The musical The Lion King is finally back in San Francisco. Can you believe I have not seen this show before? Mijo and I missed it in Las Vegas two years ago when it was playing at the Mandalay Bay. In San Francisco, the theatre tickets are extra hard to find because the shows are usually sold out during the holiday season. Luckily, Mijo found limited view Orchestra seats!
On top of our usual shows-to-see during the Christmas holiday, we still managed to see this show last week. Thanks Mijo for the tickets for I truly enjoyed this show!
American Conservatory Theatre's (A.C.T.) live stage production of Charles Dickens' The Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas is also another San Francisco Bay Area holiday tradition that I try to do every Christmas season. Mijo and I have been watching this the past years but this year he said he needed a rest. I had a good laugh after hearing this from him since he is the one who introduced me to see this show years ago.
Anyway, Dinah (and her friend who is also named Dinah) and Karen went with me this year. A.C.T. added changes to the production and made the performance an even more festive treat!
For the past seven or eight years, Mijo and I have been going to see San Francisco Ballet's The Nutcracker performance. For me, it is one of the most beloved San Francisco holiday traditions. The tickets on all weekend performances were sold out so we decided to see the performance on a Friday night.
This maybe a bit of an exaggeration but my Christmas season would not be complete without it. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
Every Christmas holiday, Mijo and I try to see a choir performance at San Francisco's magnificent Grace Cathedral. This year though, we were not able to see their Boys and Mens choir performance because of commitments at the work place. Luckily, the American Bach Soloists was having performances of Handel's Messiah at the Cathedral. We never had second thoughts buying the tickets since both of us have not seen this beloved holiday tradition in the city.
We both were truly blessed and the glorious music and the long programme allowed me to reflect on the important matters in my life. It is Christmas time in the city! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
I feel truly fortunate that the San Francisco Bay Area is not only deeply rooted in the Christmas and holiday traditions and events, it is also fully decked out this time of the year. This is the epitome of what a song tells us... it is Christmas time in the city!
I included in this blog pictures of street scenes in the city I've taken so far. I'll be updating it with more pictures in the following days.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
I love Christmas and the holidays. This is the time of the year to sit back and focus on family, friends and those things that are dear to me. It is also the time of the year when I get to be a kid again.
I feel fortunate that the San Francisco Bay Area is deeply rooted in the Christmas and holiday traditions and events and they bring out the best holiday mood in me. The Velveteen Rabbit has always been in my To See list during the Christmas holiday and finally, I was able to see it. Thank you Lord!
What do you do when your friends who are super busy were suddenly available one weekend? In my case, I’d take that moment to meet up with them for a delightful brunch. That’s exactly what I did and met up with Dinah and Karen.
There is this new-ish restaurant bar that Dinah wanted to try called Corners Tavern. Once again, Dinah suggested an overall great place – maybe minus the rocking table and the flies.
I heard someone said that winning the World Series is an experience for a generation. You'd believe that wholeheartedly if you are a fan of baseball.
And the San Francisco Giants have won twice in a span of only three years! And the way they won during the playoff season was super torture but showbiz worthy as if someone has written a script for them.
Congratulations SF Giants and welcome to the best party in baseball.
The bottles of wines we paired with our home meals in the past weeks were forgettable except for this one - 2003 Beringer Merlot. Claudia, Mijo's sister, brought this bottle a few years ago.
We opened this bottle on the evening of World Series Game 1.
I sort of knew that this bottle was going to be a good one. Plus, I think we also got lucky with the food that we paired with this bottle that evening. On top of good wine, good take-out food and the best companion in the entire world Mijo, the SF Giants won that evening!
My foodie friend Dinah had mentioned before that star chef Tyler Florence opened a restaurant in the city called Wayfare Tavern. She also mentioned about how wildly popular are their fried chickens. I remember that as soon as I heard the word fried chicken, my ears suddenly refused to listen anymore about the restaurant. I was like, seriously? Fried chicken? Though I did put it in my To Try list since I truly trust Dinah about her restaurant choices.
So she and I finally went there for a brunch one weekend and how wrong was I about their fried chicken! Dinah's one word is... s u b l i m e.
Are you ready for this, Uniqlo-philes in San Francisco? Our wait is over because the mothership has landed! I don't mean the Uniqlo pop-up store on Post St. I am talking about the first West Coast Uniqlo. This new addition to their global store network opened on Powell St. on Friday at 10 a.m. Lots of people showed up. It was like Friday after Thanksgiving all over again.
There was a long line on Powell St. that snaked around the corner on Ellis St. Mijo got there earlier than I did. He was already in queue when I got there a little after 4 p.m. I didn't think there were this many Uniqlo fans in the city!
I truly love this city at the same time I feel fortunate to live here. I just got over a busy week of carrying our escalation pager at work so it felt like I deserved to relax and enjoy the week after.
Since I was on my own to venture out (Mijo has the pager this week), I decided to take advantage of the great fall weather in the city.It was also the time of the year when the California Academy of Sciences lets locals go in for free. Let me take you on a photo tour of the Academy.
As a continuation of our search for good and refreshing cocktails in the city, Mijo, Jim, Jose and I paid the Nob Hill neighborhood of the city a visit and went to the Top of the Mark at the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
Mijo and I have been to the Top of the Mark but only for Sunday brunch and never for cocktail hour. That is why we didn't have second thoughts when Jim and Jose suggested we go there for our Thursday night cocktail.
Top of the Mark is an elegant and cozy place for a pre-dinner drinks with good friends.
I received another pair of Giants tickets from a raffle draw in the office. This has been the best baseball tickets I have received for free so far.
Not only it was the Giants hosting the Dodgers, not only it was Field Club seating (our first time in that section, by the way), the Giants won the game that night 4-0. And here's one more, the seats were just two rows behind the Giants dugout! Go Giants!
We needed a late lunch break after three consecutive wineries. So after the delicious and lively meal break at the Calistoga Kitchen we hit the road again in search of our fourth and last winery of the day.
This time we went to Ehlers Estate and we were joined by wine enthusiasts Francis and Scott. This certified organic winery has very well rounded Cabernet Sauvignons.
Our third stop to our Napa Valley wine tasting trip with our friends Bob and Bren was at Envy Wines. At this time, the morning fog in the valley burned off and the sky was blue and the temperature got warmer. Also at this time, I was getting a little buzzed which was not surprising because we only had a light breakfast plus we started wine tasting early. Envy Wines has good selections of red and white wines.
The second stop to our Napa Valley wine tasting trip with our friends Bob and Bren was at Chateau Montelena. We came to Chateau Montelena because of the movie Bottle Shock which is based on a true story where a Chardonnay from this winery (and another California winery) won a Paris blind tasting in 1976.
Guess what? I've tasted here one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons.
We tagged along with our friends Bob and Bren to Napa Valley for an entire day's worth of wine tasting. Our first stop was Castello di Amorosa. This wine tasting experience was inside a castle complete with a moat. Yep, a moat surrounding the castle. But don't judge them with their themed appearance. Their castle may look out of placed in Napa as if it was beamed from Europe to California but their wines for tastings are good to very good!
Uniqlo is finally here in San Francisco!
While their first West Coast store on Powell St. is not scheduled to open until the Fall season, Uniqlo has set up a pop-up store on Post St.
I went and took a peek one Saturday after I heard the good news from my friends Edward and Jojo. Is there such a thing called Uniqlo-phile? Maybe I am.
What can top being surrounded by grapevines in the middle of a vineyard sipping a well balanced California cabernet sauvignon or merlot and watching Duran Duran live in concert while reminiscing on your life 20 years (or more) ago?
It is probably a lot to ask but that is what we did just recently.
I had a blast! Thank you, D&D.
Here is the continuation of my blog on the Saturday Afternoon Grand Tasting Tent event at the SF Chefs 2012. We learned some do's and don't while at the same tasting event last year. One of them is to pace ourselves with the wine. This means just two to three sips per tasting.
Our strategy worked so well that we sampled more wines at this year's tasting event. As a bonus we also collected several coupons for complimentary tastings!
Last year was our first time to attend a SF Chef Food and Wine Tasting Tent event and we absolutely enjoyed it. This year, we decided to do it again.
Having learned lessons like pacing ourselves especially with the wines, this years we were able to sample almost every restaurant featured during the Saturday afternoon grand tent tasting.
If budget and time permit, we want to do this again next year.
After seeing SF MoMA's new art exhibit called Cindy Sherman, Joe, Jim, Mijo and I went next door to St. Regis to try the cocktails at the Ame Bar.
While this is not our typical 2-for-1 neighborhood cocktail hour, the cocktails here are superb and well crafted, the service outstanding and the ambience five star!
I love 80s music. Some people may say it is cheesy but I don't care. I try to see any 80s band in concert when they are in town and, of course, I drag Mijo or a few friends with me in the process. Petshop Boys, checked. U2, checked. OMD, checked. Sting and The Police, checked.
So when Mijo saw that Tears for Fears are in town last week, I didn't waste any time and bought the tickets right away. I just had to see them. Tears for Fears, checked!
My good friend Dinah had a fabulous idea how to celebrate our friend Karen's birthday brunch. We will all go sailing around the San Francisco Bay with a glass of mimosa.
I was worried that the day will start out foggy, or worse, windy making our first sailing experience a rather rough one. You know what I am taking about if you are familiar with the San Francisco summer.
The day turned out to be sunny and almost no wind at all. We only had one problem. The celebrant won't be able to join us because of prior work commitments. Dinah and I decided to go ahead with the sailing and do the brunch with the celebrant at a later date.
The bottles of wines we paired with our home meals in the past eight weeks were so-so except for these two -
Angeline Pinot Noir 2010 Russian River Valley
and Avant Garde Pinot Noir 2008 by Domaine Carneros.
Mijo thinks that the other wines were okay wines and not bad at all and that I am just biased toward Pinot Noirs. Maybe that shows that I am such a Pinot-phile?
I made the reservation but with another restaurant in mind, for Incanto and not for Contigo. No wonder Mijo kept saying going to Contigo was a great idea because it is close by from Toad Hall, our happy hour venue, and Contigo this and Contigo that. Incanto is on Church St and so it would take at least five to 10 minutes to get there from Toad Hall. The names are too similar - Contigo and Incanto. So can you now see how I made the mistake?
We've been to both restaurants before and it was only our second time to Contigo. It is still the same good tapas and wine bar we remember minus the multitude of people and long lines. If we had enjoyed it the first time, we enjoyed it all the more on Friday.
This week, we have started sampling a new bag of coffee called San Francisco Bay Certified Organic Rainforest blend. You probably haven't heard of this brand unless you live in San Francisco and shop at Costco.
Having bought bags of coffee beans from local coffee houses and roasting companies, I was debating whether to get this coffee for use at home. Is there anything to romanticize about this coffee brand that people buy in bulk? The company is local and we needed coffee immediately so we bought it. Guess what? This coffee maybe unassumming and comes in bulk but it packs with great flavor! I am glad we decided to get it.
Mijo and I saw The Scottsboro Boys at the American Conservatory Theatre three weeks ago and I thought I should post this blog before the show closes on July 22nd.
We totally loved this half live theatre half musical considering how serious the theme of this production really is. The cast was able to entertain wildly while sharing a sad chapter in American history.
I know, I know. Some of you may be thinking that you can get a bottle of Kendall-Jackson from your local supermarket. So why bother going at all to their tasting room, right? Right. That is true. Though you can say the same thing about the other more popular brands such as Beringer, Mondavi and BV and people still go to their wineries not only as a destination but also to taste their reserve wines.
Kendall-Jackson does have intriguing and delicious wines and we rediscovered that by visiting their wine center in Sonoma. Good selection of reserve white and red wines!
I didn't grow up in the States but this didn't deter me from getting acquainted with the works of Charles M. Schulz. In fact, I am more familiar with Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Woodstock than their creator Charles M. Schulz. I remember reading articles in the San Francisco Chronicle about his passing away and saw specials on tv right after his death. Unfortunately, that was when I learned more about this great artist.
While we were in Sonoma County, Mijo and I made time to dropby the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center. Let me take you on a photo tour of the museum.
We saw this winery while driving on River Road on our way to Kendall-Jackson Wine Center from Harvest Moon Estate and Winery. Martinelli Winery is the big red wooden house by the road with a big sign so one couldn't miss it. Our wine map also shows it on River Rd. but we kindof ignored it at first because we incorrectly assumed this is the apple cider company. Though this vineyard also grows apples, they are not related to Martinelli's and Company. Once again, the wine gods were with us because we discovered that this winery has good selections of Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Syrah.
We took Friday off last week and what better way to start the weekend than spend it in the beautiful wine country. We've been wanting to spend more time in Sonoma Valley and to check out the smaller wineries. We've heard great things about them.
We wanted to concentrate on a small area in the Russian River Valley bounded by River Road and Guerneville Road and west of Santa Rosa. Harvest Moon Estate & Winery is tucked in the middle of this viticultural area. All I can say about this winery is this - I wish I could bring home a bottle each of all the wines we tasted that day because they were all excellent! Randy, the grower/wine maker, is such a great host too.
I missed the World Premiere of the musical American Idiot at Berkeley Rep in 2009. I remember another musical, The Wicked, was back in town and was playing at the same time as American Idiot. I had missed The Wicked when it had its World Premiere in San Francisco years ago and I was not going to miss it again. So in 2009, I had to make a choice between the two musicals. Why did they both have to be playing at the same season?
After over two years, American Idiot is back in the Bay Area and I was not going to miss it again even if there was another equally good musical playing at the same time. I went, I saw and I liked it!
San Francisco celebrated yet another successful Gay Pride parade on Market St. I wasn't going to see the parade but my friend Joe Tibbs was celebrating his birthday that day by setting up a tent and a spread of food on a table on the sidewalk while cheering on the parade contingents.
I had originally planned of just dropping by to greet my friend a happy birthday and maybe see a few minutes of the parade. The few minutes that I spent watching the parade, I saw a refreshing scene of a new generation of contingents.
Mijo was hungry and he wanted to have a late lunch somewhere where we can sit outdoors. It was a warm Saturday afternoon and we were both craving for something light, on the cheap and somewhere we haven't been.
I thought of SoMa StEat Food Park right away. This place rocks!
Last week, we opened a bottle of 2008 Palazzo Della Torre by Allegrini. Mijo bought this one from the supermarket so I was a little skeptical at first. Skeptical because we didn't taste this one before making the purchase.
The gods of wine must be with Mijo when he bought this bottle because this wine is fabulous. This wine is so full and so rich it felt and tasted very smooth.
Once in a while, I like to splurge on my coffee. To splurge on coffee means to pay more than the usual price per bag of coffee. So last payday I dropped by a Peet's Coffee chain and picked up a Kona JR Reserve Blend. Kona, afterall, is one of my favorite coffees.
It is true what they say - you get what you pay for. This coffee may be expensive but this blend is so delicious it is probably one of the best coffees out there!
I finally made it to the fashion oriented art exhibit at the De Young Museum entitled The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier - From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. I thought I was going to overdose but I didn't. In fact, I enjoyed this exhibit immensely.
While being a computer programmer is far from the glamorous walls of the fashion world, I am fascinated with the creative process involved in making and designing clothes the way I am drawn to the ingenuity applied to paintings, sculptures, buildings, modern inventions and, of course, computer programs.
I took photos of the ones that I liked at the exhibit and the ones that intrigued me.
On Friday morning, Mijo and I decided it was time to give Tartine a visit. We usually go to our favorite neighborhood Destination Baking Company on Fridays but we realized we haven't been back to Tartine for a while now.
Since we had extra time to spare on Friday morning before going to work, Tartine was the logical choice. Mijo and I both enjoyed a slow and carefree 30 minute breakfast of Morning Bun, Fragipane Croissant, Gougère and cups of coffee. Delicioso!
On Sunday, San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area celebrated the 75th anniversary of our most beloved bridge - the Golden Gate Bridge. The festival, the vibe, music, crowd, historical exhibits, the art exhibits, the food and the weather were all great.
Let me take you on a photo tour of the Golden Gate Festival. I must have walked a total of 7 miles back and forth during the entire festival. In the process, I have a renewed awe of the most beautiful bridge in the world.
Ahhhh. Thursday and the start of the weekend, at least, in my mind. Mijo and I try to welcome and celebrate the beginning of the weekend on Thursday evening. At Beretta, the plan was just a round of drinks and maybe an hors d'oeuvre. Before we even finished these delicious cocktails - Dolores Park Sizzler on the left and Diablo on the right - we were told by the hostess that she has a table for us and the next thing we know we were ordering food. We eventually stayed for over two hours. Beretta, on Valencia @ 23rd Sts, is a hip, crowded, fun place. We totally enjoyed our Thursday evening here!
I knew we are going to like this wine. This is one of the bottles we brought from our last wine tasting trip to Beringer in Sonoma, of course, we tasted them first before making the purchase.
Though I am a Pinot Noir kind of guy, this wine is easy to like because of its fruity, spicy and rustic flavors. As always, we finished the bottle stretched out to several dinners.
My friends Dinah, Karen and I had brunch at Bar Tartine a week ago. None of us had been there before so we didn't know what to expect. I was the one who suggested this restaurant based on the good things I've heard about it. In fact, I chanced upon this place that same week while walking with Mijo from a Vietnamese restaurant on Valencia St.
The brunch was superb! Can you believe we couldn't decide which one is our favorite - the pate or the salmon or the spaetzle or the blood sausage or the french toast? This is on top of very good and friendly service and very hip and well lit dining area.
In my fifteen years of living in San Francisco, Cinco de Mayo meant margaritas paired with fajitas, burritos and several shots of tequila at the nearest taqueria or closest Chevy's after work hours. This year, Cinco de Mayo fell on a Saturday and it was such a refreshing experience to spend the beautiful day in the Mission District and Dolores Park with live salsa beats and delicious traditonal Mexican food.
For this week, we are sampling a coffee called Casero Blend by TonG Coffee (pronounced as ton-gee). I brought this coffee from my trip to Manila last Christmas. I chanced upon this coffee while walking around the Salcedo Saturday Farmer's Market in Makati. Narda, of TonG Coffee, was passing around small paper cups with coffee samples. We liked it so we bought a bag. We were told that this coffee is grown in the mountains north of Luzon.
Aside from my favorite wine destinations north of San Francisco such as Napa Valley, Sonoma, Russian River valley and the Mendocino coast, I am starting to appreciate the wineries south of the city like Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay. Last week, we went south of SF to catch some sun and surf. As a side trip, we discovered this urban winery called Copious Winery. Their delicious wines were such wonderful addition to our refreshing day trip to Santa Cruz.
Mijo and I saw the musical Spamalot last week and it is probably the funniest musical we've seen since Avenue Q. Though I don't humm any of their songs the way I sometimes do from the more popular and memorable musicals, I think Spamalot is very entertaining.
There was a time when the crowd couldn't stop laughing because the scene was too funny. This is my kind of show!
Last week, we opened one of the bottles of wine that we brought with us from our trip to Florence. I guess, we were too excited to open a bottle because it has only been two weeks since we came back from Italy. We got this bottle from a wine bar on Via Borgo San Lorenzo called Borgovino. It was super delicious so we thought of bringing a bottle with us to the States.
I just learned today that California produces 80% of the world's almonds. Wow! That is a lot of almonds! I suddenly thought of my favorite fragrant flaky bread - the almond croissant. Since most of the almonds come from this state, could this be the reason why there are a lot of bakeries in the city that make very good almond croissants? For that matter, could the city be the almond croissant capital of the world? Almond croissant capital or not, I know that the almond croissants here are good and I have a short list of favorites.