Barbie and Ken Go to Sonoma: Hollah!

Dear Imaginary Friends,

When Carlo and I were in San Francisco this past November, we drove to Sonoma to dine at "The Girl and the Fig" as well as to suss out some California vineyards.

While at The Girl and the Fig, we saw the best bathroom signs ever:

Ken Looks a Tad Drunk

Barbie, saying, right this way, ladies!

The aforementioned bar looks like this:

It's good to know that Barbie and Ken have good taste! They only congregate at the best bars.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Embracing Her Individuality

An Employee of a gourmet food boutique in the Ferry Building Rocks Her Wardrobe

San Francisco has many different cultures and ways of living. Live and let live is the mantra.

Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park

Inside San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is a lovely Japanese Tea House and Garden.

The ceiling of the Japanese Tower.

This high-arched bridge is very perilous to climb.

Door To Nowhere

Dear Imaginary Friends,

The Benziger Winery in Sonoma Wine Country has value added property, in that the landscaping and views are gorgeous. It also has this whimsical door to nowhere. Not sure what that means. I will let the philosophy majors wrestle with this one.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Pacific Heights

Lovely expensive homes line the streets of Pacific Heights, home to the rich and almost famous, in San Francisco.This neighborhood is high and so steep, that it has a panoramic view to the downtown and bay beyond.

Street Art

San Francisco is famous for its street art murals, such as this one, in the Mission neighborhood.

Westfields Shopping Center Circular Escalator

Let the dizziness begin! I noted in a previous blog article that Westfields Shopping Center in the Union Square section of San Francisco has a cool circular escalator, that takes you to vertigo-inducing heights in a snaky spiral, up at least six stories.

Now you can see for yourself! It is very upscale and gracious, much like a plantation home with a winding spiral staircase. 

This mall has a Frank Lloyd Wright twist; the escalator is so reminiscent of his Guggenheim Museum atrium in New York City. I guess Frank would hate being compared to the designer of a shopping mall. He had a huge ego, as you may have heard.

You could say that a mall is a love poem to capitalism, something he would probably find repulsive with its rubber stamped omnipresence. There's The Gap, there's Express, there's Victoria's Secret, yada yada yada, and you cannot tell which city you are in, for all the corporate sameness. So I guess it is a good thing Frank is not riding that escalator.

Your dizzy blogger,

Patsie

The Slanted Door

Want some chic Asian Fusion Vietnamese cooking in the Ferry Building in San Francisco? Look no further than the Slanted Door, where reservatioons are a hot ticket. 

The tables are hewn from rough slabs of lumber, massive planks that provide communal seating. The menu is creative and healthy, and the artwork and decor really add to the fun energy there.

 

The Ferry Building is in the Embarcadero, and has a lovely view of the water and the Oakland Bay Bridge. The food is uber creative in San Francisco; it is truly a foodie's paradise.

Your adventurer,

Patsie

Foodie Alert!

The Ferry Building: Awesome food within!

Where do the foodies congregate in San Francisco? I am so glad that you asked ! They congregate here in the Embarcadero, inside the Ferry Building. 

MMM, food emporiums, and restaurants such as the Slanted Door, which serves up some tasty Asian Fusion. I bought the best chocolate of my life: a Rococo Bee Bar, organic dark chocolate, flavored orange and geranium. I will never be the same! Imported from Belgravia, London. Sigh.

Food Trucks and Creme' Brulee'

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Where but San Francisco would you find food trucks selling Creme brulees in assorted flavors? They are blowtorched right in front of your very eyes! I ordered the Smores flavor, which had a graham cracker bottom crust, singed marshmallows and honey graham cookies on top. What a deal!! Only $4 - 5.

Yes, please!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Japanese Desserts, If You Want to Call Them That

In San Francisco, I ran into a Japanese shop that sells tiny little Japanese desserts made from exotic ingredients. They resemble sushi, to an extent. They were very high priced.

The packaging was the focus, beautifully presented and lovely to look at.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Southern Cooking, of India, That Is

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Have you ever had the super spicy food of Southern India? Wow o wowee. Spicy hot! But nonetheless, creative delicious flavors of potatoes, dosas as big as your head, mix with various sauces, each of which is more combustible than the last...

We had a lovely dinner at Dosa, in the Mission District of  San Francisco. My mouth has finally cooled off, and no more smoke is coming out of my ears. Therefore, it is my mission to tell you about it. The Mission is a funky Hispanic community of fun ethnic restaurants, cool shops, and  local denizens replete with berets and dreads (Dreadlocks). Dosa is a beautiful eatery, with perfect service and decor. It attracts all ages and types. The name dosa comes from the flat bread which is crepe like, and stuffed with spicy potatoes.

Another part of our adventure was riding the BART train. It has all the "cleanliness" and rats of New York City's famed subway system, and none of the besuited bureaucrats of Washington DC's clean and quiet Metro system. But the characters who ride it are leaning to the left freaky-deaky side, and are often sporting annoyingly oversized backpacks or suitcases.

The closest neighborhood to The Mission in DC would be Adams Morgan, which is also hip, ethnic and flooded with young people.  If you venture to DC, and like falaffels, make a beeline for New Amsterdam, and behold the wonder of the falaffel there! It is super casual, really no more elegant than McDonald's, and quite possibly less. But your taste buds will dance up and down.

Go forth, and eat!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Escalator Glee

There is a magical escalator in San Francisco in the Westfield Shopping Center that looks like NYC's famed Guggenheim Museum! Swirling upward six stories tall in the central atrium, it is composed of concentric circles. How does one make an escalator into a spiral staircase? With difficulty, no doubt! It is in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco. One more reason to go.

Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie

The Happenings in San Francisco

Foodies, take note: there are few cuisines or precious ingredients that San Franciscans do not have access to. Tonight, while dining at the uber-hip A 16 in The Marina neighborhood of San Francisco, I found a confounding group of ingredients on the menu. One hates to appear ignorant, for fear of losing one's hard earned semi-hipster status, but, seriously, anchocress and salumi!! Brown butter gelato? Honestly, aren't we trying just a litttle too hard?

Go the their website and check out that menu. I had to reread it to plow through.

Now I am exhausted. It is hard work being a foodie! One must speak the language.

Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie

I Phones

Dear Imaginary Friend,

Today, I wrote two blogs with my new I Phone, so I could get used to the device. I thought it worked, but the blogs never posted.

They must be in Blog Heaven. Dead on arrival.

So- did I just hear you ask where I have not been for 15 years? I thought so. San Francisco! Land of fog that creeps with silent cat feet. Land of high taxes, expensive meals, and train- wreck- fabulous vistas.

The most crooked street, the most vineyards nearby, the ocean on one side and the bay on the other.

The bridge with the most suicides. San Francisco, with its cable cars, China Town, and the all kinds of Hitchcock movies filmed there, is uniquely American and uniquely romantic.

I gotta go!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Lotus Drive

Lotus Drive, Acrylic on canvas, approx. 14 x 18"

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Here is one of my older paintings, done from a photo of a street in San Francisco. The street is actually not named Lotus Drive, but the title is supposed to suggest a hippie, dippie city. Which San Francisco still is.

I executed this in the style of Edward Hopper. Can you feel the isolation and loneliness in the hard-edged shadows? Note the Siamese cat on the doorstep on the right; even the cat is lonely and expectant. The fire hydrant is isolated, too.

 The cool color scheme seems to tamp down the warmth of the day.  San Francisco is usually chilly, from being perched up high on the hills near the ocean winds and fog. The sunlight is grayed, and hazy, overcast with mild ennui.

Not only does an artist paint a subject, but she also paints a mood.

Your Imaginary Moody Friend,

Patsie