Sunday, November 13, 2011

there's a wig on the sidewalk. welcome to san francisco.

Visitor #3. This week was AWEsome. My co-worker, I mean friend, visited and we had five packed days of work, activities, food/beer consuming, etc. I asked her to do a guest post to give me a break this week, but in reality I'm going to be hovering over her as she types to make sure she captured everything. Take it away Katy...

I feel it is my responsibility to impart on future visitors some lessons learned when visiting Dana:

1: Be prepared to eat your way through San Francisco.  You may enjoy the delicacies of San Francisco's finest food trucks at Off the Grid, or the amazingness of Nook (fervent followers of the blog already know about Nook). Regardless, it's going to be good.  Some favorites: a mac and cheese spring roll with cheese fondue dipping sauce, a salted caramel hot chocolate at Ghiradelli Square, an aptly named "kitchen sink" cookie that contained, among other things, potato chips, pretzels, and butterscotch chips - and spatzel in one of the best German beer bars (outside of Germany), Leopold's.

2: Expect the unexpected. A bar with a deer head on the wall whose antlers become guns, you drink "death and taxes", learn salsa and/or dance under a glittery disco ball shaped like an atomic bomb? Yes, it may happen (Madrone). A woman selling goods in the Mission that gifts Dana a pair of glittery, Rocket Dog platform sneakers?  Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes (and have photographic evidence for the unbelievers). You may trek through a tunnel nearly a mile long in search of Jumpstart San Francisco's newest attraction Pam the fish or do traditional toursit-y things such as seeing the Sea Lions at Pier 39, driving across the Golden Gate bridge, or watch episodes of "I didn't know I was pregnant". A hair salon (Backstage) may become a modern art gallery when you least expect it. The free Charles Shaw wine drew us in, but we didn't regret the visit. A little live music turned out to be a great band who sounded like they belonged at the Newport Folk Festival (Dana's favorite). Pack extra shoes, rain gear, and you should be set for whatever you encounter on any given day.

3: Know that Dana will not take "no" for an answer.  While enjoying a relaxing, idyllic hike through Muir Woods, we were saddened to learn that the "Tourist Club" (A German Bar built into the hillside in the middle of the forest) was closed for a work day. Dana pounded on the door of the bar until they let us in and served us a beer*, as she had promised.

*Ok, so that didn't exactly happen, but having witnessed first hand her sassing of police officers in the aftermath of her phone's theft ("So, since you won't do anything with this information, do I need to go on a witch hunt myself?"), I have no doubt she contemplated it.  To avoid this witch hunt/door pounding wrath, just buck up and drink that 40 in a paper bag she hands you at the frat house party turned SF bar (Bullitt) or drink that giant stein that contains 10 beers from Leopold's (we just witnessed this).  Trust me.  It's in your best interest.



4. Learn your limitations: Maybe you don't enjoy bathing in champagne, in which case, Bullitt may not be for you. (Trust us). San Francisco is far too large to see it all--so start making your list of to-dos for your next trip to visit Dana. There will always be more hikes, restaurants, and more delicious yellow curry from the side of a truck to be eaten--next time.


5. And lastly, woo your hostess.  If you really want to impress Dana, take her to the Rainbow Grocery in the Mission and share your extensive knowledge of organic bulk grains and raw organic olives. "Dana!  Did you see that bin of squash? Or see how inexpensive Siggis yogurt is here?  This is Heaven!". She will impress you with her uncanny ability to guess the weight of said squash - it was unreal. Buy some Taza chocolate or salted caramels to go and recommend you hit up Cafe Meuse to enjoy live music sung into an old fashioned microphone. You'll have her eating out of the palm of your hand before the end of the night.



Places we visited and I highly recommend:
  • Squat and Gobble: a brunch lovers paradise in the Castro. You have to stand in line to order your food, which means the prices are a bit less and you have lots of time to decide. The name alone makes the place, but it's very vegetarian friendly. Awesome. 
  • Nopalito: a sustainable, mexican, organic kitchen that's a spin off of an up scale restaurant in NOPA (north of the Panhandle). So tasty. Get small plates and share - it's worth it.
  • The Plant: Any Jumpstart folk that come to visit need to get lunch here. It's so close to the office and has stellar food.
  • Cable Car Museum: steps away from Dana's Nob Hill apartment. It's not only a cool museum with an abundance of photos from the 1906 earthquake/fire, but it is fully functional and operates all of the SF cable cars in the city. We didn't ride one this time around -- it's on the list for the next visit. 

  • North Beach: Jack Early Park, Cafe Divine and the San Remo: She now just wanted to show off her knowledge of the city by taking me here. Jack Early - what a view. Cafe Divine - the pizza was epic. San Remo - a bit of Bisordi family history, as her family owned the hotel for close to half a century (there's even a picture of the Bisordi's in the lobby, including her grandfather). 
  • The Mission: Dolores Park offers the perfect greenery for frisbee, lounging, or whatever you'd like to do in a park. Valencia Street has all of the coffee shops and shopping you could ask for and probably 100 french bulldogs (seriously). And a wig on the sidewalk -- someone had a good Saturday night.
The list I have of things to do when I return is long. I'm thinking late-May for Bay to Breakers so I can witness Dana's new sparkly shoes in all their glory. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the woman gave her an 80's prom dress to match? Priceless.

Off to my red eye back to Boston. Thanks Maddy, Lindsay, Lindsey, David and Dana for a great trip -- see you in the spring!

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