Big Fun, Big Thanks

The boys of suburbia took me up to the city by the bay Saturday night for birthday 53. We stayed at #1's new pied–à–terre in Corona Heights, above the Castro. Once the high end renters move in, we'll be personae non gratae, so we needed to take advantage of the situation posthaste.

TCG, The Exec and #2 rode up with me in the Volvo on a beautiful late afternoon. I assured them that the hand brake worked 80% of the time, which put them immediately at ease. #1 had been up there all day toiling, so he was ready for our arrival. After a quick tour of the two units, he mixed up a heap of what is quickly becoming the village's new cocktail: The Vesper.

DJ says give one a try.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/drink/views/Vesper-350784

Our dinner destination was North Beach. We called a few cab companies but the mini-van we were hoping for was non-existent, so we got two cabs, after wandering up and down the hill a few times trying to decide if we wanted to hop the 37 Corbett. “Don't forget to ask for a transfer” I was a fan of public transport in my 80's SF days, but now I'm soft and I like cabs.

We put our name in at Tony's Pizza and headed out for a drink, because the wait is always an hour. #1 told me this place beats Amici's, which is the only decent choice for pizza in my neck of the woods. He is correct. Tony's serves serious pie.


http://www.tonyspizzanapoletana.com/index.php

So we had time and a thirst to to kill. We sauntered up Stockton. #1 found us a bar while the other guys decided to do some hat shopping. Two guys walked out with new hats. Thankfully there was not a shoe shop on the block. I hang out with ladies.

http://www.goorin.com/hat-shops/san-francisco-north-beach

We ended up at Joey and Eddie's for our pre-dinner snort. It was a ghost town. I checked the Chron review and they said the chow was pretty good, so I'm not sure why this North Beach haunt is going south. Regardless, there was plenty of room at the bar for the Foster City Five. We all took a stool face front until TCG figured out that we could gaze into each others eyes if we some of us occupied the bend in the bar. Thanks for that moment TCG.

The numbers and TGC continued with Vespers and the Pittsburgh born and bred Exec switched to beer, although he would have preferred Iron City to Stella. Since it was Kentucky Derby Day, I had the barkeep pour me a Knob Creek.

Dinner at Tony's was a slice, so to speak. We got a couple salads to start and three pies for the table. We could have easily polished off a fourth but opted for a tiramisu and some after dinner drinks. We chatted up the pastry chef, who was a former commodities trader in NY. He followed his passion and came out here to cook. I followed my passion and ordered a grappa. The Exec was kind enough to buy a few shots for the wait staff, on us. Or at least on him and the other three, because the boys were not taking my dough that night.

We spent about half an hour trying to flag down a couple hacks. We were at a disadvantage as the competition was significantly younger and prettier than us. We hit the rack about midnight.

The next day The Belgian joined us. He doesn't get out much so it was a special treat. We had a fine brunch at Zazie. 12 thumbs up. We were first on the list so we got a prime table on the back patio. TCG had a bowl of latte and #2 eschewed the Bloody Marys so he wouldn't nod out on us. After the chow down, we packed up and headed back to the burbs.

http://www.zaziesf.com/zaziesf/home.html

Molto grazie amici!!