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A very entertaining day
Aug. 12th, 2007 12:02 amIn-depth reviews later, for now:
Got to SF with time for lunch, and went to The Straits Cafe on the 4th floor of the Westfield mall on Market. This is a Malaysia/Singapore cuisine kind of place, and the roti was the best I have had since Kota Baru. The dipping curry was not hot enough and had too much lemon, but was passable. The "Duck Kapitain" was superb. Small portion for the price, but yummy. The mall is international eye candy central for the Bay Area, and I wish I'd had more time to just ogle.
Walked from there to the Orpheum, and caught the 2 pm showing of Avenue Q. Worth full price, and full price for an orchestra seat was about $100. Amazing cast, true to the original Broadway cast album, and then some. Incredible set with unbelievable special effects. The two hours flew right by. If you can get tickets, see this show!
Walked along Market Street looking for deals at camera stores, but most of them are either out of business, closed, or not interested in waiting on their walk-in customers. Took a hike through the Tenderloin. If you want drugs, the corner of Ellis and Jones is the place. I saw four deals a few feet from the corner, while a couple of guys parked alongside had piles of 10's on their laps. Not a cop in sight. The park a few yards from there which used to be drug central is padlocked. There's a sign on one of the businesses declaring that the sidewalk is hosed down hourly on weekdays between 8:30 AM and 6 PM.
Looking for dinner near the 4th & Mission parking garage, I found a Mel's Diner in the garage building. Service was a little slow - they had the counter waitress also waiting tables - and the food was bland and pre-packaged, but the chocolate malt made up for that.
Drove to 22nd and Valencia for Writers with Drinks at the Make-Out Room. Big crowd, way more than the fire marshal would approve of. They need more seating. The MC is a tall woman who has a mind like Robin Williams on acid, and she makes up the most amazing/amusing introductions for the talent. For example, the first reader was introduced as having been raised inside the head of an anamatronic replica of Phil Collins. Several very entertaining guests, only one dud. Well, not really a dud, just kinda boring by comparison.
In other news, photos of my Seattle trip are on my web site, way too many shots of the Blue Angels, which do not appear as brilliantly blue as they really are thanks to a 1/3000 shutter speed at 400 ASA and the Nikon D-70's inability to color balance reflected brightly sunlit metal. I think it may be time to invest in a D-80.
A sample:
Got to SF with time for lunch, and went to The Straits Cafe on the 4th floor of the Westfield mall on Market. This is a Malaysia/Singapore cuisine kind of place, and the roti was the best I have had since Kota Baru. The dipping curry was not hot enough and had too much lemon, but was passable. The "Duck Kapitain" was superb. Small portion for the price, but yummy. The mall is international eye candy central for the Bay Area, and I wish I'd had more time to just ogle.
Walked from there to the Orpheum, and caught the 2 pm showing of Avenue Q. Worth full price, and full price for an orchestra seat was about $100. Amazing cast, true to the original Broadway cast album, and then some. Incredible set with unbelievable special effects. The two hours flew right by. If you can get tickets, see this show!
Walked along Market Street looking for deals at camera stores, but most of them are either out of business, closed, or not interested in waiting on their walk-in customers. Took a hike through the Tenderloin. If you want drugs, the corner of Ellis and Jones is the place. I saw four deals a few feet from the corner, while a couple of guys parked alongside had piles of 10's on their laps. Not a cop in sight. The park a few yards from there which used to be drug central is padlocked. There's a sign on one of the businesses declaring that the sidewalk is hosed down hourly on weekdays between 8:30 AM and 6 PM.
Looking for dinner near the 4th & Mission parking garage, I found a Mel's Diner in the garage building. Service was a little slow - they had the counter waitress also waiting tables - and the food was bland and pre-packaged, but the chocolate malt made up for that.
Drove to 22nd and Valencia for Writers with Drinks at the Make-Out Room. Big crowd, way more than the fire marshal would approve of. They need more seating. The MC is a tall woman who has a mind like Robin Williams on acid, and she makes up the most amazing/amusing introductions for the talent. For example, the first reader was introduced as having been raised inside the head of an anamatronic replica of Phil Collins. Several very entertaining guests, only one dud. Well, not really a dud, just kinda boring by comparison.
In other news, photos of my Seattle trip are on my web site, way too many shots of the Blue Angels, which do not appear as brilliantly blue as they really are thanks to a 1/3000 shutter speed at 400 ASA and the Nikon D-70's inability to color balance reflected brightly sunlit metal. I think it may be time to invest in a D-80.
A sample:
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