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	__________________________________ Page 39: Great Things in San Fran July 24, 2007 _______________________________________________________ My postcard shot of the Bay Bridge...click the image to see the (I must say!) impressive full size pic
We love San Francisco and had the good fortune to have just spent an extended weekend there. If it wasn't for the chilly fog, the zillion dollar real estate, and the earthquakes, we would be there. The best thing about that city is its fabulous people; everywhere we went, we met and talked to wonderful folks. A few great memories and suggestions for your next trip…
We walked to Chinatown and had a FIVE STAR albeit quite inexpensive meal at The House of Nanking. Good Lord, I've never had Chinese food like that. We did a very lightly fried fish dish that would make even fish haters moan in ecstasy -- it melted off the chopsticks. I was so moved, I almost screamed like Brittany, "Y'ALL -- LET'S ALL MOVE TO CHINA!" This was the best Chinatown experience ever (!). We were seated at Nanking next to two cute, hip college girls, Karen & Jaqueline. We talked about the city, and life, and the war, and their work as counselors at a recent camp, and not only were they a blast, they were the kind of twentysters that give us hope about the future. Please dear God, more Karens & Jaquelines in the world… Girls, plan your weekend trip to Austin and you can definitely use the guest room at Casa Scott.	Karen & Jacqueline at The House of Nanking
Kathy & the Key Lime Martini from Heaven (on the left)	We stayed at the W San Francisco, which is chic and quite a party place. We fell in LOVE (or was it lust) with the absolute BEST KEY LIME PIE MARTINI we've ever encountered, and through our powerful powers of observation (some would call it staring) along with hog-tying and then cajoling the bartender, we got the recipe, which you can find off the Batcave home page under the BatBar.
We checked out a couple of restaurants around the W, and they weren't anything to write home about -- until we found Samovar Tea Lounge. YE GODS! This place is ten stars on the five star scale. Forget trepidation about "tea lounge"; yes, they have an unbelievable tea menu, but the food was out of this world. The Fresh Honeycomb, Cheese, & Fruit appetizer was heavenly -- and the Seafood Bento Box had the most amazing shrimp, roll, and tuna steak I have literally ever had. Kathy's Asian Chicken Salad was a work of art. You can sit on the terrace with a breathtaking view of the Yerba Buena gardens. 730 Howard St on the Upper Terrace by the fountain pool.	Samovar
Captain John, Kathy, & Karen	While doing Napa, we spent an hour in the quaint village and shops of St. Helena. We had wonderful food at Cook (1310 Main), where both the tuna AND even the hamburger were something to write home about. Spectacular place! It was here that we met John and Karen. Sometimes you just meet people and know, "these are our people." We had a blast during lunch, and learned that while attorney Karen does her own thing, John charters their 37 foot sailboat Temptation around San Francisco. You can find them online at www.sailingsanfrancisco.com, and we were very disappointed our full schedule didn't allow us to charter a sail. The next time we're in San Fran, we're there!
And yes, John and Karen, consider our guest room open for you too if you plan a weekend jaunt to Austin sometime soon! Temptation would kill on Lake Travis, but it might be difficult sailing across those dirt-filled Guadapule Mountains in West Texas... And lastly, if anyone is headed to San Fran, check out Page 40, How to Do Napa on Only $999 a Day, Oh My Head …	Captain John's Catalina 350, the Temptation... wowee!
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__________________________________

Page 39:

Great Things in San Fran

July 24, 2007

_______________________________________________________

My postcard shot of the Bay Bridge...click the image to see the (I must say!) impressive full size pic

We love San Francisco and had the good fortune to have just spent an extended weekend there. If it wasn't for the chilly fog, the zillion dollar real estate, and the earthquakes, we would be there. The best thing about that city is its fabulous people; everywhere we went, we met and talked to wonderful folks.

A few great memories and suggestions for your next trip…

We walked to Chinatown and had a FIVE STAR albeit quite inexpensive meal at The House of Nanking. Good Lord, I've never had Chinese food like that. We did a very lightly fried fish dish that would make even fish haters moan in ecstasy -- it melted off the chopsticks. I was so moved, I almost screamed like Brittany, "Y'ALL -- LET'S ALL MOVE TO CHINA!"

This was the best Chinatown experience ever (!).

We were seated at Nanking next to two cute, hip college girls, Karen & Jaqueline. We talked about the city, and life, and the war, and their work as counselors at a recent camp, and not only were they a blast, they were the kind of twentysters that give us hope about the future. Please dear God, more Karens & Jaquelines in the world… Girls, plan your weekend trip to Austin and you can definitely use the guest room at Casa Scott.

Karen & Jacqueline at The House of Nanking

Kathy & the Key Lime Martini from Heaven (on the left)

We stayed at the W San Francisco, which is chic and quite a party place. We fell in LOVE (or was it lust) with the absolute BEST KEY LIME PIE MARTINI we've ever encountered, and through our powerful powers of observation (some would call it staring) along with hog-tying and then cajoling the bartender, we got the recipe, which you can find off the Batcave home page under the BatBar.

We checked out a couple of restaurants around the W, and they weren't anything to write home about -- until we found Samovar Tea Lounge. YE GODS! This place is ten stars on the five star scale. Forget trepidation about "tea lounge"; yes, they have an unbelievable tea menu, but the food was out of this world. The Fresh Honeycomb, Cheese, & Fruit appetizer was heavenly -- and the Seafood Bento Box had the most amazing shrimp, roll, and tuna steak I have literally ever had. Kathy's Asian Chicken Salad was a work of art. You can sit on the terrace with a breathtaking view of the Yerba Buena gardens. 730 Howard St on the Upper Terrace by the fountain pool.

Samovar

Captain John, Kathy, & Karen

While doing Napa, we spent an hour in the quaint village and shops of St. Helena. We had wonderful food at Cook (1310 Main), where both the tuna AND even the hamburger were something to write home about. Spectacular place!

It was here that we met John and Karen. Sometimes you just meet people and know, "these are our people." We had a blast during lunch, and learned that while attorney Karen does her own thing, John charters their 37 foot sailboat Temptation around San Francisco. You can find them online at www.sailingsanfrancisco.com, and we were very disappointed our full schedule didn't allow us to charter a sail. The next time we're in San Fran, we're there!

And yes, John and Karen, consider our guest room open for you too if you plan a weekend jaunt to Austin sometime soon! Temptation would kill on Lake Travis, but it might be difficult sailing across those dirt-filled Guadapule Mountains in West Texas...

And lastly, if anyone is headed to San Fran, check out Page 40, How to Do Napa on Only $999 a Day, Oh My Head …

Captain John's Catalina 350, the Temptation... wowee!

Comment on this Page

Return to Captain's Blog