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

Urban Hike

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

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

Time Travel -- 1930s

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.

Back on the Wagon an a Maverick

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 Good Friday . . . to you

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

48 Hours to Prepare

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

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

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

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

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

Noir City opens this Friday

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

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

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

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

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

Take a Dive Into the High Tide

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

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.

Cocktails and Movie

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

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