What to Eat in San Francisco

 

What to Eat: San Francisco 

San Francisco 

Japanese Food 

Moshi Moshi 

Moshi Moshi is a legacy business situated in the Dogpatch region of San Francisco. They specialize in fresh fish in their sushi and sashimi, as well as taking pride in their other entrees that include udon, teriyaki bowls, and katsu bowls. They have both traditional and modern sushi options, and everything they serve is delicious! They have a variety of alcoholic beverages as well. The staff is friendly and the food quality is consistently amazing. It's worth a try if you're in the area.

Mastuyama Shabu House 

Matsuyama Shabu House is located in San Francisco's historic Japantown. It is a unique place to sample Japan's classic hot pot dish, shabu shabu. Each seat comes with its own stovetop, so you can cook your meat yourself when the staff bring the pot of broth and vegetables. Come on a weekday to try the $18 weekday special!

Kui Shin Bo  

Kui Shin Bo is another fantastic choice located in Japantown. It's small and quaint, but its menu is extensive. Here is a great place to order almost any Japanese dish you want--from sukiyaki to shabu shabu to sushi to okonomiyaki to udon to sashimi, et cetera, all for low prices. Everything they make looks and tastes amazing.

Burgers

Gott's Roadside 

Gott's Roadside is one step more elaborate than basic fast food. For a slightly elevated price, you get something more sophisticated and gourmet than regular fast food. The burgers are solid and filling here.

In N Out 

I N Out is the fast food staple of San Francisco. Whether you prefer their classic menu or their "secret menu," you will find tasty, cheap, solid fast food here. The restaurant prefers simplicity and speed, and they certainly have their act together.

Bandit

Bandit is a small restaurant in the Dogpatch neighborhood that quietly serves fantastic burgers and sandwiches (as well as coffee and fries) for a great price. The service is fast and the food is notable.

Other

Marcella's Lasganeria 

Marcella's Lasganeria is a cultural experience you won't want to miss. The pasta dishes, including their famous lasagnas, are homemade with a special recipe. You can taste the love, pride, and quality. It's just a small shop in the Dogpatch region that often has a line just to get a seat. The dishes are typically served with a fresh salad and warm bread.

Manna

Manna is a popular Korean restaurant near Golden Gate Park; customers churn in and out of its small eating area. The menu is extensive, meaning there is something to interest almost anyone. The food is served hot on beautiful Korean ceramics. 

Visiting Giza

Giza

Background

Ancient Egypt was born to the freshwater of the Nile River and its very fertile, color-changing silt more than 4,000 years ago. The fast-moving current connected separated populations along the river banks. This population of sailors used barges to navigate canals and build the first great empire in the area.  

Back then, North Africa was still very green and luscious, and the ancient Egyptians were farmers. The Nile River would flood annually and wash ashore the best soil for harvesting wheat and barley, which became the staple crops of the Egyptian empire. Early Egyptians also cultivated and controlled animals for food, to keep around the house, and to help with farming and construction.

Egyptian culture is still well understood because the ancient Egyptians had a complex written system made up of attractive and mysterious hieroglyphics that we can now understand because of the Rosetta Stone. The written system was a secret until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone is a fragment of a stone tablet that also features text in a modern language: ancient Greek. This sample is large enough that, because scholars can read ancient Greek, they can piece together the language of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The ancient Egyptians left behind writing on monuments, stone tablets, and papyrus, the predecessor to modern paper, from a crop that grew naturally in their area.

Ancient Egypt was a highly advanced and highly religious society with a complex, polytheistic religion full of gods and goddesses. The ancient Egyptians lived their lives in the service of their religion. They believed in an afterlife that required a certain burial technique. Mummification was a necessity for the soul to pass on to the next life. Bodies were removed of organs and wrapped in linens. People were always buried with important things to help them pass through to the next life.

Common people had simple beds of things made for them, but kings and queens were buried in elaborate sarcophagi and breathtakingly large tombs, often monumental pyramids where bodies were arranged and protected according to status, with many expensive things. From the paintings and writings in these tombs, we can piece together a fair deal about Egyptian society.

For example, there was a distinct upper and lower class. The upper class was a class of priests and kings that socialized occasionally and made up a ruling elite, while the common people worked as servants, farmers, and construction workers. The upper class drank fine wine and partied. Their ascension to heaven was the concern of everyone beneath them as well. They wore jewelry and were buried with finery. Bound by a common religion, the lower class would help with daily chores and the preparations for burial, which would bring about an afterlife. They constructed and decorated massive tombs and temples with paintings, statues, and artifacts that stand to this day to tell the story of their people even today.

Visiting the pyramids of Giza

Introduction

We crossed the Nile from Cairo west into Giza with a tour guide. Giza was supposedly the best place to build tombs, according to the ancient religion. This is because Giza is in the west, so it represents death, while Cairo is in the East, representing life; this happens in accordance with the Sun god Rah, whose daily journey begins in the east and ends in the west (the sunsets in this area are incredible to watch, as the sun is beautiful and looks red). Thus, the setting sun in the west over Giza symbolizes death. Although the mud brick buildings that were once the ancient city of Cairo have been destroyed, the tombs of Giza are intact.

The Pyramids

There are options that allow you to opt to enter the pyramids, but a drive and walk around the premises can be enough to satisfy many. Driving through the sandy deserts, we dodged wild animals and street vendors, and we saw other tombs as well, but the main attraction was the massive pyramids, which we were allowed to walk up to and touch.

Giza is a massive burial ground. Only the royalty were entitled to pyramids. We drove past multiple noble tombs, but there are only three great pyramids, belonging to a royal dynasty of a grandfather, a father, and a son, which are accompanied by smaller pyramids for the ladies of the dynasty.  

The Great Pyramid is not the oldest, but it is the biggest. It is made of 2.3 million limestone and granite stones, the smallest of which is 2.5 tons, and the largest of which is 80 tons of granite. The stones are cut very methodically in a very high-tech fashion for the time.

The top of the pyramid used to be gold and silver, which made our guide think that it had once been used for electricity and that was why there was so much ability to withstand motion left in the design -- the way the stones fit together and the way that the chambers are arranged on the inside, there is plenty if room for conductivity with a gold and silver top. The gold and silver were taken long ago.

The next largest pyramid is smooth at the top. They were both smooth once, but the stones to make the outside smooth were taken long ago.

The Mummification temple

The temple is very sturdy and held up by cornerstones. It has plenty of room for several mummies to be worked upon. For ancient Egyptians, this life was merely a way to the next. Getting to the next life was not easy; it required complex preparations, offerings, and the permission of the divine. The key to getting to the afterlife was mummification. There was a different process for the rich, the poor, and the middle class.

The kings and Pharaohs of Egypt had great tombs constructed in their honor with complex building techniques we still don't fully understand. Their organs were removed and they were mummified, placed in sarcophagi, and arranged in grand tombs. Their mummies were buried with their luxurious things of the day, food and wine for the afterlife, statues of servants who could come to life to serve them, and records of their lives. Their mummies are the best preserved, having been treated with chemicals and other techniques.

That mummification technique was reserved for the very wealthy. The middle class had less impressive burials but also had very well-preserved mummies. They were preserved by having their middle organs removed and chemicals shot through the anus. The poor were merely covered in salt and wrapped in linen.

The Sphinx

Like most Egyptian gods, the Sphinx is a combination of human and animal features. The ancient Egyptians had a society held together by religion. Victims of their harsh natural environment, where the lakes had already dried, and so they had to rely on the yearly floods for fresh silt, they looked to the divine for control. They invented many deities to help them control the wrathful forces of nature. Their deities had human and animal features and control over certain natural functions.

The Sphinx is a god to protect the area. The lion's body gives it strength, and the human head gives it wisdom. Its nose is damaged because it is the weakest part of the structure. It's been rumored that it was damaged by invaders, but in reality, it was just too weak as a protruding part of the structure. 

Royal History in London

London

The British monarchy is one of the most influential lines in history and remains a subject of ongoing conversation. A visit to London might be incomplete without any attempt to explore royal history.

Here are three destinations you won’t want to miss:

Buckingham Palace

Once the residence of the late Queen Elizabeth II, this imposing gray stone palace stands at a height of 24 meters and spans a foundation of 108 meters by 120 meters. The palace has 775 impressive rooms. It was originally constructed for John Sheffield, duke of Buckingham, in 1705. King George bought it for his wife, Queen Charlotte, in 1762, and it has belonged to the royal family ever since.

The first sovereign to occupy the palace was Queen Victoria, whose memorial sits outside the palace. It is a gold statue on a large stone fountain.

The palace has an impressive Baroque and Rococo art collection and is guarded by traditionally red-coated guards with bearskin hats who change in an elaborate ceremony called “The Changing of the Guard,” the grandeur of which speaks to the traditional importance of the monarchy.

Kensington Palace  

Prince William (the eldest son of and heir to King Charles) and his family are known to occupy Kensington Palace. Although their rooms are not on display, one can take a tour of the apartments of Queen Victoria, where she grew up with her mother and governess, the apartments of Queen Mary II, which are home to gorgeous wood paneling and beautifully designed by Christopher Wren, and also a fantastic exhibit called “Life through a royal lens,” which displays photographs of the royal family through the generations.

The grounds are open to the public and are quite lovely.  Among other features, there is a duck pond, a play area for children, a flower garden (South Flower Walk), and a magnificent gold-plated memorial to Prince Albert, as well as several spots to stop for a snack. These grounds are great for walking through or relaxing in.

Tower of London

This castle is where it all began for today’s dynasty. It was constructed for William the Conqueror after the Normans overtook London in 1066. The castle’s layers of fortification give it a somewhat picturesque appearance, but only some of the castle’s history is beautiful. In addition to being the place that British monarchs hid from rivals in luxury, this castle compound was also a place where unfortunate people were once imprisoned, hanged, and even tortured. 

This castle is actually a combination of old buildings and towers surrounded by a protective wall. If you wander from tower to tower, you can still see some of the luxurious rooms, some of the battle armor, and even the crown jewels.

Diverse Eating Options in London

London

London is the most ethnically diverse area of the United Kingdom, and it is where you will find thousands of diverse restaurants to choose from.

Some notably interesting cuisines to try include:

Sadaf Garden (Persian)

Sadaf Garden, nestled in the Kensington neighborhood, is an authentic Persian Cuisine. The grilled meat and fish options come with long-grain yellow rice and a salad of onions, peppers, grilled tomatoes, and lime. Everything is served with delicious, freshly baked naan bread.

Comptoir Libanis (Lebanese)

This bright, airy, and cutely decorated restaurant brings the best of Lebanese cuisine to London to be sampled and enjoyed. The food had a distinctive flavor and was very good.

Abeno Restaurant (Japanese)

This family-owned restaurant brings the Japanese street food specialty, okonomiyaki, to London in style! Complete with an option of noodles and sauces, these pancake-like wheat and egg specialties are delightful and an interesting culinary choice.

Fortnum and Mason (British)

That is not to overlook the more traditionally British options like Fortnum and Mason for high tea. Here in its original location, this British restaurant serves a luxurious high tea with traditionally British munchies. 

Visiting Luxor

Luxor 

Luxor is a small town located along the Nile in Egypt, where I highly recommend visiting if you are serious about exploring ancient ruins.

Luxor is only a short drive away from some of Egypt’s most interesting ruins, including Karnak Temple, Hashepsut’s Temple, the Valley of Kings, the Valley of Artisans, and the Valley of Queens. Some of the ruins are inside the city, but many more lie just across the river and a stretch of fertile farmland brought to life by the flooding Nile. These ruins are to the West of Luxor, like the setting sun, which once symbolized death in the Ancient Egyptian Culture. Near these ruins, you will find a village that has been inhabited by the same tribe since ancient times.

Karnak Temple

Karnak Temple is the largest temple in the Middle East and the second-largest in the world. More accurately, what we now call Karnak Temple is actually a complex of decaying temples, chapels, and pylons that was constructed by Egyptians under several pharaohs and took over one thousand years to build. Although the ceilings are gone and the pools of water have mostly dried up, the walls and columns that still stand are a testament to its former glory.

Hatshepsut’s Temple

Hatshepsut’s Temple is a strongly constructed temple with three terraces the size of football fields that is mostly still intact today. It stands as a testament to the reign of Egypt’s female pharaoh, Hatshepsut. It towers over the desert in the color of sandstone, and when looked at up close, some of the hieroglyphics even still have their original colors of yellow, blue, and brown.

Although it appears intact, there have been some major changes since ancient times. Although today the temple is surrounded by desert, the temple was once surrounded by pools of water, grass, and trees. Also, her image was destroyed by her successor, Seti, the pharaoh who followed her nephew, leaving the statues of her defaced and the etchings of her destroyed. You can still see the rest of the statues without her face and some of the etchings of her reign that did not include her image.

The Valley of Kings

Unlike the pyramids, these tombs were built to be hard to find. The belief at the time was that the afterlife was contingent on the presence of a mummy, or at least a statue, of the deceased, so tomb robbery could be tragic. These hidden tombs are made out of rectangular cuts to the bedrock with sloping corridors of about a hundred meters, various niches and rooms, and a burial chamber supported by pillars, and they are decorated with hieroglyphics that instruct the dead as to how to get to the afterlife.

Key tombs in the Valley of Kings include the tomb of Ramses I (a grave with a long passageway and a small burial chamber, still painted blue), the tomb of Ramses III (a grander tomb that has a wood ramp leading into a long hallway of hieroglyphics with white decorated pillars), the shared tomb of Ramses V and VI (where they were buried together at the end of a long tomb covered in hieroglyphics), and the tomb of Ramses IX (in poor condition now but was once one of the grandest).

The Valley of Queens

On the other side of the mountain from the Valley of Kings, we see a similar, but slightly more humble set of tombs for queens and princes, who were not entitled to the same grandeur as the kings but still warranted a regal burial. These tombs were also cut out of the bedrock, and most of them are preserved in lavish color, but they are smaller than the tombs you will find in the Valley of Kings.

Key tombs in the Valley of Queens are the tombs of Queen Titi (sister and wife of Ramses III), Nefertari (the legendary beauty from Sudan who brought her kingdom with her upon marriage), and Prince Amen Khopshef (the son of Ramses III who died at 13).

The Valley of Artisans

These monuments are impressive, but they don’t say a lot about the common people who built them. However, the walls of the city, which the workers who built the Valley of Kings and the Valley of Queens inhabited, still stand intact near the monuments. The walls, made of sun-dried mud bricks, form a grid that extends for some distance. Each family would have had two to three of these rectangular rooms, including a cistern and a kitchen. This is where the workers once resided.

Also in the valley of artisans, you will find the tombs of several distinguished artisans, many of which have been restored to their original glory. These tombs were decorated differently from the royal tombs; for example, it was forbidden to honor a non-royal by putting their name in a cartouche, and the walls were decorated with images from commoners’ experiences—for example, women with perfumed wax on their heads during a gathering. Although all souls were thought to face the same tests in the afterlife, which meant all the tombs depicted the same gods, these tombs did not have dedicated entryways like the royal tombs; one entryway could house more than one artisan’s tomb. Unlike the royal tombs, which were each dedicated to important individuals, these tombs were a hodgepodge of richly painted rooms connected by short hallways, stairs, and ladders underground.

While I was in Luxor, I befriended an incredible chef who went on to become a tour guide, limousine driver, and cooking class instructor through an organization called Tag Tour. His name is Mustafa Tag, and if you are looking for a guide, his organization may be a place to start. Although I have never used his services, I can tell you he is a very friendly and enthusiastic person who takes pride in his work. His phone number is +20 114 037 0753.