A Drink of History

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

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

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

Freebie Tuesday

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

Simple Eats: Eureka and Noe Valley

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