Pour a Drink . . .Cocktail Hour is Back

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

Ocean Film Festival

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.