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.....