Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A San Francisco Treat... Honey Honey Crepery, the Exploratorium and the Palace of Fine Arts

Clockwise:  Banana Crepes with Cinnamon and Sugar, Crunchy Granola with yogurt and fruit, Miami Heat Crepe, and simple Scrambled Eggs with Toast and Fruit
Breakfast was on everyone's mind as we woke at the Chancellor Hotel to dense fog on the second day of our August San Francisco family vacation.  After reading rave reviews about the Banana Nutella crepes at Honey Honey Crepery, Liv wanted to see if they were as good as the ones we make at home.  Frankly, I think the comparison idea was just a tactic to move us in that direction, but lucky for us it worked!

Located at 599 Post Street in San Francisco near Union Square, Honey Honey is right around the corner from the Chancellor and a much more appealing option than the Luques restaurant in the hotel.  My husband was somewhat skeptical about crepes for breakfast as he is not much of a "sweets for breakfast" person, but he was more than pleasantly surprised to see the incredible menu board filled with much more than sweet crepes.  The Miami Heat -  Cheddar, avocado, chicken breast, scallions, spicy hot sauce - had a smile on his face in no time as Liv changed her mind and went with the Banana Crepe with cinnamon and sugar.  My son preferred a simple classic breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and fruit while I chose the Crunchy Granola with fruit and yogurt.  Coffee was ordered and we sat down to wait for our meal.
 

Seeing a restaurant slowly fill with locals meeting friends and colleagues is a sure sign of "the place to be" and Honey Honey most certainly fit that bill.  Within 20 minutes of our arrival nearly every seat was taken as even more customers streamed through the door, many greeted by name from those at the counter.

Talking to the clerk as we ordered, I discovered that Honey Honey is a family owned business and takes great pride in food quality and service.  The pride most definitely showed as our beautifully plated food arrived hot and appetizing along with a broad smile from our server.  Coffee was refilled as we all shared our plates with each other proclaiming every dish excellent all the way around.

The corner of Post and Taylor
The fruit on each plate was arranged artfully and the Banana and Miami Heat Crepes folded to perfection.  The Banana crepe had received a light dusting of powdered sugar while my husband's Miami Heat had been nicely doused with a tasty, spicy sauce that pleased him greatly.  My granola was topped with mounds of fresh, vibrant fruit and provided a wonderful, non-restaurant-like healthy start to my day.


Honey Honey offers free WiFi and is easily reached from Union Square.  I can without reservation highly recommend this restaurant and only wish I lived closer so I might visit again.  Honey Honey really is the place to be!

Fueled up for the day we made our way to our car and headed through China Town and on to the crooked part of Lombard Street.  Billed as the "Crookedest Street in San Francisco", the beautifully landscaped curves of Lombard are worth a trip.  Hoards of tourists stop at the bottom (the best photo op) for photos of the cars making their way down the crooked, brick lined street.  For a bit of trivia, note that Vermont Avenue at 20th claims the actual San Francisco "Crookedest Street" Title.

Off through the Marnia District with the morning joggers I was a little disappointed not to see any kites flying on the greens however the views of the bay were once again stunning.  The Golden Gate Bridge would have been visible had the fog not been so thick, but we still knew it was there. 

Stopping at the Palace of Fine Arts I thought it would be Liv who would most enjoy the Exploratorium, a museum of science, art and human perception, but instead it was my husband who moved from hands on exhibit to exhibit, his face flushed with excitement.  He and Liv made their way through the event gaining excitement together as they found item after item which piqued their interest.  From electricity to simple bubbles, the Exploratorium can take hours of fun to get through without the kids really knowing that they actually learned something.


Wandering outside the Exploratorium through the grounds of the Palace of Fine Arts is alway a beautiful way to spend a bit of time.  Sea Gulls flapped in the ponds as we meandered the pathways of the remaining grand structure built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.  A popular place for weddings the theater also serves as a venue for numerous events throughout the year.


25 comments:

  1. gorgeous photos! everything looks wonderful!

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  2. Honey Honey was very close to where I stayed but I never got there looks great. I'll have to add it to my list.

    I guess I'll have to adopt a child so I can go to the exploritorium. The Palace of Fine Arts is just beautiful. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities

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  3. Came to see how the vaca went! Looks like you guys had so much fun, I haven't been to the exploratorium in years. I think Liv is trying to get taller than you and catch up to her brother, huh.
    -GIna-

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  4. So much fun on this vacation, love it!

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  5. How very cool. Thanks for letting us in on the family vacay. The crepes look delish (glad Liv could persuade y'all), the museum looks fun, and oh that Palace of the Fine Arts looks amazing in your photo.

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  6. Stunning pictures and I LOVE when you try a restaurant and it turns out to be a winner! I'm enjoying this trip through your eyes!

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  7. Great pics! Looks like a blast of a trip! Hope to see you sometime soon at another SD blogger event. :)

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  8. This post so makes me miss our time living in San Francisco. Although, the weather so far in San Diego has really made me appreciate our move down here! =)

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  9. I love how you travel in sandals, Kim ;-) I cannot live without my Rainbows and in them every single day. Honey Honey looks great! I'll have to try that when I'm up there next. Did you guys also go to Mama's over in Washington Square? Oy vey... magnificent food!!!!

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  10. Ah looks like you guys are having such a great time! The Exploratorium definitely looks like my kind of fun too =)

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  11. This is bringing back such memories of one of the best holidays I ever had. I was there for a week so did occasionally see the bridge. Will put Honey Honey on my list of place to eat next time I get to SF.

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  12. What a fantastic trip. I had pegged the Chancellor as a place I would want to stay...are you enjoying it?
    Honey Honey sounds wonderful...you really can't go wrong with nutella :)

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  13. Look at you with all the great photos! This is amazing. I love crepes too! When I was in NYC I had an amazing crepe that was for dinner. Not to mention they had crepe stands and they put nutella in them..gahhhhh.

    Thanks for the tour and pics! :-)

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  14. So sad I missed the crepe place when I was there this spring. It looks amazing. San Francisco is so much fun!

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  15. lovely pictures Kim
    crepes look like a wonderful treat

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  16. Looks and sounds like you and the family had a great time up here. I live in the Bay Area but have not been to those places in years! The crepe place looks so tasty - that is fairly new! Great photos!!!

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  17. So cool you are spending your holidays "up" here :)
    You know, I've never been to Honey Honey Crepery but now I know where to go next time I have a crepes craving :)
    Enjoy your trip with the family!

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  18. Ooh! I never liked crepes until I just had my first savory one not too long ago. Now I want to master them! It was a spinach and cheese crepe and it was great. The pics here are fabulous and I want to read (and drool) over their menu board!

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  19. I am a huge fan of crepes and Honey Honey sounds divine. As is that beautiful city - one of my favorite cities in the USA! What a lovely recounting!

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  20. The Boy and I are planning a trip to San Francisco in October, so this post couldn't be any better timed... especially since Honey Honey looks like it'll be a short walk from the hotel we've booked, and I love me some crepes. Thank you for sharing! :)

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  21. Nice photos! Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. So much fun! What a great trip... Lovely pictures, too! :) Loved going through this post, Kim!

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  23. That Miami Heat sounds SOOOOOOO good. I could really go for one right now :) Glad y'all popped over to that restaurant to give us a peep. It sounds awesome! As does the Exploratorium. My hubby and I don't have any kids yet but you still find us in those places any time we travel :)

    Buzzed!

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