Cocktail Hour

Invite Me to That Office Meeting

2008-11-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

The folks over at Alameda's Forbidden Island just sent out an announcement about their new service.

Aloha!

Now through the end of the year, Forbidden Island is pleased to offer private happy hours for offices, groups, clubs, organizations, or just friends. Enjoy Forbidden Island all to yourself Tuesday - Thursday nights from 5-7pm. No staff fees or room rental charges, just a low minimum sales requirement. We can even help you find a great caterer to set the mood! Email us for more information at info@forbiddenislandalameda.com, and let the Happy Holidays begin!

Mahalo!

Pour a Drink . . .Cocktail Hour is Back

2008-10-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Complete Plate

So the summer hiatus is over and I will try to get back into the regular blogging routine. This Summer I saw 12 of America’s finest Cities, flew over 10,000 miles and drove nearly 2,000 miles. I just wish I had the discipline to write everyday.

But with a couple of weeks back at home it’s time to get the shaker shook and pour new postings for Cocktail Hour.

On Saturday, my friends and I headed over to the Marina District for one of my favorite dining places to have a good steak, Izzy's Steaks & Chops on Steiner. It had been a while since I had been in, but not much changes at Izzy’s. They did tweak the menu a little over the last couple of years, but this is a place for meat, potatoes and drinks.

You have to love place where the namesake is a long time San Francisco bar tender, Izzy Gomez. The bar tender was beloved in the city and his bar on Pacific was local hangout for San Francisco movers and shakers. An Izzy quote still darns the wall: “LIFE IS LIKE A LONG ROAD, TAKE IT EASY; WHEN YOU COME TO A POOL ON THAT LONG ROAD, DON’T MUDDY IT; MAYBE YOU’LL PASS THAT WAY AGAIN AND YOU’LL BE THIRSTY.”

In this vain, Izzy’s keeps it simple and with its food, drink and service.

If you go on the weekend make sure you have a reservation. Wait time can be 90 minutes on a Saturday. Even with the reservation we had a 10 minute wait because the place was packed. The Bar at Izzy’s is solid with a full section of premium spirits and the wait staff and gets the drinks poured in a hurry.

The bartenders are very careful to make sure the cocktail have great balance in their preparation. They pride themselves on being able to mix just about any cocktail. The bar also regularly features at least ten to twelve well priced wines by the glass.

It is nearly impossible to select a bad steak at Izzy’s. I had the Rib Eye with sides of Izzy’s Potatoes and Carrots and onions. The steak was perfect and the potatoes are decadent. The great thing about Izzy's is it is not a chain this is a good locally owned and operated restaurant that uses top quality ingredients. All of the beef is corn fed and the New York Steaks are aged at least 21 days.

For those of you who live in the Tri-Valley, Izzy’s has a newer location for dining. I have not been to this location, but I am told that it has the same great food and local feel. The third location is on Penisula in San Carlos.

http://www.izzyssteaks.com/

Izzy's Steaks & Chops

3349 Steiner St, San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 563-0487

A Bay Oasis

2008-08-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

The road trip continues . . . after six day on the road and four cities and 3,000 plus miles flying and another 300 miles plus driving, I got to stop in one of my favorite cities on the East Coast, Annapolis, MD.

For the Alameda readers, they will understand how this little town on the Chesapeake Bay could feel like home with the water, sailboats and lots of people milling about downtown. Besides being the home of the US Naval Academy (GO NAVY, Beat Army) and the Maryland State Capital, Annapolis has some great bars and excellent dinning.

I have been to Annapolis before, so there was one stop I had to make, Buddy’s. I dropped anchor for an after work beer and some of Maryland’s best crab cakes. The drive to Annapolis was worth just that one stop, even though the Washington DC traffic was brutal. The SF Bay Area has nothing to complain about when it comes to traffic. But back to Buddy’s Crab and Ribs, this is a family restaurant that has an all-you-can eat brunch. It is a little on the tourist side, but you can’t beat the crab. I had just the crab appetizer because I wanted to try something new.

I walked around for a while until I gained an appetite. After looking at 8-10 menus, I decided on Maria’s, very traditional looking Italian restaurant. Maria’s Sicilian Ristorante and Café offers a specialty drinks and I tried the Annapolis Breeze, a drink that they say is unique to restaurant. The drink consist of pomegranate, Gray Goose L’Orange and fruit juices, very refreshing, very much on the orange flavor with the fruit juice.

The food was traditional Italian fare, I had a mix plate that had lasagna and cannelloni and Caesar Salad. The food was very good, tasted was flavorful and well prepared. The place has been voted Best of Annapolis on several occasions. I would highly recommend.

As a day sailor, it was also good to run into a crew just heading into Maria’s for post race Cocktails and food. So I got to talk a little about sailing, have a good drink and dinner all I all a great stop in this very long trip. Back to Alameda soon, one last stop Philadelphia.

http://www.buddysonline.com/

http://www.mariasristorante.com/

Dupont Circle

2008-08-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

So my travels had me heading North after business in Virginia Beach and Richmond to the Washing DC area. Once I got into town, I was little tired, so I checked into the Hotel and caught a 30 minute nap before heading out for dinner. I have to tell you, that this Bay Area boy is getting a lesson on what humidity is, but more about that latter.

After the Nap I was not sure what I wanted for dinner, so I decided to head out to a busy neighborhood to walk and just find something. I’ve been to DC in the past and so I decided that Dupont Circle would be a good spot wander around to find a meal and a cocktail. I walked around the plaza a little, where people were hanging out around the fountain just trying to cool off. A dozen or so people were playing chess and checkers, and there was even one three card Monty game going on.

I headed down Connecticut and found Café Citron. My server was a warm and helpful woman with a Spanish accent. She explained that everything was made from scratch and suggested a couple of dishes. I took my time to review the menu, but ordered the Sangria right away. It was a warm evening. I decided on the empanadas and the jerk chicken.

The restaurant was decorated with warm colors, colored lights and lots of mirrors. The place had Latin flavored techno music playing in the background. Later in the evening, they switch to live Flamenco music, which mad the place come alive. I had a mojito as a follow-up drink as I listen to the music.

The empanadas were very good, but I was not crazy about the Jerk Chicken. The chicken was over-cooked. The jerk rub and sauce was okay, but the overall dish failed to deliver.

Overall Café Citron was a great environment to relax. I would suggest going for the appetizers, cocktails and the music and stay away from the Jerk Chicken dish.

By the way to finish up on the heat and humidity, as I walked after dinner I found that after one block I was soaking wet. Boy, O’Boy do I miss the San Francisco Fog. More from the DC tomorrow.

Wave the Flag

2008-08-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

This week I am back on the road, an East Coast swing from Norfolk, Virginia to Philadelphia, PA. I flew into town early so I could settle into East Coast time and get set for my busy week. I had some time to kill on Sunday, so I decided to tour around Norfolk. I have to tell you there was not much to Norfolk, but it was lunch time so I pop into AJ Gators a local sports bar.

Sports bars are always a good default for me, I grew up a big sports fan, even got paid to write about sports and worked in media relations for a major university, but on this day I got a new lesson in sports and drinking.

Growing up on the West Coast NASCAR has no meaning. The closest the racing circuit got to the Bay Area is when the drivers take a detour to Sonoma, from the South. So, when a couple of boys rolled into Gators they asked what the drink specials were. The bartender rattled them off, and all of sudden I felt like she was speaking a foreign language, NASCAR.

See all the drink specials were related to the race. Green flag $2.25 on bottle domestic (of course no race fan would drink anything else) beers, Yellow Flag $1.25. All of sudden I had a little interest in the race. So the question was when would the first Yellow Flag appear?

Twenty-eight laps in the first Yellow Flag was waved and the beer price dropped. The race had a total of 10 caution flags. Had to look that fact up, I did not stay long enough to watch them all. NASCAR still does not hold much interest for me, but in Norfolk with cheap beer it was worth about 30 minutes.

Later in the evening, I had a more traditional sports evening watching AAA baseball at Harbor Park. The Norfolk Tide (Baltimore Orioles affiliate) took on the Richmond Braves (Atlanta Brave affiliate) in a good game. My seat at Harbor Park was three rows from the field for $12. What a bargain! A beer was $7, but it was more than 24oz, try that at AT&T park. The food was very good.

I had a great time at the game; the crowd went home happy with a 5-3 Tide win.

More stories from the road tomorrow.

Street Party

2008-07-28T12:02:00.001-07:00

Alameda’s annual street party, The Park Street Art and Wine Fair” is part block party, part shopping, part high school reunion (for those who went to HS in Alameda) but most of all a whole lot of fun.

For the past six years, I worked the event for my former employer and this year was the first time that I got to enjoy all of the festivities. Many of the bars and restaurants on Park Street set up special deals for the event. Linguini’s had their pizza window and shots of Jägermeister, boy that has the the 20-something crowd written all over it. Cera Una Volta and the new Wine Bar had tastings for those who love the grape.

Because there is so much to write about I will give only highlights.

The Beer: four types were available through the fair, Lagunitas, Fat Tire, Heineken and Pyramid Hefeweizen. None are my favorites, but I tried all four in the spirit of the event. I settled into the Fat Tire.

The Alameda Fire Department Pancake Breakfast was just the right thing for a Sunday morning. The crew was efficient getting the crowd their breakfast and it was cool to see the old fire trucks. The kid in everyone still likes fire trucks.

The music was great. The bands selected gave the entire fair a great vibe. I like the Hitmen they had a great party vibe. The Sun Kings are an Alameda favorite performing covers of Beatles tunes. The great thing about the Sun Kings is the audiences from 20-50 all know the words to the songs. We saw a lot of people rocking and dancing. My favorite was a tottler named Henry who was taking his rocking to the music very seriously.

Big Congrats to Rob Ratto and the volunteer crew who made this event as special as it is every year. Rob only 363 days until the beer starts flowing again for this event.

Alameda’s New Burger Joint

2008-07-25T14:12:00.001-07:00

The much anticipated opening of Burgermeister in Alameda cam to fruition this past Tuesday and give the crowds over the past couple of days it looks to be a hit with locals. If you go for dinner and want to sit down be prepared to wait, I went on Wednesday Night and it was a 20 minute wait for table for two.

With any new place there are hiccups, and Burgermeister had a few this evening.

We started with cocktails, the Strawberry Margarita was not good, it was the first time I have sent back a drink in a real long time, and the staff did create the drink but not a good start. The lemon drop was solid, but not great. The bartending needs to be improved.

The real bummer was not wait for table but the long wait for food. Our server forgot to put our order in, and after 20 minutes she noticed. She did apologize and put a rush on the new order, which came very promptly. In the meantime I had twice ordered a beer and never received it, I guess the good part was I did not get billed. I have to say they failed on the execution of service.

The positive was the food. The burger was perfect and the chili cheese curly fries were AWE-Some. So the food was good and I was glad to see all the people dining out in the Park Street District. Of course we ran into several people we know, typical in Alameda. The evening was not a total loss.

I would go back because of the quality of food and give them another shot at improving their service.

2358 Central Avenue (between Oak St & Park St)Alameda, CA 94501
www.burgermeistersf.com/

Celebrating Old School

2008-07-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

Live everyone I like to celebrate, be it a birthday, new job or an anniversary. This year I decided to celebrate one of life’s moments at an Eat Bay architectural moment; The Claremont Hotel or more specifically at Paragon in the Hotel. The Claremont has been at its current location since 1906 and has been a resort since 1915.

The Claremont Resort & Spa is a historic hotel that straddles the border between Berkeley and Oakland.. It is located at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills, providing the resort with scenic views of San Francisco Bay. It was constructed by a group of real estate developers associated with the Key System. A transbay line ("E" line) ran right to the doors of the Claremont Hotel for those trying to escape San Francisco for the weekend, approaching from between the tennis courts. Thus, Claremont Hotel guests not only had a magnificent view of San Francisco, but they could also go there directly by train. This grand location has kept most of its unique feature of years past.

My wife and I met in Berkeley over 20 years ago but we had never gone to the Claremont together for cocktails or food, so I booked an evening to experience what Paragon had to offer at this unique location. I knew the location would be special. I had arranged a time about 30 minutes before Sunset; it was a little hazy so the Bay View was not as nice as it could have been, but still a great setting.

I have to tell you, that this is location, is a great place for after work, happy hour or getting a group of friends together. The Paragon has a deck and lounge that is perfect to settle in and have a few drinks and talk with friends or a date.

We started with Pomegranate Margarita and Pink Grapefruit from the House Drink menu. Most drink on the menu are $10 and of 14 drinks on the list the diversity offers a little of something for everyone. Paragon offers a limited wine list and a larger after dinner drink list.

For starters we had the asparagus salad and the tuna tartare. The asparagus was crisp and had a lot of flavor. The tuna was spicy with pablano chilies, but it was not overpowering.

We decided on scallops and the pork chop for our entrees. The Paragon has a very limited selection for its entrees, with just six main dishes. The food was consistently prepared, not the best ever, but a solid performance.

Overall the Paragon delivers because its staff was great, the drinks were great, the food was good and the location was outstanding. I would go back, especially to sit on the deck after work and enjoy a few drinks.

http://www.claremontresort.com/

Urban Hike

2008-07-14T16:03:00.001-07:00

View from Broadway and Jones Staircase

I can’t remember if we bought the book “Stairway Walks in San Francisco” or it was given to us but yesterday was terrific Bay Area day, to take an Urban Hike. The book has more than 20 walk that navigate you through different neighborhoods, and as you trek the author explains some of the local architecture and sets you up for stunning views.

We decided on the Pacific Heights walk that starts on Broadway and Jones works it way down the hill towards the Russian Embassy, through the neighborhood past the Flood Mansion and some other stunning homes, works its way back up the hill past the Italian Embassy up to the Fillmore crosses over to Alta Vista Park and finishes where you started. In all, it was a good work out and great way to spend the afternoon.

We rewarded our effort by heading down to Union Street to get Mojitos at Betelnut. I wrote about Betelnut in my last post so no big details other than the first Mojito went down real easy. There are several outdoor dining places on Union Street and if you are looking for a bar try the Bus Stop.

More important is the Urban Hike is great for finding new places. If we had more time we would have hung in the Fillmore a little longer. There is always a new place to try.

So give it a shot.

Here is a link to the book on Amazon, this is in no way an endorsement of Amazon, so if you can find the book at you local retail outlet I would encourage you to support your local book store.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0899974295/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Classic vs. Contemporary

2008-06-27T13:43:00.001-07:00

I ran into a great article on SF Gate doing an analysis of bartending; East Coast vs. West Coast. The basic premise is that East Coast Bartenders are very traditional and make small changes to long time recipes and West Coast Bartenders look at fresh local ingredients to create their drinks.

The article as a whole is a bit tongue and cheek, but a good read and most of all it provides four cocktail receipts at the end. I leaned toward the Nouveau Carre sounded great.

What I got out of the article is that Americans are becoming very picky about their cocktails and why not when you lay down $8-$12 for a speciality drink. When you go into a Bar and/or restaurant these days you will see some very unique and taste driven drinks. The best is when the bar and kitchen work together to build a menu that complements the dining experience.

Two of my favorite places in San Francisco to have cocktails and dine are Bix and Betelnut. Both have great menus and even better cocktails. Bix is very traditional and serves martini style drinks. Betelnut use the Asian menu to complement the fruit and sweet inspired drinks. Both place are great to settle in for just cocktails. Flora in Oakland is doing a similar thing with cocktails, fresh ingredients and unusual list.

It is good to see that bars are becoming central to the dining experience.

Check out the article and let us know what you think.

SF Gate
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/26/WI3K118SKS.DTL

Bix Restaurant
www.bixrestaurant.com/
56 Gold St
San Francisco CA 94133
Tel 415 433 6300

Betelnut
http://www.betelnutrestaurant.com/
2030 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 929-8855

A little lesson on Cocktails

2008-06-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading the online version of the NY Times and came across a video in the dining section by Mark Bittman, he does an online video blog called "The Minimalist". His video today is on Cocktails, very intresting a little long over 5 minutes.

Here is the link

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/dining/index.html

Story link:
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=c7fcd98d4eea510380116b5c815a7ac0c75225ef

The player is midway down the page. The video is titled Cocktail Confidential.

Happy Viewing and Cheers

A New Cambridge Restaurant

2008-06-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

The "To Tide You Over Dish"

After Tuesday Night’s wild time watching the Celtics Game, Last night I was looking for a quite, and slightly upscale dining experience. After doing a little Internet Research I found a place called Hungry Mother in Cambridge. The restaurant just opened in March and as I walked up you could tell that they have been filling the tables.

The small ownership group had planned on opening this restaurant 18-Months prior in Bay Village Neighborhood as the “Village Table”. The space they original planned fell through and they reorganized to open this small and cozy restaurant. The name comes from a Virginia State park in Marion a place where one of the owners grew up. The restaurant blends traditional French cooking with Southern food of the Appalachian region.

Being a single diner had an advantage on this evening; because they had a table open and I was able to avoid the 25 minute wait. This small space has two dining areas and a bar. The restaurant is a converted home and has all the charm of a period home in this Kendall Square neighborhood.

Hungry Mother has a number of House Mixed Drinks they list by number not name. I started with the no. 8, as my pre-meal cocktail. The no. 8 is tequila, curaçao, fresh lime, orange bitters, pep up for $9. Most of the house cocktails are between $8 and $9. Hungry Mother does something you see rarely in restaurants they list all of their liquor by type and name. So if you do not have to guess if they carry your favorite libation.

The dinner menu has four sections: To Tide You Over, First Course, Main Course, Can You Pass That. To Tide You Over is small plates that are served to right after you order. The plates are: SPICY PIMIENTO CHEESE celery hearts, toasted pain de mie $4; DEVILED CHIP-IN FARM EGGS & hm bacon $4; BOILED VIRGINIA PEANUTS grey sea salt $3: WARM BEEF TONGUE CANAPÉ gruyère, dijon $3. I tried the Deviled Eggs they had a nice mustard tang and were a great comfort food.

The First Course or Appetizers, range from $7 to $13, include oysters, pate, shrimp and grits and smoked barbeque pork rib. I went for the ribs, great flavor and the smoky sauce was excellent.

They have five main courses to choose from chicken, beef, catfish, bluefish and a pasta dish. The entrees range in price from $16 to $27. My choice for the evening was the French style Gnocchi with mushrooms, spring peas, tendrils and large parmigiano shavings for $17. The dish was served in a vegetable broth with all the fresh produce accenting the dish. Each bite was full of flavor and had a buttery element. I was pleased with the selection.

One of the owners, John, came by to ask about my meal and how I had heard about the place. I did mention to John, that the wine list needs a little improving, I ordered Oreana Pinot and it was not a great glass of wine. He took my comment with professionalism and concern. The attention at Hungry Mother shows, you can tell how much they care about the restaurant. Naomi, my server, did an excellent job and the pacing of the meal was perfect.

This would be a perfect restaurant for nice evening out. The patrons dress casually as well as the staff. Hungry Mother has a home feel.

Hungry Mother (Open Tuesday to Sunday)
233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave
Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02141

http://www.hungrymothercambridge.com/main.html

Fever Pitch

2008-06-18T09:28:00.001-07:00

Celtics Hit A Big Shot for No. 17

Fever Pitch

Wow, what a great night, a great sports town and great timing to be in Boston for Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Since I was unable to be at the New Garden for the game it made all the sense in the world to watch the NBA Finals with Celtics fans. I was unsure where to go to watch the game, but I was sure if I went near one of Boston’s sports centers I would find a place. I thought going near the Garden would be tough to get into and out of after the game, so I decided to head towards Fenway Park.

Because I am in town on business, I am staying out in one of the suburbs just West of Downtown, so I decided to take the train down to the Fenway Park to find a watering hole to catch the game and spirit of Boston.

The train ride from the Riverside Station to the Park was nice and easy. I got to the area and took a walk around to find the right bar. Game-On, Boston Beer Works and Cask ‘n Flagon are within a jumpshot of each other so a person has plenty of choices for a place that fits their needs and to settle in for the evening.

I decided on the Cask ‘n Flagon right across the street from Fenway’s legendary Green Monster. I thought this would be a perfect location to watch the game. When I arrived the bar was a little sparse the after work crowd was just arriving and the game crowd had not set out for the evening. It was little strange for me, as a West Coast Person waiting for a 9 O’clock start to the game. But I wanted to have a prime seat for the game, so I decided to have a one-man tailgate. Cocktails, hot wings and nachos were on the pre-game menu.

As tip-off approached the Cask ‘n Flagon filled with a very fevered crowd looking for the Celtics 17th NBA title. One thing I thought I would never see in Boston, was the Red Sox Game being turned off, so they could dedicate the entire bar to the Celtics. A sox fan understands that this was more important. As the announcer began introductions the crowd booed each Laker, saving the largest jeer for Kobe Bryant. As soon as the Celtics intros began the Cheers began roar and the bar was in a fever pitch waiting for the ball to be tossed in the air.

Boston fans are passionate. With every tip of the ball, every turnover, every big shot the crowd was into the action. I have sat in a lot of bars, watching a lot of sports over the years and there are very few times when you feel like you are actually in the area and part of the game. Last night was one of them.

Since I would not ever cheer for a Los Angeles team I zeroed in on cheering for local Bay Area products. Cal alum Leon Powe and Hayward High School’s Eddie House both contributed to the Game 6 blow-out. Eddie hit a couple of big shots and the Boston crowd embraced me as cheered for my local boys. As a kid and a basketball fan I was a big Bill Russell fan, so it was great to see the former USF Don on the sideline.

I got exactly what I expected a great time. Even though I got to bed late and overslept a little this morning it was worth the trip to experience the Championship with the Celtic Fans.

Cask ‘n Flagon is a great bar with televisions everywhere, even in the bathroom so you do not miss the action. I local told me that on Red Sox home games it is almost impossible to get into the Cask ‘n Flagon because people show-up three hours before the game, to watch the action outside the park because they can not get a ticket to be in the park.

The now World Famous Cask’n Flagon began as a small neighborhood bar known as Oliver’s back in 1969, was host to many now famous musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Hendrix, and the band Boston. A few years later Oliver’s changed its name to the Cask’n Flagon. Through the years the bar has gone through many changes and was once known as the little bar on the corner of Brookline Avenue.

Cocktails were $6 and draft beers $4. I had the meatloaf for dinner and it was pretty good, they grilled it before they served it to give it a smoke flavor and add skewer marks. The food is typical pub fare. The wings and nachos were good and full of flavor. This place is more about a great crowd than the food and beverages. A must try for any Boston Sporting event.

I have to say thank you to the Boston Fans for treating me so well and letting be a part of their history.

http://www.casknflagon.com/about1.htm

On the road again

2008-06-16T11:12:00.001-07:00

I am writing from my stop over in the Phoenix Airport, just as Tiger hits a big putt on No. 10 . . . . the bar just got a little loud. The PHX airport has free wireless, this should be a must nowadays in all airports with flight delays.

I will update the blog from Boston this week. I look forward to being in Bean town with the Celtics and Lakers playing tomorrow night. I will try and find a great Boston Bar to blog about. Just a side note, I check Stubhub with a small fantasy of heading to the Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The cheapest ticket was over $600 for the nose-bleeds, thus I will be watching from a bar.

Have a great Monday.

Cheers

Leave the Taco . . .Have a Beer

2008-06-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Final post about Phoenix . . .

Since I was in the Southwest, I wanted to get a sense of the local flavor so I searched for a good Mexican food restaurant. Before I start, I need to provide a disclaimer that I am very picky about my Mexican food, every restaurant needs to live up to a very high standard when it comes to authenticity and flavor. Simply said it needs to be close to my grandmother’s cooking or it is not acceptable.

I went on a recommendation, from a fellow co-worker, to Tee Pee, 4144 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ. Tee Pee is very old school Americanized Mexican food restaurant, with a large full service bar, televisions that blare the baseball game and large portions of food.

A mixed crowd of trades people to men in suits flowed in for my lunch time visit. A couple of businessmen bellied up to the bar to have a shot of Patrone before heading back to work and the full bar hand plenty of drinkers for the mid-week afternoon drink. Tee Pee offers mini pitchers of draft beer for patrons looking to have a little more than a 12 ounce beer. Drinks in the bar were reasonable $3-$4 for beer and $3-$6 for a mixed drink.

The place was packed for lunch and you may have to wait for a table if you get there during the lunch or dinner rush. I understand that a crowd is very common. The dinning area is very Spartan with a bunch of tables and some booths crammed together. This is not a fine dinning experience; it is noisy and has a bustling pace.

I soon as sat down the server had chips and salsa on the bar. The salsa was well balanced and had great flavor. I was really encouraged by the initial offering. I then ordered a Number 1 (Taco, Tamale, Enchilada, Rice & Beans — 10.50), to get a variety of items and test them out.

So with anticipation, I wait for the food to come out, but I soon as I saw the dish I knew I was in trouble when I saw the plate covered in cheese and the taco overfilled with lettuce. The taco shell just could not handle the weight of everything stuffed inside and as soon as picked it up in began to crumble. The enchilada was okay, something I would have again, but the sauce lacked any punch and it is the sauce that makes a good enchiladas, and this missed the mark. The tamale was dry and lacked any real flavor. Overall the plate was below average.

Overall the experience was very average; this is gringo food nothing more and not worth a special trip. I truly wished I would have found a better representation of the true local Mexican food flavor in an area filled with tradition. Next time I will have to do a little more searching to find a more authentic dining experience. I did like the bar and the drink prices, would definitely hang out to watch a game, have a beer and some chip and salsa.

www.teepeemexicanfood.com

Tee Pee Mexican Food
4144 E Indian School Rd
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 956-0178

Slide into the Windy City

2008-06-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Part deux of the trip to Phoenix.

So I was looking for a place close to the office to grab lunch and a burger is always a good call. So I did a quick Yelp search to map any and all burger place within a mile of the office and I found the Chicago Hamburger Company.

The place gives you a taste of the Windy City in the middle of the desert. The Daly for Mayor Signs, the Bears, Cub and White Sox memorabilia adorns the walls and would make any Midwesterner feel the breeze is about to come off the lake at any minute.

The Chicago Hamburger Company, specialty is Original Windy City Slider®. In addition to the slider this Chicago style burger stand that serves Vienna hot dogs and polish, char broiled sandwiches, wings, salads, and daily specials. They have the daily specials listed on their website so check them out before you go.

The sliders are not White Castle and that is a very good thing. I had four double sliders with cheese and they were full of flavor and went down very easy. The buns really made the burger. Overall they four doubles were very filling and tasty. The cost is very reasonable $1.04 for a single cheese burger and $1.64 for a double cheeseburger.

The fries are top notch; the local magazine twice gave the Chicago Hamburger Company top honors for their fries. The fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

They also serve old fashioned milkshakes so I decided to have a coffee flavored shake for dessert. It was a good call for the 94-degree day.

This is a very family friendly environment, with kid menus, pinball games, including an old baseball Pennant Fever game and Pac-Man. The TV was tuned to WGN for Cubs baseball.

The Chicago Hamburger Company
3749 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, Arizona
(602) 955-4137
Open Mon-Sat: 10:30am-8pm
http://www.chicagohamburger.com/index.htm

Oasis In The Desert

2008-06-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

So when you travel for business you get to see very little of the places that you go you have to take full advantage of the small amount of time you do have to experience the city. I was in Tucson and Phoenix last week, so I did a little research and asked a few co-workers who lived in the area for a great place to eat and have drinks.

The staff at our Phoenix office sent me to neighboring Scottsdale to a steak house they said would fit the bill for a great night out. The steak house they recommended was Mastro’s City Hall Steak House and Bar. Mastro’s runs three restaurants in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area.

Let me start with this place is not cheap!! The $8-$10 cocktails are enough to startle any drink bargain hunter. If you are going to do the works appetizer, dinner and drinks bring you wallet. My guess it is $70-$80 per person depending on what you order.

I settled in for a couple of drinks before I had dinner. The drinks were well balanced and on the large side. The bartenders would adjust the drink to your taste on request with no hesitation. A little weak, a little they were there to make it right.

Just as I was finishing my cocktails the live music started. Traditional lounge music with a little rock and roll mixed into the set. I must have heard two or three Elton John songs that night along with Frank and Dean.

For dinner I had a spicy Caesar Salad. It had a little wasabi in the dressing. For dinner the bone-in Rib Eye and the potatoes wedges au gratin. The steak was sizzling and a little under-cooked, but the way they serve it continues to cook on the plate. The steak was more than I could finish, and I am a big eater. I have never had Au Gratin Potatoes served this way. Big potato wedges crispy and then served with enough cheese to make the California Cheese Board jump in glee as City Hall tried to save the industry by itself.

The meal was very good but even better was watching the Scottsdale Nightlife. I learned a new term on my visit: “Scottsdale Girl”. This is a young, very well dressed young lady out looking for a slightly, or in some case much, older man with MONEY. I saw a 60+ Bob Barker look-a-like cruise the bar twice before settling on a young lady sitting at the bar. The three carat square cut diamond ring on his hand was enough invitation for this young lady to accept a drink, titter for a while and then leave with Senor Barker.

As an out-of-towner being guided by the bartender and some locals, I caught on to the game of identifying the “Scottsdale Girls” in the bar. I could not have had a better evening being alone in a foreign town. Tomorrow a much different Phoenix Experience.

http://www.azeats.com/mastros/default.htm

Time Travel -- 1930s

2008-06-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

Back from another work related road trip, this time it was the desert of Arizona. So, this week I will have a couple of postings from local business and a few from my trip to the Tucson and Phoenix.

This week I start locally. I was invited by a friend to attend a birthday celebration of a close friend of his in San Francisco. The invite was last minute, but I was up for trying something new and interesting. We head over on BART and walked the few blocks from the Embarcadero Station to 133 Steuart for an evening at Shanghai 1930. Once you arrive you head down the stairs and are transported to another time and place.

Shanghai 1930’s website, http://www.shanghai1930.com/ , boast that this is a “Cosmopolitan Restaurant” that invokes the spirit of Shanghai during the period between the Two World Wars. I did not dine on my first trip but did peek at the menu and saw the Asian influenced meals would be worth a trip back. The party we met raved about the food, so a must on the trip back.

The bar/lounge had a great feel. Live music flowed through the room, with the lead singer rattling off song from Dean, Frank and Tony. Live music is from 8-Midnight on Friday and Saturday and 7 PM to 11 PM every other day. The music is billed as Jazz, but given my experience I see that a few crooners slip in to entertain the crowd.

The staff was fast and the cocktails were large and pack a good punch. The full bar has a strong selection of beers and wine. Shanghai 1930 offers a happy hour menu between 5 PM and 7 PM in the Blue Bar. Signature drink and appetizers headline but the offer six beers and a selection of wines for $5 and $6 respectively. The signature drinks sound very exotic: Shanghaipolitan, Sexual Healing and Dragon Tea

This Downtown establishment also features a cigar lounge. After a couple of drinks we retired to the Guanxi Lounge (Members Only Cigar Bar). Some delicate encouragement to manager by our party got us into this members only section. The thought of a large bar tab and a group buying cigars with a high mark-up must have ran through his head as he sat us in one of the Private Rooms.

Guanxi translates into the American word “Connections”. You could see how this Cigar Bar can be a place for a couple of people to sit down get to know each and make a business deal over a couple of drinks and a smoke. I gave up cigars about a year ago, so I enjoyed more cocktails and watch everyone enjoy the evening.

This is a great place to have a drink and relax. For local Alameda residents it is close to BART and the Ferry, worth a trip in for Happy Hour and a little music before heading back to the Island.

Alameda Institution

2008-05-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

The other night I headed over to 1645 Park Street, many of you may not know the building by address but if you live in Alameda you know it by name. The Victorian building houses an Alameda Institution, McGee’s Bar and Grill. I am very partial to McGee’s, in part, because owners John and Linda Costello gave me a job when I was in college and more importantly because I always feel like I am at home in this Pub and Bar.

A friend of mine and I started the evening down the street at another bar, but after poor service from the bartender and the wrong drink we headed to McGee’s to salvage the evening. That night, both John and Linda were in the bar and I got a chance to talk to John for about 30 minutes and I realized that for most of my life and all of my adult life McGee’s has been a part of it.

We talked about changes in Alameda since he bought the bar over 30-years ago, at the young age of 25. This place is his life and he treats customers with respect. Linda always add warmth to the place and customers come and go like family. General Manager Tim Goodman works the crowd and make sure that the operation is working for the customer. The staff knows the regulars and what they drink.

McGee’s serves as an informal gathering spot for long-term Alameda residents who have left the Island and want to meet up with old friends. It also seems to serve as the venue for every high school pre- and post- reunion party, no matter if it is five tears for some and three decades for others.

There is always a conversation that is interesting in the bar. Sports are topic one, but any other subject will and does come up. McGee’s has several television for sports enthusiast.

This is a full bar and Brian “Big B” will serve you the perfect cocktail. I have always gotten a solid drink at McGee’s.

The Pub has a diverse menu and I have tried almost everything on it. For an interesting twist try the Lumpia as an appetizer. It is the only bar in the area, that I know of, that serves the Pilipino dish. The fried chicken is out of this world it is spicy crunchy and full of flavor. McGee’s has a variety of burgers and if you do not see the way you want it just ask for any additions and they will fix it how you like. They are pretty open to changes.

McGee’s, unlike other pubs, has a great selection of entrees grilled salmon to tri-tip. The fare is unpretentious and served in a counter style. You order at the cash register and they call your name when the food is ready.

The restaurant is family friendly. A staircase divides the bar from the dining tables and families can come to dine, while Mom and Dad have a cocktail.

I guess for me McGee’s is one of those places that make Alameda, well Alameda. Give a try and you will see why it has survived for 30-years, by treating people like family.

http://www.mcgeesbarandgrill.com/index.php?index.php

Another LA Spot

2008-05-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

I warned everyone a few posts back that I will be writing about places outside the Bay Area for period. I am traveling a lot these days, so when I get home I have wanted to stay at home and secondary reason is the travel season is upon us and many of you will be getting away, so I thought it was worth mentioning some place away from the Bay if you happen upon one of the fair cities I will be traversing through in the next eight weeks. I will still mix in local spots, so check back.

Not really Los Angeles, Culver City is South of Westwood and West of Downtown and very close to LAX. Culver City is home of Sony Picture Studios and has gone through a tremendous amount of redevelopment. Culver City at onetime was described as a wasteland. For years, no one went to Culver City because of its rough image. That has all changed.

In a region where it is hard to find walkable business districts Culver City has work hard to turn the downtown into a destination place. Free parking and easy freeway access make it a hot spot. Culver City has turned into a hip, modern and progressive community that combines unique restaurants and entertainment with a rapidly expanding multimedia hub.

One of the success stories of the redevelopment is Ford’s Filling Station. Owner and Chef Benjamin Ford calls his place an American GastroPub. The goal is to have simple food done very well. You will pay for the frsh ingrediants and quality that is produced. This no average pub. Ford may be more famous for being the son of Actor Harrison Ford, but the food is the star of this show.

One of the unique things about Ford’s is the Cured Meat section of the menu. If you are into meat, this is a must. The Salame, Prosciutto, Coppa, Mortadella, Sopressatta are just the standards on the list. They offer plates to try one, two or three different meats. The cured meat along with cheese list is a great way to start the meal.

The menu changes but a few staples are almost always on the entrée menu. The buttermilk fried chicken and skirt steak are staples. On my trip I tried the flatten chicken it was moist and had a lot of flavor. Others in my group had the Fish and Chips and the brook trout.

Ford’s has a full bar and daily drink special. Like most dining places in LA there is outdoor seating, and this is a must to take in the scene. Bring your sunglasses and ask for a prime spot. You may look like one of the Executives from the studio that dine at Ford’s.

http://www.fordsfillingstation.net/

Showtime

2008-05-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

It was a big weekend in Alameda. The movie theater renovation and the new Cineplex completion drew big crowds for the Grand Opening weekend. From my perspective the opening was a huge success seeing people on the street, dining and seeing old friends in the crowd.

I watched movies in the theater prior to its closing and then later worked in the skating rink that lived in the building for a few years. It was one fun job, spinning records and skating, but I never saw the building in this state. The renovation is spectacular, the screen in main theater is large and the sound is awesome. This is just a great place to watch a movie.

My wife and I wanted to make the opening a event of our own, so instead of spending a $100 for the gala we decide to spend money on Park Street. We made a dinner reservation at Pappo, 2320 Central, for Friday and walked across the street for the 7 PM showing of Indiana Jones.

Although we had been to Pappo in the past, it was good to see that the restaurant was also taking advantage of the theater opening. Pappo has created a new “Movie Menu” for dinners to get a selection of tapas plates. We started with the Sangria, very tasty and refreshing; I went through my first glass pretty fast. If they offer the Spanish influenced drink give it a try.

We order off the Movie menu trying Kefta Sliders, Fringz, Eric’s Gnocchi and the Arugula salad. Off the regular menu a bowl of the potato soup with bacon. The slider were a lamb/beef mix with cucumber and goat cheese, the fringz a mix of French fries and Onion rings. Both dishes were very good, but it was the Gnocchi that was the hit of the evening.

The house made Gnocchi sauce was so good that we began dipping the French fries in the left-over. This dish is so decadent that it is good to share, but I could see hoarding this it very easily. The server told us that they call it “Crack Sauce” because it is so addicting.

The meal was great and the staff kept us on time for the short walk across the street to make our movie time. I have to say the entire staff at Pappo was very attentive and made the pacing of the meal very relaxing.

Pappo does not have a full bar, but does have a large wine list by both the glass and bottle.

We had such a good time that we went to the free showing of Singing In the Rain on Saturday and another movie on Sunday. I had a chance to see the theater before its opening during the restoration for some photos see my Flickr page: http://flickr.com/photos/john-alameda/sets/72157603681539844/

http://papporestaurant.com/
2320 Central Ave.Alameda, CA510.337.9100

http://alamedatheater.com/
2317 Central Ave.
Alameda, CA
510-769-FILM

F.O.

2008-05-23T09:38:00.001-07:00

When I travel to Los Angeles, there is only one dining place that is a must stop. Father’s Office (F.O.) in Santa Monica. This pub is not that big and the bar is simple; draft beer. What F.O. delivers is great food and a beer for anybody.

The “Office Burger” is not your typical all American burger, and if you need to have ketchup on the burger this is not your place. The burger is served just one way. There is no substitution, there are no changes, do not try asking. The burger is awesome, but comes with a side of attitude. The Office Burger made from dry aged beef and contains, caramelized onions, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, matag blue cheese, and arugula. They meld all of the additional ingredients together before placing them in the bun. Not a cheap burger around $12.

The sweet potato French fries are worth the trip to the West Side. The Sweet Potato French Fries are seasoned with roasted garlic, herbs, and served with a blue cheese aioli. Their regular fries are also great, but these offer a nice complement to the burger.

F.O. has 36 Beers on Tap most are staples but they do rotate part of the stock. This is a beer drinkers paradise. Plus Santa Monica is not a bad place to hang out while visiting SoCal.

Go early! F.O. opens at 5 PM most nights, 4 PM on Fridays and Noon on the weekend. If you go on the weekend, go before the 20-somethings awake from a night of clubbing. The Santa Monica place is small, and gets packed very quickly. Also when its crowded expect dealing with the door-man, positioning yourself for a table and waiting. When I mean staking out a table I literally mean boxing other people out for a table. To snag a table you pretty much just have to hang out over someone's table till they clear.

If you don’t like the crowd, phone your order in and head down to the beach.

F.O. has just opened a second location in Culver City, in the new trendy redeveloped area. Same hours, same menu, slightly larger place to serve the hungry and thirsty.

Santa Monica
1018 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
TEL: 310 393 BEER (2337)

http://www.fathersoffice.com/

Back on the Wagon an a Maverick

2008-05-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

The Cozy Maverick

Okay I have been off the blogging wagon for a while, new job obligations and mucho traveling the last few weeks. So here we go to get the blog jump started. Today a restaurant in San Francisco and in the next couple of days some really great out-of-the Bay Area places that I have visited while traveling. Just a heads up I will be doing a lot more traveling in the next eight weeks so if you have tips for Phoenix, Boston, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach or DC drop me a note.

The wife and I really love the Mission and all the great places to eat and have a drink. We now have a new place to have dinner or brunch. Maverick, (3316 17th Street, San Francisco) is American comfort food with a fine dining twist.

With side plates Collard Greens, Mac n’ Cheese, Grits and Gravy the southern influence hits you right in the face. The Southern Fried Chicken looked awesome, and was flying out of the kitchen, but I passed on it for the Grilled Wagyu Beef Bauvette Steak and my wife had the Butter Braised Sturgeon. Both dishes were very taste.

Maverick does not have a full bar, but the wine list is very good. They bill themselves as an eatery and wine bar and succeed on both levels. The offer 15 wines by the glass and there is a varietal for almost every person. If you are more a hops and barley person, Maverick offers 14 types of beer. One of my favorites Trumer Pils is served.

We have also had brunch at Maverick and that experience was even better than dinner. The chorizo and eggs is house made chorizo with scrambled eggs, green onion and cheese grits, cornbread muffin with Marshall’s Farm honey. The cheese grits are awesome and I am not a big grits fan. The biscuits and gravey and cornmeal pancakes are worth the visit. Add a blackberry mimosa and it is a great brunch.

Make a reservation! This is a very small restaurant and it fills up very quickly. Maverick is on OpenTable.com for reservation convenience. The staff is very attentive and helpful.

http://www.sfmaverick.com/

Http://www.opentable.com/

A Drink of History

2008-04-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

From the Buena Vista Website. The Irish Coffee Lined-up

So I was reading

So I was reading, yes booze hounds and foodies read, a NY Times article (link) titled “Pub Crawl Through the Centuries” that talked about England’s oldest drinking establishments, some dating back to the 13th Century.

This got me thinking about some of the Bay Area’s more famous place to sit a while and have a libation. These places are not as deep rooted as the English Pubs, but still have great history for the West Coast of the Colony.

The Oldest is Tadich Grill, (1849) sitting at 240 California, San Francisco. Tadich Grill is a favorite among the Financial District crowd and the bar is always full.

Home of the first Irish Coffee is the Buena Vista, 2765 Hyde St (@ Beach) San Francisco, a bustling bar with locals and tourist. Although I believe that some Irish man was putting Irish Whisky in breakfast drink well before the Buena Vista perfected their receipt in 1952. Great marketing and a good drink, well worth stopping on a foggy San Francisco evening and watch the freezing tourist in their shorts and newly purchased fleece jackets.

One of a kind Trader Vic’s in Emeryville is a surviving location in a chain of Polynesian-themed restaurants that bore the nickname of founder Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. Trader Vic, and one of two people who claimed to have invented the Mai Tai. Bergeron opened a small bar/restaurant across from his parent's grocery store in Oakland, California named Hinky Dink's, which soon became Trader Vic's during the Tiki fad of the 50’s. The Emeryville location is one of the last two in the Bay Area. The San Francisco location closed at the beginning of the year.

Right across the street from City Lights bookstore, the Beat Generation’s unofficial headquarter, is The Purple Onion. This North Beach Club, 140 Columbus (between Jackson and Pacific), offers an intimate, 80-person setting and was a popular influence in local music and entertainment during the Beat era. Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Maya Angelou, Phyllis Diller, the Kingston Trio, and the Smothers Brothers (who recorded their first album, Live at the Purple Onion there) all played the club in the 1950s and 1960s. Richard Pryor has also performed at The Purple Onion. Now day it is a shadow of its former self, but a place to have a private party or channel Allen Ginsberg and have your very own poetry reading.

Eli’s Mile High Club now The Mile High Club (3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA 94609) opened in 1974 by Eli and Alberta Thornton as a West Coast Blues venue. The club has had several owners but and is not the same in heyday, but for blues fans it is legendary.

A good start to the history, will try to do part II in a couple of weeks.

NY Times Story
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/travel/13Journeys.html?st=cse&sq=Pubs&scp=1

TGIF

2008-04-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Thank God Its Friday , sans Donna Summers singing in the background, and with the terrific weather we are having today in the SF Bay Area I started think of great places to have an outdoor cocktail to enjoy the start of the weekend.

So with the Sound Track of the TGIF Movie as inspiration I will make a couple of suggestions.

"Easy" -- Right around the corner from the house is Speisekammer (2424 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA) . Large outdoor patio, great place to sit and drink German Beer. If you get a little hungry the Brawts are awesome.

"Take It to the Zoo" -- Lucky 13 (1301 Park Street, Alameda, CA) can get a little wild on Friday. Good size patio out back, real spartan setting but the music is loud and the drinks flow.

"Trapped In a Stairway" -- Forbidden Island (1304 Lincoln, Alameda, CA) Aloha, Mr. Hand! Although you will be inside it will feel like you are outdoors with the tropic theme. If you are into mixed rum drinks with little umbrellas, this is the place. Loud shirts are encouraged. The patio is pretty much for smokers.

"Too Hot To Trot" -- Pier 23 (the Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA). The deck is a great view of the water out on the deck and Coit Tower from the interior. This is a total outdoor hangout and the crowd is ready to have a good time. You can get buckets of beer and good cocktails. Bar food is available.

By the way, just in case you were wondering, the songs artist were: Commodores, Sunshine, Paul Jabara, Commodores.

Enjoy the weekend and remeber to save the last dace for LOVE.

Cheers

Old Standby

2008-04-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Just like anything in life, we have things we like to experiment with and some things we always fall back to out of comfort. A favorite t-shirt, a date buddy (someone that you can always call-on), and places we go to to eat, drink and be merry.

I tend to write about new places that I have tried in the last couple of days, but this past weekend I went back to a couple places that are tried and true. Places were you feel comfortable and treated like you are the friend of the owner. Think of "Cheers" without Sam Malone/Ted Danson.

On Friday Night, after sailing (opening of the season, very happy) and a few cocktails at the Fireside, my buddy and I traveled across the street to Nations Giant Hamburgers on Webster Street in Alameda. It had been a while, since I stop into the old burger joint and much of it had not changed over the years. It a simple menu, big old greasy burgers, but for a moment it brought me back to the countless runs we made to Nations for burgers over the past 20 years. These are burgers have all the fixings and my option of grilled onions and pickels. Fries and pie round out the menu. After midnight this is a great stop, not the best burger I have ever had, but a lot of memories waiting for my burger to come up. Some of the memories are little more difficult after some very late nights.

On Saturday, headed into McGees Bar and Grill on Park Street in Alameda. Owners John and Linda Costello are great people and treat every customer with care. Tim, the bar manager always calls me by name and looks to see if I have a drink. The NCAA Basketball games were on so it was a full house. McGees has a great pub menu burgers, wings, fries and few items with a slight mexican slant. I end up at McGees more often than I will admit because of their diverse menu. You don't need to know what you want until your are ready to order. McGees has a full bar and is well worth a stop.

Nations http://www.nationsrestaurants.com/

McGees
http://www.mcgeesbarandgrill.com/

See old review of Fireside
http://cocktailcocktailscocktails.blogspot.com/2007/12/fireside.html

HIGH ROLLER

2008-04-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hard Rock Pool

Living like a HIGH ROLLER!!!

Some things do get better with age. As you get older and meet more people opportunities open up to experience things you never have had chance in the past. One person in our group of nearly 20 guys has become very successful in business and with it comes some very influential contacts. So, this trip to Vegas I got a chance to see what it was like to live like a High Roller.

A must, once in your life, you need to spend a day in a Cabana at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Pool. First, I was impressed that the Cabana was a comp but the location right next to the pool with an impressive service and a television to watch all the NCAA basketball games. The Hard Rock Pool is one of the most coveted locations in all of Vegas with its young and hip crowd that loves a good time. During the summer the Hard Rock’s ReHab is the best afternoon Sunday Party in town. So with the Captain and Cokes flowing, Sun and a Party atmosphere I was in prime real estate. Although I am way outside the target demo for the pool, it was good energy to let you know that you Vegas vacation is in full swing.

Pool Cam at Hard Rock: http://www.hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas/pool/pool-cams/

ReHab: http://www.hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas/pool/rehab/

The experience did not end with the pool. My buddy was also able to get us access to Body English one of the busiest Night Clubs in town. No cover charge, right pass the long line of anxious part goers and the velvet rope was opened and you could see many in the line envious that we did not have to wait. We were escorted right into the club just like I was one of Hollywood’s elite. The doorman treated me and our group like we played thousand dollar hands of blackjack and come to Vegas once a week, just like old friends. Cool experience.

Body English: http://www.bodyenglish.com/

So, I got to play like one of the big boys. It only took 10 minutes to break the spell as I entered the Airport. The Southwest Airlines Cattle line waiting for flight brought me back to reality, and those great little bags of peanuts. Oh well, I have next year.

This Ain't No Vegas Buffet

2008-04-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Why, Why, Why

Okay, I finally have enough energy to write after my return from Vegas. I know that the Blog is traditionally Bay Area, but this week’s posts will be all about “Sin City”. Today it is all about the food.

When it comes to food Vegas is no longer about cheap buffets. You can still find a buffet, not so cheap any more, but it really has become a city of fine dining. In past trips I have eaten at some very nice restaurants. Here are few places to try if you are planning a trip; followed by two new dining experiences.

Alize (Palm): Let’s start with the view. The Palm is West of the LV Strip and the restaurant is on the top floor. Late evening dining is spectacular, but once the Ghost Bar starts up one floor below the rhythmic thumping can be felt in the dining room, so about 8 PM is the best time, lights of LV and great food. Chef Andre Rochat brings his culinary expertise to a very French inspired menu complimented with an award-winning wine list.

Link to the menu: http://www.andrelv.com/alize/dinner

Commander’s Palace (Aladdin): The reason to go to the Las Vegas version of this classic New Orleans eatery is because you have no trip to the Big Easy planned. I normally would not recommend a restaurant that’s flagship is in other city, but this restaurant is renowned for its hospitality as its food and there is no drop in food quality. Besides I would go just for the Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé. Had the dessert in both cities and it is fantastic no matter where it is served.
Link to the menu: http://www.commanderspalace.com/las_vegas/menu_detail.php?menu=14

Okada (Wynn): A very tranquil restaurant in the sea of Vegas noise the space is surrounded by waterfalls, lush gardens and a koi filled lagoon. A table next to the water is a must, make sure you ask for a prime location with your reservation. Chef Masa Ishizawa serves up authentic teppanyaki (teppan , which means iron plate, and yaki, which means grille) and robata cooking (grilling skewered foods over charcoal), with modern Japanese Creations and Sushi that is top grade.
Link to menu: http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/pdf/Okada_Menu_Jan8_08.pdf

This weekend I left the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel just once but still had two great dining experiences on site. Here are the new:

AJ’s Steakhouse (Hard Rock Hotel and Casino): Las Vegas has plenty of steakhouses Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris have homes in LV and every top notch casino has one. AJ’s is reminiscent of an era when Las Vegas was defined by people who expected only the finest steaks and smoothest martinis. Dark ambiance and a very comfortable dining experience create the perfect setting for diners. I had the 22oz bone-in Rib Eye, done just right. The sides of Potatoes Gratin and Mac and Cheese were incredibly good. Two good bottles of wine from a strong list help to round out the meal.
Link to menu: http://www.hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas/dining/ajs-steakhouse/

Nobu (Hard Rock Hotel and Casino): Must confess been to Nobu in NY so I had very high expectations, which the staff delivered on to finish the weekend in grand style. The sushi is very high grade, and as a very fickly seafood eater it is very important for me to be satisfied. Master Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has the highest standard for the quality of food from his kitchens. The Toro and other sushi are excellent, the scallops were incredible and I do not like scallops. A must try if you are in NY or LV.
Link to menu: http://www.hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas/dining/nobu/

Happy Dining and Cheers

Vegas Baby

2008-03-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

As the boys in Swingers say "Vegas Baby"

My annual pilgrimage to the desert starts tomorrow, a four day weekend, to catch part of the NCAA tournament and too participate in acts of debauchery. After today's no post until next Monday or Tuesday . When I return there will be plenty recount, while still leaving the Vegas filter in place with the old Vegas adage of what happens in Vegas . . .

Before I head out, I just wanted to give you a short story about my one of my first trips to Vegas with my buddy Brad. The year was 1988, and because we had more time than money we decided to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to Vegas. We left after work and drove most of the night stopping in some of the Central Valley's best towns: Fresno, Bakersfield only stopping for beer and snacks. Brad's friend Neil worked at the Old Aladdin Hotel (now blown up), the site of Elvis and Priscilla's wedding, and he got us a deal on a room. Neil even got us into the Penthouse suite for a night because some Whale did not show to use the room. The views of Vegas were intoxicating, or the Jacks and Coke. One or the other.

We gamble, had 25-cent breakfast, ate 10-cent chicken wings and visited some of Vegas' lesser known spots. A good example was Larry's Villa. Larry's is a bar and strip club in a strip mall next to a laundry mat. The strippers were bad, but the pitchers of beer were $4 and they had microwave burritos if you got hungry.

Our journey home was just as adventurous. Instead of going the traditional route through So Cal and up I-5 or 99, we headed up Nevada's I-95 towards Reno, cut over at Tioga Pass through Yosemite and back to the Bay. The four days had eaten up most of our cash, so we filled up in Vegas and the tank was hitting empty in Yosemite, we wrote a bad check for the last bit of gas and a 12-pack, since there was no money in the account anyway. Some how we got back home in one piece.

Good Times. (Speaking of Good Times: Jimmie Walker is from Vegas)

Over the years the trip have gotten more elaborate and more expensive, but like many things the first time is the best. Will try to have a good time, and will double down even if it is my last $100. Because I'm Money Baby.

A Good Friday . . . to you

2008-03-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

A Good Friday . . . to you

Call this an only in San Francisco event. With Easter Sunday this weekend the annual Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Easter Celebration and Hunky Jesus Contest at Dolores Park is approaching.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a perfect San Francisco organization, kabuki-make-up wearing cross dressing “nuns”, throw the most interesting and unique Easter Sunday maybe anywhere in the world. For a little history on the Sisters see (the Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisters_of_Perpetual_Indulgence ).

Easter morning starts with good old fashioned fun the Easter activities for the kids include face painting and an egg hunt at 10:30am. As morning turns to afternoon the activities turn more adult. (This is a warning; the activities in the park are not child friendly when the Band starts playing). This year’s live music will be the B-Cups, Charm-School Dropouts and Ex-Boyfriends perform, an Easter bonnet contest at 1pm, an all-boy burlesque show 2pm and at 3:20p the afternoon is capped off with the Hunky Jesus.

Bring a picnic lunch and stay a while. The day is always fun and interesting; you just don’t know what the Sisters or the Crowd will do. The Sisters use the event to raise funds for community organizations.

A couple places to drop into if you do not bring food. The Dolores Park Café is right across the street. It will be very crowded on Sunday but the food and coffee is very good. Pizzeria Delfina is on 18th , try the Margherita and or four Cheese.

Easter Day at Dolores Park
Address: Dolores and 18th Street, San Francisco, CA
http://www.thesisters.org/

The Dolores Park Café
www.doloresparkcafe.org

Pizzeria Delfina
www.pizzeriadelfina.com

The Greatest Four Weeks of the Year

2008-03-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

Cal and New Mexico Last Night

For sport’s fans, today open’s the greatest four weeks of the year, the start of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. For me this is the best sporting event of the year, more exciting than the NFL, more passion than the NBA (that’s not hard to beat), two to three buzzer beating shots each day of the first two weeks, and a good reason to take an extended lunch if your team is playing an afternoon game.

Since my California Golden missed the NCAA Tournament, again, I sat through an opening round game of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) as the Bears hosted New Mexico. I had not seen New Mexico play this season but the game had peak my interest with former Indiana star Steve Alford coaching. Alford, the former Mr. Basketball for Indiana, is the same age as I am and enjoyed watching him play. In 1987, Alford led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Championship Game against Syracuse. The Hoosiers won the game on a late baseline jumpshot by Keith Smart. But, Alford did his part, shooting 7-10 from the 3-point line, scoring 23 points.

Alford as a coach has his team shooting the three. In his first year with New Mexico he and the Lobos went 24-9, and led the nation in three-point shooting at 42.5 percent. Just like Alford in his playing days this was a patient and disciplined team. Down by 10 at half they climbed back into the game on the back of JR Giddens, who had 26-points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The big fellow could do it all, and you could tell was well coached in the motion offense that Alford learned from Bobby Knight. The Bears pulled out the win (68-66) with two freethrows by Jamal Boykin, but I was impressed with the Lobos.

After the exciting finish, I stopped at Blake’s on Telegraph. They have recently remodeled and the place looks cleaned up. I never went to Blake’s as a student because I could not afford to eat or drink there. As a got older it has become a standard when I head over to campus for an event. They have 11 beers on tap and drink specials every night. It looks as if they are trying to get a younger crowd with drink specials every night of the week. An example is: $5 Long Island’s on Monday’s, $1 Beer on Wednesday’s or $3.75 Jack and Cola on Saturday. The food at Blake’s is always very good, but the service at times can be slow. Try the Burger and the fries.

http://www.blakesontelegraph.com/

St. Patrick's Recap

2008-03-18T10:14:00.001-07:00

Front Street -- St. Patrick's 2008

So St. Patrick’s Day came and wen,t with a few pints of Guiness and a couple of Irish Car Bombs. For those of you not familiar, an Irish Car Bomb is essentially a Boilermaker with different ingredients. (3/4 pint Guinness stout, 1/2 shot Bailey's Irish cream, 1/2 shot Jameson Irish whiskey). So after partaking in the Holiday, I need to thank the bartenders, servers and public transit workers that kept the drinks coming and getting me home safe.

I made the journey down to Front Street in San Francisco and it was a mad house. After a few hours of bouncing around the bars and listening to Wonder Bread 5 pump out the party music, great band to get a crowd in the mood, my friends and I started heading back to the Transbay Terminal and hit two bars with smaller crowds on the way.

We also ran into Alameda's own Kenny Da Klown, making baloon hats for the Adults playing like children. As the Klown would say "True Dat"

One had no name on the Front, but I learned it is called “83 Proof” it on First street close to the Walgreens. 83 Proof has quick bartenders with very good knowledge of their spirits and they keep mind that their customers are coming in after a grueling day in the office. The bar has a balcony with comfy leather couches that overlooks the busy bar below.

The second Bar was John Collins. This bar has a real lounge feel. Even though music is playing its volume is controlled so you can talk to your friends. Attentive bartenders, which seem to have a hip-hop feel, young hip and looking for tips. The crowd is very professional and willing to plop down $6 for a cocktail. A great place because it is close to Transbay terminal and a short walk to BART.

After taking the bus ride back to Alameda, we stopped in at the Fireside for a night cap. Normally the Fireside is closed on Monday’s but a drinking holiday could not be passed up. With all the alcohol a quick run to Nation’s Giant Hamburgers after our final stop. The bus stop was just across the street so it was the final mile on AC Transit to finish of a good St. Patrick’s Day.

83 Proof – 83 First Street

http://www.83proof.com/

John Collins -- 90 Natoma St
www.johncolins.com

I Once Was A Swinger

2008-03-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Dodge Dart Swinger, Similar to 1973 I owned

I was out running a work errand and as I was heading back to the office and at 580 to 80 West interchange, I saw a car sitting on the side of the road, the owner gas can in hand refilling the tank. Normally, I would have not paid any attention to the stranded motorist, but it was car that caught my attention.

It was a well maintained Dodge Dart Swinger (73 or 74). It brought back a rush of memories, especially the filling of the tank. The reason is the 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger was my first car and the gas gauge did not work. The Swinger name, introduced in 1969, was applied in 1970 to all Darts that had two-door and hardtop.

The Swinger was essentially a two-door Dart with styling similar to the four-door. Standard equipment included a vinyl front bench seats, simulated woodgrain, two-speed wipers, front armrests, deep pile carpet, dual horns. The Piece d'resistance was chocolate brown vinyl hardtop. You could see this 2,000 pound beast coming from a long distance.

I had this piece of 70s practical transportation from 1980 to 1984. The solid engine was easy to maintain and the car was twice hit when I owned it with little damage to the Swinger. These solid pieces of Detroit machinery totaled a motorcycle and Honda CVCC. The only downside was the gas gauge did not work, so I must have run out of gas at least 30 times. My buddy Denis and I got good at pushing it to a safe location, and I invested in a gas can. Actually, I swiped my dad’s can for the lawn mower and never returned it.

But the Swinger was awesome. We would cruise all over Alameda with up to seven high school kids with crammed into its bench seating. The trunk was huge; it could hold two ice chest or a keg. This car transported my friends and I to Santa Cruz, to the Valley and everywhere we could think of on a budget. Primarly the car served as a gathering spot for an instant party, behind the Alameda drive-in, out at Ratto farms, or hanging at South Shore Round Table. All three locations are now gone. We would park it in all the out of the way places we could find to hideout from the local po-lice. Those spots have been developed into mostly homes. So with all the memories flooding back it also brought back all the Bad Beer I drank in high school.

My buddy Denis had a mustache in High School that would rival any porn star. Purchasing alchol was never a problem it was always more about finances and choosing between gas and beer. The beer usually won out, thus pushing the car so often.

Here are the top Five bad Beers from bad to worst:

Number 5 – Hamm's is a poor man's Coors. Not much flavor and you have to drink a lot of them. A friends Dad kept them in the garage by the case, so access was easy.

Number 4 – Olympia had a resurgence in the 80s. This was my father's beer. Again easy access and the price was right. After a while I came to hate Olympia.

Number 3 -- Burgie -- This was very cheap and plentiful at the Liquor Barn. A Big Box Liquor store that predated BevMo.

Number 2 – Schaefer -- Ahhhhh, this was truly shitty beer. This was used for shot-gunning beers and to drink when you were hanging with your closest friends.

Number 1 – Generic (In the Yellow Can) -- Do I have to say anymore.

O' St. Patrick is Coming

2008-03-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

O' St. Patrick is Coming

With St. Patrick’s Day just a few days away, I thought, I would suggest a couple of places to tilt a pint or two to the patron saint of Ireland on his traditional Feast Day.

Although the Bay Area does not have some of the strong Irish traditions that cities like Boston, New York or Chicago have San Francisco has been throwing an official bash since 1852. The largest St. Patrick's Day parade is held in New York City and it is watched by over 2 million spectators, the first parade was held in Boston in 1737, organized by the Charitable Irish Society, and of course Chicago is famous for is dying The Chicago River green each year for the celebration.

Over the past 150+ years, the festivities have been embrace in a variety of countries and most Cities in the United States and as Guinness Beer Company says “everyone is Irish on March 17th”.

So on to the places to celebrate in the Bay Area. (most will included an O’ or Mc)

San Francisco
Front Street is closed down from Halleck to Sacramento streets. The downtown business crowd starts spilling into Harrington’s and the Royal Exchange around lunchtime and many do not leave til the we’hours of the morning. Bring crowd lot of people and music. Wonder Bread 5, a party band, is a staple at this celebration and will be back again for 2008. This is where I will be hoisting a few, pictures on Tuesday.

O'Reilly's Holy Grail, www.oreillysholygrail.com, 1233 Polk St

Kennedy's Irish Pub Curry House, www.kennedyscurry.com, 1040 Columbus Ave

Ireland 32 (the Avenues) 3920 Geary, Appearing for St. Patrick's Day - Dan Lawless Accordian Player from County Offley 2-5; The Bog Men 5-8, and 9-2am Ticket To Ride (former Beatles cover band).

East Bay
In Oakland is McNally's, 5352 College Ave., Oakland's oldest Irish pub, situated in the Rockridge district. A large stone fireplace that burns real logs is in the middle of the room while the long, highly polished wood bar has plenty of Guinness O’top.

Alameda
Mc Grath’s Irish Pub, 1539 Lincoln, is the home to open Mic Nights and Bluegrass music. This is a dive bar that accepts everyone. Two dart boards are located towards the back, a pool table sits in another room, and a big section of empty floor looks like a dance area. A trio of Stella, Guinness, and Boont Amber round out the on-tap beer selection, and a host of bottles take up the sl

Mc Gee’s, 1645 Park Stret, is bar and pub. The food is very good and always a very mixed crowd. It is a hometown bar where everyone seems to know 6-10 people. The place can be tight with its narrow bar area and it fills up quick on St. Patrick’s Day. “Big B” or Brian the bartender is just awesome and is a music aficionado, jus ask him about music and he can put a whole set together think the movie “High Fidelity”.

Shamrock Irish Pub, 1403 Webster, This is a dive with a pretty regular crowd. Beer and shots is a staple.

So Enjoy! And remember that it’s a work day, the day after.

Fire Up

2008-03-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Tri-Tip and Bratwurst on the Grill

I know that many parts of the country were buried in snow and crushed with poor weather, but the San Francisco Bay Area had just a perfect weekend and it gave me the opportunity to go to my favorite spot with no wait, good food and healthy cocktails.

It was official opening of Barbeque season and the backyard was reopened. For my wife and I it was very exciting with a new deck, patio and landscaping added in the off season. My wife was outside early doing a little yard work and sprucing up the area, I joined in later as most of the yard work was coming to a close, but by noon the backyard was ready to entertain.

In most of my posts, I give a recommendation of a restaurant or bar, but today it is a meat market. For those of already having a drink, I mean a butcher not a place to pick up people. So after completing the final task of the Sunday clean-up, getting the grill cleaned and prep, I headed over to Joe Scalise Jr & Sons Butcher to pick up a marinated a tri-tip and a couple of Smoked Sheboygan Bratwurst. There is nothing like a good butcher that can make your grilling experience even better. The staff at Scalise will give you tips and cut of meat that the number of guest you will be serving.

For me the consistency of the Tri-tip at Scalise is why I continue to go back. The cut and weight are very close every time. This is important because I can grill by time and not have to watch the grill every minute. This gives you time to talk to guest and enjoy a cocktail. Yesterday, was Margaritas with fresh lime juice.

On a side note: The Smoked Sheboygan Bratwurst that Scalise carries are just awesome, I stock up every football season for the tailgate. If you are into good sausages the Brawts at our local butcher are hard to beat. Scalise also makes it own Italian Sausage, if you’re making Sunday Gravy a must ingredient.

As the Barbeque season begins to heat up my trips to Scalise will be more frequent. Happy grilling.

Cheers

The Sun Is Out

2008-03-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

View from the Deck

The San Francisco Bay Area has begun to get some great weather and with days getting a little longer it got me thinking of great places to have a drink outdoors. One of my favorite places is the deck at Quinn’s Lighthouse on the Oakland Embarcadero.

This Bar and Restaurant is located in a historic landmark lighthouse built in 1890. Quinn's serves an eclectic mix of traditional American cuisine and seafood specials.

You can order the full menu from in both the dining room and the pub. My preference is the Pub upstairs. Quinn’s Pub overlooks the marina below and has a view of the Estuary and the Coast Guard Base Government Island. Quinn’s offers all of its patrons peanuts, baskets and baskets of peanuts, that you can shell and then toss the empty casings to the ground.

The bar prices are very reasonable and they offer two sizes of draft beers. The Pub features 8 draft beers and over 58 domestic & imported bottled beers. The bartenders are always generous with there pours and the staff is very attentive. There's an 80-seat outside deck but the place always has a good crowd and with the open seating you may have to jockey for a table.

The burgers are very good, Neiman Ranch, and must recommend the Jambalaya. My wife loves the fish and chips.

Looking for good way to end the day, follow the light to Quinn’s.

http://www.quinnslighthouse.com/

Missing in Action

2008-02-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to take a moment to apologize for the lack of posts in the last two weeks, but been very sick and leaving the old job have consumed my time. Sleep has been a priority activity and Imodium AD has been the cocktail of choice for the past six days.

I did get a chance to try a new bar and restaurant, this week.

Elixir, 3200 16th St, is a great neighborhood bar that has been in its location since 1858. I paid a visit right as the work crowd was arriving, a bit of a hipster crowd, but the atmosphere and the inverntory of beers and bourbon make this a great location. The night I went in there was a Lab, not sure if he was the bar dog, that was getting a lot of attention from my wife. Very calm dog that was open to any attention any guest was willing to give.

I want to point out that Elixir, on Thursday Nights, has a Cocktail Club. The bar brings in industry experts to taste different lines. Elixir bills the evening as a guest speaker, education and tasting from 7 - 9. It is Free and open to the public. For more information go to http://www.elixirsf.com/ .

The new restaurant was Medjool at 21st and Mission. This is a Mediterranean Tapas menu, that has its dishes inspired North Africa, Southern Europe and Middle Eastern Dishes. This is a great palce for small group dining. Our group was a party of four and we tried a variety of dishes. All of the dishes were full of flavor and had regional spices that gave a signature pop to plate.

These are a few of the dishes we tried: Grilled Hanger Steak with Sauteed Spinach and Harissa Sauce $14, Lamb and Fig Tagine $15, Crispy Sweet Potatoes, Spicy Honey, Goat Cheese $9, Chicken with Almond-Pomegranate Sauce $12, Medjool Sampler with Hummus, Tabouli, and Baba Ghanoush $11. All were good, but my favorite was the Chicken with Almond and Pomegrante spicey and full of flavor. The Sweet potatoes were a nice complement to the main dishes. Medjool has a full bar, and a roof top lounge. On warm weather nights this would be a great place to grab a drink and get a great bay view.

http://www.medjoolsf.com/index.html

Well that's it for today, will be back on Monday. I am going to try and post Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. Will see how much time with a new job.

Cheers

48 Hours to Prepare

2008-02-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

Fenton's Black and Tan

With Valentine’s Day approaching in less than 48 hours, I thought I would make a couple of recommendations for night out for two for any price range.

Big Dollars -- Acquerello

My wife and dined here a while back and have been anxious to return, but it has a high price tag has been a barrier. For Valentine’s Day Acquerello is offering a menu of 6 courses, highlighted with lobster and black truffles paired with Italian wines. The food and wine are worth the money, but it is hard to swallow the $180 per person for the experience.

On the romantic side Acquerello has it all. Ta warm and gracious atmosphere the moment they arrive. The former chapel, graced with arches and a rustic wood-beamed vaulted ceiling, and a warm Mediterranean coloring give this 50 seat dining room a unique experience. Acquerello has extensive collection of crystal decanters to allow your wine to breathe in class. Acquerello has received countless awards, including a Michelin star in the first-ever 2007 Bay Area guide.

A Few Bucks – Chenery Park

Located in the Glen Park Neighborhood, one of San Francisco's last undiscovered neighborhoods, is a rising restaurant scene and a staple is Chenery Park. CP is a charming neighborhood restaurant with excellent Southern-style goodness comes with great service. It can be tough to get a table, so call as soon as possible to book your reservation

A menu sample is the Spicy Seafood Gumbo with Scallops, Shrimp, Catfish and Smoked Bacon for $17 or the “Thursday Night Special” Pork Adobo with Napa Cabbage Slaw for $16. The cocktails are always well prepared in this full bar. For two people with drinks and wine you’re looking at about $100 bucks.

I highly recommend CP. Parking is easy and Glen Park BART station is only a block and half away.

Low Budget – Fenton’s Ice Cream

I always love low budget, because if done right can be very impactful and have a positive effect on the cash flow. So for this you have to know your partner and plan this well. In my case if we were in NYC I could get away with Gray’s Papaya my wife loves this place and a walk to Central Park a couple of cocktails on the Upper West Side could complete evening. But plane tickets would put this way over budget so here on the West Coast it has to be Fenton’s

This 114-year old Ice Cream Parlor is an Oakland Tradition. The first time we went on a date to Fenton’s, I thought I would be a big spender and let her order anything she wanted. She order the fresh crab sandwich, $16 in 1987, big dollars. You can still get the House Special Crab Salad Sandwich, along with other soda shop fare. Have one of their large sundaes, in our case it would be the Black and Tan, for dessert. These are Massive sundaes come to the table so loaded with toppings that extra saucers are needed to catch the overflow.

Fenton’s is located on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, the line for a table can be long and the parking can be tough. For Drinks you can try the Tiki Bar Two blocks north. This use to be the Kings X, a great neighborhood bar, but it is now called the Kona Club or down the street is Cato's Ale House. Although you can take the kids to this one, perhaps the 22 beers and the $1 sake shots are best left to adults when the evening begins to age. One piece of advice: If you must order the catatoes -- those large, hard-to-swallow potato wedges -- make sure you have a pint of Guinness to help wash them down.

Acquerello, 1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

http://www.acquerello.com

Chenery Park, 683 Chenery Street, San Francisco, CA 94131
(415) 337-8537

http://www.chenerypark.com

Fenton’s Ice Creamery, 4226 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 658-7000

http://www.fentonscreamery.com/

Gung Hei Fat Choy

2008-02-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

农 历 新 年

Gung Hei Fat Choy to all

Today is the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year 4706, which brings in the Year of the Rat. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area 32 years ago the Chinese New Year has been a cursory part of my life. I have benefited from this joyous time of the year by taking in all it has to offer.

Chinese New Year (农历新年) or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays and for many this day is more important than birthdays or religious holidays. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. In the Bay Area, the Celebration will continue for most of the month and will be punctuated with the San Francisco Parade on February 23. The Bay Area events have taken on a very American Twist with the Chinese Community Street Fair, San Francisco Symphony Chinese New Year Concert, Chinatown 10K/5K Run/Walk, Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant, and the Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Coronation Ball.

Traditionally, the Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to kin, relatives and friends, a practice known as "new-year visits." New clothings are usually worn to signify a new year and the color red is liberally used in all decorations. Red packets are given to juniors and children by the married and elders. As a student in San Francisco, I remember receiving my first red envelops from a teacher with a quarter in it and boy I thought this was great holiday. Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. The packets contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honorability. Twenty five cents in 1976 was very fortunate.

The great thing about most holidays is they generally surround foods. I know this week many people around the world celebrated Fat Tuesday (for all you lapse Catholics) and with it the food and drink, so too, with the Chinese New Year. So here are a couple of places to grab a bite.

If you are on the run or would like to eat home, stop in Oakland at the Delicious Food Company, 734 Webster St, for some tempting items. The Delicious Food Company's steam pork buns are awesome, grab some of the other steamed items and a six pack of Tsingtao Beer and you have the makings to start the celebration of the New Year in a low key style.

Looking to dine out for the Lunar celebration. If you are in San Francisco, try the House of Nanking, 919 Kearny St, the lines can be very long, but the food is good and is worth the wait. Nanking is located near the end of Parade route. Just two blocks North of Nanking is Brandi Ho’s, this has the look of a tourist trap, but the deep fried pot stickers and the Si Fo Chicken are worth the stop. Finally, if you are out late at night and have a little liquid in your stomach needing to be soaked up by a little food a stop at Sam Wo’s, 813 Washington Street, is essential. Sam's is a legendary for its late night service and less than customer oriented service.

So how does such a dirty, sticky place with shaky service at times get rave reviews from locals? It is easy when the food exceeds your expectations the food here is probably the best you'll find afterhours, plus it's after midnight and you have few choices in the City. As you walk past the kitchen and up a narrow spinning staircase to get to the upper level it has a very San Francisco feel. Even though Sam is now gone, the old lady will take your order, then tell you what you ordered is no good, and order for you, just charming in the Sam's tradition.

So enjoy the start of the New Year, my you find luck and success in 4706.

http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/

http://www.sfgate.com/cny/

http://www.oaklandchinatownchamber.org/index.html

Freebie Tuesday

2008-02-06T17:02:00.001-08:00

My Photo of the interior of SFMOMA

If you are like me you can be very frugal with your entertainment dollars and Tuesday’s outing was an attempt to keep cost at minimum. I like museums, just do not like to pay for them, and the first Tuesday of each month allows for me to have my art with out spending a dime on entrance fees. The De Young Museum, SF Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Legion of Honor, Cartoon Art and the Asian Art Museum has free Admission on the first Tuesdays of each month.

There are two photographer’s I have been waiting and wanting to see their exhibitions but have put it off but given the museums are offering free admission I had no excuse and headed off to the De Young and stopped in at SFMOMA on the way back.

(I do have dining and drinking tips for the excursion)

So I headed out on public transportation, did not want to pay the bridge toll and then for parking downtown for the stop at SFMOMA. Once in San Francisco I caught the “N Judah Line” and headed for the Inner Sunset. This is a great trip because it takes you through the Castro up Duboce Avenue to Duboce Park head to Cole Valley (Haight District), pops into the Sunset Tunnel and then drops on to Irving in the Inner Sunset. For best access to get off at the Irving and 9^th Avenue exit, walk North up Ninth the museum is about six blocks in Golden Gate Park If you are not into Museums the Inner Sunset is a great neighborhood to explore.

The De Young went through a major renovation a few years back, it is very opened and airy. The new observation tower, nine floors from the ground, is the tallest structure in the Sunset or Richmond Districts. The view is awesome on a clear day, worth the trip alone. But I came to see the photography of David Seymour. . The photographs in this collection—over seventy works—span his career, from his early years in France to photographs taken in Egypt in 1956 during the Suez crisis, when his life and that of photographer Jean Roy were cut short by Egyptian machine gun fire. Besides his photojournalistic photos Seymour was very engaging and cosmopolitan character allowed him to approach some of the leading personalities of the day to be the subject of his camera. Portraits include Pablo Picasso, Peggy Guggenheim, Bernard Berenson, Arturo Toscanini, Ingrid Bergman, Kirk Douglas, and Audrey Hepburn.

Here is an example of his work.

A little lunch and drink after all that art. There are three great bars in the neighborhood, Yancy’s Saloon (on Irving), Fireside (on Irving), Mucky Duck (on 9^th), and the Little Shamrock (on Lincoln Way). For Burgers try Darla’s or Sliders. I like Darla’s a lot very juicy burger. If you are into Japanese food then you hit the jackpot in the Inner Sunset, too many to recommend just stop and try, but I will tell you that I love the noodles at Hotei on 9^th. Today it was Darla’s and a beverage ay the Mucky Duck as I waited for the train back downtown.

The trip on Muni from the Inner Sunset to Downtown is about 20 minutes, non commute time, when the transit organization is running on time. So be patient on the trip back.

At SFMOMA went to see the Italian photographer and architect Gabriele Basilico: From San Francisco to Silicon Valley. The prints were visually incredible, but it was another photographer An-My Lê who captured more of my attention with her collection titled: Small Wars. The Andy Warhol and the Matisse were pluses on the visit. At the Yerba Buena Center for the art the had a collection focusing on Tibet. If you are into more modern and relevant art that almost American knows, try the Cartoon Museum around the corner. Well worth the stop.

Before heading back to the East Bay, stopped at Harrington’s on Front Street, to . . . let say . . . soak in all the day had to offer. Harrington’s is a great stop to see the working crowd, drink reasonably priced drinks.

Next Month it out to the Richmond District to see the Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, show.

De Young
http://www.famsf.org/index.asp

SFMOMA
http://www.sfmoma.org/

Cartoon Museum
http://www.cartoonart.org

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
http://www.ybca.org/visit/gallery.aspx

Asian Art Museum
http://asianart.org/

Legion of Honor
http://www.famsf.org/legion/visiting/index.asp

Gluttony and Conservation

2008-02-04T10:03:00.001-08:00

A couple of notes for the Monday morning blog.

First of all, just like millions of Americans, I participated in one of the more gluttonous days of the year . . . the Super Bowl. I will leave the breakdown of the game to other websites and blogs, but I can tell you we had a pro NY crowd.

Not sure if Thanksgiving or the Super Bowl has more excess, but for those who track these things the experts say that the Super Bowl is the second most caloric intake day of the year, but personally I tend to eat more fat related items on the Super Bowl. From an article in Time Magazine they wrote: “From Thanksgiving to Super Bowl Sunday, the average American gains 5 to 7 lbs” and I think that I tried to gain all seven yesterday.

The wings, guacamole, chips with onion dip were all were all very tempting. I have a soft spot for Ruffles, and rarely eat them on any other day except for built in excuse like the Super Bowl. American’s do love their chips and eat them by the pounds. Frito-Lay, the nation’s largest chip manufacturer, said they must increase production in the weeks leading up to the event by more than 10 million pounds of chips just to meet the demand for Super Bowl Sunday.

So when I saw the commercial, I think somewhere in the third quarter, as I was heading to a sodium induced coma from the Ruffles, I had to stop for a 10 seconds. The ad, sponsored by the United Way, featuring the voice of Tom Brady asking users to donate via SMS to a campaign fighting childhood obesity, “You don't have to be an NFL player to help kids get fit in your community. Do your part, text FIT to "United" to give $5 to United Way's youth fitness. A little "U" goes a long way.” I would be interested in how much the United Way raised since most people would have difficulty texting with a beer in one hand and the grease sliding over the tiny buttons in the other.

My favorite Ad was the Coke commercial with James Carville and Bill Frist. The kids loved the Coke commercial with the Macy’s Day Floats. I think that has to do with age, the election tomorrow and the lack of any real good commercials. The Thriller Ad for some water product was the worst.

We did have a great bottle of wine from Du Vin Fine Wines in Alameda. It was a 2006 Bodegas Borsao called “Tres Picos” for $15.99. Dan told us it goes well with paella so we thought it would also go well with chili and cornbread, and it did a very good job of complementing the halftime food.

A note from Saturday: Went to the Ocean film festival and saw some terrific short films, really enjoyed the evening. The Ocean Film Festival, did something very interesting this year, they used YouTube to create the SFOFF Bay Oil Spill 2007 Video Project. The project was created to understand what the effects of the 810-foot-long Cosco Busan hitting the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, and released 58,000 gallon of oil into the Bay. You can see shorts from Bay Area residents about the response and the clean-up effort.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9BEF9D7D7E9DF87E

More Tacos

2008-01-30T14:52:00.001-08:00

Taqueria Ramiro and Sons

A couple of Fridays ago, I wrote about San Francisco’s Mission District and the search for the perfect taco and I though it only fitting to give a plug to couple of my local Alameda Taquerias. These are no Taco Bells or sitdown Mexican restaurants; these are quick in-an-out places that serve fresh, quality food. So if you visit this little Island, I have two places for you to grab a taco and/or burrito.

Best Taco – Calaifa Taqueria at 1445 Webster Street

These are best tacos in town. A corn tortilla, perfectly seasoned grilled steak or chicken, a little onion, cilantro and salsa. Two tacos and a beer and this is a perfect meal. The place is small, but always clean, with about eight tables inside and two outside. A salsa bar an assortment heat levels to spice up your order or dip in the free chips. The owner’s son is a huge soccer fan and there is almost always a game on the TV. The tacos are fantastic but if you are not in the mood try the tamales. Three pork or chicken tamales for $5.00 and you won't be disappointed. On Tuesday afternoons, you can go to the farmers market in the parking lot next door and then head over to grab a taco.

Best Burrito – Taqueria Ramiro and Sons at 2321 Alameda Ave at Park Street

A taqueria has been in this location since 1982, before the big ass burrito was a staple for college students, and the staff works the steaming quick and efficiently. Ramiro took over a few years after the initial shop opened and with the change in ownership it has been an Alameda institution since it rolled its first tortilla into a burrito. The Super Burrito will tame the hungriest person and must way close to two pounds. If you are picky about Beans, Ramiro offers refried, whole and black unlike other locations in town. Ramiro is known in the area for their Carnitas and people will travel from neighboring cities just to get their fix. They chop up the fried pork in front of you and drop a heaping mound into you tortilla. You want to reach over and grab a piece; the meat cleaver keeps all hand at bay. My staple is the carne asada, just because the carnitas is way over the top. Not a big fan of the chicken, boiled. If you have a small appetite, try the child’s burrito it is a good option when you are not looking to blow out your stomach. If you are not in the mood for a burrito, can’t believe that, try the super quesadilla. The place can get flooded when the High School, half a block away, is in session, avoid the place from 12:15 to 12:40. They have four or five tables, not a great place to sit and eat, but the burrito is worth the stop.

Dopo -- Delivers Big

2008-01-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

Dopo on Oakland's Piedmont Avenue

So the other night my wife and I, join our friends James and Brenda for dinner. The dinner was arranged by my wife and James, and it was suggested to go to Dopo, on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. Now the reason was James and Brenda suggested the restaurant was because they thought we had dined there in the past, fact was a few years back we dined across the street at LoCoco’s. LoCoco’s is fine homey, down-to-earth, tasty pizza and Italian food place, but I had no idea that a mistake had been made, until later in the evening during dinner conversation, but this was a terrific mistake.

In all years eating on Piedmont Avenue, I had not been in Dopo so it was great to get a chance to try something new. James had a bottle of wine from the Piemonte Region, a 2005 Nebbiolo, Casina Morassino, waiting when we arrived, a very versatile vintage. A very good call by James. Dopo offers a very good selection of Italian wines and the list is designed to support the menu with good bottles from small producers. It’s easy to find a selection to pair with your meal. If you are craving a cocktail you will have to wait a while, Dopo currently has a limited liquor license, and they are petitioning to expand the bar offerings.

Dopo is sleek and sophisticated with warm lighting and abstract prints. Jon Smulewitz, a former cook at Oliveto in the Rockridge, assembles food from an Italian menu as tiny as the space itself. We started with Dopo’s house-cured salami; Copa, mortadella and Calabrian-style salami show there is a true passion for the pig in this kitchen. The plate was an excellent starter with our wine.

The second bottle of wine was from the Tuscany Region, a 2005 Morellino di Scansano, Erik Banti. This was a hardier bottle with a heavier taste. The table liked the first bottle, but you got to test them to know.

Our table had three pasta orders and a calzone. James and I had the braised short-ribs over pappardelle pasta. The sauce had an excellent flavor and complemented the meat. The pasta was cooked to perfection. My wife had the seafood (clams, mussels) spaghetti and Brenda had the calzone. The menu changes, so I will not go into the dishes in great detail, except to say that the quality of the food was fresh and full of flavor.

Even though no one at the table ordered pizza, you could tell it was a staple of frequent diners. Dopo uses a wood oven to create crackly, chewy pizzas: spicy peppers and sausage option, coated with vibrant tomato sauce and the buffalo mozzarella and basil flowed out of the kitchen. A must try next timed.

The desserts are simple but not boring, the offerings included a lemon tart, rich chocolate-almond torte and a cannoli. I had the cannoli, not the best ever, but very good for the West Coast.

Overall Dopo delivers. The service was good, although we were talking and enjoying the wine, although I truly did not notice the job the server was doing, which is a good thing. As mistakes go, this was one my taste buds could live with.

Dopo
4293 Piedmont Ave Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 652-3676
Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner 5:30-10 p.m.
Reservations accepted for parties of five or more.
Credit cards accepted.
Beer and Wine.
Street parking is tough, tough, tough.

La Coco’s 4270 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, CA 94611 (510) 652-6222. Cash only.

Simple Eats: Eureka and Noe Valley

2008-01-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Meister Burger

If you are heading out to Noir City, I have put together a couple places for you to try out before or after the film festival. I have tried to keep it close to the theater, so you could be within walking distance, so you only have to park once if you are driving. I know that there is a big-old hill between Noe Valley and the Castro, but if you park between the two neighborhoods on Castro, Church or Noe Streets it is not that bad (no Billy Goat jokes).

But on to the food and drink . . .

The Eureka Valley/Castro is a great neighborhood for food and drink. The neighborhood has its share of diverse dinning from the casual to the elegant. Since, it’s a local film festival I thought I would stay on the casual side.

Nothing is more casual than Burgers and Fries, so here are two Castro recommendations: Sliders (449 Castro) and BurgerMeister on Church at Market (138 Church Street). Sliders is a dive and the food is very average, but a burger is under $5. Good choice after having a few drinks. BurgerMeister has four locations in the city and they go all out it creating your ground up dinner. First it cost a lot more than Sliders, but this a place where you get what you pay for, patties are ½ lb Niman Ranch Beef and are loaded with toppings. Here are two examples: Bacon Cheeseburger Niman Ranch's Applewood Smoked Bacon w/ Cheddar and The Meister Burger Everything Burger with Avocado, Bacon, Mushroom, Onions and your choice of Cheese: Cheddar, Jack, Pepper Jack, Bleu, Swiss, & White American. Need large hands and lots of napkins for this burger.

If you are looking for comfort food, head over to Home (2100 Market St), to fill your belly and in my case remind me of my childhood family menu. Pot Roast, Macaroni and Cheese, Meatloaf, Sloppy Joe Dip and Apple pie are staples at this diner. Prices range between $12-$20. If you looking to save a buck or two, Home has an Early Bird Special Every day from 5-6 pm, this is a three-course prix fixe menu with glass of wine. The prix fixe menu changes daily. Also a full bar, Saturdays & Sundays Build your own Bloody Mary Bar from10 am—2 pm.

If you want something a little different try La Mediterranee (288 Noe Street between 16th St & Beaver St). If you want to sound like a local call it La Med. I have been going to the location on College Avenue in Berkeley for years and have always been fed well. I can recommend the Levant sandwich, chicken pomegranate and filo dough specialties.

Bars: Café Du Nord (2120 Market) and Lucky 13 (2140 Market). Two real different places, give a try. Café Du Nord has music most of the time, check their calendar http://www.cafedunord.com/. Lucky 13 is young and the jukebox is loud, they have a pool table, foosball table, a couple of pinball machines, and some shooting video game. This is a typical dirty dive bar with cheap drinks, loud music, and smelly bathrooms

Since Noe Valley is a little hike I will keep it simple, 24^th is the main corridor and you can find tons of places to eat, but very few places for a drink.

Burger: Barneys (4138 24th Street) http://www.barneyshamburgers.com/

Food: Firefly -- the prix fix menu, which is only $35. http://www.fireflyrestaurant.com/

Drinks: The Dubliner and the Bliss Bar

Noir City opens this Friday

2008-01-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

One of San Francisco unique Film Festivals, Noir City, opens this Friday at the Castro Theater. The Festival runs through February 3. The great thing about this film festival is you get to see classic movies on a big screen, they way they were shot to be seen.

If you are into film this is a great history lesson. You will see films, we would now call independent films because of their low budget, that used lighting and shooting techniques to give it a classic look.

For those of you unfamiliar with Noir Film, it is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Classic noir derive from crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression.

Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white style.

Besides it is worth a trip to check out all the Eureka Valley and Neighboring Noe Valley have to offer in the way of food and drink. Tomorrow a couple of places to go before and after the films.

Noir City -- Jan. 25 - Feb. 3

The 6th Annual San Francisco Film Noir Festival opens with two films featuring Joan Leslie, along with an onstage Q&A with the legendary actress. Saturday, James Ellroy introduces Joseph Losey's "The Prowler," which is being screened as a tribute to blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo.

http://www.noircity.com/noircity.html
http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/

La vida en la Misión: Tacos, Cerveza and much more

2008-01-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

24th Street at Mission

As promised, I headed to San Francisco's Mission District yesterday. I took BART to the 24th street exit and planned to work my way back to 16th street, searching for some great hangout and good tacos. The visit to the Mission was very fruitful.

When you exit the BART station towards the eastern side, you come up from the underground station to a plaza. Walk through the plaza and on 24th Street you will find two good stops. Even if you don’t venture far from the station you can find five taquerias and one good waterhole. Carlos’ Bar, Taqueria El Taco Loco, Taqueria El Farolito, Taqueria San Jose are within a hundred yards.

Carlos’ Bar is a true neighborhood bar. Regulars bring in food from the local neighborhood restaurants, Tejano music blares from the jukebox and there is a pool table. The long bar can accommodate a big crowd. If you are into oil paintings of bare breasted women, this is a definite stop. Carlos’ boast four, very large paintings, of Romanesque women draped with very little and breast in full view as they hang throughout the bar. A beer cost $4.

I tried tacos at both El Farolito and El Taco Loco. Farolito has a line that goes out the door. It has a full taqueria menu and serves beer. The taco was $2.25 and the the Mexican Beer was $3. The Taco was a solid B. Good tortilla, the steak was seasoned well, but the meat quality was a bit on the cheap side. El Taco Loco fared on the C side, by my grading standards. There are much better places in the neighborhood, so I would skip it.

As you walk down Mission, you can see a neighborhood that once must have been a thriving district. I counted four, former large movie theaters that are now dilapidated and following apart. The street is full of shops, low cost shopping and place to eat on the cheap. There are two nice dining stops on the street, Foreign Cinema and Cha Cha Cha. I have eaten at both in the past, but this was not part of the excursion.

The street has some of the best little Mexican bakeries. If you have a sweet tooth, stop into any of them. I stopped at Acaxutla, they have these large cookies for a quarter. I did not know you could still by anything for a quarter. The cookies are perfect for a cup of coffee.

The final stop on this trip was Taqueria Pancho Villa on 16th Street. This is the cleanest and brightest place in the neighborhood. The food is excellent and the salsa bar is bursting with incredible flavors. Pancho Villas boast their wins from the State fair in the Salsa Division on the wall. I had the grilled Chicken Taco $2.44 w/tax included. A boast that they definitely backup. For more local flavor, head next door to El Tin Tan for a drink. The Mission is a great place to spend an afternoon.

There is so much to take in and to experience. I covered very little ground, after several hours, and still have Valencia from 16th to 24th Street to write about. Well another afternoon.

Weekend Planning

2008-01-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

With the long weekend approaching, for some myself included, I like to stay away from driving anywhere and find a bunch of small things to do in one neighborhood. I do like to dive into neighborhoods and see what I can find: from the classic neighborhood bar complete with bartender/local historian, cheap eats and cultural happenings.

This weekend I am going to try and hit two neighborhoods the Mission and probably the Richmond District, not locked into the Richmond. The Mission is a must, I am still in search of the perfect street taco. I love tacos and burritos. Growing-up in a house where my abuela, would make the best chicken mole and homemade tortillas. So, I am a bit of a snob when it comes to tacos and especially tamales.

The Mission between 16th and 24th gives you a ton of options, so tomorrow will be a quest to find another great place to eat, plus it gives me more to write about here.

Heading to the Cal Men's Basketball game tonight, so more about the Mission on late Friday or Saturday.

Salute

Ocean Film Festival

2008-01-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

SF Ocean Film Festival

Living in the San Francisco area the Bay and the Ocean are central in our lives. These large bodies of water drive our weather and in part give us the mild climate that we enjoy. I have sailed for years and the Bay has been my playground, a source of recreation. Through sailing I have met great people, visited a few yacht clubs for drinks, and have enjoyed the exhilaration that sailing provides.

One of my other great loves is documentary films so I am excited that the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival is approaching. The Event runs from February 1-3 at Ft. Mason and has nearly 40 short films that have some association with the Ocean. I will be attending Session 4, where the schedule and interest intersect. The cost for one session is $10.50

The festival does sell a VIP Festival Pass admits the holder to all Festival events and screenings and is $105. This includes the SeaChange special performance with Roger Payne and Lisa Harrow on Thursday, January 31 at 7 PM, the Opening Night Party on Friday, February 1 at 7PM at the Aquarium of the Bay, as well as the seven (7) film programs on February 2-3 at Cowell Theater.

The two films from this session that caught my attention were The Science of Big Waves and Sliding Liberia. The Science of Big Waves is by Chris Bauer and is only 10 minutes, but it explores those four-story waves at Mavericks, just south of San Francisco. He looks at how they are generated in the Gulf of Alaska, three thousand miles away. Sliding Liberia by Britton Caillouette, is 48 minutes (YouTube »watch trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgrwrTruuhk) the story is four American friends travel to Liberia, West Africa, and find a nation torn apart by recent civil war and the ensuing poverty, displacement, and psychological trauma. Young local surfers are rebuilding their lives on a perfect wave, sliding across the ocean from a painful past into their bold, independent futures.

A Session 1film that deserves a mention is Surfing Thru. It documents three women with late-stage cancer live and surf in the immediacy of the moment.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit oceanfilmfest.org. Cowell Theater is at Fort Mason Center, Pier 2 San Francisco, California

If you need a place to eat or get a cocktail in the area, go to Chestnut Street. Just a few blocks from Ft. Mason, it has a wide variety of dining places and some great local bars. IZZY'S Steak & Chop House (http://www.themenupage.com/izzys.html), 3345 Steiner St, some of the best steaks in the City and the IZZY'S own Potatoes are awesome. For a quick bite try Andale Taqueria the grilled chicken makes their tacos and burritos. Andale also serves drinks. Donahue's Marina Lounge, 2138 Chestnut Street, is one of those great local bars.

Plan B with a View

2008-01-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

PLAN B -- Beach Chalet Exterior

Okay, I have slack-off on the post, no excuses but the rain just put a damper on the week. So with this weekend precipitation free it was a good time to get out and have Sunday Brunch. The original plan was to head to a little French Breakfast Bistro in Cole Valley called Zazie. It is right on Cole and if there is a wait, usually there is, you can head next door to Finnegan’s Wake for a drink. Finnegan’s Wake is a great neighborhood bar, but is was food that was on the agenda.

Every person in San Francisco must have had the same idea, for food and a beverage, at the exact time. With the Sun, even in the avenues, people were swarming to and fro to get out from under the storms of the prior week. The wait at Zazie was way to long and even a drink at Finnegan’s could not comfort me for that long, so on to Plan B.

Since it was a nice day we drove towards the Ocean and headed for one of the best view places in the City, the Beach Chalet. Even though the Chalet is a bit on the tourist side the food, microbrews and cocktails are worth the trip and the tourist. The Chalet is located on the Western edge of Golden Gate Park and has sat across from the Pacific Ocean since 1925. The building opened as a lounge and changing rooms on the first floor for those heading to the beach and the restaurant on the second floor provided diners with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. Over 80-years later it serves much the same purpose.

The building was designed by the famous San Francisco architect Willis Polk and includes some fantastic murals, mosaics and wood carvings that were incorporated into the construction in 1936 as part of a federal works program.

But a few years back the building was restored and renovated and the restaurant reopened with a microbrewery. More recently the restaurant has expanded and they created the Park Chalet on the first floor of the building looking into Golden Gate Park. The Park Chalet is a very nice setting, but people come here for the Ocean View in the upstairs dining area. Yesterday, the waves were breaking between 3-7 feet and made for a great view.

The food is always solid, and the brunch menu is enough to wait for when the lines get long. I had to have one of the micros: today it was the RIPTIDE RED it has a toasty and caramel maltiness and mild hop bitterness. The finish on Riptide Red has a sweet taste. Very good and could have had a few more. We also tried the MAVERICK'S MARGARITA: Herradura Silver, Fresh Lime Juice, Triple Sec, Sweet n' Sour.

Going on a first date or looking for a way to impress out-of-towners here is a big tip. Find out when sunset is and book a reservation(415.386.8439) for 20 minutes before sun down. The place will stop when the moment happens.

The Beach Chalet is open 364-days a year (closed Christmas Day) and they do have live music, check their calendar.

The Beach Chalet

http://beachchalet.com/index.php

1000 Great Highway @ Ocean Beach
Between Fulton St. and Lincoln Way

415.386.8439

Great Little Neighborhood for Food and Beer

2008-01-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Kingfish

With more rain in the forecast, I took advantage of the sun we had yesterday and headed over to 51st and Telegraph in Oakland. This area is the Temescal neighborhood, and it has two of my favorite places to grab some food and one great dive bar. Yesterday, I only got to visit two of the three yesterday (what happen to the two drink lunch?).

First off a little about the neighborhood. This Oakland neighborhood has changed dramatically after the housing run-up in the Bay Area and especially in Rockridge neighborhood just to the North. During construction of the 24 Freeway, the Temescal was severely neglected and many who lived in this neighborhood just packed up and took flight to the burbs, but with its great freeway access and close access to BART this neighborhood is once again thriving. The main business corridor of Telegraph Avenue has seen an enormous growth and with it has come shops and restaurants.

So what do I like in this neighborhood.

First off a great deli. Genova Delicatessen and Ravioli at 5095 # A Telegraph Ave. This is a great place to pick-up a sandwich and a beer if you like (just not yesterday). They have a few tables both inside and out if you would like to sit and eat. Genova's is now inside a shopping center that takes up most of the western block. I still remember the old shop that was a few hundred yards away, where you could barely fit 10 people inside with all shelves filled with food circling you. The old location had a real cast of characters that could entertain as they made your sandwich. Some of those characters made the move over to the current location and if you get one of the old timers you will get a sense of what the old deli was like. Grab a box of Raviolis and some gravy to go for the evening dinner.

If you want a treat, walk across Telegraph to Bakesale Betty, 5098 Telegraph Ave. There is no sign, but you will see all of the people at this corner location. The cookies and pecan shortbread are just awesome. Betty's also has sandwiches. The have become legendary in the neighborhood for their Fried Chicken Sandwich. Betty's also makes chicken pot pies, and I would suggest that you order ahead they go fast, you can call your order in 510.985.1213. Betty's has seating outside and uses old iron boards as tables.

Finally a place to get a drink. Although I did not stop in yesterday, a great local dive is the Kingfish 5227 Claremont Ave. Just one block from Genova's and Betty's. The Kingfish traditionally is Cal hangout, but this former bait shop is a true neighborhood watering hole. The Kingfish serves beer and wine (in a box). This shack is a hole in the wall but it does have shuffleboard, great jukebox, a dice game if you want to get in. Plus, my initials are etched into one of the post since 1987. Just a great place to hang out.

If you haven't visited this great Oakland neighborhood, give it a try.

A Fire and A Warm Drink

2008-01-07T09:18:00.001-08:00

Baileys Irish Cream and Coffee

With four days of rain pounding the West Coast, I have not been out of the house much just trying to stay dry and warm. The rain was also a good excuse to watch two-week marathon of football and the only reason to leave the couch is for food, drink and a comfort break. So I have no new spots to write about today.

But as was stoking the fire the other day, the heat made me a little thirsty and It got me think, "I'm on vacation so why not a cocktail, I know it's 10 am, but hey football has been on for a half an hour" but the day did not call for an ordinary drink.

On a cold, rainy day you have many options: Irish Coffee, Hot Totty, Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Schnapps, Hot Buttered Rum or Rum and Warm Egg Nog. So many choice. First I needed to have the ingredients in the in the house so the Hot Buttered Rum and the Peppermint Schnapps were out. No way I was leaving the house, plus with Peppermint Schnapps you have to be 19-years old and on a ski trip with your BFF.

I had Egg Nog in the house, but I am not a big fan of the Nog. An Irish Coffee and Totty just seemed over the top; so what was left? The old standby Baileys Irish Cream and Coffee. For me it may be the perfect rainy, cold day drink.

I started by brewing a pot of good coffee, Peet's Fair Trade Blend, a little strong to hold it flavor once you add the Bailey's. I love the smell of coffee brewing. The aroma filled the kitchen.

I like my coffee in a beer pint glass, so as I waited for the brewing process to finish, I put a small portion of Bailey's into the bottom of the glass. Once the coffee was ready the pour. The pour is like watching Yosemite Falls in the Spring, a beautiful sight. The Bailey's swirled in the glass and move to blend with the coffee, symmetry.

The first sip is always the best, because you have waited and anticipated this moment. It was a perfect cocktail for a day that had no agenda, except football. So to those kids that say "Rain, Rain Go Away" . . . I say "hold on a minute and let the adults enjoy the moment."

The fireplace roaring and a warm drink not a bad way to start 2008.

Holiday Break with Bao Bing and a Cocktail

2008-01-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

I have been on vacation the past two week and I have been very busy around the house without adding in the task of a job. I have a host of things that I am trying to accomplish before returning to my day job. So as the vacation winds to an end, neither my wife or I felt like cooking, and we took a dinner break at Ching Hua, 1650 Park Street in Alameda.

Alameda has no shortage of Asian inspired restaurants and about a dozen of them are Chinese. What standout from the other resteraunts is Ching Hua has a great bar, I had two cocktails, the first was a Tanqueray and pom and the second was a Crown Royal Down. Both very good, preferred the gin drink. Would recommend if you like tart drinks. The second is the quality of the food. Chinese food in Alameda can vary from the very poor and greasy to the mediocre, but Ching Hua has step up the level.

Last night, we ordered the pot stickers, won ton soup, lamb bao bing and dry sautéed green beans. The entire order was good, my favorite was the pot stickers they get them very crisp. The soup stock was very flavorful and the won tons packed with meat. The bao bing is a solid meat dish with tons of flavor. The green beans are flashed fried and then tossed with a mixture of ginger, garlic and preserved Chinese turnips.

Tip: Ching Hua serves brown rice.

This is a sit down dining place with real napkins and the price reflects it the food was about $35 for the order. Cocktails range from $6-$10. Ching Hua is located in Alameda's Market Place and if you get a chance take a tour though the hall, some great vendors.

For look at Ching Hua's menu http://chinghuaonpark.com/index.htm.

Take a Dive Into the High Tide

2008-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

High Tide Cocktails at Jones and Geary

Happy New Year to All. In my first post of 2008, there will be no resolutions or tips on how organize your life, but I will direct you to a another great place to have a drink in the San Francisco Bay Area. In my last post, I wrote about Bourbon and Branch, a luxury style in San Francisco's Tenderloin bar, but right up the block is one of the City's great and true dive bars; the High Tide.

This is a place where you can see the true diversity of San Francisco. As I entered on my last trip in, Mexican music play from the jukebox, probably for the one patron sitting at the bar. The bar breasted oil painting over the cash register gives a tacky feel, but good tacky. There is a pool pool table and the drinks are cheap compared to other bars two blocks away in Union Square.

This is a true neighborhood bar that welcomes all into it's corner location at Jones and Geary. There is no dominate group in this bar, this is a place about the people. You get a true cross section of San Francisco's population from the blue collar to the hipsters. If you walk to the bar you may have to deal with the working women that dot the neighborhood. Once inside, on occasion a homeless person will wander in, but the staff has a lot of experience and deals with these situations very fast. Speaking of the staff on my visit it was three Korean women staffing the place, look to be the owner and two bartenders they are very entertaining and friendly.

The Tenderloin has always had a reputation of being a rough and tumble neighborhood, but this establishment will break from that tag. This is a very accepting and friendly bar with Suits, Working Class, Asians, Hispanics, Africans, and drunks all together having a wonderful time. Not a place to go when you're not dressed up heading to the Theater but if you are thirsty for a drink or on a small budget give it a shot.

Average cost of a call cocktail $6.

Shhhhh-speakeasy

2007-12-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

Bourbon and Branch Library (from BB website)

I am so glad I did not live in the era of prohibition, but if you would like to get a glimpse of what it was like, Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco will give you a little flavor. If you want to get in it requires a password, just like the old days, so start with their website, http://www.bourbonandbranch.com/. The site will give you all the information you need to get in and have an enjoyable evening.

The spirit of the Speakeasy is capture in every detail from the mood lighting to the era music, The cloth napkins are a nice touch, but a bit over the top for me. This is a top self bar, Bourbon and Branch has some of the best whiskey, bourbon, scotch that will please every palate.

The staff starts the evening with a small complimentary drink, this evening it was a champagne drink with fruit juice and a splash of bourbon. The drink menu is overwhelming. It has pages and pages to select from enough to keep you reading for a while. I started with a scotch and then had a classic Manhattan. They are not shy with the pours, each drink was a very healthy portion.

The best feature about this bar (speakeasy) is that it is a very adult place that allows for conversation. If you have a date or need a place to meet with friends, this is a good place to take them for a couple of drinks. Keep it a secrete if you can, I did this with my friend and he was socked at this high end bar in this part of San Francisco.

Bourbon and Branch is located on Jones street in the Tenderloin in a non-descript building. The neighborhood is not the best, but it is worth the trip. This is a destination place, there a a few dining options with a couple of blocks but do not wander in the neighborhood. I would recommend Bourbon and Branch for after work or if you happen to be dining in the Union Square area. Make sure you make a reservation. I know that this is a strange concept for a bar, but this is how it works.

This is a high end bar, so drinks range from $10-$14 per drink. It is an experience that you tell your friends.

Wine-Ohh

2007-12-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

During the Holiday Season, from Thanksgiving to New Years, I tend to drink more wine than the rest of the years, so when it comes to picking wine I am a complete novice. Over the last 20-years, I have given as much wine and alcohol as I have received, but like many people I have no idea what makes a good wine. The only thing I can tell you is what I like.

So this past year I started going to a local wine shop, Du Vin Fine Wines, around the corner from my home. Dan is always helpful and seems to find the right bottle for the occasion. I just tell him red or white and what I am having for dinner. He take the time, in simple terms, to explain what the bottle should taste like. After a short give and take he directs me to a product that would fit my needs.

For Christmas dinner the red was from La Mozza, a winery from Italy, a 2005 I PERAZZI, MORELLINO DI SCANSANO. Very nice and the bottle was gone halfway through dinner. A very good sign. The white was a Pinot Grigio also from Italy, a CANTINA SANTA MAGDALENA, PINOT GRIGIO, SÜDTIROL - ALTO ADIGE.

Brands and names do not mean a whole lot to me, I put them in for true wine drinkers, but the advice that I got from my local little store made the dinner complete. The Johnny Walker Gold that was under the Christmas tree was also a nice touch, but the wine was a nice finishing touch to the evening with family and friends.

I'm not sure that I will be much more of a wine drinker than I am now, but I am learning. My goal this New Year is to actually write down the wines I drink so I can start a reference for myself for future orders. I may actually become confident in ordering wine at a restaurant.

Check out your local wine shop to add a great touch to your dinner table.

Wine Shop Website
http://duvinfinewines.com/

Boots on the Ceiling

2007-12-24T08:33:00.001-08:00

Clayton Club

During this Holiday Season, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and New Years. Today's post will be the last until Thursday.

On Friday, I went out to Stockton to visit relatives and for the return trip we decided to drive the backroads back to the Bay. Our trip took us down scenic Charter Way (lot to see, but do not stop) in Stockton, to Highway 4 through Discovery Bay and over Marsh Creek Road. This route drops you right into Clayton and it reminded me to stop by one my favorite dive bars, the Clayton Club.

As I entered Clayton, I was blown away with all of the development. This former sleepy town that sits at the base of Mt. Diablo on the Eastern edge of Contra Costa County was farms and a few homes twenty years ago. Now it looks like LA without the charm. But the one saving grace is the Clayton Club still exists.

From the outside, the Clayton Club looks like an old west saloon. The interior is funky and has mix match of tables and chairs. The distinctive feature is the cowboy boots that are nailed to the ceiling. It is not very large bar, but it is a true left over a former generation. Now that the streets are littered with minivans instead of work trucks and the million dollar home from Oakhurst Country Club cast a shadow on the small downtown I wondered how long a community institution like the Clayton Club can last before a new Starbucks takes over it location.

So I began thinking of all the bars, the ones I can remember, ones that are very big part of the community. In San Francisco every neighborhood has a local hangout, the Dubliner in Noe Valley, the Elbo Room in the Mission or Specs in North Beach. If you are driving to Yosemite in Groveland, CA you will find the Iron Door with its big moose head and “Iron Door.”

In my hometown of Alameda we have 20 bars and I am not sure if any of them have a quality that will last for generations. I have my favorites and a couple places like Spots Pop Inn and Club House have been in there locations for years, but I do not think that they are community institutions. So I decided, I would like to begin a list of great local dive bars, so email me with your nominations and brief description of the place and at the end of January I will post them.

If you happen to be way out in this part of the Bay Area stop into The Clayton Club for a drink and experience this great little watering hole. So again, Happy Holidays.

Cheers

Cupcake City

2007-12-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to SI

Cal and Cupcakes

I am a huge College Basketball Fan and tonight my University of California Golden Bears will take on the Hornets of Delaware State and I am excited to see if the Bears can win their final two games before the Pac-10 Season tips-off on January 3 against OJ Mayo and USC. By the way USC thrashed Delaware State on Monday Night 83-54, so I expect the Bears to win tonight.

I will be cheering for the Bears, but I truly do not know how good they are this season. Coach Ben Braun has baked up more cupcakes for out of conference play, than Hostess. If a college had the word State in their name Braun booked them: Nicholls State (Had to look up where they were from -- Thibodaux, Louisiana), San Diego State, Jackson State, Kansas State and now Delaware State. The only team of substance was K-State, which handed the Bears their only loss this season. Cal does have wins over Nevada and Missouri, but I still not sure they have what it takes to win against elite teams.

I guess Braun looked at the Pac-10 this season and said to himself, I am going to need get as many wins as possible before conference play begins. UCLA, Washington State, USC, Arizona, Stanford and Oregon will all provide tough test for the Bears and it is conceivable that a possible 8-1 start could see the bears finishing with just 15 wins. This brings me to one of biggest criticisms of top tier college athletic programs, scheduling of cupcakes.

Cupcakes taste good, even provide a level of satisfaction, but in the long term they are bad for you if you have to many of them in one setting. The Bears have some legitimate big time players in Devon Hardin, Ryan Anderson and Patrick Christopher. These player need to be battle tested if they expect to do well in the Pac-10 and advance to the NCAA tournament. The win over Jackson State was pointless, a school record 117-points for a regulation game against a team no one will remember. Cal is 5-0 in Berkeley this season, where it has won 18 of its last 19 contests against non-conference competition, but has failed to advance in the NCAA tournament since 2002-2003. Since Braun's arrival the Bears have reached the Regional once, in 1997, ten years ago. The number of first round exits, four.

So, with great optimism that I head to Harmon Gym (I still do not call it Haas) to watch the Bears eat one more cupcake, I just hope they don't get an ill feeling from the game.

(Side note for my buddy Dils, March is the 15th anniversary of Jason Kidd and Cal beating Duke, 82-77)

For a drink before the game, and hopefully a celebratory drink after, it will be Raleigh's on Telegraph. Large beer selection and good food. Raleigh's is at 2438 Telegraph Avenue (between Channing Way & Haste St) Berkeley, CA 94704

Best Ride In Town

2007-12-19T14:54:00.001-08:00

This mid-morning, I had to go over to San Francisco for my work department's holiday lunch at the Slanted Door. I have eaten at the Slanted Door several times and enjoy the food, no Cocktails on this visit -- work function, but it was the way we got to the restaurant that I enjoyed the most. We took the opportunity to ride the Oakland/Alameda Ferry over to our luncheon. It was the ride over that made me remembered why I like to commute on the Ferry.

First of all no driving and no Bay Bridge may be reason enough to take the ferry, but it is the view that the boat ride gives you is what makes this a special trip. See, I like to take photos and I remembered to bring my camera for the ride over and it gave me the opportunity to shoot a few photos. (To see some of my photos go to my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/john-alameda/. Link also on the left.)

When you shoot photos you try to find view that very few people see or capture light that gives a shape or object a new feel. So the ferry ride provides this opportunity for a different view, a pleasant trip and if you are so inclined a drink. Coming back from San Francisco, I shot a container ship, with tugs almost the entire way down the estuary. Something I rarely can get close enough to capture a good photo, and today I was able to get a a couple good shots.

So grab you camera, get a drink and find that special spot on the ferry to get your photos.

To stay true to this blog, the Ferry also has a full bar and it the only public transportation in the Bay Area that I know that allows you to drink. So get a drink at the bar and head to the stern of the boat and enjoy the ride. For those of you on a budget, I have brought my own drinks on board for the trip over to AT&T Park for Giants games. I do not think any would notice if you found a spot and had a drink.

What is the Perfect Movie

2007-12-18T11:18:00.000-08:00

Will This Have to Do?

Well the rain is here, but compared to back East with all that snow I feel lucky. Tonight feels like a movie night and I have been thinking what would be the perfect movie for this evening. So tonight, I will fire up the fireplace with a Duraflame and poor myself a tall Scotch and settle in for what the film industry has to offer. Something about Scotch on a cold, winter day that makes the evening perfect, but back to the task at hand, what will go into the DVD player tonight?

Tough call! You could go with a classic or something new. Then there is genre comedy, drama or thriller. What will it be? So I logged into Netflixs to get a few ideas even though I would have to stop by the video store to pick it up for tonight. The first criteria is: I must not have seen the movie. So in the Top 100 it was a bust I had either seen it or just wasn’t interesting enough for this evening. Going with the general population is never a good call, especially if you want something of substance. Let’s just say the general public forked over a $100 Million for “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.”

So click, over to the critics choice. “The Namesake” looks interesting. Not sure how Kal Penn from “Harold and Kumar: Go to White Castle” will do in a dramatic role, but will put it on the short list. Also “Brothers” caught my attention. Still not sure if I found the right movie.

I decided to look at Best Picture Academy Award winning films to see if they lend any inspiration. I started in the 50’s with a greater hope that I could actually find the film tonight. I was surprised that I had seen most of the movies and with great pride I can say that the few I did not see (The English Patient, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings) I was glad not too. I will not break my vow to never, ever see Titanic.

Out of desperation it is now to Google. The search “Best Movies Ever” produced a list of 1,000 movies from the NY Times. This will take some time . . . okay my ADD kicked in, the list is too long and my attention too short. IMDb has a shorter 250 list. Man! I have seen a lot of movies, almost all 250, probably 200 of them. Still at a lost.

Well at this point the fireplace, the Scotch (an even taller glass than planned) and maybe my Animal House or Fast Times DVD will have to do. I will take any recommendations from you on the best movie for a rainy evening to save this evening.

Stay Dry.

Viva Havana Restaurant

2007-12-17T10:30:00.001-08:00

Viva Havana Restaurant

For the past six months, as I walked by the corner of Webb and Park Street, a giant menu pasted in the window had been announcing the coming of a new restaurant in this space that housed former Vietnamese noodle diner. After extensive renovations to this corner space, Alameda has a newest restaurant offer Cuban dining. Havana launched with a soft opening last Monday and promises a variety of Cuban cuisine and an expansive Mojito menu.

So when I saw the door open and people dining on Tuesday Night, I called to set a reservation for six for Saturday night. I quickly learned that Havana only takes reservations for parties of eight or more, but my group and I were not deterred and venture out to see what Havana had to offer.

The entry, waiting area and bar tables are a bit sterile, but the Cuban music gave the place warmth, besides we were hungry and excited for this new place. I put our name in for a table and I was told that it would be a 15-20 minute wait. It was now a perfect time to begin sampling the mojito menu. You can order mojitos by the glass ($6-$7) or by the pitcher ($30-$35). The group decided on a pitcher of the Traditional Mojito: Bacardi Light Rum, Mint, Sugar, Lime Juice, Splash of Soda. Very good and the pitcher was large enough to serve all six with a little left over.

After a 10 minute wait, our table was ready. Entering the dining room you could sense the change in mood from bright and sterile to a warm and inviting. The dining area had the lights lowered, music filled the space, spices lingered in the air, and the tables were well spaced so you could enjoy talking to the people you were dining with. I was now fully anticipating what Havana had to offer for food. Our party wanted to try a variety dishes so we ordered tapas for the table to get a sampling.

Here is what we ordered off the tapas menu: Boniato Garlic Fries with Guava Chipotle Sauce & Chimichurri $6; Twice Fried Plantains with Pineapple Salsa $7; Plantain Maduros with Manzana Glaze $7; Halibut Ceviche Cured Halibut, Mango, Black Beans, Onions, Peppers and Cilantro with Plantain Chips $9. The Ceviche and Plantain Mauros were my favorites; others at the table enjoyed the twice fried plantains.

More Mojitos, this time the 10 Cane Mojito: 10 Cane Rum, Mint, Sugar, Lime Juice, Splash of Soda. A well balanced drink but bit on the sweet side for me.

Our group focused on entrees we ordered: Cane Glazed Pork Chops, Chicken Adobo (way different than Pilipino version), Plantain crusted Halibut and the Ropa Vieja. The Ropa Vieja is Spanish for "Old Clothes," and is a popular Caribbean dish consisting of shredded beef (often skirt or flank steak), vegetables, and a sauce. The Ropa Vieja was the winner at the table. Very tender steak served with black beans and rice. A well balanced meal, which had a comfort element. This will be a staple for me when I go back.

I need to mention the photographs in that are place throughout the restaurant.

They are very large print from a young local photographer that went to Cuba on a Cultural exchange visit. The detail and color of his photos are fantastic. I forgot his URL this morning but will update later.

I have to give Havana a Muy Bueno rating. It is a good dining experience, good food, full bar and a helpful staff.

Salud.

Best quote ever on Food and Cuba:

[Spicoli has had a pizza delivered to class]
Mr. Hand: Am I hallucinating here? Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?
Jeff Spicoli: Learning aboutCuba, and having some food.

Havana Restaurant
510.521.0130
518 Park Street
Alameda CA 94501

http://www.havanarestaurant.net/home.html

Cocktails and Movie

2007-12-15T07:55:00.000-08:00

Forget the popcorn, give me a Patrone Margarita before the show. This exactly what you can get at the new Sundance Cinemas Kabuki. Yes, same Sundance of the Film Festival and Robert Redford fame. When I read the San Francisco Chronicle article announcing the opening I new that this was a must for this weekend, so I venture out for their Grand Public Opening Friday Night.

For San Francisco’s Fillmore District this is a perfect new addition to the neighborhood. The former AMC Theater is in the heart of a neighborhood that is one of San Francisco’s greatest neighborhoods and has entertaiment venues such as Bill Graham’s Rock Palace “The Fillmore,” John Lee Hooker’s “Boom, Boom Room” and the new Yoshi’s at the Fillmore Heritage Center, but over the years this theater had become aged and an afterthought for film goers with the opening of AMC 1000 Van Ness and Metreon. Sundance did a excellentjob renovating and creating an upscale Cinema that no longer has to take a back seat.

My experience started with online ticket purchasing for this adult oriented theater, Adult as in age not content, and I am so glad that I bought ahead of time. In my opinion, this is the best feature of the Kabuki, the ability to reserve seating in the over-21 balcony section. I strongly suggest using this feature we walked straight through the full lobby of people waiting to purchase tickets and straight to our theater. With San Francisco traffic, which I experienced in full force Friday, you can breath easier knowing that your seat is saved and waiting for you. My wife and I saw Juno, very funny and a great measure of the type of films that the Kabuki will book.

The Kabuki has three dining areas with full bars. A downside is you cannot move from one dining section to another with alcohol, so in the adult only balcony the bar is slammed before the movie starts. The service was a bit slow, staff getting to know the bar and one cash register, but being a veteran of sporting events and concerts I just bought two drinks so I would not have to get up during the movie.

I dined after the movie. Take my advice please; plan to eat after the show. The Kabuki shows no ads and only two to three previews, the show start almost at the publish time. The menu and wine selection has a wide variety to select from for almost any taste. My food was good, the attempt is a fine dining experience, but what it is well presented pub fare.

I would definitely go back, Theater 1 w/balcony is very comfortable, and a great place to watch a movie. The design is really to make you feel a different movie experience.

For another place to get a drink, food and a movie try a trip across the bridge in Oakland. I am a big fan of Oakland’s Parkway Speakeasy. The owners treat like hanging out in you best friend’s basement. This is a totally different experience than the Kabuki, but this is the first time I was able to have a top shelf cocktail at a movie theater. Alameda plans on having an adult only section in it’s newly renovated theater that is to open this Spring.

Parking: Try Japan Town Garage ($2.75 for three hours with theater validation)

Sundance Kabuki
Address
1881 Post Street at Fillmore
San Francisco, CA 94115

Phone
415.929.4650
http://www.sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html

SFGate Article (Thanks for the Photo)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/12/DDIETS6M3.DTL&hw=kabuki+cinema&sn=001&sc=1000

Parkway Speakeasy
http://www.picturepubpizza.com/

1968 Revisted -- Not So Great Flashback

2007-12-13T10:03:00.001-08:00

1968

I was three years old in 1968, and very unaware of what was happening 65 miles west of my Central Valley Home in the San Francisco Bay Area, but since moving to the Bay Area I have found that those events have shaped the region over for the past four decades. The late 60’s and early 70’s left good and bad imprints for those who love living here in California and in San Francisco.

So last night, it was with great interest that I settled in to watch Tom Brokaw’s retelling of the year. It originally aired on Sunday on the History Channel, but thanks the DVR it saved me the commercials for this two hour special.

After it was over I felt like what I got was very superficial. Brokaw moved well through all of the major events of the year and the editing and music made it quite easy to watch, but what he failed to address was the cultural impact of the year. Seeing the impact of what was left in the Haight after the Hippies vacated and this former working class neighborhood and how it was transformed was left unsaid.

Brokaw did a cursory look at the impact of drugs and interviewed Haight Ashbury Free Clinic Founder Dr. David E. Smith and tried to speak of the dark side of the days but it way to little.

For the alternate view Brokaw interviews Conservative Pat Buchanan who called 1968 "the most divisive year in American history." This might have been the biggest overstatement in the show. My wife shouts out immediately “How about the Civil War.”

As a Bruce Springsteen fan the almost two hours was worth the his screen time. He was introspective and spoke of how it shape him and his music. Interviews with The Daily Show's John Stewart and the Smothers Brothers were funny and insightful.

I guess the real nugget was how much has not changed. The war quotes and political unrest very very similar and Spooky. 500,000 men figthing in Vietnam and we need to send another 100,000 or Winning the Fight over there or Orangeburg Massacre (Jena). How little has changed and that is what Brokaw missed.

The show tried to touch on the Vietnam War, the Presidential Election, Political unrest, Civil Rights, Women’s movement, Cultural Icons. This was prepared for the MTV generation with small bits and pieces and no real depth. This could have been a great project, and probably need to be done in Ken Burns style in 12 parts, but this documentary just made you wish for more. It came into focus that this was more about hawking Brokaw’s new book “Boom” then giving you any substance. The story was there, but Brokaw just stop short I guess it was a nice neat news package.

The show re-airs Saturday, December 15 05:00 PM.

1968 timeline - courtesy of the History Channel

January 22 - Rowan & Martin's variety show Laugh-In debuts.
January 23 - North Korea captures the USS Pueblo.
January 30-31 - The Tet offensive in Vietnam shatters the American public's image of the war.
February - The 1968 Winter Olympics open in Grenoble. Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy wins three gold medals in alpine skiing; Peggy Fleming takes the only U.S. gold, in figure skating.
February 1 - Eddie Adams snaps the Pulitzer-winning photo of South Vietnamese Police Chief Nyguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong officer.
February 1 - Priscilla Presley gives birth to Elvis's only child, Lisa Marie, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis.
February 8 - Highway patrolmen in South Carolina shoot into a crowd of black college students protesting a segregated bowling alley; three die and 27 are injured in what becomes known as the Orangeburg Massacre.
February 8 - George Wallace enters the presidential race as an independent.
February 16 - The Beatles travel to India to visit the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In the Grammy Awards on February 29, album of the year goes to the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
February 19 - The PBS children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood debuts.
March 12 - President Johnson wins the New Hampshire presidential primary by a surprisingly narrow margin over anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy.
March 16 - Sen. Robert Kennedy announces he will run for the Democratic nomination.
March 16 - U.S. soldiers, under the command of Lt. William Calley, kill more than 300 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre.
March 25 - The TV show The Monkees airs its last original episode.
March 31 - President Johnson announces he will not seek reelection to the presidency.
April 4 - The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. Riots break out in cities across the U.S.
April 10 - In the Heat of the Night, a thriller exploring black/white social issues, wins five Academy Awards including best picture. Mike Nichols is named best director for The Graduate. The ceremony is postponed for two days due to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.
April 11 - President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
April 23-30 - Anti-war protestors, led by Mark Rudd and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), shut down Columbia University. The protest will continue, in various forms, into June.
April 29 - The Broadway musical Hair opens, creating a sensation with its profanity, irreverence for the American flag and its nude scene.
May 13 - The United States and North Vietnam begin peace talks in Paris.
May 13 - After massive student protests erupt in Paris, French workers join them for a one-day general strike in which nearly 800,000 people march through the streets protesting police violence and calling for the fall of Charles de Gaulle's government.
May 30 - The Beatles begin recording the White Album. It will top the charts.
June 5 - Senator Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan after winning the Democratic primary in California.
July 25 - Pope John Paul VI publishes Humanae Vitae, condemning birth control and abortion.
July 28-29 - The American Indian Movement is founded in Minneapolis.
August 8 - Richard Nixon wins the Republican nomination for president.
August 22-30 - In Chicago, police and anti-war protestors clash outside the Democratic National Convention, leading to the arrest of the Chicago Eight (later the Chicago Seven) - some of whom were Bobby Seale, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Tom Hayden. Hubert H. Humphrey is nominated as the Democratic candidate for president.
September 7 - Members of a new Women's Liberation Movement protest the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City.
October 17 -Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their arms in Black Power salutes while receiving their summer Olympic medals.
November 5 - Richard Nixon wins the presidential election.
November 5 - Democrat Shirley Chisholm of New York is first black woman elected to Congress.
November 22 - William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols share the first interracial kiss on U.S. television in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren."
December 3 - Elvis Presley's "68 Comeback Special" airs on NBC.
December 24 - Apollo 8 orbits the moon, sending back the "Earthrise" picture credited by many with fueling the environmental movement.

For further information on '1968', go to http://www.history.com/1968

Flora

2007-12-12T08:54:00.001-08:00

Flora, originally uploaded by John Oldham.

Tried this new restaurant in Oakland last week and was very impressed. Flora is in the former Oakland Floral Depot (1900 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA) at the corner of 19th and Telegraph across from the Old Fox Theater. This addition to the neighborhood is an island business right now, not much around this transitioning neighborhood. With Lukas Tap Room two blocks away the neighborhood is getting geared up for the thousands of new Condos and apartments that are being built in Downtown.

The dining room is very clean, the light jazz music is at the right level to carry a conversation and the staff was attentive. The menu has prosciutto wrapped swordfish and NY Steak that jump right out, but they have a pork dish, chicken and vegetarian dishes. The wife and I stuck to the Starters with a couple of cocktails. The red braised short ribs, pan gravy, crispy potatoes, cheddar cheese béchamel was fantastic. By the way I had to look up béchamel (Béchamel sauce also known as white sauce) thank to Wikipedia once again with the soup and a salad was just right for the late evening fare. The wine by the glass and beer list is very good. But take a gander at the cocktail list.

If you are looking for an inexpensive evening this is not it, the prices were a bit on the high side, $16-$25 for an entrée. If you are going to show at the Paramount Theater or looking for a casual but chic place to have a drink and some food, it is well worth the stop.

The San Francisco Chronicle did a small write up of the restaurant.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/11/14/FD9NT9P3K.DTL

Fireside

2007-12-11T16:06:00.001-08:00

Fireside, originally uploaded by John Oldham.

If you have not been to the new Fireside (1453 Webster St # A
Alameda, CA) it is a great place to settle in to have a Cocktail. The old Fireside had a lot to be desired but new owner Patrick has cleaned (that's a first for this place), painted, remodeled and made it a great place to stop after work or any night of the week.

My first encounter with the Fireside was 1980, long ago when sailors still roamed Webster Street and Ladies of the evening were hailing distance from the Fireside. I was 15 and it was a place that would serve me a beer. I was so nervous that the only thing that I could order was a Bud. Patrick now serves probably 30 types of beer now and that choice no longer has to be an option.

The Bar has two big screen tvs that are placed above the bar, so if you have a group or you are out on a date it does not have to be the focus. Pool Table is by the old fireplace. The liquor is top self and the offer a menu of Cocktails.

Downside -- Cash Only! I understand that they are trying to resolve this, but it is a bit inconvenient. Good atmoshphere, check it out.