San Francisco Trip Report--w/links and recommendations

[J.Brown]

i made a quick trip to SF to catch up with some friends and see my little bro this past weekend and thought i would do a quick report on all the activities that went down.

Saturday:

flew in saturday night and was whisked straight to
http://www.lingba.com/ for a cocktail and some thai takeout to get what proved to be a long night started. the owner is a good friend and it was great to see what he had done with the place. food was awesome too.

next off to http://www.harlotsf.com/ for bottle service that my bro set up at this swanky little soma club. first time there and thought it was great. dark and goth-y with a pretty great looking crowd and a ton of typical hot SF girls and very little of the bridge crowd you get at alot of clubs.

went across the street/alley to see one of my friend's homeys who was bartending at temple. no link because that place sucked big time. terrible music and super smelly crowd, couple that with idiot door guys and i was sad to see a place that used to be great be so very bad.

back to a friend's loft for some after hours cocktails, catching up chat, and watching my bro make some terrible attempts at hooking it up and then into a town car for some drive through breakfast and sleep.

Sunday:

woke up and watched some football and waited for my beloved cowboys game to start. ordered some http://www.extremepizza.com/intro.htm and got comfy. they actually make a damn good pie and i was just settling into my second slice when......

wtf! only showing the raiders game on cbs. had to get dressed and walk down to kezar's pub to catch the game.
i got there just in time to here the booming chant of "cowboys suck, cowboys suck" so i headed to martin macks instead. they were showing 10 tvs of rugby and 1 of football but oh well. i didn't start drinking until the 4th quarter when the pain was too much to bear.
both pubs are here:
http://www.sfgate.com/eguide/music/barguide/pubs2.shtml

went out for a nice thai meal at http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/p...x_restaurant-c
get a booth and order things spicy, you won't be disappointed with this place or the scenery.

Monday:
played message tag with 2+2er shemp about working out and then headed out for a run through golden gate park. some serious knee issues limited the length and fun of that undertaking, but the park was beautiful, especially this time of year.

had lunch at the rotunda at neiman marcus with a local friend and it was good, very touristy and overpriced, but good if you feel like hanging with all of the 3 martini lunch crowd and indulging a bit.
http://local.yahoo.com/details?fr=dd-loc...77S0qZq8IOyRA--

played tennis with my bro (hobbling on one leg mostly) at
http://www.sftennis.com/
this place so rules and makes me want to move to the city.
if you play tennis at all you have to check it out.
i think i like it more everytime that i go there.

then off to dinner with my bro and 3 friends (el d. was a late cancellation, but i forgive him) at
http://www.aqua-sf.com/aqua/

dinner to die for. a friend of mine just started cooking there so it prompted the choice and i was not disappointed.
they spoiled us from the kitchen with 3 extra courses and brought out the entire dessert menu. awesome.
recommendations include:
ahi tuna tartare appetizer
john dory main course
all of the desserts
and the "aqua" pinot noir

great service and a nice time, even got to check out the kitchen and watch some of the magic in action.

Tuesday:
went out to eat for a late breakfast with my bro and his roommate at the pork store cafe. totally yummy greasy spoon with no ambience except for a super sexy latina waitress, lol.
http://local.yahoo.com/details?fr=dd-loc...tnkSSAdgKYo3Lcd
fun walking the upper haight area and seeing all of it in its daytime glory!

met el d. for some tennis in the park and then off to a wine sampling at http://www.bacarsf.com/

tried a good sampling of wines (el d. will never lead you astray on his food and beverage choices) we tried 9 different 2 oz. pours and then each had a glass of wine before meeting a crew of friends both old and new at sushi groove south.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/--R2Qx6k1M4dPgDgZ4cIbg

maybe i am easy to please because of the impossibility of getting great or even good sushi in montana, but this meal was better than i remembered the place. drank too much asahi and laughed a ton and generally had the best night of the trip.

then across the street to wish bar.
http://www.wishsf.com/
we had a few drinks there (one of the owners bought the first round for us, thanks isabel) and we had a good time although i had to slow it down a bit at the end or i knew my morning flight would be even more brutal.
it was a ton of fun getting to hang out and laugh it up with el d. again and the rest of a great bunch of people.

sorry to shemp for begging out on him.
i have an appointment early in the week with an orthopedic surgeon to see if this knee issue is as bad as i think it maybe, so i would have been of no use to you anyway!?!

thanks to el d. for a nice night out in the city as has become the usual. for recommendations our own masked man cannot be beat.

boris and the sucker you two are on the bad list for not getting up to the city for some of the fun. next time for sure make it happen and i will give you more notice.

later. J.

[El Diablo]

J,

It is sick that you are good enough at tennis that I am willing to brag about beating you when you are playing w/ an injured knee and not trying very hard and spotting me 4 games to start.

BUT I WON A "SET"! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously I screwed up not meeting up late at Harlot. I really should have come out Sat night late. Harlot is sweet.

At the time I was pissed I didn't make it out Monday for Aqua, which is maybe the best seafood in SF. I knew that would be a spectacular dinner w/ your friend there. However, getting that work done allowed me to be free to play some tennis and then grab some wine before dinner Tuesday, so it worked out well. Thank goodness we started w/ tennis instead of heading out for wine early.

Sushi Groove South is my go-to neighborhood sushi place. Very solid, but not at the top-top tier in SF. But w/ 8 people there late on a Tuesday night, we asked the chef to send out his choice, and wow, it was really, really good. I was very impressed. Next time, though, we're hitting Ino.

J and his crew are as top-notch as you get. Having hung out w/ him before, I knew I'd have to be very quick on the draw to pay for anything, but I barely managed to pick up one tab. I'm very proud to have J. Brown as a good friend.

[haakee]

[ QUOTE ]
flew in saturday night and was whisked straight to
http://www.lingba.com/ for a cocktail and some thai takeout to get what proved to be a long night started. the owner is a good friend and it was great to see what he had done with the place. food was awesome too.

[/ QUOTE ]

My old neighborhood, great Thai food & mellow hangout. Most SF visitors will never go here.

[ QUOTE ]
crew of friends both old and new at sushi groove south.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/--R2Qx6k1M4dPgDgZ4cIbg

maybe i am easy to please because of the impossibility of getting great or even good sushi in montana, but this meal was better than i remembered the place. drank too much asahi and laughed a ton and generally had the best night of the trip.

then across the street to wish bar.
http://www.wishsf.com/
we had a few drinks there (one of the owners bought the first round for us, thanks isabel) and we had a good time although i had to slow it down a bit at the end or i knew my morning flight would be even more brutal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sweet, my current neighborhood. Both places are good. Too bad I'm busy going broke at Commerce or I would've met up with you guys.

[J.Brown]

El D.--missing harlot was my fault, aqua was your fault, but like you said it all worked out for the best.

next trip for the tennis i will come up with a spot that will make gambling fun and then having my victory reward be you buy my dinner at gary danko will make it even sweeter. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] guess i will have to get on the practice court a bit.

haakee--being away is an excuse, but you can be broke and come out with us. i have to use a ton of tricks to ever pick up any bill, so you would have no chance.

this trip reminded me of two very important things:

1. the bay area has to be one of the best overall spots to spend a few days in the world. it is a must for anyone and if you can have a local set up a few things to do for you don't hesitate to make it your next long weekend or even month long vacation stay. wine country, nightlife, food of all types, great shopping, great views, and a city full of stylish/liberal/cultured/ethnically diverse people who rule.

go visit you won't be disappointed. it has proudly become my home away from home.

2. i am one very lucky guy who definetly has been able to surround himself with friends and people who are all much cooler and smarter than myself and i know and appreciate this a lot. el d. is not lying when he says i have a great crew of friends in the bay area and i am very fortunate to have him be an essential part of that crew.

cheers. J.

[J.A.Sucker]

Sorry to let you down. I assure you I had a good reason. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Next time.

[J.Brown]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry to let you down. I assure you I had a good reason. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Next time.

[/ QUOTE ]

just wanted to make sure you know that you were missed.

go rockies! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[J.A.Sucker]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry to let you down. I assure you I had a good reason. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Next time.

[/ QUOTE ]

just wanted to make sure you know that you were missed.

go rockies! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Rockies!

[Boris]

[ QUOTE ]
boris and the sucker you two are on the bad list for not getting up to the city for some of the fun.

later. J.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whoa!!! wow just read this. JB you are on the bad list for "blowing up my phone" when you got back to Missoula. How about calling me when you are actually in the bay area next time, broski?

[J.Brown]

Boris,

dude. like i said i thought you "knew" and i am not the smart. obv. next time for sure you will be priority if you promise not to rock the khakis. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

did it look like you missed a fun time? J.