Earlier this week, I was in San Francisco for the American Chemical Society meeting, which was held downtown, in the Moscone Center. On the last day, I took a bit of time for myself to wander around and see a little bit of the city. I am a book buff, and so I searched out some book stores. I started my day by finding a comic book store, Things From Another World. There is only one comic book store in Santa Fe, and they tend to have a smaller selection. TFAW had a good selection of graphic novels/trade paperbacks, which is what I buy as they are just easier to put on a bookshelf. I ended up getting The Freshmen and Powers Vol 5: Anarchy. Powers has been a great series so far, and The Freshmen looks very entertaining.

I then headed to a couple of bookstores around Market Street, Cody’s Books and Stacey’s Bookstore. Both specialize in new books. I tend to look for a few different but consistent things whenever I find a new bookstore: Science and Basque books. Neither had any books on Basques I could find, and the Science selection was ok, but not great. Both stores were pleasant, but didn’t quite satisfy my book cravings.

So, I headed down Sansome Street toward a Basque restaurant — more on that later. I was in the mood for some coffee, which is easy to find in downtown SF — as long as you want Starbucks. There literally seems to be a Starbucks on every other corner. I did find something else, though, a place called Morning Brew Coffee and Tea. I got my standard vanilla latte and they did a good job. It wasn’t overly sweet or bitter. Very nice coffee.

I continued down Sansome until it met Columbus and right about there I ran into the San Francisco Brewing Company. I noticed it because it was the only building that had steam coming out of a pipe on the side. I had their Shanghai Pale Ale, which was very good. Not too hoppy (though I tend to like hoppy beer), so it was a little lighter than most IPAs. And the atmosphere reminded me of the College Inn Pub and Big Time in Seattle, with a wood decor that was a bit worn. Highly recommended. I got a souvenir glass to remember the occasion.

Just down the street from the SF Brewing Company, I found a cool bookstore, City Lights Books. It is one of those stores where the bookshelves are shoved in every corner and books are everywhere. It reminded me of a smaller scale Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle. They had a good diversity and selection of books and I found two that I picked up: Great Physicists and Time of the Rabies. The first describes the lives and work of 30 famous physicists and the second is by Robert Laxalt, probably the greatest Basque-American author. This short novella is supposed to be about a rabies epidemic that hits a Basque sheep-rancher. It should be interesting. Any book fans in SF should check out City Lights Books.
I continued on down Columbus towards my goal, which was right around Union and Columbus. That was the Iluna Basque restaurant and it’s spin-off Eguna Basque. These names mean “Basque Night” and “Basque Day”. Accordingly, Eguna Basque is a cafe specializing in sandwiches and is open from 7AM to 5PM. I stopped by there first for a late lunch and had the Stuffed Croissant, which was a croissant sandwich with ham and swiss. It was warmed and served with a small side salad. It was very reasonably priced ($5.50), especially compared to the paninis we were getting in Union Square. The decor is a little spartan, but still very nice. Some of the tables are made from old wine barrels, which is pretty cool. And there were photographs on the wall as well.

I walked off some of the sandwich before heading to Iluna Basque for a small dinner. It’s decor is a bit more elegant, reflecting the night-time crowd it draws. I had a beer, some Marinated Lamb Skewers with Rosemary, and a selection of Basque Cheeses with Membrillo, for $20 exactly (plus tax and tip). The lamb was very good; the rosemary really added to the flavor. And the cheeses were excellent. That, with some bread, was a very filling dinner. I ate at the bar, though there were a number of tables for two plus a family-style table in the center of the room. None of the meals, though, are family style. They are all either tapas or individual entres. They had some variants on Basque staples, such as squid in its own ink (on Spanish rice), piquillo peppers stuff with cod, and various fish dishes. People who eat seafood would do well here, and there seemed to be enough purely vegetarian choices for those who eat neither seafood nor meat.

Afterwards, I headed back to my hotel along Powell Street. I stopped in a Borders, just to hang out for a moment, but didn’t see anything that really caught my eye. Overall, though, it was an excellent day spent exploring some of the city. I had no real disappointments in any of the places I stopped. And the views of San Francisco down the rolling streets are always incredible.