Short trip report thread

[JaBlue]

It was fun, man. Very funny that so much of the conversation was about poker, Belle never asks me about that stuff. Lets get together again sometime, next time it'll be on me. Dinner, maybe? Let me know when you're free.

Also got a $50 parking ticket.

We actually ended up going to Haight, Amoeba, and the thrift stores afterward.

Shopped more than I have in a long, long time. Got:
-goat cheese from cowgirl creamery
-kinda-trendy deep purple tee
-Terry Riley: The Book of Abbeyozzud (new guitar music, not that great IMO, Riley always feels a little forced to me)
-Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet: The historic California Concerts 1954
-Freddie Hubbard with George Benson (!), Ron Carter (!), Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock (!), Joe Henderson (!), Richard "Pablo" Landrum- Straight Life. SO excited to hear this.
-Lee Morgan, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Billy Higgins, Bobby Hutcherson- Again, REALLY excited to hear this.
-And some other Freddie Hubbard album with the only other recognizable name being Tommy Flanagan

PS: no, I do not play the trumpet!

PPS probably going to treasure island day 2 to see Clap Your Hands..., Modest Mouse, Spoon, Built to Spill, etc. etc. Anyone else going?

[stickyman]

Ok - HENDERSON/VEGAS DINING - Todds Unique dining off sunset. I started my meal this evening with the red curry beef spring rolls. I followed this up with a beautiful South African Sea bass cooked with a caper and artichoke heart sauce, snow peas, mashed potatoes and some spring asparugus. Very tasty indeed. I paired my dinner with a little Pinot Grigio to start followed by a nice Tobin James Savignon blanc (he will be there apparently on the 23rd, but I alas was here for but one day). The coup de grace was a nice chocolate cake with a warm liquid center - a little tawny port goes a long way here to augment the taste. I would strongly suggest those of you who live in the area to check this place out. The food was awesome indeed.

[JaBlue]

Today I treated my buddy Derek to dim sum and a massage as a birthday gift. Massage first. Got extremely lost on the way there, cost us half an hour of our time and 15 mins of massage time. SF is a horribly confusingly-designed city.

Massage: Deep tissue with brief hot stone interlude. My masseuse wasn't going deep enough so I said "you could go a bit deeper" and then I was surely in for it. Hurt like a bitch during, and I kept repeating "pain is only momentary" in my head, thinking that the reward would be worth it. The hot stones were a great break from the deep tissue but I doubt they did much other than let me recuperate. Massage felt great and afterwards I was loose for a few hours. Then I tightened up even worse than before. WTF?

Two 1-hour massages, with ~15% gratuity: $70

Dim Sum:
3 orders pork
3 orders shrimp
1 order shrimp-cilantro (not bad)
1 order BBQ Pork (too sweet, not actually BBQ
1 order curry puff (ewe, chinese curry is gross)
4 egg custards (yum!)
2 "grass jelly lychee-flavored" chinese drinks. Good for 3 sips then extremely, extremely gross.
GRAND TOTAL: $20! BOOYAH SUNSET

[JaBlue]

Tuesday: Went to Woodward's Grill, near something like 15th and mission. Apps+Dinner+one dessert= $100 after tip. Small and romantic, very nice atmosphere once the other people who were way too close to us left. Can see the cooking while it happens and the chef is supercute. Meal was very good, would definitely go back. Excellent for a date.

Wednesday: Went to Amnesia, awesome jazz club (bar) on Valencia. First, the house band played. Incredible tenor. Mindblowing. Rhythm section so fast you can't watch their hands move or really follow what's going on. Just amazing players. After the house band, its open jam, so my buddies hopped up on bass and piano and it was great to watch them play. They are a few notches below what preceded and they knew it and were very nervous. Buddy playing bass only played one song because his fingers started bleeding due to a month of living in Australia and being out of practice. Great time, stayed from like 10:30-1:30 though the place kind of died when the house band took off. Great scene, great vibe, lots of fun and some cute chicks.

[El Diablo]

All,

Dinner, A16. http://www.a16sf.com/

Cons: A little crowded and tables close together (but not too bad at all) and generally have to wait a while even w/ reservation.

Pros: Food is awesome and once you're seated service is excellent.

Had a prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) before dinner. Delicious and refreshing.

Unfortunately, had to wait about 30 minutes for our table, which was annoying. However, the hostess was quite apologetic and nice. Also, multiple very cute chicks working there.

http://www.a16sf.com/Dinner_Menu10.19.htm

Starters (for 4): Mozzarella burrata (mozz w/ creamy center, wow so great), proscuitto plate (YUM), pork liver terrine (WOW, this was really exceptional), margherita pizza w/ arugula & proscuitto.

Excellent sommelier recommended a reasonably priced Sardinian wine that was like a fruity Syrah/Zin blend w/ a nice hint of earthiness and oak.

First three apps came out, delicious. Slight mis-step then when the guy brought out the pizza. I noticed they screwed up the order and it was proscuitto + mushrooms instead of arugula, but it looked really good so decided not to bother w/ correcting them and ate it. A few minutes later guy came back and apologized for bringing us the wrong pizza. He was super apologetic but I told him it was awesome and not to worry about it.

Got two pastas and two entrees. Maccaronara - simple thick spaghetti type pasta w/ homemade tomato ragu. Simple and delicious. Ricotta gnocchi - fluffy, perfect. Braised beef short ribs - tender and tasty. Sausage and pork plate - hearty and super good. Sides of butternut squash (WOW!) and chard (yum). Basically, everything was great.

At this point we were pretty stuffed, but it was a friend's bday dinner, so we got dessert.

http://www.a16sf.com/Dessert_Menu10.19.htm
Sformatino di zucca with honeycomb candy and bitter chocolate and Chocolate budino tart with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. Excellent.

So, once again (3rd time in a row) there was a little bit of a hitch up front, but nothing extreme, and once we were seated everything was excellent. The bill ($230 incl tax/tip) was a little cheaper than normal, so I think a couple of apps were comped to make up for the delay, which is always appreciated. It's a bit of a scene rather than a relaxed dinner environment, but if you're in the mood for a nice dinner in a somewhat bustling setting, I definitely recommend it. The staff and food are top notch.