Foodbuzz Fest: Day 2

Day 2 of Foodbuzz Blogger Fest in San Francisco was a busy one! We crammed quite a bit into our day. Saturday morning, Debby and I walked across the street for breakfast at Sears' Fine Foods. They're known for their small Swedish pancakes and they're just as tasty as they are cute -served with butter and lingonberries.

Back at the hotel we went to a photography workshop. I was hoping to learn more about the camera and the settings, but it was more about how to make things pretty with placement and dishes. We then got to take pictures of food in different light settings. Not really sure what the purpose was, but the pictures turned out nicely.

The second breakout session I went to was sponsored by Fresh Express. I wasn't too thrilled about taking a class on bagged salad greens, but I was told that that Chef Todd Fisher would be there and that he was funny as well as being Debby's friend. So I was in. He also wears funky red clogs and I like that :-)

The salad that he made was a recipe from Ashley from The Edible Perspective. It was mixed greens, with roasted butternut squash, the creamiest goat cheese I've ever eaten and caramelized onions. It was very pretty and it smelled great.

Breakout session 3 was about writing and trying to avoid cliche words like "yummy", "delicious" and "creamy" to describe foods. I wrote about the luscious strawberry you see here.

Midday, we went to the Tasting Pavilion at the Metreon. It was full of vendors offering tastings, coupons and freebies for the taking. Here is Julie (on the left) from Willow Bird Baking showing off her winning Nature's Pride recipe. How cute is she?

It was a mad house at the Tasting Pavilion! And there was major food paparazzi going on in there. The lines were long and I was getting grumpy, so Debby and I took off to discover the city, but not before we had cupcakes from Mission Minis. The ones I had are Cinnamon Horchata, Pink Lemonade and Aztec Chocolate.

And because I have no self control I had a Ghirardelli S'more!

We needed some fresh air, so we headed to The Palace of Fine Arts. And let me tell you, it is grandiose and detailed beyond belief. I was in awe of this structure. My photos don't do it justice. If you're ever in the area, pack your camera and a picnic lunch and head over there. It's gorgeous.

Another magnificent sight- I'm talking about myself, not The Golden Gate Bridge. ha ha!

This is a view of San Francisco from Vista Point. A lovely place to be standing. Except for the fact that is smelled like urine. ewww!

I could look at this view all day long.

I know it may sound silly, but I had to make a trip to Trader Joe's! We don't have them in Texas so it was on my list of things to do. Gratefully, Debby was happy to fulfill that request. I got a couple things but there was only so much I could take back with me. I LOVED their orange juice though and we enjoyed that back in our room for a few days!

As the night fell, we headed to the gala dinner at The Ferry Building. We had passed hors d' oeuvres and free flowing wine. I had a Coke :-)

It was quite elegant and classy and I showed up in jeans! I know! But at least my shirt matched the table linens. ha!

The dinner was sponsored by The Cooking Channel and featured 4 courses along with wine pairings. The first course was a Golden Beet Tart, second course was seared scallops, third course was lamb chops with butternut squash puree and mushrooms and we wrapped it up with an almond cake.

Dinner was good but it ran way later than expected and we were tired beyond belief. We had to get some rest to start a new day. Day 3 of Foodbuzz fest is coming soon!

Thanks for following my Foodbuzz Fest journey!

If you missed it, here's Foodbuzz Fest: Day 1.