Part Two: Last Saturday in San Francisco

Crab at Hog Island Oyster Company

A week ago, after an amazing tour of the Frida Kahlo Exhibit at SFMoMA, a stop for Melatonin at GNC for Brian’s trip to Australia, a shopping quickie at Virgin Records for a hat I saw the day before, and a brief respite at the hotel for Brian’s business commitments, we hopped on an antique street car on Market for a slow scenic ride to the Embarcadero and on the Bay. The Ferry Building, on the East Bay at the head of Market. It opened in 1898 and was the transportation hub of city. Trains from the East, and ferries from all the East Bay and Marin all came to this terminal.

“From the Gold Rush until the 1930s, arrival by ferryboat became the only way travelers and commuters—except those coming from the Peninsula—could reach the city .. The opening of the Bay Bridge in 1936, and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, along with mass use of the automobile, rendered the daily commute by ferryboat obsolete.” ferrybuildingmarketplace.com

The building has now been renovated as a mixed-use property with a public food market. A large farmers market takes over the areas around the market on Saturdays, (There’s a smaller group of vendors on Tuesdays on the Embarcadero sidewalk).

The arcade inside the building houses The Ferry Building Marketplace, with shops, restaurants, cafes that are opened all week and that’s where we headed.

First Stop, Hog Island Oyster Company, for lunch. We got in line and miraculously were the only two person party and were seated at the counter immediately, (left, top) even the smiling counter woman was surprised.

Two cold local beers and a dozen iced oysters (left, center) started us off, but you would have expected that, with buttered bread, of course. (We think the butter was Plugrá, or as good as Plugrá).

I went for the Traditional Oyster Stew, (left, bottom) creamy broth, plump oysters and fresh herbs, two slivers of grilled bread garnishing the bowl. It was wonderful, right up there with the Oyster Pan Roast at the Oyster Bar in NYC’s Grand Central Station. For me, there is no higher honor I can offer.

Brian, went for the famous Clam Chowder. Brian is very faithful to his chowder, he gets it every time he comes. I think this was his fifth bowl. I had a taste, and I later agreed with our friend Rebecca, it IS the best clam chowder in the entire world. (Sorry no photo, I was too blissed out to focus, but you can see it in the photo album, San Francisco 2008)

After lunch, we stepped out to the waterfront, just outside. The Farmer’s market was closing down, which was a good thing because I can get frustrated not being able to buy arm-fulls of fresh produce that are not allowed on the plane due to their possible terrorist tendencies. But there was plenty of temptation inside the building.

Flowers were gathered for our rendevous with Rebecca, as was wine. We couldn’t resist tasting our selection at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant’s bar, and coming to the conclusion that all wine vendors should offer this option. Wouldn’t the world be a better place?

We stopped at all the vendors, at least once. I was stopped in my tracks at Far West Fungi, which had a field of organically grown, cultivated exotic and specialty mushrooms. Be still my fungi loving Polish heart.

I admit, I got a little emotional walking through this building. At one point my eyes actually misted over and like a two year old I whined to Brian, “I can’t go back to Adrian, I need these things in my life.

Yep, right there, my heart fell out of my body and now resides again in San Francisco.

- - - David.


Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Saturday trilogy,
where our travelers cross under the waters
and go where they’ve never gone before . . . El Cerrito

A Saturday in San Francisco, Part One

At SFMoMA
Jasper Johns, American, born 1930
"Flag" 1958 Encaustic on canvas

Last Saturday, Brian had the day off from work, kinda sorta, so I had a big day planned. No rest for the weary, that’s my traveling motto. After all, I can get plenty of down time in Adrian.

We started with breakfast at Dottie’s True Blue Cafe. This teeny little place is only open for breakfast and lunch. There is always a line to get in, even before the doors open. But in was just a block from our hotel, and we wanted to relive our youth, Brian and I had gone there before we were “married”. Once we got in line, the guy in front of us asked us if it was worth it. “It’s good”, was all I would say, Later, he looked pretty happy.

The menu is straight forward diner food, but the ingredients take it up a notch or three. We got happy too.

Now that I had fed my victim, it was a walk to the Museum of Modern Art, where we had 10:00 tickets to the Frida Kahlo exhibition.

Though Frida may have gained her greatest fame of late by being portrayed so well by Salma Hayek, the real woman was just as fascinating. Her paintings are often symbolically autobiographical with an air of the surreal in a disturbingly graphic way. She was in fact embraced by the group, first by André Breton. "I never knew I was a Surrealist," Frida said, ". . . till Andre Breton came to Mexico and told me I was". But she later clarified that by saying, “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”

Her work relates and contrasts with her husband Diego Rivera’s. Both have strong Mexican roots, but, unlike his, some of her works are very small, and painted on metal, in the tradition of traditional Mexican Ex-Voto paintings, which she and Rivera collected. (Like me!). Frida had a tumultuous life, and her art reflects that. Her spirit was unbreakable, unlike her body, and her paintings are filled with that energy. The show was inspiring, eye-opening, and very moving. Even Brian liked it!

Photography was NOT allowed, so you are spared a blogging art tour. But I want to add that the recorded tour, which cost a whopping $3.00, was great. For that money you carry a little MP3 type player that has information on a selection of the paintings, and biographical, cultural and historical info too.

If you want more Frida Facts, click here.

Much of the rest of the museum was closed for installations, but we did get to see some of the permanent collection, which was also highlighted on the recorded tour. Brian even had enough energy to visit the phenomenal MuseumStore and buy us a new Wegman video. He was still smiling when I mentioned we should head to the Ferry Building for lunch, or was that why he was smiling?

Stay tuned for more Saturday adventures, where we tour the Ferry Building, take a ride on BART, and visit the infamous Rockway Institure.

History of Art 101
pop quiz:

Identify these three paintings (right) from the SFMoMA collection

by artist, title, date and location.

How do they illustrate the artist’s experience and the era in which they were painted?

Please do not cheat by viewing the album that I added to our iWebsite yesterday, which contains over 250 photographs of our trip: San Francisco 2008.

You should only look at the album AFTER you have completed and handed in your quiz.

- - - David

San Francisco Dreaming

There’s a park across from SFMoMA (the museum of modern art), Yerba Buena Gardens.

There are flowers and grassy places to sit and there are also buildings, and a lot of concrete and usually a lot of people. It’s noisy and bustling, the way it was designed to be.

I found it once, a long time ago, looking for a shortcut to my hotel. Walking through, I noticed this waterfall and a walkway leading underneath. It was hot, and I was hot so I took a detour, just to cool down.

At the first turn I saw a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. Then turning on the walkway I was behind the waterfall. On the back wall are glass panels etched with photo images and quotes from King. By the time I had walked the 20 feet, I had completely forgotten about the waterfall. I was taken somewhere else, into a dream.

There are twelve panels each with a quote and a photo. Some of the quotes are famous, some were new to me. The panels are glass and were impossible for me to photograph. I can’t help think that this was intentional. I was meant to read them, not to see them through the lens. I was meant to just be there. Each one took me further into the power of King’s words. In the dim light with the sound sight smell and feel of the waterfall in the background, I felt inspiration, sadness, anger, and mostly hope.

I have searched, fruitlessly, to find a collection of all the quotes online. I was able to find one inserted into a persons own story of a visit to the memorial. I wish I had the proper attribution for this quote. Maybe Vegas could help.

“We must rapidly begin to shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society.
When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights
are considered more important than people,
the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

I paused at each quote then deep in thought I turned to leave the memorial. Then, around the corner, I came upon this quote carved into the wall.

"No, No, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied
until justice rolls down like water and righteousness
like a mighty stream"

The first time I read it, years ago it made me cry. I always visit this memorial every time I am in San Francisco. And every time I turn that corner, I cry.

I am also transformed, if only for awhile, into someone who feels that the world can and will change. Everyone will be treated equally, everyone will be given the same rights, and no one will know blind prejudicial hatred.

Sometimes, I get a grasp on the dream.

- - - David

Dinner on Market Street . . . or He of little faith

There’s a lot of great food in San Francisco, and we did our best to eat a lot of it.

So where was I, oh yeah it was last Thursday, our first day in San Francisco. I went to Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden, the de Young, the Flower Conservatory, Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral for the Keith Haring chapel, the Masonic Temple to see the 1957 Emile Norman glassy mosaic windows, Chinatown and then Brian and I went for Dinner at . . . you guessed it . . . Zuni Cafe.

Zuni Cafe is a two story jigsaw puzzled layout restaurant on Market between the Civic Center and the Castro, sort of in the Fillmore. It’s been there for 20 years and is one of my favorite places on earth to eat. Headed by Judy Rogers, the kitchen doles out fresh food without airs and the copper topped 30 foot bar serves up great wine and excellent cocktails.

We walked into the door, the light was streaming in the windows and gleaming off the copper bar, which is where we headed to wait for our table. (we were early, the table wasn’t late).

“Oh my god!” I gasped like a little girl who’s just spotted Hannah Montana, then grabbing Brian’s arm and trying to whisper, “It’s Alice Waters!” Yes. The foodie goddess was sitting next to the guy playing the baby grand piano. “That’s not her,” Brian said, “she’s too young”.

(Did you hear that Ms. Waters?)

Chef Judy Rogers worked under Ms. Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley and brings Water’s Slow Food approach to Zuni’s menu. Ms. Water’s worked on a charity show house kitchen for us while I was at Met Home and I not only helped get her everything she wanted, but I had the honor of meeting her.

But Brian doesn’t believe me, even when I assure him, pointing out that Alice does go out to eat, this is her stomping grounds and that she is known to often be in the company of good looking young men, as was the lady by the piano. Even when he witnessed said woman continually approached by adoring fans, would he believe? no.

We were led upstairs, to a great table by the window. We ordered wine, (turned out Brian is so into rosé* wine these days) We got the menu and toasted our get away and our dinner. Then a dozen oysters on the way, Brian excused himself. He was only gone for a minute or two.

“I was right,” he said as he got back to the table, “It IS Alice Waters, the waiter said she comes here at least once a week.”

If we hadn’t taken Donna’s suggestion and ordered the brick oven fire roasted chicken for two, served over warm Tuscan-style bread salad with frisée, currants and pine nuts, I would have thrown him out the expanse of windows overlooking Market Street. But we had, and I didn’t, and the wine was cool and delicious and there was a wonderful aroma in the air.

My blissfull mood saved his life.

And the chicken was delicious.

- - - David

Leaving on a jet plane . . . together!?!

Hold on to your hats.
David is going on a trip. He’s escaping ADRIAN!
Get OUT OF TOWN!

Brian, who is on his way to Denver as we speak, will be cashing in a travel voucher and taking me along on this next business trip, to SAN FRANCISCO. We’re leaving on Wednesday.

This has NOTHING . . . NOTHING to do with the Golden States new equitable marriage laws AND NOTHING, NOTHING to do with the flamBOYant/flamGRRLant parade scheduled for next weekend.

But it has everything to do with the food, the architecture and the museums that I’ll be able to use to fill up my time while Brian is toiling away trying to earn the money that I’ll be forced to give away to the deserving americans awaiting my arrival. And although I’ll be stowing away with him at The Serrano Hotel for a few nights, he’ll still have to find the cash to pay for the room for the weekend.

The small town guy I’ve become will be running rampant around the big city. There’s the Frida Kahlo show that just opened at SFMoMA, a few meals at Zuni Cafe, perchance a dinner at Chez Panisse.
Ruby highly recommends the Dale Chihuly show at de Young.
Donna urges we try out Canteen, The Ferry Plaza Building, a snack (or breakfast or lunch) at Boulette’s, Cowgirl Creamery, dinner at Spruce, Golden Gate State Park, the Exploratorium, a Climb on Mt. Tamalpais, and the Muir Woods.
Rima has cast out her info-net and, with the help of a “chic lesbian”, points us towards many a must-see. “Slow Club for any meal (brunch on weekends), Universal Cafe (near slow club), definitely Delfina, the Blue Plate, 2223 (in Castro), Bar Tartine, Colibri in theater district near union square (awesome mexican bistro), Cafe Claude (on Claude Lane, if you are downtown shopping), and the Cliff House Bistro (remodeled and awesome for good everything (food, bev, view!).”

Go ahead, live through ME for once, click on the above names for a little bite of San Francisco.

This is a lot to do, and a lot of food to do too. And I know, I know, we only have 4-1/2 days, so little time, so many places to go.

Please note, dearest readers, we are still taking itinerary suggestions. So put on your thinking caps. All entries will be appreciated. But you only have until Wednesday morning.

And also please note, I need to offer my sincere regrets and apologies to my sister, my bro-in-law and our smarty-pants nephew for missing a graduation party while we are away.

Please know that the supreme guilt I feel now will not be tempered, but only enhanced by every moment spent in paradise.

What if I bring you back a Frida t-shit?


- - - David