Nightlife

San Francisco, October 14, Amazing night.

The weeks are flying by right now. I find I have little time to take care of the mundane, daily responsibilities. I'm marking time by the fun I'm having and at least once a week I'm having fun! Two weeks ago a bunch of people met for drinks and then headed over to Pink (of course!) It was an evening called The Italian Job. We arrived early and entered to the sounds of the sublime Michele Galliano. There were a few people there but we mostly had the place to ourselves for about 40 minutes, which I love, because it means I'm free to make a fool of myself on the dance floor without fear of injuring anyone! The night just snowballed as more people showed up, and music just kept heating up. Around 1a a few in our group headed out to check out Mighty, but I stayed for a while longer because I just couldn't leave the groove. I was definitely lost in the music. Some period of time later my stomach let me know it was empty and I had thoughts of catching up to the rest of our group... found out Scott was down the street kicking it with Hae Min and so instead we bid her a good night and hit Haight street for some late night Thai Noodle. Then it was home to a hot shower and warm bed with dreams of beats all up in my head.


Pink Foursome


Hae Min and I


Couch!


Scott and Hae Min

The Birthday Boy Buys Us All Drinks

Scott celebrated his birthday for several days in a row, like a good boy should, and I was lucky (foolish?) enough to kick it with him for two nights. On Saturday Hae Min did the whole surprise cake and so forth at the bar, and we all got to taste her fabulous homemade chocolate souffle. Scott was treating his top shelf like it was his personal liquor cabinent, and most of us were helping him. A little later on the crew from Scott Howard (including Scott Howard) showed up and we all proceeded to get plowed and talk about food.

Then on Tuesday, Scott's actual birthday, a few of us surprised him again at Foreign Cinema where he thought he was getting a quiet dinner for two with Hae Min but instead got us, Fellini's 'Roma' and fucking great meal. That was my second time there in a week (see the previous post with review if you're interested in my take). We had a great time and then hooked up with some other folks across town for Pool and Cigars. All in all a fabulous night of celebrating our friend!


The Night Begins Well


Hard at work


Hae Min shows off her dress


Birthday Boy


Foreign Cinema


So many choices...


Sneaky shot


Are you going to eat ALL those little Creme Brulees?


Fire Sucker





Louis and Scott


Aimee


Being Beautiful is Hard Work

Foreign Cinema

A few nights ago a friend and I went to Foreign Cinema to check it out. We'd both heard about it and wanted to go and the timing seemed perfect. She had just got back into town from several weeks on the road on a trip that covered NYC, Mallorca and several other european destinations. Consequently we were getting together so she could share her photos and stories. I just love hearing about the adventures other people have. There is a vicarious quality to my interest, but mostly I just love witnessing how a few days or weeks, or even months away from what someone knows can alter their perception. Caitlin's trip was catalytic for her in ways she wasn't expecting and she was positively glowing from her experience.

Despite the fact that we arrived at the restaurant a bit late because she had left her album at home, they seated us outside anyway. By 'outside' I mean this large courtyard that sort of sprawls between several Mission District buildings, is partially covered by clear, plastic tenting, and is littered with heat lamps. On the far wall, a bare, concrete surface, they project the movies they show (using an actual projector, sans reels). It was Fellini's 'Roma' which I hadn't seen, and didn't really see that night either, what with photos and dinner and so on. Dinner. Dinner was great. A true surprise actually considering the 'gimmicky' nature of the idea behind the restaurant. It turned out not to be a gimmick at all. The service was outstanding, our Rumanian server, Vladin, was extremely friendly and attentive and the food was damn good. We started with a bottle of wine and a plate of fresh, local oysters that were heavenly. Next up was an Heirloom Tomato salad with shaved parmesan, some pine nuts and this Basil Coulis that rocked. Our main was a simple halibut filet on a bed of the the most tender Pesto Risotto I've had. I insisted on dessert because they had Chocolate Tiramisu, and it had been awhile for me.

After our leisurely dinner we popped next door to Laszlo, the sister bar to the restaurant, and had an aperitif. Then we zipped round the block to Pink where we met Hendrik and his Polish crew for a drink, dancing and (of course) the best music in the city. After a small fiasco over the photo album (Caitlin left it in the ladies room at the restaurant), I left her in the good hands of some friends across town and headed back to Pink to finish myself off on the dance floor.

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The restaurant is truly worth checking out. The place is huge, with vast dining possibilities both inside and out. The service is uniformly gracious and personal, from booking a reservation to the table-side service. The food is excellent, delicate and at the same time unpretentious, my favorite kind of cuisine. To boot, Modernism West has a space there, literally right off the outdoor courtyard, and they have a changing exhibit of artists' work. Right now Naomi Kremer has a Canvas/Video Projection installation up that is very interesting and worth seeing in it's own right, even if you can't stay for Dinner and a Movie.

Where To Begin...

Weeks have passed without a post. Several recent events require coverage however. Life has been too full to even begin discussing everything that has been going on. Between school, work, and a burgeoning social schedule (this isn't complaining BTW) I haven't had any focused moments in which to write.

Two weeks ago saw the coming of perhaps the greatest mezzo soprano of our time, Cecilia Bartoli. I tried to get (affordable) tickets to this event for several weeks without luck. On the day before the performance I was on the phone with three different people trying buy their Craigslist tickets and my mom witnessed all of this. I was just trying to find one ticket for myself since all of my usual cultural pals were either out of town or otherwise commited. My mom asked who I was going to go with if I could get tickets and when I said I was going alone she asked if we could go together. "That would be great!" I said. Then she asked me to call the CalPerfs box office and inquire as to which seats were still available. She wound up treating us both to mezzanine front and center seats.

O M G.

The woman has unbelievable pipes and a stage presence to match. We were eating out of the palm of her hand. The Zurich Orchestra La Scintilla was with her, a chamber sized orchestra arranged in a crescent moon behind her with some interesting additions. There was a lute player, a harpsichordist who also played the chamber organ, and two herald trumpeters. Cecilia herself was dressed in an emerald green gown with a generous train that she paraded on and off stage at every opportunity. It was a gorgeous performance. She sang mostly from her recent projects of 'Opera Proibti' which are mostly short length oratorios. There was a time in Italy when the Vatican has outlawed full length opera. The composers of the time, most notably Handel, Scarlatti and Caldera, instead wrote shorter length pieces called Oratorio which were permitted.

The pieces were singularly beautiful. I'm studying Italian right now (running about a B average, so not wonderful), but even the few weeks of class I've had were instrumental in lending a greater appreciation of her performance. Understanding how the cadence and rhythm of the language works becomes so much more important when listening to Italian opera. My mom and I were both deeply, deeply moved.

After the performance we hooked up with my Art History professor, the illustrious Deborah Loft, and, unable to simply go home, we cruised up to the Clairmont Hotel and had champagne (well, they did, I had scotch) and shared our impressions of the show. It was a gorgeous, late summer evening and I heard Ms. Bartoli's voice in my head for days afterward.