Taste Without the Attitude

Recently on a trip back East, I did the unthinkable: I neglected to enjoy a hot sandwich of roasted meat on rye at one of its famed delis. Nope, not even at the site of Meg Ryan's famed orgasm. But in an attempt to right this wrong, I headed for Miller's East Coast Deli as soon as I returned home. For a fraction of a basic hot sandwich at New York's most iconic deli, I got a hefty turkey pastrami reuben thick enough to feed two, along with a side of potato salad and a pickle, but without the East Coast attitude. OK, so maybe it didn't completely make up for my previous oversight, but it was enough to suffice until my return. I promise I won't forget next time.

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Restaurants • Nob Hill / Tenderloin

A Magical Journey

I found magic in the streaming sunlight of a weekday afternoon. The light chatter of birds and bargoers floated in the green-gold glow with the tinkling of a small fountain behind me. Under a blue sky with a verdant canopy between it and me, sitting on a glass-paved patio, I felt I'd walked through the wardrobe to a land of wonder, where everyone is beautiful and happy. Narnia? No. The Wild Side West. Crassly and largely inaccurately described as a "lesbian bar" (hi, this is San Francisco 2009, people.) folks of all stripes were sipping beers far better than Red Stripe for a price the birds in the backyard's trees would call "cheap cheap cheap." Laid back and lovely, with pool and a jukebox inside and artfully-random statuary on the multi-level patios and backyard, every neighborhood should be so lucky as Bernal Heights to host a secret garden where all are welcome.

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Nightlife • Bernal Heights

TQ: Turkish Quesadilla

Wandering the TenderNob in search of a bite before meeting up with a friend, I wasn't exactly jonesing for Indian or Vietnamese, which make up about half of the restaurants in the vicinity. Running across A La Turca, I walked right in, knowing that a delicious meal would await. I went for the spinach and feta gozleme, kind of like a Turkish quesadilla, which came with green salad, a deliciously light departure from the usual kebabs and rice. I only wish I had been hungrier, with the menu featuring about 70 items, from hummus and baba ghanouj dips to meat pies and doner platters. But most likely I'll be back soon. Any place where you can watch Turkish music videos and order from an extensive selection of food and definitely merits multiple return visits.

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Restaurants • Nob Hill / Tenderloin

Stealing & Drinking

I hated Sunday School, but it turns out Sunday is the best time to get yourself an education of a different distillation. For it is then that the high priests of Whiskey Thieves will bestow upon you the psalms of single malts, the gospels of grains, the holiness of its namesake hedonism. In the high holy hours of a recent afternoon, I alighted upon a bar stool beneath the amber glow of yonder altar to alcohol and confessed my grievous sin: my whiskey-knowledge ends at Makers. I was not chastised, nor condemned to fiery flames, unless that's what my esophagus craved from a straight scotch. My seraph of spirits openly inquired as to my tastes and my budget (he guessed correctly on both), and gave me a generous tasting of three very different, phenomenally delightful domestic whiskies. I chose among them, drank, and was saved: saved from ignorance, saved from shame, and saved from the cheap n' cheeky $5 PBR-Bushmills deal the kids swill down here on days of labor and lusty living. But on a day of rest, may I suggest elevating oneself to a higher purpose as disciple at Whiskey Thieves.

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Nightlife • Nob Hill / Tenderloin

2010 Book & iPhone Release Party: 11/11

With the release of the 2010 book and the new iPhone App, NFT hits San Francisco like a helpful Dirty Harry, maps and text spewing from both barrels. Come celebrate the newness of these products in old-school hip hop style at Double Dutch in the Mission (16th and Valencia) on November 11 at 6 pm. There will be great prizes available (think free JetBlue tix, nights at the W Hotel, gift certificates to local restaurants), and, at press time, negotiations for a mime dunking tank are proceeding smoothly for all parties. Fingers crossed! Free 2010 SF NFT (print version) for the first 100 guests; own the foreword that made the Mayor crazy. Note: this party is partially sponsored by Le Tourment Vert absinthe, and if you show the NFT app on your iPhone, you get a free cocktail. Bonus: Free beer from 6-7. Go to the NFT Facebook page to sign up and get more details.

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Nightlife • Hayes Valley / The Mission