Dinner in San Francisco, breakfast in Florida

You read that right. I’m blogging from my parent’s house in Southwest Florida right now.

I may have hinted to the fact that I had a quick and last-minute trip home on the agenda this month. While I won’t get a chance to make the rounds to see my friends in other Florida cities this time, I will be soaking up the sun, enjoying the comfort of my Mom’s cooking and spending as much time as possible with my parents for two nights.

Dinner at a gasto-tavern

Before I hopped on my red-eye flight last night out of San Francisco Airport, Dave and I went out to dinner at a brand new spot in our neighborhood called Hopwater Distribution.

It was just a five-minute walk away and ended up being a great find. The exterior is completely underwhelming, as it’s located in the former Key Klub.

Hopwater bills itself as a San Francisco Gasto-Tavern, whatever that is. There are 31 California brews on draft, a very small list of wines and some artisan-style pub food.

Here’s the current list of beer on tap, which rotates frequently.

That’s a lot of beer.

Inside, it was spacious, with two floors, some exposed brick and seat-yourself tables. You order all food and drinks at the bar, then bring a number to your table to wait for your food. All of that added to the casual vibe of Hopwater.

Who is that handsome gentleman standing at the bar? Yes, the one looking at the camera saying, “okay just take the picture now.”

Once we got some beverages, we went upstairs to a quieter table overlooking the whole place.

Quite honestly, it’s been several weeks since Dave and I have gone out to eat just the two of us. With his busy basketball game schedule (he works for the Bay’s NBA team) and my evening group fitness class commitments, we don’t get dinner together very often these days, so it was good to sit back and hang.

Not your average bar food

I’m not always excited to eat at pour-houses, breweries or craft-beer bars, because the food usually reflects the beer scene. However, Hopwater Distribution is not just bar food. The menu is separated into bar bites and larger plates, and there were a few very strong healthier options.

I selected the crab Louis, one of my usual go-to salads, and it was really delicious. My favorite part of it, outside of the fresh Dungeness crab, was the broccolini, which you don’t always find on a Louis salad.

By the way, if you are wondering what Dungeness crab is, it’s a type of crab that grows in the cold waters off the Pacific Northwest. That’s why you always see it on menus in Northern California. It’s named after a little fishing village in Washington State, and I’m quite a fan.

Dave ordered the fried chicken sandwich and steak fries. He was very impressed with the crunchy white bread and the fact that the fried chicken didn’t taste like KFC. Good thing.

And there you have it. Restaurant number 138 on our list from our time in the Bay Area.

Overnight trip to Florida

After dinner, Dave and I walked home, I changed into my comfortable overnight flight attire (including leggings, sneakers and a hoodie) and he took me to the airport.

I had one long and totally packed flight from San Francisco to Charlotte, during which I slept on and off a couple of hours. Then, I had a shorter flight from Charlotte to Fort Myers, during which I had a row of seats to myself and feel into a very deep sleep for one hour. Too bad that didn’t happen on the longer flight, or I would have arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

I did require a nap upon arrival. Because, of course, sleep is a super-important part of a healthy life and nobody likes a grump.

Questions of the day

Do you like taking overnight flights? Did you have any great restaurant meals this weekend?