Sunday 24 July 2011

GHIRARDELLI SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO

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On the walk towards Ghirardelli Square from our dinner at Scoma’s, we passed by another one of these “In-N-Out” burger restaurants.   I now regret not having eaten a burger here as my cuz said this is the place you would eat a fast food burger if you wanted a fast food burger.  I asked if it compares to White Spot burgers.  My cousins have tasted White Spot burgers and said it’s really not as good as White Spot, but way better than McDonald’s.   I suspect that White Spot has an edge because of its special sauce. 

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This is the walk along Jefferson Street towards Ghirardelli Square. 

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The SF trolleys had a huge lineup! yikes!

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You can kind of see a part of the lineup in the left of the picture behind the trolleys.  I imagine it would be over an hour wait.

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Getting closer…


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Inside Ghirardelli Square, there are gift shops and other eateries. 

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I noticed a cupcake shop in the square and had to walk through it to see what goodies they had to offer.  They looked very cute.

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Ghirardelli has two points in the square where you can purchase chocolates or eat.  There is a small chocolate shop and cafe on one side of the square.

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In the bigger location, where the chocolate factory is, you are greeted by a welcoming treat:  a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate.  Yum!  We tasted the caramel-filled chocolates.

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My, my. So much chocolate.  I had a limited amount of space in my carry-on luggage and thought I should forgo the super deal that was advertised:  80 count overstock only...$24.95      Buy 2 bags, get $5 off; buy 3 bags get $10 off.  I was sorely tempted though.

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If you take the other entrance, you can see another section of the store, where there is a much quieter soda fountain and chocolate shop upstairs (where you are greeted with a piece of chocolate again) and some stairs that lead to the factory downstairs.  Amidst the churning chocolate, you can sit down to eat your confections and your desserts.

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It’s free to take a gander at the chocolate making process and the kids liked seeing it…especially my 8 year old.  The 4 year old got bored pretty quickly.  It’s definitely a good place to have a snack and purchase some good chocolates.  I ended up with a huge bag of caramel-filled chocolates (thanks cuz!), and a box of dark chocolates (my chocolate of choice) to take home to Vancouver.   The caramel-filled chocolates are so good…like an upscale Cadbury Caramilk bar; but every element is so much more refined.  They leave me wondering “Just how do they get the caramel filling in the chocolate bar?” I like how the chocolates are two-bite sized, individually wrapped and wafer thin too.  So elegant.  So Yum!

Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

Raejean said...

I haven't been to San Francisco in years. Almost every shop you mentioned is "new". Of coarse Ghirardelli had it's shops, but I don't remember being able to watch them make chocolate.

I don't think we ever stood in line to ride the cable cars either.

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