SF’s New Tunnel Tops, Chicken Caesar Cutlets & More

On this post, San Francisco’s new Tunnel Tops, Caesar Chicken Cutlets, a great meal to make when entertaining, and some cute things on my radar.

It’s the weekend meander with Juliet and Elizabeth!

How has your week been? I love the short week we had here, but it went too fast and my Utah son Griffin is already on his way back home. We were lucky to do a day out in San Francisco (more below), and also a few visits with my dad. Griffin camped a night in Big Sur, and saw all his friends, so he packed a lot in.

Presidio Tunnel Tops

The Presidio of San Francisco has recently completed a huge addition called Tunnel Tops. It’s adjacent to the green space where all the food trucks park on the weekend and extends out over towards the water. You can sit and overlook the Golden Gate Bridge on Adirondack chairs and some beautiful wooden carved benches that look native American. There are gorgeous plants all over and fun things for kids to play on. It’s just a wonderful spot.

The Presidio has been slowly transformed in the last few decades from a military base to a national park. This latest addition sits where a former seismically unsafe freeway was that separated the waterfront from the base. Now with the old highway gone, this newest addition could be built over the Presidio Parkway tunnel, allowing panoramic views of the city unlike anywhere else. It was designed by James Corner Field Operations, who did the High Line in New York and it is stunning!

In 2014 they asked the public what they wanted, and after much outreach to citizens – 10,000 who helped shape this space, and participated in labs, with James Corner, this design was begun 2018. It took four more years to complete. The public wanted a place to recharge, relax and reconnect with nature and each other. I think they achieved it!

There is a fantastic playground, and a field station for kids. The Field Station is a wonder and my sons would have gone bonkers if we had this when they were young. Kids can check out backpacks and explore the park with a map, or check out all the microscopes and exhibits. They can even paint the bridge on an easel with the best view!

We grabbed food at the El Parco restaurant which has lots of choices and there are loads of food trucks near the green space. We were going to walk east towards the Place of Fine Arts, but it was a warm day and we got the idea to cross the bridge and drive over to Sausalito for ice cream. We walked the waterfront there and grabbed Lappert’s Ice Cream which is always so good.

Driving back over the bridge on a sunny day reminds me how very lucky I am to live here and be a Californian! I never take it for granted. I want to get back to Tunnel Tops and explore more. I hope you get there if you are in the city. It’s a treat..

Peonies

I have nothing earth shattering to say about them, except they are making my day and I feel like I’m living the rich life when I look at my $9 peonies from Trader Joes! They seem to last me a week and a half. Are you enjoying the peony season too? I wish I could grow them, but I have not had luck and I think it’s too dry and hot here.

On My Radar

I saw this Picardy Bowl from Lulu and Georgia from an Instagram ad and I was sucked in. It’s so elegant and yet modern. I can’t wait for it to arrive. It’s backordered until July, but worth waiting for I think.

I love the brand Varley’s soft sweat shirt items. This set with the cowl neck top and easy short looks luxe and most importantly- comfy. It also comes in a pretty tan. This is a chic one for travel, breakfast out, and so much else.

My Birks are getting worn to death lately and these cute slides are top of my list to add to my closet for summer. I haven’t gotten to the mall to try them, but I may just order them from Evereve. I love that store and can’t wait until we get one this fall at Santana Row, but the Palo Alto store in Town & Country has the nicest staff and I love going there when I’m up in PA.

I just bought Armani Mascara which is very dramatic, and discovered their Lip Prisma Gloss which I LOVE! I am not really a gloss person and I hate sticky and tacky glosses, but this is soft and moisturizing. I choose a dark sheer color Amber 6, which on me looks like a deeper natural lip color, which I need, as my lip color very light. I tap it slightly to make it look more muted and I had two people tell me how pretty it was the first day of wearing it!

Chicken Caesar Cutlets

I found this really great recipe on a fantastic account, Maxis Kitchen on Instagram this week. I asked the butcher to butterfly and pound four chicken breasts and it made 8 cutlets. I had Griffin here so he always wants protein! Max doesn’t have this on her website, but the recipe is on her Insta post. What makes this so good is the breadcrumb mix which is 1/4 cup panko crumbs, 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs, and 1/4 grated fresh parmesan. You dip the chicken in flour, eggs, and then the breading ( add salt and pepper to taste), and then spray them with avocado oil ( we used this), before placing them on a rack at 450 in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, or if you have it Max used the rack in his Traeger grill. ( Check to make sure they are 165 inside when done.)

She tops it with the salad, but I put it to the side as Griffin was here. I used a mixture of butter and baby greens. The dressing is the best part. I omitted the egg yolk and anchovies, but used 1/4 C olive oil, 1/4 C fresh parmesan cheese, one garlic clove grated in, juice of one lemon, and a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Whisk together and it is SO good. Finish the top with shaved Parmesan. This was such a hit with Griffin and his friend Hina as well as us, that it may be my go-to for summer entertaining. It makes generous amount and feels special anwithout too much labor.

Summertime…

I can hardly believe June is here. This first half of the year flew by.

Elizabeth shared 20 Little Things on My Summer Bucket List this week. It was such a great list and got me excited about the possibilities of summer. Oh how I love that feeling that summer is ahead of us and we can give ourselves permission to chill and have some fun. My summer goals are more gardening, travel, beach trips, late night ice cream trips, summer library hauls, and lots of summer reading. Lazy afternoons and sun tea are another thing I hope to be doing.

What summer rituals are you looking forward to?

In summer we do more alfresco dining and most of our entertaining too. It’s so much easier outdoors. On that note, Juliet shared a super fun post A Stylist Tips and Tricks for Outdoor Entertaining. I have had those cute small battery powered lamps Juliet shared on my wish list for my outdoor table!

My Salt Lake City Guide

This week, I finally pulled all my favorites and photos together for you and created a Salt Lake City Guide. I have really grown to love this charming city while Griffin attended the U there the last four years. It’s an underrated small city with so much natural beauty and a lot of culture and life. It also has the charming neighborhoods with great small businesses which lend to the small town feel and independent spirit. Some of the best places to eat, shop, great coffee houses, where to stay, and some hikes, on my post. Salt Lake City is a great add on to to the Utah national parks or the ski resorts in the colder months.

Other Notes..

The long awaited Restoration Hardware and rooftop restaurant just opened Friday at Stanford Shopping center. It look quite huge and pretty. I hope to get there to check it out and have lunch sometime soon. I am all about rooftop dining!

I’ll be back on Tuesday sharing my summer wish list along with Cindy for Signature Style. Make sure you are subscribed below if you don’t want to miss that!

On last weekend’s post, I had some pretty blue things on my radar, easy salads to share or make for dinner, the solar powered outdoor candles that you will love, and more.

Happy Weekend! Thanks for reading,

Kim

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