Fisherman's Wharf Pokemon Crawl

We're very sorry we haven't been posting lately. We got caught up in the Pokemon GO craze and although we haven't yet caught 'em all, we're giving it the old college try. J.K. has upped her walking to 6 miles a day, and hunting Pokemon makes the walking a lot more interesting.

Tea Time decided to sign up and participate in the Fisherman's Wharf Pokemon crawl on July 28. For three hours, all 70 poke spots at the Wharf had lures going, and many businesses had special offers for Pokemon trainers. Plus if you went to the visitors information center you could get a free Pier 39 coupon book. Tea Time started the evening with drinks and half-price appetizers at Hard Rock Cafe, a tourist draw at Pier 39. There were lots of other options, but we picked the Hard Rock because of timing and taste.

There were a LOT of Magicarp around.

Angela opted for a signature drink, a pink lemonade and vodka delight, while J.K. stuck to her usual Tequila Gimlet, which was very popular with the Pokemon inside the Cafe.

We didn't anticipate the enormous size of the appetizers, so we ordered two, nachos and potato "skins." Another table saw the size of our order and decided to order just the nachos! After we noshed down and checked the time (still thinking we *might* make it to Ben and Jerry's in time to cash in on their Pokemon GO coupon) we went walking. Or training. Either way we caught a lot of those little guys!

Close-Up of Potato Skins

Close-Up of Nachos

We were well fueled by our giant appetizer meal at the Hard Rock (donating the leftovers to someone else) so while we did walk around the pier and then down the street past B&J's, we didn't stop in for ice cream after all. The wind started picking up and it got a bit chilly so we decided to head to our respective homes after it got dark. Tea Time Pokemon Tip: This Halloween season you can catch a lot more ghosts and get extra candies! Don't know what the heck we're talking about? You can download the app. Or just read about it online. Either way fuel up and get out for a walk. Winter is coming, so let's enjoy our time outside now!

an Oddish

An amazing number of Magikarp!

P.S.  A Warning: if you do download the Pokemon GO app, you may find you're addicted. Just ask J.K.

Connecticut J.K., Pokemon Hunter

Crab Splurge With Gina

Gina nabbed a Groupon for Fisherman's Grotto and invited me for a crab dinner. Her friend Louie was in town and came with us, but he didn't indulge in crab.

As soon as we sat down, our waiter brought us a platter of sourdough bread. Delicious on its own, it was perfect for sopping up all the garlic butter that came with the crab.

 Gina and Louie started with New England-style clam chowder. I had the salad.

  

We had a choice of roasted crab with garlic butter, steamed crab, or cold crab. It wasn't a difficult decision for us! The crabs were cracked for us, and so easy to pull apart that we didn't need the provided tools.

Crab swimming in garlic butter

 Louie opted for the parmesan-crusted halibut, which was covered in a tasty orange sauce that he couldn't quite identify.

Louie came along, just for the halibut.

 Our Groupon included a tiramisu to share, and we supplemented it with spumoni.

The restaurant's theme carpet

We were fascinated by the giant, fancy Applebee's across the street. Fortunately, no birds had defaced Gina's window and I got a good picture. If you're visiting SF, please check out a local resto, it will most likely be delicious and maybe even cheaper than Applebee's. We can give you lots of ideas if you're not sure where to eat in this town!