Just Got Paid

Remember that song by Johnny Kemp? Well, yesterday was pay day for me, so I had an urge to go out for a few drinks last night. After work, I went to one of my favorite places, Panta Rei, and sat at the bar. The restaurant was rather quiet right after work, but the place was full by the time I left. I had a few drinks, the bartender did a kamikaze shot with me (on him, he insisted), he brought me some focaccia with sea salt while the other bartender was showing me his Maori tattoo. They have a relatively high turnover, so I only know the names of about 3 of the guys that were working last night, but they’re all Italian!  The other ones always talk to me, but I don’t know their names at all! While sitting at the bar, I snapped a photo of a couple of bottles of Italian wine and sent them to my Italian friend who is currently living in Bali. Italian, French and Napa/Sonoma wines in Bali are extremely limited. When you DO find them, they’ll cost an arm and a leg. Otherwise, you’ll just have to be content with Australian, South African and Chilean wines, but I’ve never cared for most of those! My Italian friend’s response to my photo was “I hate you, Tina!!!” Around the time I was getting ready to leave, a man sat down next to me and started up a conversation. His name was Elvis, he’s from Sydney (Australia) and is in town for business. This was either his second or third trip to San Francisco; has been here briefly for business before. He asked me what I thought about, of all places, the Mission, as it had been recommended to him by a colleague. I admitted that it’s not my favorite area because it’s dirty, not always that safe, filled with dive bars and there’s no parking. My preference is to go there during the day, but will occasionally go there in the evening if my Mexican food craving kicks in or the desire to hang out in one of those bars where everyone brings their dogs is overwhelming! Elvis was telling me that he’d been very successful before, had lost everything in the failing economy and was now in the midst of building himself back up. While he was telling me this, he ate TWO orders of chicken ravioli! He then asked my opinion of Panta Rei. In all honesty, I go there to sit at the bar and drink; seldom eat there, but the food is fine. It’s more of a tourist place since it’s right on the main street, Columbus Avenue. He asked what my favorite places to eat in North Beach are, so I suggested my usual places.  That being said, the bartender at Panta Rei then brought us some complimentary tiramisu; theirs is really good.  As we were then leaving at the same time, Elvis offered to pay my bill. We walked out together, then I gave him a little “tour” of the other places that I like. We went into Ideale for a drink, where he was introduced to the owner, the bartender and a couple of the waiters. He checked out the menu and was talking to the owner for a bit. My favorite things at Ideale are the insalata d’aranci e finocchi (orange and fennel salad with walnuts and gorgonzola), the burrata (Of course! What cheese fiend could pass it up?), the bucatini all’amatriciana (pasta with pancetta and pecorino), papardelle all’agnelo (pasta in a lamb ragu) or nearly any of their fish (mahi mahi, petrale sole or skate, but ONLY if the owner is there to make it himself). Next we went around the corner to The House, so he could see where it was and look at their menu as well. My favorite things at The House are the Caesar salad with crispy scallops, the deep fried salmon roll with the Chinese mustard, the grilled sea bass with garlic ginger soy (which one of my friends described as “devastatingly” good), the grilled chicken breast with black bean mushroom sauce and their mahi mahi, when they have it. We intended to have a drink at 15 Romolo, but there was a line to get in! Believe it or not, Elvis was too cold to stand outside. My complaining starts whenever the temperatures drop below about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, so he is a REAL lightweight, temperature-wise! We hopped in a cab and went to my neighborhood French wine bar, Amelie. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that crowded for a Saturday night, as we managed to get seats at the bar! I introduced him to a couple of the bartenders. We perused the wine list and ordered a few glasses. By that time, midnight perhaps, my energy level was beginning to fail me. I thanked Elvis for the drinks and bid him “adieu,” as he’d made fast friends with the woman sitting next to him, anyway! That was a pleasant Friday night; I reinforced my bartender relationships, introduced an out-of-towner to some new places, was home in bed at a decent hour and didn’t get into any type of trouble at all! (Was that a good thing or a bad thing?!)