The Kind Life
my san fran trip
Posted by Alicia Silverstone on Oct 28, 2009

 

Hello all - had a great time in San Francisco!  Thank you so much to Sharon Schmidt, Catherine Eure, Alessia, and Zachary Wolk for your recommendations.

I stayed at the Good Hotel, which is so cool because they are green.  The beds are made from 100% reclaimed wood and the light fixtures are made from recycled glass bottles.  There are even vending machines in the lobby that sell wallets made out of Fedex envelopes.  So cool!  I would recommend this hotel to anyone staying in San Francisco.  It was reasonably priced, clean and everyone there made my stay worry free.  It's so great how easy it is to find green hotels these days!

Good Hotel is only a 15-minute walk to Cafe Gratitude, which I love.  I walked there one morning.  The people that work there are so nice and friendly and happy.  So cool to be around people that love what they are doing.  Love the vibe there and the music.  I had the Macro Bowl (delicious) and the Key Lime Pie (insane…and I don't generally like Key Lime Pie).   Walked back with a happy stomach.  This was definitely the highlight of the trip.
 
I had a book signing in Danville that was very nice!  A sweet young lady made the Oatmeal, Walnut and Dried Plum cookies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from The Kind Diet to pass out while I signed books.  I love that people were able to try a couple recipes so they could get a taste for how good all the recipes are.

Later that night, I ate at Millenium Restaurant, which I've been to many times over the years.  It's always so comfortable and friendly.  Their beer is so good.  Everything is organic and locally grown.   I had a great meal with my friend Brian (pictured below).  By the way ladies of San Francisco, Brian is single and cute and a member of our community so if you want to meet him go to his profile and demand that he put a picture up or just start chatting with him!  My favorite dish that I didn't have this time is the Chocolate Almond Midnight dessert.  My husband and I had a version of that instead of cake at our wedding.  Yum!

I wanted to try the restaurant Weird Fish, but didn't make it there.  Has anyone heard of it?  Let me know if it's tasty.

I even got a chance to make a quick stop at my old junior high school.  I hadn't been there in so long so that was fun!  I saw Ms. Lyons, Mr. Oshita and Mr. Chung.  So nice to see them!  Before the Palo Alto book signing, Brian and I went to the Loving Hut and I had a yummy Rice Bowl and a delicious Vegetable Soup with Kabocha Squash and coconut.  They have locations all over the place so check them out.  

I was also on View From The Bay and everyone was super nice!  They had my Caesar salad, Chorizo tacos and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.  It was all yummy!  And the host was a big fan of Cafe Gratitude too.

My last stop before leaving for the airport was dinner with friends at Slanted Door.  The food was really good!  They have tons of delicious, healthy options there.  We tried the Cabbage Salad, Mung Bean Paste Dumplings (my friends didn't like those much), Daikon Rice cakes, Bok Choy and Glass Noodles.  All really good food but later that night I was sooo thirsty which means they used way too much salt.  You know that feeling when your mouth is raw from thirst?  It drives me crazy!  Salt is so important but it needs to be used carefully.  Some places are crazy on the salt so be careful!  Of course, I never notice this until I'm done eating a few hours later and suddenly need bottles and bottles of water.  This happened after my meal at Pure Food and Wine in New York too.  Some of you who are not superheroes yet probably won't notice this, so you can just ignore me!

All of my signings have been going so well.  I love interacting with people about the book.  It's so much fun and I love all the questions and talking about this lifestyle.  It means the world to me!

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  • Categories: food , the kind diet , travel
were the vending machines green?
Alicia, I bought your book literally a few hours ago after watching/hearing you on all the morning talk shows.  Even after watching many book promotions in the past, the way you talked about your book for some reason seemed genuine and I decided to take your word for it!   I am a meat-eater and a SUGAR-lover and I thought I would explore a little and I couldn't PUT YOUR BOOK DOWN! I love the way you approach this diet with the intent to eventually becoming vegan.  I almost forgot why I was reading the book and realized I almost felt like I was reading a self-help inspiring book instead of a diet book.  It made me feel not-so-pressured and reassured me I could still have fun and live life but taste yummy deserts!! Well, it's way past my bedtime but eek! I AM SO EXCITED to wake up first thing in the morning to make some delciious vegan recipes, my mouth was watering as I look at the pictures! REESE'S IS by far my favorite candy of all time, so I am going to try make these chocolate peanut butter cups. NIGHT! :)
Alicia, Wow - I looked into Cafe Gratitude from your link...PHENOMENAL.  Oh my gosh, I soooo wish we had one in Chicago! Shall have to go searching for something like that here...sooooo cool, I just love the vibe I got from their site, menu, etc. 

Me? I am Marvelous? I am Blessed?  Maybe I am! :D
You're such a doll.  That was adorable that you just kept eating at the end...your own food just looked soooo good to you that even though you were still being interviewed, you kept wanting another bite...that's a sign of great food!  giggle
I totally have heard that Cafe Gratitude rocks. People who dont love keylime, end up loving that!! I just bought your book yesterday and it is what I read until 5am! It's so good I cant put it down. Cant wait to right out a list and try some of these recipes. Thank you, thank you!!  P.S. I totally think that salt is overused all over in everything. I have always loved Earth Balance.....they now have so many varities and one w/o soy.  I just bought So Delicious's Coconut Milk Kefir for the replacement of good bacterias instead of dairy kefir.
  • Pia
  • Nov 10, 2009
  • 29
Hi Alicia! Thank you for coming to San Diego last month! I just got back from a trip to SF...thanks so much for recommending Cafe Gratitude to me that nt. It was just the way you described it: great people & yummy food!
It was wonderful meeting & talking with you at Isabel's...what a fun & inspiring evening! BTW, we were all raving about the tamales at my table but I can't find them in your book. How can I get the recipe?
Sweet mother of pearl!  You have a Caesar salad!!!  Oh, the mail is too slow!  I can't wait to get the book.  I was at a restaurant with my husband on my birthday, and  I stared longingly at this woman across from me eating a Caesar salad...they are my FAVORITE, and I really was sad to give them up.  I seriously clapped with glee when I watched this video and saw the salad. 
i notice after eating food with MSG i get cotton mouth and have to drink tons of water.  I hate that feeling.  
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