again with the little cat feet* (cantina/A16)

(*Carl Sandberg: "The fog comes in/on little cat feet.")

Its mid-summer and sure enough, the fog is rolling into SF daily, just as everyone assured us it would. Its really cool.

This past Friday evening found us exploring two new/new-to-us places with friends Ian and Sheena...

We met after work at Cantina in Nob Hill. (No sign, keep an eye out for tall wooden shutters and and an ear out for Ozomatli-type music.) Jordan M. was working behind the bar, and he entertained us with stories and mixology, both of which made it difficult to get off our barstools when it came time to move on for dinner.

We've had a reservation at A16 for a few weeks now - 4 people at a decent hour of 7 or 8 (or 8:30) is apparently a hot ticket. And walking into the restaurant is, as Sheena said, like walking into an aviary. Think sorority party din. I haven't lived here long enough to totally pick up on the stereotype of the Marina resident, but I'm suspecting the sort of crowd found in the bar at A16 on a Friday night might just be it. At one point while waiting in line, I was *dared* to use the men's room by a woman trying to impress her date. No catch, just...the men's room. That sort of thing.

Luckily, you make a beeline straight through the bar area and emerge in the restaurant in the back. And, hello, the aroma that greets you on the way in... I'm not a huge meat-eater, but this was definitely carnivorous in a good way (apologies to the vegan readership), reminiscent of Easter dinner (pork, ham, various charcuterie). It wraps itself around you and leads you by your nostrils, just like in the cartoons. We swooned a little as we moved through the main seating area to the outside garden area (lovely).

A16 has had a lot of press in the past few months, and I think we were prepared to be either completely underwhelmed or blown away; I'm going to go out on a limb and say we were pleasantly surprised by a solid showing. Though all of the evening's choices (food-wise) were good, if not super memorable, the butterbean and octopus salad was a clear standout (who knew, right? Good thing Ian was there to order it, because I don't know that we would have). And while that night we weren't totally convinced by the concept of the sweet/salty dessert (caramel/fleur du sel ice cream?), I can't stop thinking about it. Verdict: they've got some potential, that A16. Our experience was solid, occasionally great. Recommended, especially if you go with friends (as we did) who like mulling over the pepperiness of the olive oil and how pizza is really best with an egg on top.

vessel

NextAid.org fundraiser this eve @ Vessel.

Lounge: Beautiful interior, quite posh. Lots of comfy seating and interesting details to check out. WAY too dark in the most inconvenient places (bar/bathroom), causing squintiness and annoyance, remedied by cocktails chock full of bubbles and antioxidants. One bartender snarky, potentially too cool for school.

(Earlier photos removed after I realized they were too dark to make out anything.)

box on the rock

A couple of weekends ago, we attended ExpreSCION San Francisco, courtesy of J's employer. Sponsored by Scion*, it promised a "multi-sensory art experience" on Alcatraz with "cutting edge music, fashion, performance, and art." Neither of us had been to Alcatraz before, though its been on the to-do list for some time, and a night visit with cocktails and thumping soundtrack sounded like just our thing.

(*To refresh your memory, Scion is well-known for their urban suv resembling a milk truck...)

The crowd was made up of (I assume) Scion owners and those who love them, plus assorted hangers-on like ourselves. Most were decked out in a mix of ironic tshirts, knee-high boots, knit hats, suits, heels and eyeliner for both sexes. I believe there was a healthy amount of faux fur as well. On the ferry ride over we spotted two cast members from the Boston and Seattle seasons of the Real World, the extent of celebrity sightings.

Upon arrival, we funneled through the main cellblock to the dining hall on the far end. The long, very low-ceilinged room was the location of the only bar, live music on a stage at one end and projections everywhere. The space was quickly packed with bodies and stayed that way all night, with people constantly circling in the queue for bottles of flavored sake or plastic cups of wine.

In the basement, the shower room became an impromptu runway for "eco-conscious" fashion; the chapel upstairs housed a gallery, dj, and live painting event. There was also another wing containing a circus performance, which we missed. Aside from these areas, you were able to wander along quiet stretches of the prison untouched by events staff, and the effect in contrast was quite unsettling.

After spending a couple of hours checking everything out, we felt like we'd maxed out the experience and made our way back down to the boat launch, where we quickly discovered...nothing. No boats back. At this point the crowd seemed a little disgruntled: they weren't quite drunk enough, the high-heels were becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and they were stuck on Alcatraz. I would be disgruntled too (and was, a little. Adidas helped).

After an hour or so, during which the crowd surprisingly kept at a simmer, the first return ferry arrived, and we rushed to get on along with the other two hundred people waiting. You would've thought we'd been on the island for a week: the relief was palpable. People sprawled on chairs, on the floor, anywhere possible, and ordered six packs and multiple shots at the bar for the fifteen-minute trip back to SF.

Very interesting evening. Cool idea, go Scion.