April, 2010

Dining — 2 Comments
29
Apr 10

Magnolia Pub & Brewery

Magnolia's menu.

It’s a miracle that 1) I have wi-fi in the hotel where we’re staying and 2) it’s free. That’s a bit unusual for Vegas. While I wouldn’t exactly recommend staying at the Luxor, the price is certainly right.

A few weeks ago, my friend Marie (who did an excellent write-up almost immediately after) and I took advantage of our Groupon deals and went to Magnolia Pub & Brewery in the Upper Haight. The wait was about 45 minutes to get seated for dinner so we hung out at the bar and enjoyed some of their handcrafted brews. I particularly enjoyed the Weather Report Wheat as dark, rich beer is my favorite. I’ll be honest, the food is not that great. You should come here for the beer and maybe an appetizer. On Tuesdays, they have $3 specials on their house made selections.

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Overall — No Comments
28
Apr 10

Vacation Mode

I’m off to Vegas on a road trip to see an old college roommate get married. Not sure how often I’ll have a chance to update the blog but I’ll leave you with this picture of Magnolia. I’ll be doing a lot of this during the next few days:

Magnolia in the Haight

Recreation — No Comments
26
Apr 10

Running Around Ocean Beach and Beyond

This was actually taken with a D200. My friend Matt pointed it out as I was en route to dropping him off at his house. It should say "Smug" but someone changed it to "Smog." The location is 20th and Harrison.

I guess it’s no real secret that the iPhone (and other comparable handheld devices) has replaced full DSLRs and point-and-shoots as the go-to camera of choice in most situations. Unless you’re aiming for a high quality, professional-grade photo, there isn’t a strong argument for carrying around something that can’t easily fit into your pocket. This sentiment rings true for me when I go running at Ocean Beach – one of my favorite spots in SF to exert myself.

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Dining — 7 Comments
23
Apr 10

Patxi’s Chicago Pizza

Patxi's deep dish pizza.

For months and months, I’ve seen and heard people rave about Patxi’s Pizza on Twitter and IRL (in real life) and finally decided to check it out for myself. I’m originally from the East Bay Area where Zachary’s is our staple for deep dish pies. While their pizza is a delicious indulgence, the three locations are always overcrowded making the wait to be seated at least 45 minutes most of the time.

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Overall — No Comments
22
Apr 10

Happy Earth Day Cake

Earth Day cake in the front window of Kara's Cupcakes.

I saw this in the window of Kara’s Cupcakes (no, not my shop) when I was out running the other day and had to stop and take a shot of it with my favorite iPhone app. Speaking of, Mashable has just posted a list of 10 Earth Day apps. to help you “go green” and make a difference. If you live in SF, there are numerous ways to celebrate the occasion. Here’s to 40 years of progress on bettering our lives and the environment.

Dining — 11 Comments
21
Apr 10

Morak Restaurant & Lounge

Lights near the front entrance.

When my friend, Vivek, told me they were having a birthday dinner in his honor at Morak Lounge (I think Yelp might have the wrong spelling) in the Mission, I was a bit skeptical and told him I’d meet the party afterwards for drinks. While I do enjoy Middle Eastern cuisine, hookah bars, in general, are kind of a turn off – especially since they’re stuffy, overcrowded, and slightly dingy. Images of nights spent at Kan Zaman in the Haight during my mid-twenties popped into my mind; then, I remembered that my friend does have refined taste and so I put on my dress clothes and joined them.

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Arts & Crafts — 20 Comments
19
Apr 10

Silk Screen Printing Party

Photo by Susan Vander Kooi Hobbs.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve probably said it dozens of times: Our friend Kelly is awesome. Besides being the co-author of one of the most creative DIY photo project books around, she also helps make Photojojo the go-to resource for most innovative photography tips and tutorials. Over the years of knowing her, I’ve discovered that Kelly possesses many other talents and she was kind enough to impart her wisdom on silk screen printing.

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Overall — No Comments
17
Apr 10

It’s the Simple Things in Life…

…that really seem to matter more than anything else these days. From catching up with a long-lost friend (thanks, Facebook) at Philz to discussing future plans over an open-faced avocado sandwich, these past few weeks has been wonderful, worry-free, and incredibly productive. I’m inspired by the city I live in and the wonderful friends I’ve made here. Please enjoy some of the highlights below and have a fantastic weekend…

Leaving the Moraga Street Stairs. A friend that saw the recent blog post thinks I should create an updated book/guide of all of San Francisco's staircases.

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Dining — 12 Comments
15
Apr 10

Shalimar in the Tenderloin

Murgh boti tandoori.

If you’ve lived in San Francisco as long as I have, chances are you’ve been on a bad date, or two, probably more like three and so on…you get the idea. However, not all has to be lost. If it wasn’t for one particularly “interesting” experience, I might have never been introduced to the magical restaurant known as Shalimar.

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Science & Technology — 8 Comments
13
Apr 10

Yuri’s Night

A high voltage martini glass sculpture.

For years and years, I’ve seen photos of Yuri’s Night appear in my Flickr and Facebook feeds from friends but I never got around to attending the show until now. 45 years ago, Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to enter outer space and this annual event, which takes place in over 200 locations worldwide, celebrates that momentous occasion along with the technologies being developed to make space exploration accessible to everyone.

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