West Coast First Timers - Day 3, Alcatraz, Lombard St & dinner at House of Prime Rib

[abiknox]

Index here

We both woke up with the alarm this morning at 7.30. I’d had a really rough night’s sleep feeling very sick a couple of times but luckily it hadn’t come to anything. The room was very noisy traffic wise again but other than that we had no complaints. I phoned Three mobile as we got ready and they reset something allowing us to make UK calls, their service was really good actually & they called me back later in the day to check it was all working ok. We walked down to Alcatraz landing which took about 25 minutes, got there on time and exchanged our online print off for tickets with no issues.



We got in the line and were on the boat setting off on time at 9.10am. The boat trip was quick and we were disembarking on the island in no time.





It was a bit more misty this morning, we definitely chose the best day to bike the bridge.







We head straight up the hill and grabbed our audio tour. I had read about how good this was but I was still very impressed. You get a real sense of what it must have been like for the inmates / guards on the island. Very creepy indeed.







We took our time, following the tour around and taking a lot of photos! It really was a fabulous place to visit.

On our way out we hit the gift shop, Aaron bought a coin for his Grandad & a copy of the institutions rules that the inmates were handed when they arrived, It makes for a very interesting read. I also bout a couple of postcards $15.

We were on the 10.55am ferry back to the city and we walked back to pier 39 to see the sea lions again. My super zoom camber had run out of battery though so I couldn’t get the close ups I was after.

We walked around and with rumbling tummies head into Boudins. It smelt so good and I had my heart set on trying the sourdough bowl



I ordered the Tomato Soup & Aaron had a Chicken Club Sandwich with crisps. With an AJ & D Coke the bill came to $23.50. Very good value. We got the food within a couple of minutes and boy was it good! I could so eat it all over again right now.





At this point I have to apologise, I seem to have lost a full 2 days worth of phone photos Its what I used to take all my food pics so I’m missing a couple of really good ones from today / tomorrow. Im gutted and I don’t have a clue how I have managed to delete them. Luckily I had uploaded some to Facebook so I have managed to get them back but not all

From Boudins, we walked through Fisherman’s Warf towards Ghirardelli square where we shared an amazing Salted Caramel Sundea in a Waffle Cone $11. Expensive but GOOD! No photo though, sorry. You’ll have to imagine the gooeyness! From here, we carried on up the hill towards Lombard St, oh my goodness, what a killer! I missioned up, afraid to stop in case I couldn’t get going again. Aaron decided to run up and down past me to make me feel even more unfit! A local did comment on how well we did though so that pleased me

I don’t know why but I was expecting to get to the bottom of Lombard St, I should have guessed with the hills but when we came to it we were at the top. That was a nice surprise as we didn’t have another hill to climb. We walked down the street watching all the cars trying to navigate around the bends. It was good fun. We took a lot of photos but again they are lost. Here is one I have found on FB, Aaron has a lot of others on his phone but I have no way of getting them on my works PC today so they will have to be added at a later date maybe.



From here we walked back to Union Square with a bit of shopping in mind. It was a long walk, about 40 minutes. We had a quick look around Crate & Barrel and gawped at the people queuing up for the Iphone 6 causing havoc around the roads. To be honest though we weren’t feeling it, aching legs and painful feet played a part in the decision and we knew we were coming back to this area tomorrow so we called it a day and headed back to the hotel.

We stayed in the hotel until it was time to leave for dinner. We had a reservation for House of Prime Rib at 7.30pm so we booked a taxi with the front desk for 7.10pm. It picked us up on time and we arrived at the restaurant soon after. $8 plus tip. The place was heaving. We checked in with the host and we told to wait by the door and someone would come and get us. Walk ins were being told there was a 1 ½ hr to 2 hour wait and they were accepting them and sitting at the bar! If you want to eat at this place, a reservation is a necessity!

It took about 15 minutes for us to be taken to a table, at one point a man (must have been about 75) and his teenage looking Asian girlfriend came in. He was obviously know to the staff, he took great pleasure introducing his date to everyone and then handed the host a wedge of cash that must have been a hundred $ at least. We were watching the whole time, if he had been seated before us we would not have been happy having made a reservation about 3 months in advance. Luckily they handed him back his cash and we got taken to our table.

I have to say that the service and food here was absolutely incredible. Really top notch and if you are celebrating whilst in San Francisco it would be a really good choice of restaurant. We started with some cocktails, a Cosmo for me & a Margarita for Aaron. Served in a beautiful glass, with any additional drink in its own glass shaker.



We were served a warm loaf of sourdough which I tried really hard not to eat too much of so I could enjoy the beef but Aaron managed most of it. It was yum. We then ordered our meat, both opting for the house cut. I went with the Loaded Jacket accompaniment and Aaron chose the Mash. We both went for the Creamed Spinach over the Corn. Once are order was in the waiter came over with the salad, it was all very theatrical the way food was served. He started spinning the bowl after showing us the contents, added the dressing, span it some more, added some seasoning, span it some more. Used the tongues to toss it all and then finally served it up onto two side plates for us.

Once we had finished the salad, the plates were cleared and our mains were delivered. Again, all for show, my loaded jacket was dressed in front of us, soooo much bacon went on Our meat was just beautiful. I had mine medium rare and Aaron opted for medium. They were both spot on, The spinach was gorgeous and peppery & the Yorkshire pudding was a really good effort! They also gave us a side of corn to try as neither of us opted for it as our choice and we were given some Horseradish in 3 differing strengths. I couldn’t find fault with the food. Here are some pics taken from Google as I can’t bear to not show you what it all looked like.









The bill came to $138 which included a second cocktail each. We gave a good tip and though the meal was worth evey penny. 10/10 in every aspect.

On a side note, about 20 minutes into our meal we saw old boy & his date being seated so they obviously managed to push in front of the people waiting at the bar. During our meal he walked passed us a couple of times to use the restrooms and each time he stopped at a table with young girls on to tell them how beautifully they looked, and if only he was 20 years younger blah blah blah, he flapped his tongue at me as he walked past and I just felt really sorry for the young girl he was with.

We grabbed a cab outside the restaurant and again it cost $8 to get back to the hotel. We tried to stay up to see the result of the Scottish Independent vote but managed to fall asleep before it was official.

Tomorrow … Driving to Yosemite!

[Ruthy1604]

Another great day! You manage to fit so much in
Shame about losing your food photos though.

[Biscaya]

Wow a couple of great days so far Abi. The pictures of the Rib look amazing! Although it may be a bit pricey for a family of four next year. Can't wait to see all the sights for myself
Excited to read about Yosemite

Jo

[NatsyNoo]

Another fab day! House of Prime Rib is amazing!

[abiknox]

Originally Posted by Ruthy1604

Another great day! You manage to fit so much in
Shame about losing your food photos though.

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Thanks, yes we always manage to fit a lot in, I run a bootcamp
Im gutted about my photos. Im so careful with all my photos too, its my worst nightmare

Originally Posted by Biscaya

Wow a couple of great days so far Abi. The pictures of the Rib look amazing! Although it may be a bit pricey for a family of four next year. Can't wait to see all the sights for myself
Excited to read about Yosemite

Jo

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It surely was one expensive meal! So yummy though but definitely suited to a special occasion.

Originally Posted by NatsyNoo

Another fab day! House of Prime Rib is amazing!

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Isn't it just! Thanks for the recommendation

[Pussycat Doll]

Food looks amazing, I love SF! It's about time I went back! Pussycat

[Guest]

Lol that old man sounds hilarious! Shame about your pictures :-(

[lovedisney89]

Lovely day!
The Alcatraz audio tour is fab isn't it?
Your meal looked amaaaaazing... so hungry now lol!

[abiknox]

Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

Food looks amazing, I love SF! It's about time I went back! Pussycat

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Its a lovely city isn't it, after an initial bad start I loved it by the time we left

Originally Posted by princess_chazy

Lol that old man sounds hilarious! Shame about your pictures :-(

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Oh Chazy, he was gross I know Im gutted for my photo loss, I think im still in mourning

Originally Posted by lovedisney89

Lovely day!
The Alcatraz audio tour is fab isn't it?
Your meal looked amaaaaazing... so hungry now lol!

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The tour was amazing yes, so through provoking! House of Prime Rib was just incredible, soooo yummy and the service was faultless!

[orlandosgr8]

Whenever I read about the Alcatraz tour it goes higher up my bucket list