En route to Sonoma, after the exhilaration of driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, we stopped briefly in Sausalito to admire the boats–house and other. 
On a beautiful Saturday morning, everyone within miles of Sonoma apparently turns up in the Plaza to sit, talk, read the paper or contemplate their next meal. Ours was lunch at the Girl and the Fig where many dishes have–surprise–figs incorporated in one way or another.
For an aperitif, we each had a Fig Royale, a riff on a Kir Royale using sparkling wine and a house-made fig liqueur, set off by a long, curly piece of lemon rind in the flute.
My smoked trout accompanied by a frisee salad laden with roasted red and golden beets was wonderful. The quality of California produce is knock-out in general, far surpassing New York, and a good restaurant, which this certainly is, only buys the best.
Smoked Trout with Roasted Beets, Girl and the Fig
Many goodies followed and we ended lunch sharing fig and port ice cream nestled in a crisp tuile. All that food requires some serious moving around to disperse the calories so next day I mastered the MUNI and went to Golden Gate part to visit the famed Conservatory of Flowers. There are “galleries” devoted to aquatic plants and various kinds of tropical plants–my favorite was a special exhibit of Wicked Plants including those well-known killers, foxglove and ivy. The photo was taken there but I have no idea which plants it shows–botanists, please check in.
Wicked Plants, San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers
Later I climbed Telegraph Hill with a friend so we could walk down the justly famous Filbert Street Steps to admire the gardens nestled into the hillside. Part way down we had to quit Filbert and move to the Greenwich Steps which are equally steep and exquisitely gardened.
Dinner our last night was at Bar Tartine, recommended by our savvy waitress at the Anchor and Hope. This restaurant is so chic it doesn’t have a sign at the front. French, you might think? Nope, haute Hungarian with incredible picked green tomatoes, goat meatballs with blood sausage served atop amazing sauerkraut with green strawberries and quite possibly the best bread I ever ate.
The place was packed with people gobbling what may not sound delicious here but trust me, it was.
In keeping with the fig theme, here’s an appetizer recipe. It’s easy (once you acquire the ripe, fresh figs), unusual and incredibly good.
Fig and Chevre Appetizer
12 fresh figs, halved
4 ounces herbed goat cheese (from a farm, the local supermarket)
24 almonds
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Preheat the oven broiler on high.
Place the fig halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Top each half with about 1/2 teaspoon goat cheese. Place one almond on each and press to push the cheese slightly into each fig.
Broil the figs in the preheated oven until the cheese is soft and the almonds are lightly browned ( 2 to 3 minutes.) Remove from the broiler and let cool for 5 minutes. Arrange the figs on a serving platter, drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Serve warm and watch them fly off the plate.