Taking Advantage of Your Locale

Hola, kids.

Today, I'd just like to provide a recap of some of the cool and interesting things Brandy and I have been doing around The City recently. At one point, I was thinking about making this blog mostly about things to do in San Francisco. Then, I remembered that I'm old and married and that I don't get out as much as I used to. However, the past couple of weeks have been downright social.

So for your perusal, a (miniscule) list of things to do in San Francisco:

• Circa - A new restaurant in the Marina in the spot where Cozmo's Grill used to be. Nice decor (golds and wood browns) and an interesting space, although it seems to be more bar/club than restaurant. A nice place to take friends for a night of revelry among the beautiful people. I highly recommend the sliders (they come with black truffle) and the lobster mac-n-cheese (it comes with white truffle). Mmmmm... truffles.



• Silversun Pickups and Wolfmother at the Fillmore (I'd link to the official site, but they seem to have been acquired by Live Nation, and now the site is sucky and corporate) - Ah, the Fillmore -- that storied live music venue. Home of countless historic performances and the fabled Poster Room. We got these tickets because Tina at work was unable to go. Sweet. The tickets had been sold out for weeks.



• Not So Silent Night - A San Francisco holiday tradition, this yearly concert is brought to us by our friendly neighborhood alternative radio station, Live 105. I won't bore you with the band details other than to say that the show was great (oh, and did you know that Johnny Marr is now playing guitar for Modest Mouse? You know... Johnny Marr? How do you not know who Johnny Marr is?!? WTF?!?!? JOHNNY MARR!!!). Thanks again to Tina, who sold me the tickets (which sold out in, literally, three minutes) because she couldn't make it to this one, either.



• An aside here: as a music fan, it's weeks like these that I truly appreciate living in San Francisco. You know your favorite bands are coming here to play; if they're touring, they'll play somewhere in the Bay Area. And they'll be excited to play here because some of the most knowledgable music fans on earth live here (I'd say passionate, but we're really a rather jaded bunch, and we don't display our appreciation with loud cheering or exuberant dancing). And rather than playing a show in a giant arena, sometimes they'll play several shows at a smaller, more intimate venue like the Fillmore or Cafe du Nord. It really is a blessing, and one that I should probably take advantage of a little more often.



• Lark Creek Steak - A lovely little slice of the Bradley Ogden mini-empire right inside the newly-opened San Francisco Centre (and yes, the mall is just as pretentious as the British spelling of Centre implies). The restaurant, however, is really nice. A bit pricy but ultimately worth it. The dry-aged ribeye is quite good, and the service is very good while not being too stuffy. A nice place to take your parents when they come visit.



• Jack Falstaff- A little slice of the Plumpjack mini-empire by the ballpark. Friendly service, good food, once again a tad pricy, but then again, what decent restaurant in SF isn't? The braised lamb is mild, yet tasty, the caesar salad is very good (the tempura egg on top combines the flavor of frying and the texture of poaching. Lovely.) and the bread comes with a myriad of oils and hummus for dipping.



• Bourbon and Branch - The speakeasy returns to San Francisco. Yes, it's a little pretentious. Knowing some of the bartenders helps, as do connections in the industry, but it's a fun place nonetheless. If the booths had really comfortable leather seats, I think I could live in the damn place. Classic cocktails in a classic setting. And yes, you do actually need to make reservations.