rainy day at the beach

outerlands, 25th & judah, san francisco

as the weather has gotten colder and the days shorter i've been hunkering down, bundling up in blankets and surfing the waves of the net.  and i came across this video one morning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5kKeKSfyOE

i don't have to say it twice, i really love tartine!  i used to live two blocks away and on the mornings i was too cold tired and or lazy to ride my bike to work i'd have to walk past the bakery on my way to the bus.  it would be when they were just opening, things were just coming out of the ovens and best of all there would be no lines! i'd get a croissant that had the best hot crisp flaky exterior and the most melty doughy buttery inside.  their bread is the same when it comes out of the oven.  walking home after buying a loaf  i could easily eat half in that two block distance.

before having watched the video above, i had heard outerlands mentioned by friends before, but the sunset district just always seems so far, i had never really thought to make the trek before until learning about their connection to tartine.  

it was awesome! it's a tiny little hole in the wall, with walls tiled by spiraling wood and hanging hoyas tangled over the counter.  the food is rustic and hearty, which was a perfect match for the rainy day.  i got the grilled cheese with a bowl of lentil soup.  the bread was cut thick, leaving the grilled exterior toasted and crisp while the center was softer and lighter and pleasantly warm with soft melted cheese.  also, the soup was some of the best lentil soup i've ever had! not heavy on the salt, full of fresh cut vegi's and perfect for dipping a sandwich into!  i could eat this every day and be happy! 

another perk, a few doors down was this great shop, the general store, where i purchased a new blanket to add to the nest of blankets i've been burrowing under during this very cold winter.

http://outerlandssf.com/

outerlands' open-faced ham and cheese

 

 

outerlands, 25th & judah, san francisco

Els recently bought herself a copy of Tartine Bread (even though SOMEONE was planning on buying it for her as a present, jeez), and has been obsessed with since.  So in addition to eating a delicious special-occasion dinner at Bar Tartine (no sandwiches for me that night sadly), and her preparing a rad kale caesar salad from one of the recipes in the book, we also had to venture out to Outerlands to try their Tartine-style bread.  The typically omnipresent fog of the Sunset district was gone for the day, replaced by overcast skies and a violently dark looking ocean.  It was cold and gorgeous, and made me think I should spend more time out in the Sunset (note to self: no, you should not).  We managed to get to Outerlands just before lunch hours ended (Outerlands closes at 3 after lunch every day and then re-opens for dinner).  Their particular hours had prevented us from making this trek before, but time was on our side this day.  We found a nice table, ordered at the counter, and enjoyed a terrifically bitter pot of coffee between the two of us while waiting for our sandwiches to arrive.  Now, Outerlands isn't a cheap meal, but you get what you pay for both in quality and quantity- we got two sandwiches, but honestly one would have probably been enough for the both of us.  Els had the grilled cheese with some lentil soup (review forthcoming, no doubt), while I decided to go for the open-faced ham and cheese.  Growing up, grilled ham and cheese was one of my all-time favorite comfort foods (ESPECIALLY with honey ham) and so this definitely lit up the pleasure centers of my brain.  Don't be fooled by the large salad leaf in the first picture there, which makes this sandwich seem smaller than it was- the two huge pieces of bread, topped with honey ham, cheddar, caramelized onions and honey mustard were very filling.  The bread was cut thick, standing out as the main draw of the sandwich, and appropriately so: it was so full of flavor and character, and definitely lived up to the Tartine name.  The side salad was great too, as was the chocolate chip cookie we had after lunch.  Throw in a trip to the General Store and then spend some time gazing at the ocean, and you've got a great Saturday afternoon excursion.