It’s good to be back! SF trip recap.

Literally. I’ve spent the past week in beautiful San Francisco for work, away from my home in Seattle and all of my normal everyday routines. This includes my typical fitness and healthy eating routines, but I’m happy to report that, despite the significant differences in environment, I was able to stay healthy and active!

I’m very thankful that I have the opportunity to travel at times for work, and that my immediate workgroup is known to enjoy their food. SF is filled with too many great restaurants to count, and I definitely had my fair share of good eats.

The key to staying on track food-wise while traveling is to do some research and seek out some healthy food options. Luckily, the place I stayed at (The Inn at Union Square) offered up a free daily continental breakfast that had a wide assortment of breakfast options. Each morning, I consumed egg whites, a yogurt, and banana. I didn’t get a picture of the bfast spread, but check out their daily wine hour spread below. I didn’t indulge, except for a bite of cheese, but it’s a nice touch that they offer that many other hotels don’t.

Everyday during lunch, I hunt down salads loaded up with delicious veggie and protein options. Note: SF has an AMAZING salad place called Mixt Greens which I got to try last month I was down there. I had never before seen so much fresh produce selections sitting behind the counter. This was not the typical salad place. Check out their menu here. Simply fresh, delicious, and nutritious! Seattle, please, please, please open one up in the future! Thank you.

During the nighttime, my work team planned out a few nights for dinner, happy hour, and an Alcatraz Island nighttime tour. We also, of course, had some dim sum. I’m going to recap some of these dining adventures below.

For dinner, we went to a place called Salt House, which I really enjoyed. Our group had a plethora of small plates and a few entrees to share family-style. I’m a big fan of family-style dining because I enjoy taking small bites here and there, and getting to savor the different tastes and options. Having an entrée to myself is still good, but a bit more limiting. Below are a few pictures of the items we shared during dinner. I would recommend this place to anyone traveling down to SF.

For happy hour, we went to a new wine bar called Barrique. Apparently, this wine bar is America’s “first private-label wine establishment.” I’m not exactly sure how true this statement is, but nonetheless it was pretty cool to see all of the wine barrels lining the bar interior. I only had one glass of pinot noir, so I can’t vouch for the amazingness of the other wine options, but I did enjoy mine. In terms of food, we only had the cheese/meat flight. It was decent, not mind-blowing.

One evening, I decided that I wanted a dinner encompassing healthy items AND a dessert! Enter Morton’s Steakhouse. I’m really not that big on steak or red meat, so I was very happy to find broiled salmon and steamed broccoli options. Might have been the best salmon I’ve had. And don’t get me started about the broccoli – I got two heads of it!

Enough about the healthy stuff, though. The real star of the dinner was their Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake. Oh my. It was absolutely ooey-gooey and delicious. I couldn’t believe it. The center was oozing chocolate, literally. Amazing.

Prior to boarding the Alcatraz Island night tour, I had the chance to savor some of the Fisherman’s Wharf seafood street vendor options, but instead I opted to head to In-N-Out Burger with my coworker where I had a single hamburger. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a hamburger, and haven’t had In-N-Out in over a year. Verdict? It was effin’ DELISH! I also deemed it to be the “unhealthiest” food option I had during my weeklong stay, but I have no regrets. It solidified my opinion that In-N-Out is the best fast food chain out there. Too bad there’s none in WA! Note: Back in the day, I wouldn’t have thought twice about ordering a Double-Double Burger Animal-Style with French Fries and a Chocolate Shake. That in itself would’ve been over 1,700 calories. For real? Damn. That’s ridic.

In terms of my fitness on travel, I’m proud to say that I made it to the gym a few times AND I went on a ~6 mile run through Downtown SF, up the Embarcadero to Fishermen’s Wharf, down through Chinatown, and back to the hotel. Umm… I am so not an earlybird, so hitting the pavement before 7am was definitely an unusual (but determined) moment for me. I’ve turned over a new leaf. Hooray! Mini pic from my iPhone as I ran past the Bay Bridge:

On the last day of my trip, my team and I went to SF’s Chinatown to dine on dim sum. SF has some of the best dim sum I’ve ever had. And, boy, my team knows how to order their dim sum! My favorites have always been targeted to three main items: BBQ pork hombow, shumai, and hargow (shrimp dumplings). Those are my absolutely favorites from growing up and getting dim sum with my fam. Below is the spread of dim sum that we had at the table… I didn’t try them all, but wanted to capture these items for you.

There you have it, folks! What I want you to take from this recap is that if I can make some mindful eating and exercise decisions while on work or vacation, you can too. As long as I stay active and eat healthfully most of the time, it’s totally okay to indulge while dining out. It’s all about moderation. Speaking of moderation, the working out and healthful eating have afforded me to opportunity to eat some of the best foods out there. I’m loving it, especially the weekly Menchie’s obsession that I have going on! YUM!