Advice you can taste. Adventure you can feel.

Valentine’s Day Can Come Early

Feel like beating the crowds and avoiding the hiked-up Valentine’s day prices this year?  Then celebrate Valentine’s Day early. Don’t worry, you can still have the romance, the Michelin Star food, and put that much needed dent in your wallet (because high-end places are always pricey no-matter when you go). For those of you in San Francisco here are a few select outings of such stature to choose from…

A Coi Affair: This outing takes not only food to new heights, but screams romance any day of the year.

Ritzy Affair Patrick?: This outing is inspired by the book/film American Psycho. It is high-end and just a little over the top, making it a great one for your early Valentine’s day.

Wine on the Range: This outing still revolves around a Micheline Star restaurant, but it won’t put the dent in your wallet the two above will.

Below is a glimpse of the lovely, artistic, and flavorful food you will enjoy in the outings above.

3 More Plans for a Wet Evening in San Francisco

Here are three more plans to help you get through this wet week.
All of them can be done without having to get in your car or walking far .

Idea 1) Have some Noe Valley Italian Food and catch up time with friends.
It is quick, easy, and will fill you up. Just hop on the 24 Divisadero Bus or J Muni line to Noe valley.

Idea 2) Chow down on comfort food like Q mac n’ cheese on Clement St.
For this one you will want to have an empty stomach, bring about $30, and take the 5 bus there and back again.

Idea 3) Entertain yourself with some home-style restaurant hopping in Hayes Valley.
This one will not only fill you up, but it will give your taste buds a little ride.

If you missed our previous three rainy evening plans check them out here.

3 Plans for a Wet Evening in San Francisco

It is certainly storming outside, and it looks like the worst is yet to come. In fact, it looks like we are in for at least a week of this raging weather.  I am sure right now you are just fine snuggling up in front of the TV, but later this week when you are feeling claustrophobic hanging at home and are itching for something to do, Weotta has you covered… just check out these three soul-warming evening plans…

A)  Have a Chill Marina evening with wine and tapas

B) Fill up in the Mission with sausage & beer

C) Get some hot Thai soup and beers on Polk Street

Enjoy

P.S. Here are three more

Stylin in the Mission is Live :)

Don't forget to keep an eye out for the amazing street art.

Enjoy our last post about booty shaking, rustic food, and good drinks in the Mission? Then you will love it in full Weotta color… check it out!

Stylin’ in the Mission

This post is for Sam from last night

Last night we stopped into Spruce for a nightcap and dessert, where we had perfectly mixed drinks, fluffy beignets, and lovely service, thanks to Melissa. Sitting next to us at Spruce was a new SF local, Sam the nutritionist, and her visiting parents. After a few laughs and tips about SF living, they asked what they should do tonight for a classy local SF style evening. So, Sam and parents, here is your experience…

Dine at Bar Tartine, where they take classic American fare, throw in a little French style, a pinch of SF flair, and lots of locally grown fresh ingredients to create unique, rustic, yet delicious food. They take something as simple as breakfast for dinner and make it fun, funky, fresh, and simply fantastic.

After dinner go to Beretta for classy cocktail. Yes Beretta is a restaurant, and their food is quite tasty, but their cocktails are why you go there. They actually start with good quality ingredients and take their time concocting your libation. Some of their more noteworthy cocktails are:

• The Acadian (with rye, sloe gin, lemon, honey, absinthe, rosemary) it is a fun balance of herb-y and sweet
• Dolores Park Swizzle (rum, lime, maraschino, absinthe, bitters) yes it is as stylish as the hipsters in Dolores park
• Londsdale (gin, apple, lemon, basil, honey)  or in other words, apple juice for adults.

If the drinks at Beretta have loosened you up enough you may want to finish off your evening with a little dancing and a few more drinks at Bruno’s or Medjool. Both have a cover and neither are as classy as Beretta or Bar Tartine, but they are probably two of the nicer places to shake your bootie in  the Mission neighborhood. Note, if you go to Medjool and it is a clear night, unlike tonight, make sure to check out their roof deck.

Weotta have a Mission experience!

Update: Here’s a sneak peek of the Weotta planning product, featuring this plan, that we’ve been working on for the last few months. It answers the question, “What are we going to do tonight?”

Click me for the real thing

Expertise Me

Dear Lovely Readers,

We need a bit of your expertise.
Could you please take 5 min to answer a few ~20 question surveys? It would really help us figure out a few key things about the product we are building for you.

Survey 1 The one about what you do and how you do it
Survey 2 The one about how you coordinate with your friends
Survey 3 The one about booking places and things to do

Thanks much,

The Weotta Team

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who helped… your input is helping us shape your Weotta. The surveys are now closed and weotta is well on it’s way to being the product we all need Stay tuned!

A Day in the Valley: The Russian River Valley That Is

Yes, I know you have been waiting for another wine country post for ages.
So here ya go…

The view from Copain Winery

Russian River Valley is often called the rustic side of wine country, and rightfully so. It is more sprawled out and quite a bit more down to earth than the Napa and Sonoma areas. It feels romantic at times, relaxing at others, and perhaps even a little enchanting every now-and-again.

The Russian River is a longer day trip than many of the other areas, mostly because it is farther north and more spread out. I would suggest you plan ahead, leave a little early, and don’t try to rush from place-to-place. You probably want to plan on going to 2 or 3 wineries, walk on the beach or around Healdsburg Square, perhaps have a nice picnic lunch, and certainly end the day with a relaxing dinner at one of the many great restaurants.

Here is one plan that will hopefully inspire you to kick-off your holiday season with a quick Saturday wine country trip:

1) Get your picnic together the night before. Perhaps pick up some Bi-Rite meats, a few cheeses from Rainbow, an Acme bread, and some sparkling water.

2) Get in the mood for your drive with a quick wake-up cup from Four Barrel Coffee in the Mission. They really do have some of the best coffee San Francisco has to offer, with little acidity, tons of flavor, and lots of care. Try one of their lattés for a sweet subtle taste or one of their Americanos for bold flavor.

3) Your first stop is Copain,where you will get to mellow into your day through one particularly flavorful white called Roussanne.  I don’t particularly enjoy whites, but for some reason this one gets me every time. It is so much fun to drink, so light and airy, and yet has more depth than expected. Yes they have many notable reds, which you will want to taste as well, but oh Roussanne, you get me in the mood.

4) After a relaxing tasting step outside to their scenic patio, and crack open your picnic lunch. If you are having the affair with Roussanne I expect you to be having,  you will probably will want to pick up a bottle for lunch… she goes very well with soft cheeses.

5) Stop two, it is time to get down with the always elegant and fantastically consistent,  Gary Farrell,one of the more well-known wineries from the area.  They have a great tasting room and are always full of life. When I was there last there was a lively group of ladies celebrating a birthday, a few smiling families, and a bunch of lovely young couples. They had some great bottles open. One that really stuck out was their Pinot Noir Starr Ridge Dijon Clone. It was delicious today, but with a few years under its belt it is going to be oh so fantastic.

6) Take a walk around Healdsburg Square, stopping in at the book stores, galleries, and boutiques. Make sure to check out candles, scents, and body care products at Le Farmacista… ask for Raul.
Or, if you have a little more time before dinner, head down River Rd for a brisk sunset walk at Goat Rock State Beach.

7)  Dinner time. (Side Note: Always get an early reservation. There is little to do in the area after 5pm, unless you are staying up there, and you will usually get into your first choice.) Figuring out where to eat in wine country is always something I enjoy… there are so many fantastic restaurants you really can’t go wrong. I suggest you skip the bigger names like Dry Creek Kitchen and Cyrus, unless this is a special occasion, and head to something more quaint and casual like Mosaic. They do a great job producing rustic Russian River California cuisine. Everything is always fresh and local, the portions are big, and the flavor combos are bold. Some of their highlights are their local mushroom appetizer with brie, their duck confit, and their hearty coffee encrusted steak. Their service is hit-or-miss, but they make up for it in their food. Their desserts are quite well done, with their homemade ice cream taking the cake.  As always with wine country dining, bring a bottle or two of wine to go with your meal.

Ready for your Russian River adventure?

Instant SF Local Part Two: Good Eats

Part two was going to be about lifestyle, dining and coffee, but dining kinda took the cake.  So part two is all about dining, and lifestyle and coffee are just going to have to wait.

As you probably have noticed though past Weotta blog posts, like Food Glorious Food, SF is foodie haven. So if you are going to be a local you are going to have to release your inner foodie!

Here are some of our favorite local eateries to get you started…

Pizzeria Delfina is a great place for a quick date or casual dinner with a few friends. They have two small locations, always fresh unique pizza’s, lots of quality ingredients, and great seasonal specials. They are pretty much packed every night of the week with a line out the door on the weekends, but the line moves fast and the service is usually pretty snappy. If they are featuring any pizza with a lightly cooked egg on top, like the one in this photo to the right, you must get it. Read more about their pizzas at Eating-sf.com.

Universal Café is quintessential local San Franciscan dining.  It can be

Eggs can look this good

summed up as great value, super flavors, friendly service, oh so fresh, and as local as can be. They have an ever changing menu, great portions, and fantastic fries.  It is the perfect setting for a casual time with friends, a leisurely business lunch, or a relaxing relatively inexpensive date. But where many folks will say they shine is Brunch. Their brunch is one of the best in SF and deserves a post to its self, so checkout nosaladasameal.com to read all about it.

Nopa has to be one of the most packed and lively restaurants in SF. It is a big, open concrete space that just feels social. It is usually quite noisy and rarely do people mingle, but the people watching is always fun. They have a fantastic long bar that draws the room together. Yes it is hard to get a seat at the bar. This is probably because, as we have said before, they have some of the best bartenders in the city, making some of the best drinks in the city…  try their pisco sour with a raw egg in it.
Oh ya, Nopa has good food too and they serve until midnight most nights.  The best way to describe their food is rustic SF style dining.  It is similar to Universal Cafe, just a little more expensive and perhaps a little more produced.  Their menu changes from time-to-time and their starters are always interesting, making it a fun place to order a few dishes with a good friend and taste, taste, taste.

Okoze Sushi is hands down one of the best Japanese restaurants in SF… just ask my buddy Disco who thinks it is the best restaurant in the city period.  They have some of the freshest fish around, greatest sushi chefs in the city, and friendly service to boot. They are consistently a good dining experience any night of the week, even Sundays. Okoze is a great place to take a group of up to 6 people and share lots of rolls and small plates. Better yet, go to Okoze on a date or with one friend, sit at the sushi bar, and focus on their fresh fish… if you want to have a unique sushi dining experience ask for DJ and tell him, “Grant sent me I am in your hands.”

Yes we have many more favorites to share with you, but these four are a good start to get you dining like a local. We will cover many more in posts to come, and if you need some more suggestions right now check out curious Eater SF. And if you want some great places for a quick nosh checkout  City Mama.

Oh ya, one more dining tip for ya. These days some of our top chefs have been taking their food to the streets through gourmet food carts… checkout Edopeno’s great list of many of the best.

Got any favorites of your own to add?

Just in time for the weekend: SF Fleet Week! Time to party like Top Gun!

Excited for Fleet Week? Ready for the skies to light up with the supersonic blasts of the Blue Angels, to cruise the Marina, and to party like you are Tom Cruise in Top Gun?  If so, here is a little info to enhance your weekend…

-Go to a roof-top party: Many of you probably have been invited to a roof-top party or two… you should certainly go and do some of the best daytime drinking you will get to have all year. For those of you not invited to a roof-top party you can still go to one.  Just walk around the Marina, look for some of the larger roof-top parties, and walk on up. Yes you will be crashing the party, but most likely you will be a welcome guest for two reasons: (1) people are in a festive mood (2) many of the parties are often whole apartment buildings getting together hosting one huge party… no one will know anyone else. Oh ya, either way make sure to bring some booze.

-Have a filling American-style late lunch/early dinner around Polk and Union St: Why there? Because you are going to Big Foot Lodge next to continue your day of drinking and it is on your way.  Two easy places to go are Polkers Gourmet Burgers and Rex Cafe. Polkers has affordable, basic, and tasty burgers and fries that will quickly satisfy your hunger. Rex’s has more inventive food for a little more $, but it is a nice setting and always a good time.

-Go to the Big Foot Lodge: It is the kind of place I could picture the Top Gun boys, Maverick and Goose, having a few cocktails after flying… you will know what I mean the second you walk in the door. It is a place that is always full of fun people and has some of the most fun bartenders in the city. They make strong drinks and have some good beers on tap, and if you want destruction in a glass ask for a Road Kill shot. Oh ya, and if you are still standing at midnight, which is probably doubtful , I hear they may just do something crazy like light the bar on fire… what could be a better ending to a Fleet Week affair?

Become an Instant SF Local Part 1

It is a no-brainer that San Francisco is a fantastic place to live… yes it is expensive and yes we have earthquakes, but both are small prices to pay to be in one of the most amazing cities in the country.  It is a hard fact that we have some of the best restaurants, quality of life, scenery, and of course, weather, in the country.  It’s no wonder that everyday, people from around the world are moving here to SF.  So to help newcomers adapt to life in SF we have put together the Weotta Instant San Francisco Local List. It is a list of how to blend into SF and some local hangouts/restaurants, with a few links to some other helpful blogs…. Locals, you can probably benefit from it too :

Enjoy…

The Weotta Instant SF Local List Part 1
Do the following and you too will be a local

First of all, San Francisco is…
SF or San Francisco… never San Fran or Frisco… out-of-towners call it that so if you want to be a local, never say it.

Attitude
SF isn’t nearly as urban and fast-paced as New York or Chicago. This may be because of the geography and layout of the city, or the fact that marijuana is basically legal here, but I like to think it is because of the people. In general San Franciscans are some of the most easy-going city-dwelling people in the country…. they are smiley, friendly, in shape, smart, out of the box thinkers… they care about their quality of life and giving back to the community around them… I mean come on, where else in the country do you have a group like A Good Idea whose main focus is random acts of kindness? So, in SF you should…

1. Put a smile on your face and say hi to passerby’s
2. Be creative and enjoy what you do for a living
3. Play just as hard as you work
4. Always take time to smell the roses
5. Give back to your community

Dress
Few guys in SF wear a suit and tie on a daily basis and few ladies dress in formal business attire unless they are in finance… that is a different story.  In fact, many people at the younger tech companies get away with a tee-shirt and jeans. In the evening jeans are usually fine at most venues even for ladies, although there are those restaurants like Gary Danko and Spruce where you may want to turn it up a notch.  No matter what you wear in SF it is important to be original and have your own style… check out thesfstyle.com for lots of helpful tips on how you can get creative.

We have a Neighborhood for everyone…

• Kids and babies, you got Noe Valley and Cole Valley
• Young and hip, you got the inner mission
• Young and preppy, you got the marina
• A little older but still living the single life, you got Polk street and the Russian hill area.
• Ritzy and settled, you have Pacific heights
• A little down to earth with a touch of green, you got the Pan Handle and Upper Haight
• A little cheaper and isolated, you have the Richmond/Sunset
• Young professional, you have Soma/hayes valley
• And the list goes on, but you get the idea…

Ok, there is part 1… stay tuned for part2: lifestyle, food and coffee. And if you want some reading in the meantime check out Underthesheets-shhh’s list of top ten reasons you’ve been in SF too long, which is probably a good problem to have : )

UPDATE: Part 2 is up