Whoop whoop! Is the sound of Fleur de lys

My penultimate night in San Francisco and I'm gonna have a blow out meal. I asked for a discreet seat in the heavily draped, intimate dining room of Fleur de Lys. I was granted my request and placed in the centre of the dining room. Okay, I thought as I sat down, feeling rather nervous, heart booming, expecting everyone to be having a good old stare…

Wife- Oh look, that man is dining alone?

Husband- He wears sneakers too.

The reality was, no one give a shit. Boris made my table and introduced me to the so called celebrity chef. Great I thought, now let's have a look at the menu… Crab salad, beef cheeks, cheese board and a flight of wine please. Plenty of surprises arrived courtesy of the chef between the courses, all good except for one little pastry, it arrived on a cling film wrapped petri style dish with seeds and other bits in it.

Boris- Careful not to pierce the film if you use your fork…

W2N2- ???????

This place was that good, I arrived at 20.30 and left at 23.05.

Prosecco biatch

The temperature was In the late 70's, I was at Scoma's seafood restaurant, Sausalito. The front of house stuck me at the bar, hoping l'd take her offer to stay there.

W2N2- I'll take a table in the restaurant or on the veranda please.
SSR- No problem sir.

I was led to a table on the veranda, bliss, I ordered a glass of Prosecco, it arrived, was cold, dry and above all, flat.

W2N2- This Prosecco is flat. Could you change it please?
SSR- No problem sir...

The Prosecco returned. Super fizzy and now even sweeter. That old chestnut I thought... I use that trick on shoots when not on vacation, a pinch of sugar, get the fizz up for a single frame. I let them know I was onto their cheap trick. They didn't care. And you know what? Neither did I, as I sat in the cooling shade, water lapping beneath me and visible in the distance was San Fracisco's skyline, connected by the Golden Gate bridge, prominant against an immense, clear blue sky. I had half a dozen clams, a small bowl of chowder and halibut fish 'n' chips, sublime.

SSR- would you like more bubbles sir?
W2N2- ??????

Grade'A' Brunch

The Amtrak echoed faintly in the distance before a largish lady jumped from a doorway.
LL- D y'all wanna free breakfast?
Judah- No thank you.
W2N2- Why Judah? That smelled real good...
Judah- Yeah, but to pay, you pray.
I didn't realise we were passing a church???
W2N2- There's only one Hail Mary I have in mind.

Sarah, Judah and I continued down N Shaver, destination, Tasty & Sons, a dedicated brunch restaurant where we met the rest of the posse. After being seated at a busy, communal table, we each ordered at least 2 or 3 dishes, which arrived fast and furious. I was slow to pick up the pace as each dish was quickly passed around. With no order, we went from savoury to sweet, sweet, savoury back to sweet etc. Frittatas, blueberry cheesecakes, chocolate potato doughnuts (strangely good), patatas bravas (con huevos), hot chocolate chip cookies, Moroccan stew (con huevos), french toast (amazing) and I forget what else. But we did go for another round of French toast for the finale, much to the waitress's amazement... Oh, and I sinned for my Bloody Hail Mary too, Mid-western by name, it arrived accompanied with a small beer, mega!

In CJs with my PJs

The mayflower was a good call, on checking out, I asked the concierge for a good tip for breakfast in the area.

MC- there's only two places nearby that do an all day breakfast. I'd recommend CJs, it's good, but a 15 minute walk.
W2N2- great, thank you maaam.

The lingo is catching on. Macys was across the way and had a sale on, I bobbed in. The staff again, ultra friendly. I enquired on some pyjamas.

W2N2- I am slightly confused. Which are and aren't in the sale?
MA- I'll scan them for you, oh they're not in the sale... I could match the sale price on the bottoms
W2N2- I'll try them on anyway.
I took another set that clearly were not in the sale, they had an American fit, slightly over sized, but good, I preferred them and took em to the counter.
MA- are these the bottoms I said I'd match?
W2N2- I should say yes at this point...
I smiled, he asked where I was from etc...
MA- That's easy! I can do that...
They rolled in at less than half price for the set before tax!!! Mega!

Now to CJs where a 4 stack of pancakes with blueberries, maple syrup and cream awaited served up by a super special waitress. The meal was large, and I had to get my Amtrack to Portland and couldn't hang around too long. I had to run wearing my back pack, no easy feat, I made it with seconds to spare, got to the ticket machine, scanned my printout, claimed my ticket, found my gate, mopped my brow and of course, the train was delayed an hour.

4th Night 4th Ave

A comfortable, curved backrest seat in Oliver's Bar on 4th & Olive. Billie Holiday sings 'Good morning heartbreak' and I am in possession of a gin Martini with a twist. A perfect evening to end an eventful day that included a mournful visit to Bruce Lee's grave on Lake View.