July 26, 2010 - July 30, 2010

This week started off a little more low key. I made reservations at the Radisson in Brisbane, CA. The hotel is just south of San Francisco and is right on the Bay. I've stayed here many times before and overall it is a good hotel. However, I would suggest not staying here unless you receive some type of deal or unless someone else is paying for it. The overall "highs" of the place include free parking, a restaurant on site, pool, fitness center (a little old), close to the public shore trail (an excellent jogging trail) and it is extremely quiet. For business people attending meetings in the bio tech area of South San Francisco, it is also very convenient, although staying at a hotel one exit down (Oyster Point Blvd) would put you much closer. If you need to stay close to the airport and want a shuttle, it is also a good bet. The shuttle for the Radisson only stops at one other hotel, the Homewood Suites (they share a parking lot) , so when you get picked up or dropped off, you are not sitting in a shuttle forever as the driver goes to the 10 hotels on his route.


The rooms are pretty standard, plenty of space, a desk, lounge chair and older style televisions. One of the positives is you do get free internet, but it is extremely slow, so don't plan on attaching or sending large files. Overall the rooms are quiet, but the walls are not as sound proof as in better hotels, so you might hear your neighbor from time to time. The hotel's overall construction is concrete, so you wont hear anything from above or below.


The Radisson, does have a restaurant called Xebec in the lobby. I would say it is average, especially for the price. If all of their entree's were about $5 less, I would say it's a good deal. Just keep in mind there is much better food in San Francisco and farther south.


If you are looking to walk to a restaurant from the hotel, then this is not the place. There are no other food options in the area without getting in the car or calling a taxi, so be aware of that.


For my first night in town, my friend from Southern California gave me a call and let me know she was in San Francisco. We met up and headed to E&O Trading Company, just Northwest of Union Square. The restaurant has New Age Southeast Asia Cuisine. The interior reminds me of a Tiki Bar or something along the lines of Trader Vic's. We ate at the bar since the restaurant was surprisingly crowded for a Monday night. We ordered the Indonesian Corn Fritters, Salt and Pepper Calamari and the Prawn Satay. I had been to this restaurant about three weeks back and had similar items including the Chinese Five-Spice Chicken Rolls, Beef Short Rib Sliders and the Dan Dan Noodles. I would say, everything is very good and the atmosphere is inviting. The Corn Fritters were the most interesting thing on the menu, they look like potato cakes, but are made with the whole kernel of the corn and deep fried. They are very light and airy, but have a good salty/buttery flavor. The place is not cheap, our tab was $60 for two people, including tip and the average plate costs $15. I would say if the food ranged in price from $7-$12 it would be worth it, but considering its location, I would call it average.



Tuesday, my business partner and I worked quite late. He was feeling like some Italian food, so we tried to go to Flour and Water in the Mission District, we walked in and were told there was a 45 minute wait. We opted to try someplace different. I checked Open Table and found an Italian Restaurant named Specchio about 1/2 mile away also in the Mission. It received good reviews and was able to take us immediately. The menu was concise, but everything sounded good and was reasonably priced. My coworker had the Fettucine Al Norcina and I had the special which was a Penne pasta in Vodka Sauce with Pancetta. Dinner came with ciabbata bread and olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The bread was great, soft and fresh. Our entrees came out very quickly, both the pasta dishes were cooked perfectly, the pasta was not mushy and still a little al'dente. What I remembered the most was that both of the sauces seemed light and not heavily made with cream. The amount of food was just about right and didn't leave you feeling stuffed. For dessert, we ordered the Tiramisu and the Bread Pudding. Our waitress said it was the best Tiramisu ever and that the bread pudding was their specialty. My coworker had the tiramisu and although he said it was good, it wasn't as good as when he was in Italy. I had the bread pudding which was very good, it was not overly sugary like most are. The bread still had some firmness too it and was not soaked in sauce. The vanilla gellato on top was nice and clean tasting and mellowed everything out. Overall a very good find, with drinks, dinner and desert costing $50 including tip.




Wednesday was uneventful, I hadn't eaten lunch, wanted pizza and decided that is what I wanted for dinner. I didn't want to go out, so I ordered from Papa Johns, picked it up on my way back to the hotel along with a 6-Pack of Anchor Steam and called it a night. Craving conquered.


Thursday, my wife came in to town for a company event on Friday night, so I checked out of the Radisson and checked into the Hotel Monaco right off of Union Square. This place was great, check in experience was easy, the desk staff is extremely helpful and always wiling to offer suggestions for those that are too timid to ask. My reservation, while I thought included a complimentary breakfast apparently did not. When I asked the clerk, she apologized for the error on their website and provided coupons for the breakfast anyway. Also if you follow Kimpton Hotels on Twitter, they send out a monthly "word." We mentioned it at check-in and received coupons for four free glasses of wine or four free cocktails during our stay. The room was very nice. We were put on the seventh floor in an interior facing room. The decor is very bright although my wife did not like the canopy accents. Definitely a good sized room for being in the city. Overall very comfortable and very quiet. My wife also noticed there was never enough hot showers when she took a shower, which was a downside, but would not stop us from staying there again. One note about this hotel, upon reading reviews, many people complained about the the exterior facing rooms, although having a nice view they were quite noisy. Our room was like sitting in a sound vault and was worth not having the view.

Thursday night we decided to eat in the restaurant adjoining the hotel. It was called the Grand Cafe Barasserie and Bar. The restaurant is very impressive, with high ceilings, beautiful mosaic work on the columns, huge chandeliers, and great service, but that is where it ends. My wife ordered the chicken and I had the Petrale Sole Special. The menu is not cheap, so I expected some above average food. My wife's chicken, although she said it was "O.K." was the size of a pigeon and was pretty dry. My Petrale Sole, was pretty flavorless. We had no drinks or dessert and the bill came to $67. The ambiance did not make up for the $25 we overpaid for the meal. From what I hear, the food in the bar during happy hour is much better. We tried that the following evening and were more satisfied with the result although an appetizer and dessert came up to $24. Overall a bust.

Friday was a much better day. Work as usual is a little slow so I went out with a couple of the folks on site and had lunch at Red's Java House. This place is not a coffee shack and is not for the weary of heart when it comes to grease. Everything is good at this place. The fish and chips are huge fillets of fish and the burgers are served on grilled San Francisco sourdough with onions and mustard (No lettuce or tomato offered or even available). You definitely need to grab a couple more napkins than usual. Even better, this place is right on the Emarcadero, has an outdoor patio, views of the Bay Bridge and has free parking!!! Even better instead of the standard burger, fries and a drink combos, Red's offers Burger and Anchor Steam combo's. My kind of place.





For dinner, the wife and I headed to Burger Bar on the 6th floor of the Macy's in Union Square for Happy Hour snacks. Burger Bar is a Hubert Keller restaurant, the same chef who owns Fleur De Lys. This place essentially is a burger only restaurant (hence the name "Burger Bar"), best part about it is that you can custom create your own burgers and milkshakes with the multitudes of options available from the menu. We were just there for happy hour, so we didn't order any full size burgers. We had the sliders, mozzarella sticks and thick fries. Appetizers are $5 during happy hour (4-6PM) and all draft beers are 50% off. The place seemed not so crowded plus you get great views of Union Square. All the appetizers were average, nothing special, although quite reasonable. Prices for the entree's seemed reasonable as well, definitely a place to try if you are just looking for something predictable that you know won't disappoint. Funny quote of the night at Burger Bar from the table next to us, "So what is good here?" Waiter replies, "Well, we have good burgers..."




The evening finished off with my wife and I attending the Giant's - Dodgers game at AT&T park, good seats, good game and it was all free.


It's just another week in San Francisco...

July 20, 2010 - July 23, 2010

After my complimentary evening at the Sir Francis Drake, I was looking forward to trying out the Hotel Serrano. I checked in at the front desk, was welcomed back and received apologies for the night before. I was put in a king deluxe room on the 14th floor (Room 1411). The room was at the end of the hall, farthest from the elevator which is what I usually request. I would say Kimpton does a very good job of reviewing the preferences from your profile and making sure they are met.

The room was clean and had good looking furniture. It seemed more than spacious for a boutique hotel. There were two large windows at the end of the room which faced in the direction of Union Square. The exterior of the hotel was much older and was undergoing a renovation of the brickwork and exterior windows. The hotel had attached another sheet of glass on the interior of the windows for the entire assembly which kept the windows from being operable, but cut down on exterior noise significantly. There was no real need to open the windows anyway since the hotel had been retrofitted with a HVAC system for each room. Surprisingly sitting on the desk was a half bottle of wine (Cline Zinfandel), a plate of fresh strawberry's and a small box of chocolates as well as a card from the general manager. The card apologized for the inconvenience for the previous evening, stated all the items of the desk were compliments of the hotel and also provided two coupons for a complimentary continental breakfast ($14/each) in the restaurant adjoining the hotel (Ponzu). A very nice touch, considering I didn't really feel that inconvenienced. Overall I was pleased with the hotel. I would say it is worth about $150-$175, no more than that, especially if you have a car. Parking runs $49/night at the hotel, across the street you can park for $20-$25/night, just make sure you know your options before you get there as it appeared the garages filled up quick.

For dinner on the first night (Tuesday), my business partner and I ate at the bar at Ponzu. We ate off the happy hour menu which goes from 4:30-6:30. Pretty much everything on the appetizer menu is $3 as well as draft beers, house wine and their signature cocktail for the night. We had six appetizers including the Indian Beef Satay, Dungeness Crab Cake, Angus Beef Sliders, Kalbi Beef, Crispy Calamari and Paprika Fries. Quick note, if you are really hungry, the appetizer menu will not fill you up although everything is very tasty. If I were to go back again I would definitely order the Sliders, Calamari and Fries, they all were the best "bang for your buck" and actually tasted the best out of everything we ordered. The crab cake was a single cake, the size of a large grape (not kidding), the kalbi beef was two ribs, not two rib sections. The beef satay was good but very small, consisting of three 2-inch beef skewers. With drinks, we got out of there for under $30 including tip.

 

Wednesday, was uneventful, I worked late and did not get to the hotel until 7:30. I went for a quick run at the fitness facility and then went to Chipotle for dinner which was about a block away on O'Farrell. There is no real need to explain Chipotle, I had three tacos (carnitas), they filled them with almost no meat and drowned them in salsa and cheese. It was good, but for $12 bucks, I might as well have gotten held up in the Tenderloin, it would have been more exciting.

Thursday night is my day to find someplace new and not worry too much about the cost. I decided to try Colibri - Mexican Bistro. The restaurant was still pretty crowded when I sat down to dinner at 8:30. I had made a reservation, but there were a few seats open at the bar, so I decided to sit there. I started with the House Margarita ($10) on the rocks with salt. It was very good, definitely above average, but not the best ever. As part of dinner, they bring out a small helping of fresh corn tortillas and three dipping salsas; pasilla, tomatillo and mango. All three were very good, the tortillas were excellent. Other reviewers say they are the best thing ever, I would say they are average, or just a good tortilla, nothing special. The salsas were tasty though and made the appetizer much more of a memorable experience. For dinner I had the Pechuga Rellena de Huitlacoche ($16 - Stuffed Chicken Breast) and a side of Totra de Elote ($8 - Cornbread). The chicken came with the skin on it and seemed to be pan fried or broiled. It was stuffed with mushrooms, zucchini and corn and had a roasted garlic sauce. The chicken came bone in and was good. It was a little dry, but the sauce took care of that quite well. The cornbread was covered in a poblano sauce and was super dense. It had chile, bacon and onions throughout it and actually tasted more of like a dessert than a cornbread side. It was good and definitely the highlight of the meal. The place was lively for a Thursday night, although I have noticed that Thursdays always seem to be a bit more crowded in San Francisco. The bartenders were friendly and accommodating. In total I got out of there for $41 including tip.

Funny story for the night. I sat next to some guy, who started off the night insulting the bartenders for slow service and then yelled at them later saying, "Hey, I'm sorry for being such an A-Hole earlier." Definitely a winner. Based on his loud talk to an unsuspecting couple sitting next to him, it turns out he was a lawyer. Figures. The couple ordered a glass of white wine, the A-Hole commented on how interesting it was, so they offered him a sip out of their glass. Although a nice gesture, most people would refuse, not this guy. He took a swig, told them it was sub-par and then continued to verbally harass them for the remainder of the evening. His only redeeming quality was that he bought the couple shots of some high end tequila. I definitely needed more than one shot to try and get this guy out of my head.
Anyway, its just "Another Week in San Francisco..."

July 19, 2010

Ill admit it, I was a little worried about the deal I got at Hotel Serrano for the week, it just seemed to good to be true. I was a little more worried when I called the Kimpton reservation line to see if they would price match the Priceline rate so I could book directly through the hotel. They informed me they couldn't because the hotel was sold out and only Priceline appeared to have rooms left.

Anyway, worst case scenario, I figured I could also find a place last minute if they "lost" my reservation or said it "was not valid." I walked in the lobby to check in. The desk staff looks up my reservation and makes a face, confirms my name and makes another face. Mentally I am already prepared for them telling me bad news. Instead she asks me if it would be "OK" to have them put me up in a different hotel for the evening on Union Square. She says the hotel will pay for transportation and for the inconvenience. I could really care less, since I am by myself, so I agree. She then fills out some paperwork and lets me know that once the cab drops me off at the hotel just provide them with the letter and my room for the night will be taken care of. I am a little confused, but it turns out, the hotel paid for my cab plus tip, and paid for the room for the night, plus they put me in the Sir Francis Drake on Union Square (Another Kimpton Property).

 

The Sir Francis is definitely "Historic" in terms of the lobby and building in general. Everything is a little old, but really grand. I was given a smaller room on the 17th Floor right next to the elevator. Although I usually don't like those rooms because of the noise, once the door was shut, I couldn't hear a thing. The room has two large windows with a view of Union Square. It isn't the best view, but not bad in the least. The room is definitely small, I would say it is equivalent to a standard room in Europe, although San Francisco isn't really know for large accommodations either. I would say it is sufficient for a couple, although they would ave to enjoy sleeping in a queen size bed.

For dinner I decided to try a place called the Urban Tavern. I think it is attached to the Hilton, but I came through the front door. It looked like there was another door near the back and I saw people entering from that area as well. The place seemed trendy overall and had an interesting looking bar. I ordered off the Prixe Fixe menu ($34.95)which consisted of the daily soup or salad, fish of the day or entree of the day and a strawberry shortcake desert. I chose the salad and the entree of the day (Berkshire Pork Chop). To start off I had a pint of the Anderson Valley 'Barney Flats' Oatmeal Stout ($6) which was one of the better beers I have had in a while. It was dark, but not heavy and lacked that chocolate/coffee taste of a standard dark beer. The salad was average, but tasty. I ordered the pork chop medium well and it was definitely the highlight. It had a nice sugary glaze and was finished with rock salt. It came with peas (so-so) and cheddar grits (very good). The strawberry shortcake came in a mason jar, I would also call it average, although it had shaved peppermint white chocolate on top which mixed it up a bit. Downside was they gave out some type of mini spoon to eat the desert which barely made it half way down the jar. Overall the bill came to $51, including tip. For a single person, a little pricey, although I did get three courses. If you went in for just an entree or an appetizer I would say the bill would be between $20-$30 without tip.

Side Note: If you are interested in bringing your own wine or drinking cheap. There is no corkage fee on Monday and bottles of wine are half price on Tuesday. This also seemed to bring in the short skirt/extremely high heel girl crowd along with their boyfriends in patterned shirts with weird stitching. I would say it was pretty equal between that crowd and older businessmen eating by themselves. So, it appeared to appeal to all types and ages.

The rest of the week awaits...

Week of July 18, 2010

Reservations have been made and I decided on the Hotel Serrano - A Kimpton Hotel for the week. It appears to be located in the Theatre District about 2 blocks southwest of Union Square. I am a little worried about how close it is to the Tenderloin, a neighborhood known for shall we say questionable activities. Although, it is close enough to Union Square and it is the tourist season, so there shouldn't be a problem.

I got a killer deal on the room. All of the travel sites give it a minimum of 3 stars and my company travel agency gives it 4 stars. It looks like the standard room runs about $200-$250/night. I got it for $90/night through Priceline on the non-bid site. Parking appears to be $20-$30 night in the area, but I will just use my preferred Sutter-Stockton Garage ($8/night after 5PM) and take the few block walk to the hotel. Reviews say that there is scaffolding up on the side of the building for renovations and that it is a little loud. I figure since I don't get there until after normal working hours anyway, it shouldn't be an issue.

As the new work week approaches, I'm looking forward to the week and getting to eat out in the city again.....