extra 30% off by using the code GAPSAVE.

J.Crew has extended their Spring Sale in stores and online.  Get an extra 30% off sale items.  Use promo code LOVEIT

Nordstroms is holding their Half Yearly Sale for women in stores and online now until Sunday.  The Half Yearly Sale for Men starts June 17th.

Last Call by Neiman Marcus is giving an extra 30% off your purchases in stores and online. 

Saks Fifth Avenue is having a sale where you can get 50% off designer swimsuits and cover ups.  The sale ends Monday at 9am.

BCBGis having their friends and family sale now thru May 31st in stores and online.  They are also offering free shipping on all orders.

BCBGeneration is the more affordable line from BCBG.  They are also having their Friends and Family sale in stores and online.  Everything is an extra 20% off plus free shipping on all orders.

Macy’s has a huge Memorial Day Sale with an extra 15% off apparel, shoes, etc.

Shoes.com is offering 15% off your entire order by using code TAKE15.  Free shipping on all orders.  Sale ends May 31st.

Phew!  That should keep you busy for a couple of hours.  And if you don’t feel like being cooped up inside this weekend, here is a list of things to do here in the Bay Area!

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