Vodka and tomato juice cocktail, garnished with olive, onion, caper berry and lime. $10
Farley Bar, Sausalito CA
The bloody mary was very good, but it was also a bloody mary from the other table that the waitress spilled all over the table, my leg and shoes! I wasn’t mad, but an apology (or some form of acknowledgement) would have been nice. And extra napkins to wipe it up, geez!
The view of Golden Gate Bridge from Cavallo Point is stunning! A great way to start a Sonoma weekend trip.
Pork spare ribs smoked in-house, dry rub served with a light barbecue sauce, and two sides. Half slab $14.95
The Dancing Pig, San Francisco CA
You definitely get A LOT of food! So if you’re looking for a great value, perhaps The Dancing Pig is for you. I’m a lover of bbq pork ribs and I’ll enjoy most preparations, but I wasn’t a fan of these. They had a weird grainy texture that did scream bbq to me! I was disappointed!
Sides of collard greens and mac ‘n’ cheese. Noms, I loved the mac and cheese! They’re of that creamy, loose variety that always reminds me of those I had growing up. And as you can see the sides are huge!
Decorative urn and succulent, 17th Street. I don’t like the fake greenery around the urn, but I love the wall mounted succulent – super cool!
Little Skillet, San Francisco CA
Alan C.
Sparkling wine with fresh squeezed orange juice. $10
Farley Bar, Sausalito CA
We decided to have a quick Sonoma weekend trip and stopped to have brunch at Farley Bar on the drive up. The food and drinks were really good, but one of the waitresses spilled drinks for the table next to us and totally stained by white deck shoes. I was SO annoyed but decided not to let it ruin my experience. She apologized to the other table, but didn’t mention anything to me. RUDE!
Overlooking the field at Cavallo Point with the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay in the background. The setting at Farley Bar is nice and relaxing!
Three little sandwiches: barbeque pulled pork and cole slaw, beef brisket with chimichurri sauce and caramelized onions, and smoked chicken with lettuce tomato and aioli. $7.95
The Dancing Pig, San Francisco CA
The overal theme of these sliders was that the proteins were dry. The flavor combinations should work beautifully but the execution needs to improve. I will say that the price point is very good at The Dancing Pig! The food just needs a little refinement.
Pink and orange Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), 17th Street. I love that the lantana is still covered in morning dew. Simply beautiful!
Mixed cheese and red onion finger sandwiches on white bread, scone served with Frank Cooper’s “Oxford” strawberry jam and Rodda’s classic cornish clotted cream, and coffee. Complimentary
London (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO), Virgin Atlantic
I’m not a big tea fan so I opted for coffee. I have to say that I really liked the finger sandwiches. They were really flavorful and the white bread with mixed cheese spread had a delightful texture and would playfully stick to the roof of my mouth. The scone with jam and clotted cream were also tasty and different. Yay!
Pleasanton, CA
Dan M.
Pickle chips and a jalapeno aioli, made right here. $4.95
The Dancing Pig, San Francisco CA
I really wanted to like this place because there are no other true bbq joints in The Castro. Unfortunately, the food was mediocre and the service was HORRENDOUS! It took forever to put in our order and another lifetime to finally get our drinks. Another table was seated next to us 10 minutes after we had been seated and they were able to order and get their drinks before us. That’s unacceptable! As far as these pickles go, they were good but I wasn’t amazed. They were a little greasy, but not too bad. The jalapeno aioli could have used a little more heat.
The historic Castro Theatre. I love this old movie theater. They still keep the tradition of having the organ player before shows. They play some pretty cool old movies and participate in most of the citywide Film Festivals. The interior is beautiful with amazing light fixtures and artwork.
Tart and tangy passion fruit curd topped with chocolate mousse. Complimentary
London (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO), Virgin Atlantic
I’d never seen this Gu brand before, but I enjoyed this sweet treat served towards the end of the flight. The slightly tart passion fruit and sweet chocolate were a great combination!
Penne pasta with sliced chicken breast tossed in a tomato and basil sauce. £2
Waitrose, London ENGLAND
Ew, this was gross! I wasn’t a fan of how this pasta was executed. You would think that tomato and basil is a standard Italian combination, but I guess that making it British-style ruined it. The texture and flavor didn’t sit well with me. I could only eat a few bites before trying to pawn it off on other people.
Baby dragon stone wall sconce, Westminster Abbey. The outside of this Gothic church has great decorations and stone work.
Toasted meringue, graham cracker.
Ad Hoc, Yountville CA
Alan C.
Jameson Irish whiskey bottle chandelier in the lobby. Be prepared to be stuck in the lobby with a horde of other tourists waiting your turn to enter tourism gloom!
The Old Jameson Distillery, Dublin IRELAND
I thought it only fair that since I posted about my visit to the Guinness Storehouse, I should also post about my visit (imprisonment?) to The Old Jameson Distillery. I’m glad that we hit them on consecutive days because it gave me clear perspective on what makes a great tour! And then there’s Jameson…
Tour sign as you approach the distillery. If you’re on this street and see this sign, I suggest you turn around and walk away. Don’t waste your money. No, fo’ real!
The mark of a great tour experience is coming out of it happy and having learned something. I did NOT come out of the Jameson tour feeling happy in the least, and all I learned was that the Jameson Company has perfected the art of shoving propagada down your throat!
The tour at The Old Jameson Distillery is guided and you’re placed into a large group with a tour guide. You’re first made to watch a video reenactment which turns out to be just a long, blatant Jameson commercial! Then the walking portion begins through the cheesy displays in cramped rooms. I’m sure that our group size far exceeded the occupancy limit in the TINY display rooms they paraded us through, and it made it difficult to hear the droning rehearsed script complete with tired jokes that the bored tour guide recites. Don’t be the last person into the next room or you’ll be pressed against the back wall and unable to hear or see anything!
An example of the cheesy miniatures! The rooms are SO small that I understand why they had to miniaturize the displays. I just wish they would have done a better job. This guys is totally misproportioned! The rooms are also VERY dark.
Yet another miniaturized display, this time of the mashing process in a mash tun! The amount of time you spend in each room seems to be timed so don’t dilly-dally! It’s pretty much limited to the time your guide can regurgitate the script so there’s NO additional time to look around at the displays (which is probably a good thing). They also close the door from the previous room so don’t get separated from your cell mates!
Wooden washback where fermentation happens! Don’t think I actually learned this information on the tour, I’m having to look up the distilling process on the internet so I can write this post. Here are some things that I DID learn on the tour (probably not accurately): the distillery is full of drunken angels, it’s pronounced JAM-eson, you don’t want to be late to work or you’ll end up looking like a tattered angel, Mr. Jameson is very elusive, and stuffed cats are SCARY!
Feints Still, Jameson whiskey is triple-distilled y’all! You can thank the drunken angels when you see this room because the torture is ALMOST over! But not before they squeeze you in yet another cramped room where they have one last chance to sell you an over-priced, limited edition! Wow! Then there’s the final video with a SPECIAL surprise at the end. Um, it’s not REALLY a surprise when you can see through the glass and see the tasting room on the other side.
I was so pissed and annoyed after the tour that I couldn’t even enjoy the tasting. And don’t think that it’s a fun, relaxing, take-your-time kind of tasting. Oh no, Jameson somehow finds a way to ruin the tasting portion too! You’re forced to sit in a specified area where you have to continue listening to your guide as they try to convince you that Jameson is the best whiskey in the world.
I’d have to say that I wouldn’t recommend The Old Jameson Distillery tour…
Vittle Monster 