We awoke to a gray, foggy, cool and slightly damp morning, typical for San Francisco! Our intention was to go to the well-known and famous Sears for breakfast, until we saw the line…our the door and all up the street.

Um, no thanks.

So we walked up the street, past a man handing out flyers, to Loris Diner….another line, out the door.

Um, no thanks.

Hubby checked YELP while I took a look at what was handed to me. Hmmm, San Francisco Golden Gate Grill serves breakfast? Heck, why not? So, back to the little doorway next to Sears and up, up, up the 3 flights of stairs we climbed. Fate was kind, because hidden up those stairs, away from the chaos of the crowds, was a 50’s themed diner that was just wonderful.

Full of great antiques,

and ambience, it had a great breakfast menu that accommodated gluten free. My daughter had eggs and a grilled apple chicken sausage, the sausage was amazing.

Hubby had the Seafood Benedict. I will confess, I am rather a connoisseur of hollandaise, so when I say this was good, please believe me that it was! This was a homemade hollandaise, actually better than the one I make, and mine is killer good.

I had the Monterey Omelette. They used a basil chicken and gouda to fill it, and it was yummy.

The best part? That little flyer was a coupon, and we received a discount on our meal. The price point was very reasonable for the quality and portion size, (this is SFO, it can be overpriced in Union Square) but to get a discount was just the icing on the cake. What a way to start the day!

Next up was a little walk down to the shopping district to buy time while my oldest daughter, Big Sis, was waiting to get picked up by one of her Sorority sisters who lived in the city. She was going to spend the day with her friend while Hubby, Little Peanut and I toured Fisherman’s Wharf. Strolling along, we stumbled upon the cutest little cupcake store Cako. There were no GF cupcakes, but they did have GF macaroons and the cook in me had to taste/compare these little minis to what I can make at home.

The store was adorable:

The macaroon selection was amazing, truly unique flavors, all gluten free. They were not cheap, mind you, but they were sweet treats my no-wheat daughters could enjoy. (My oldest is also showing symptoms of intolerance now)

I tried the maple bacon cupcake.

It has bacon, so it had to be good, right? My critical opinion is that it was a little too sweet. I think the frosting could have had a little more salt to counter the sweetness of the cake. There just wasn’t enough salty bacon to offset the sweet. The macaroon were amazing, all of the ones we tried! We liked the Green Tea and Rose the best.

About this time, Big Sis’s friend picked her up for a day of fun, and the three of us took off for the Wharf. The concierge from the hotel told us that the official viewing for The America’s Cup was at Pier 4. The set up was impressive! A big screen jumbo-tron, a lawn with picnic tables, lounging bags, lawn games, elevated bars, artistic eating venues, shopping, and more.

We watched the Emirates boat race a time trial, then left to walk up up the wharf. About half way to Ghiradelli Square is a beautiful seafood restaurant, The Franciscan my husband had been to and enjoyed amazing seafood. So, we stopped in and since it was packed, waited. It was worth the wait!

We enjoyed fresh oysters, fresh Dungeness Crab, and sweet meaty fresh mussels. The price point is on the higher side because you are eating seafood that is perfectly prepared. While they have loads of other options on the menu, and they were helpful with selecting GF items, shellfish served on a sizzling grill is what they are known for. Be prepared to get messy!

While sitting there enjoying the view of Alcatraz Island and tasty eats, what goes by on a practice run?? The Emirates boat!

After lunch the three of us continued up to Ghiradelli, but holy cow…it was crazy busy there and we did not stay long. We thought we could catch a cab from there, but alas, we could not. So we started walking, and it just happened to be Hyde Street. It was straight up hill, past a flock of goats, (Yes goats. It appears they use them to eat the underbrush and maintain the open spaces that are too steep to maintain.) and quite a steep climb it was!

Yes, the road we were climbing is nearly that steep! At the top of Hyde we were treated to Lombard Street. Another, WAY TOO CROWDED, crazy tourist spot, so we took a quick picture but did not linger with the crazy masses.

We walked through Russian Hill, back through North Beach, and more. My FitBit said we put in 8 miles that day, and even my comfy Keen clad toes were feeling a bit tired. Back at the hotel, we met up with Big Sissy, freshened up and headed off to a lovely dinner at a wonderful little restaurant located in an alley-way, B44.

This place serves Tapas and we had a wonderful, naturally gluten free meal. After ordering, we were rather surprised at a personal visit from the chef. He was extremely apologetic that the stock he was using for the risotto was NOT gluten free, he had just checked. He offered to make a fresh batch, but it would take 20 minutes. We declined, but were impressed and grateful at the care and diligence the chef took to ensure ALL ingredients were safe for her to consume. He assured us he was changing vendors so that he could get a guaranteed gluten free brand to cook with. We did order the paella, which my daughter could eat, along with a skirt steak and a couple of appetizers to share. Everything is ‘shared’, which is my kind of meal. I always have the desire to taste everyone else’s food, and this way, I could!

With another tasty meal in our stomachs, we walked back to the hotel. Union square at night is fun. There are musicians and artists everywhere, playing for tips. There is a lot of unknown talent on those streets! We watched a bit of the street entertainment, then turned in.

That pretty much wraps up day 3 in SFO.