Advice you can taste. Adventure you can feel.

Dog Walking, People Watching, and Picking Up

It is true what they say, dogs are the ultimate pickup… better than any slick line or move you could muster. With a lovely furry creature at your side you are basically guaranteed, if you want it, to start a conversation with that boy or girl who catches your eye on your next leisurely weekend dog walk. And for those of you not looking to meet someone new, having a doggie is a front row seat to some of the best people watching in any city.

So for The Real Summer in the City Experience Two it is time to schedule a long dog walk around San Francisco.

For those of you with a dog or two, check your schedule, grab a few treats, poop bags, and plan a to spend one of these upcoming weekend days giving your dog lots of exercise.  For those of you without a dog, find a friend with one and borrow the lovely creature for a day. You can trust your friend will be thrilled; in fact, they will probably consider it a favor.

Here is your plan…

Click me for plan map

It can be done starting at Dolores Park or Crissy Field. For picking up you may want to end up at Crissy Field last… there is just something so romantic about late afternoon lighting, the  beach, and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. If you are more into people watching then ending up at Dolores Park later in the day to observe the hipsters as they emerge from hibernation.

Dolores Park

lazing in the sun

AKA hipster central, the pride park, or just the place to be if you want to laze in the sun. On any given sunny weekend it is packed with people doing everything from sunning themselves to hula hooping. This park is San Francisco people watching at its prime! Now, if this is the start of your day, head over to Tartine for a coffee and pastry and if later in the day, stop by Bi Rite Market and pick up a drink to take with you while you walk around the park.

People watching central

The crowd at Dolores Park is perfect for the human-loving, well-behaved, social dog… the type that can be let off the leash and will go up to all sorts of folks looking for attention, but when called are right back by your side. This dog is basically the best dog for picking up. Add handsome or pretty to the list of doggie attributes and you will have everyone in the park wanting to pet your lovely mutt.  If done strategically, meaning letting your dog off the leash at just the right time and place, your dog will open conversations with everyone you want to meet.

It is easy…

1. Remove the leash
2. Point in the general direction of your target
3. Take a seat on the grass and watch your dog mingle
4. When your dog gets the attention of  your target or any friend of that person make your way over to them
5. Now, when you get within a few feet of your dog say the dog’s name.  With any luck at all the person petting  the dog will say, “Is this your dog?”  This is when you smile and get right on into the conversation.  Start off by talking about the dog for a few minutes and move into asking questions about them… you got it from here

Duboce Park
This is basically a doggie park all the time and a great place to meet other fellow dog owners/lovers. You are likely to have the typical dog 411 conversation… the one where the dogs’ names will be exchanged, their age, what kind they are, and comments about each dog’s looks. This is unless you make a small effort to get past the doggie talk and move the conversation into human terms, which I suggest you only do if the person is a potential dating prospect. If you want a quick snack go to Duboce’s Park Café across the street. They have tasty bites, sidewalk seating, and a water bowl for dogs.  Afterwards head out the back of the park up Fillmore to Alamo Square.

The painted ladies

Alamo Square : This is another great dog park. It has a fantastic view of the city, and usually a few tourists taking photos of the Painted Ladies for your people watching pleasure.  This isn’t as social of a place as Duboce, but there is always some good people watching as you continue your walk up Fillmore, through the Lower Haight, to Pacific Heights.  If you need a bite or want a little energy to keep you going, stop into The Grove on Fillmore. This is another great coffee shop and people watching place. It is always busy and there is lots of street traffic outside, so grab a table on the sidewalk and sip your drink for a few.

Alta Plaza: This is a few blocks from the Grove and your shortest stop. It is basically a place for your dog to stretch and play for a few while you take in the first ocean view of your dog day adventure.  From there continue down Fillmore St and take a left at Chestnut St, where you will get a lot more people watching as you walk towards Crissy Fields for your final stop of the day.

Crissy Fields: It is always a great place with dogs… the perfect place for them to run and play in the break. It is also a fun place to spend some time relaxing on the beach pondering your day, getting away from the city for a few brief moments, and watching the folks around you do the same. Hang here for a little while and you are likely to either get lost in the grandeur of the Golden Gate and/or spot a person you want your dog to help you meet. When you are done walk it all back, perhaps with the person you just met, or call a friend to give you and your dog a ride home.

Strutting on the beach!

As you return home think about the day you just had. Did you meet any cool new people… perhaps your next date? Have some quality time with your dog? See a whole lot of people sporting too many styles to count? Get a new prospective on San Francisco or discover something new about your city? If you answer yes to any of these questions the day was worth every second. Weotta walk around SF with our dogs more often, right?

Food Glorious Food

You know that feeling when you have the taste for tons of different flavors, scenes, and neighborhoods?  You just want it all and you want it now? So what do you do? You have a food tour. What is a food tour you ask? It is an evening where you hop from restaurant-to-restaurant having a bite at each. It is the foodies ultimate evening, a super creative date, the perfect way to tour out-of-towners, and just a fun way to experience a city. Now, there are different levels of food tours, from a basic 3 course jaunt between neighboring places to a 5 course hop all over town.  So, Weotta have a food tour…

A few weeks back my mom came to town on a Tuesday evening… now she really is quite the foodie and loves variety so what better way to spend then evening than a food tour. We started early. This also gave us the added benefit of happy hour, which, by the way, rarely saves much because the dishes you will want are seldom on the happy hour menu.

Here is what we did…

$1 Oyster Tuesdays are the best!!!

5:00pm: A few dozen oysters, some calamari and a little coleslaw at Woodhouse Fish Company (1914 FIllmore St) in Pacific Heights. The great thing about Tuesdays at Woodhouse is their $1 Oysters from 4-10pm… get there early it gets crowded fast.
6:30pm: Next up, cocktails, fragrant truffled popcorn at Tuna tartare at the stylish Taverna Aventine (582 Washington St) in the financial district. They mix some tasty drinks as well as have some good happy hour specials.
8:30pm: We finished off with some high-end bar food at Kezar (900 Cole St) in Cole

Creamy Goodness

Valley. I am talking fantastic creamy mac & cheese, a few mussels, some fresh beet salad, and spicy chicken wings.

So, three neighborhoods, three restaurants and lots of tasty food… ready for your food tour?

Weotta Have A Cocktail

Long week? You deserve a night of swanky drinking…

Here is your plan…

Start at Elite Cafe @ 2049 Fillmore St
Get the sweet peach tea: Hangar Lemon, Peach Puree, Bols Peach Schnapps,
Finished with Organic Tea. Come on, it has sweet, sour and Hanger One vodka in it… need we say more?

Continue with cocktails at The Alembic @ 1725 Haight Street
Get a Bee’s Knees: Plymouth Gin, lavender honey and lemon… it is tasty and o so smooth.

More drinks at Absinthe Restaurant @ 398 Hayes Street
Get the Galapagos: Pisco, Kaffir lime leaf muddled in pepper syrup, lemon-lime juice, grapefruit juice. This drinks is named after Kurt Vonnegut’s book and rightfully so… it is fun, funky, and quite original.

Finish up your night at Lion Pub @ 2062 Divisadero St
Get one of their always refreshing mojitos or greyhounds: freshly pressed fruit juice mixed with a selection of fine spirits. It is the perfect way to end your evening.

So get out and get swanky this weekend… oh ya, and please take cabs… you will be in no shape to drive

You’re So Polished!

Have your feet spent the winter hibernating in trendy ankle booties and elegant stilettos? With spring around the corner, it’s almost time to set them free! Is your mouth watering at the thought of a new season of shoe shopping? Will it be gladiator sandals, huaraches, espadrilles or all of the above? Not so fast. Before running off to Saks and Neiman’s, take a good look at your feet. Are your heels dried and cracked? Do your cuticles look jagged? Or are your feet just plain overworked from trekking up and down hills around The City? If you can answer yes to any of the above, your feet are long overdue for some serious TLC.

As luck would have it, San Francisco is brimming with every kind of pedicure imaginable from Lavande’s indulgent “Chocolate Pedicure” to the “Extremely Buff Pedicure” at Burke Williams for all you weekend warriors out there. The best part is, not only will your feet look and feel great, but you’ll get some well-deserved luxury without becoming a recessionista! Get Zen with it at Bamboo on Union Street. Their green tea footbath and white tea hydromask will stimulate your feet and get them ready for a night on the dance floor! For avid runners, hikers and bikers, a sports pedicure at Spa Radiance on Fillmore Street is the perfect treat after pounding the pavement. Give your overworked feet the gift of a warm soak with camphor, lavender, and rosemary. Girls just want to have…Lush Life Nail Bar. Grab your friends, your favorite bottle of bubbly, a few gossip mags, and play catch up while getting your toes painted in one of OPI’s newest spring shades. Soothe all that aches after a weekend of shredding the slalom in Tahoe at Silk Nail Salon on Franklin Street. Round up the ski bunnies and reward your calves with a hot, steamy towel massage after your pedicure. And if you really need to escape the urban hustle bustle, book an appointment at Recharge Day and Medical Spa on California Street. Sip lavender tea while soaking your feet in a warm, aromatic footbath, and let your stress melt away. Now you’re ready to say “kiss my feet” with confidence!

Weotta have great feet!

Sexy in The City

Is it what’s inside, or underneath, that really counts?

What can make you feel sweet, sexy, empowered and seductive all at the same time? Scrumptious chocolates? Not quite. Flickering candlelight? Getting warmer. A luxurious bubble bath? Almost there. Fabulous lingerie? Now you’re hot!

Don’t you feel secretly sexy when you’re wearing an amazing lacey bra and tulle thong with an unassuming pair of jeans and a t-shirt? How about the amped-up seduction a pair of thigh-highs creates under that stunning dress? Ladies, fine lingerie is just as important as those coveted Manolos, Jimmy Choos and Louboutins you’re so in love with. It’s time to embrace your femininity and treat “the girls”, as well as your derrière, to the luxurious treats that are plentiful in San Francisco’s superb high-end lingerie boutiques.

The Chantelle t-shirt bra... a must have, ladies... Weotta have at least one!

The next time you find yourself strolling along Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, latte in hand, stop by My Boudoir where you can find lingerie for every mood from sweet Cosabella and playful Princesse Tam Tam to sexy Millesia and seductive Marlies Dekkers.

Looking for the perfect t-shirt bra but with a little added flair and a matching panty? Search no further than Les Cents Culottes on Polk Street in Russian Hill where you can bask in brands like Aubade, Chantelle and Simone Perele. Even men are on their radar with underwear for him from Eminence, Coup de Coeur and Gregg Homme.

Want more? Visit Alla Prima Fine Lingerie in Hayes Valley or North Beach and you won’t be disappointed. You’ll find gorgeous Italian, embroidered bras and panties from La Perla that may make you want to prance around your flat wearing nothing but lingerie even on a rainy, winter San Francisco day!

And last, but not least. No lingerie list would be complete without the grand dame of them all. If you really want to be irresistible, a naughty little number from Agent Provocateur located on Geary Street in Union Square should do the trick!

Say goodbye to Victoria’s Secret and hello to “I’m all grown up now” sexy.

A Night in the Marina

Last Saturday night I decided to hang out with several friends in one of San Francisco’s most picturesque neighborhoods, the Marina.   Nestled between Russian Hill and Pacific Heights,  with beautiful bay views and the Golden Gate Bridge within walking distance, this small neighborhood transcends trendy. It is one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of SF and for good reason: it is full of attractive men and women, stylishly dressed patrons,  lots of fun intimate bars, exclusive boutiques,  and one-of-a-kind restaurants close enough to each other that a girl in the highest of heels has no prob hopping around. It truly is an experience for the uninitiated.

A proper night out in the Marina can take many turns, from trendy and hip, to downright divey.  Let’s take a look at one of the bars that dots Fillmore Street, a staple in the Marina pub crawl, the Matrix at Fillmore.

For those of you who don’t know, the Matrix has been a part of the Marina district since the mid-60’s. It was opened by Marty Balin, the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, and has hosted music legends such as the Doors and the Grateful Dead.

Today, the Matrix is a cluster of lounge seats, dark lighting, inconspicuous “S-E-X” letter tables and sexy patrons. In the middle is a chic fireplace with comfortable lounge seating. On any weeknight the Matrix would be a perfect date venue, but on Friday or Saturday nights it’s a cluster of single men and women conversing, mingling, and of course checking out the procession of candidates who glide in through the doors.

Once you have your drinks, find a seat on the wall and watch the scene unfold before your eyes.  Better yet, for a little more privacy head through the short, dark hallway to the back room where a venerable playground of cushions, ottomans, and comfortable plush seating awaits.

After a warm-up drink at the Matrix, make a beeline for the Balboa Café across the street. This corner bar, with its brightly lit interior, is a stark contrast to the lounge feel of the Matrix.  Saddle up to the bar and order any one of the traditional cocktails that the attentive bartenders can muster up… a Manhattan, a gin and tonic, bourbon on the rocks. The venue oozes old school, where drinks are stiff, and the furniture and interior harkens back to a time and place when a bar was for drinking with your friends, not a game of beer pong.

If the night calls for another venue change, walk down Fillmore towards the bay, and at the corner of Chestnut and Fillmore sits one of the trendiest and coolest hot spots in the area, Circa.  Once you get past the bouncer and the tall, thin, impeccably dressed female patrons, you’re immersed in an expansive room with a large, almost circular bar. Here the libations have a tendency to run towards beer, mixed drinks and shots.  Don’t let the Banana Republic shirts and jackets donned by the young men scare you away, or the short Bebe skirts and dresses intimidate you.  Yes, the post-college crowd can dominate the scene; but if that doesn’t deter you, then by all means, come in and mingle with the stylish and hip 20 and 30-somethings.

For a late night bite, you can’t go wrong with Pizza Orgasmica right next to the Balboa Café.  Wait, you’re a little short on cash?  You’ve only got $6 in your wallet because you’ve been buying rounds of Patron instead of Jose Cuervo?   If your expensive tequila habit drains your wallet have no fear.  At Pizza Orgasmica you can get 2 slices for the lonely Lincoln and Washington inhabiting your wallet… make one a pepperoni, and the other a sausage with cheese.

If your palate requires a more “sophisticated fare”, i.e. a 24-hour joint, you have 2 options right around the corner on Lombard Street.  The International House of Pancakes, affectionately known as IHOP, serves up a cornucopia of delightful pancake pairings to curb your late-night hunger.  Feel free to top off the pancakes or Belgian waffles with strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream and/or 4 different types of syrup.  If you’re craving more of the mom & pop feel of a good old-fashioned 50’s establishment, head a couple of blocks down Lombard to Mel’s Diner. This long-standing San Francisco institution has burgers, fries, shakes, and an extensive menu of late night grub to help you forget how inebriated you are.

Enjoy your night out in the Marina, and stay tuned for more about one of my favorite neighbourhoods in SF…