Friday at Foodbuzz Food Festival

Hi, all! I'm back from San Francisco and had a wonderful weekend at Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. Here is my attempt at a recap :)

Friday was an early rise for me after a late night of volunteering, cleaning and packing. San Francisco greeted me with gray skyes, rain, and cool weather. The hotel told me that they were out of rooms with twin-sized beds, so I had to share a queen sized bed with my twin, Anna, who was flying in for the festival as well. After meeting up at the hotel, we went for a quick lunch at Osha Thai Noodle Cafe where I had dinner the last time I was in San Francisco. Luckily, Anna liked the place and the food :)

We then walked over to the Hotel Vitale to pick up our passes and gift bags! I LOVE gifts, and Foodbuzz did such an excellent job: there were chocolates, books, gadgets, pesto, Panko, olives, and other fun items in our bags. After dropping the gift bags in our hotel, we headed back to the Hotel Vitale for a Meet & Greet, drinks and appetizers. Look at the amazing views of San Francisco from the hotel's rooftop.

There were so many people! And I must admit that I'm not the best person at chit-chatting: no one will call me a social butterfly. Still, I ran into John from So Good, who I've met at the DC Food Bloggers Happy Hour last week, and Anna and I also met Mecaela from Wine & Food Culture.

After drinks and appetizers, it was time to head out to Taste of SF Street Food Fare at the Ferry Building.

Below are just a few of the tasty things Foodbuzz provided for us: 1) look at the crowds! 2) delicious mini cupcakes by Mission Minis. This was the first time I tried red velvet cake, and I liked it!

One of my favorite foods Friday night was a sandwich by Roli Roti. How can you go wrong with porchetta, onion marmalade and a side of potatoes? Unfortunately, the photo of the sandwich did not meet my standards :)

For more sweets, there was ice cream by Straus Family Creamery and the best cheesecake by Alive (completely raw food!).

And then there was also a selection of raw oysters byHog Island Oyster Co.: fresh, sweet, salty and delicious!

Are you getting full just reading and looking at photos? Wait, there is more! The Pie Truck had two types of mini pies. I tried the steak & Gruyere kind and really liked it: flaky dough, flavorful meat inside: all I was missing was a fork.

And then there was also thin crust pizza by Pizza Politana.

There was more food and more drinks, but that's all I've been able to capture :)

The other highlights of the night were meeting Esi from Dishing Up Delights, Chrystal & Amir from The Duo Dishes, Ryan the Girl and Alexa from Foodbuzz, and spotting Jenn from The Leftover Queen and Jaden from Steamy Kitchen. I did not get up the nerve to say hi to Jenn and Jaden, because I'm such a chicken.

Anna and I headed back to the hotel at 8:30, watched Ugly Betty and 20/20 and then it was time for bed. I was so tired, but full with great food and great memories.

Stay tuned for Day 2 and Day 3 of the Festival to be posted later this week.