Skyline Dining at the InterContinental San Francisco, California by Ruth Paget
On a weekend trip to San Francisco (West Bay), my family stayed at the InterContinental San Francisco, an IHG hotel, at 888 Howard Street.
It is important to know the number 888 as it is the name of the hotel’s Bistro 888 that provides room service as well.
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows in this luxury spa hotel made me want to eat in the room and admire the sunset and twinkling building lights as I ate like I did when I was younger and lived in Marina City in Chicago (Illinois) on floor 22.
I ordered a very American meal with flair for dinner – an 888 Burger. This is really a cheeseburger made with an 8-ounce cheese patty that comes with a thick slice of melted aged white cheddar cheese, house-made pickles, lettuce, tomato, and Parmesan cheese “secret” sauce instead of mayonnaise on a large brioche bun.
I asked for medium cooking on the burger, and it was slightly pink the way I like it in the center. The meat was juicy and delicious with the salty and creamy Parmesan sauce.
The burger came with a large helping of crisp double-fried French fries and vinegary strands of purple cabbage slaw.
The next day, I woke up early and took my spa shower. The hotel water was soft and the InterContinental offers free Byredo Bal d’Afrique cleansing and conditioning products. (Bal d’Afrique perfume sells for $230 for a 1.07 ounce – 50 ml bottle, so I lathered up in luxury.)
As I let my hair dry, I ordered breakfast from Bistro 888 again for in-room service again.
For breakfast, I ate an 888 Omelette with three slices of whole wheat toast. The omelette was ¼-inch thick all around and amply filled with sautéed spinach, mini shiitake mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and melted Monterey Jack cheese.
Fried fingerling potatoes came with the meal along with two small bottles of Tabasco sauce for extra seasoning. These tasted great with the double latte I ordered to go with breakfast.
I forgot to order bacon, but my husband Laurent brought back some from breakfast downstairs. The bacon was thick cut with mostly meat and deliciously salty. (San Francisco is hot during the day with unexpected gusts of cold wind. Perfect weather for salt depletion.)
The InterContinental San Francisco weekend trip was a great success. I ate two great meals, felt invigorated by the Byredo Bal d’Afrique spa shower, admired the San Francisco skyline 12 stories up, organized a writing project in my head (Tasting Rome blog), and had fun on the way home admiring the scenery along I-280 as we passed the airport and Palo Alto real estate on the way to Highway 101 to Salinas, California.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
