Baker & Banker = Heaven

I am so lucky that I married a romantic guy. I didn’t really know I would like to be romanced so much but when you’re with someone, umm, permanently, it’s kind of nice. On our 1 1/2 year anniversary (I know, major milestone that everyone celebrates, right?), Michael handed me a card before he walked out the door. It was the sweetest note I have ever received and at the end he invited me out for a Friday night dinner-date. Now, our anniversary was actually while my grandparents were in town, so we delayed the date a couple of weeks.

Aside from being romantic, Michael just generally loves surprises (for himself and for others), so he kept the restaurant a secret. I am terrible with surprises (for myself and for others), so I started guessing incessantly. Why can’t I just sit back and enjoy it? I have no idea. But I can’t. So Michael made it into a guessing game. I received hints throughout the day on Friday including: 1) I had never been before, 2) It is on SF Eater’s “Top 38 Restaurants,” 3) It is run by a husband & wife duo and 4) The name includes a past profession of mine (I was once a baker for a summer YoungLife camp — shout out Timberwolf Lake summer ’05!). Now, I should have been able to easily guess after clue #3, but I jumped to a guess without doing much homework and blew it. Oh yeah, did I mention I was only allowed 1 guess per clue? Anyway, I was at the office as my clues were being delivered so I enlisted the help of coworkers (what else is there to do on Friday anyway?), and we came up with it. Baker & Banker.

San Francisco is FULL of amazing restaurants — the entire city is like one giant culinary experience — so I am always excited to try new ones, but by this point I’m pretty used to amazing food. Baker & Banker literally blew me away and even after just one night, it’s easily in my top 3 favorite restaurants in the city. The ambiance was a perfect blend of cozy and sophisticated, the service was amazing (our waitress had been there since they opened and she knew the menu inside & out and gave fabulous recommendations), and the food was Out. Of. This. World. Seriously.

We started with a champagne to toast ourselves (naturally). Then we each had an appetizer an entree, and shared a bottle of wine and dessert. Every moment was heavenly.