On the road again: San Francisco, day 6

Snapshots from another day here:

Lots of work that, of course, I cannot discuss.

Best recent line: "Me, not fun? I'm more fun than a barrel full of whippets on crack." I'm not actually clear on whether such a barrel would be fun, but it certainly would be active.

Lovely Italian dinner at Pazzia Cafe and Trattoria with some work colleagues from another company. All the dishes seemed authentic and were definitely tasty.

A later treat of ice cream at Humphry Slocombe. Many of the flavors are quite odd, but all that I sampled were excellent, with the Chocolate Smoked Salt a true standout.

In announcing my role as Toastmaster for their con, the fine folks at CONTRAflow referred to me as a raconteur. No one has ever done that before.

The battery lives of all of my electronic devices are proving to be more than adequate to meet my requirements this trip--a wonderful first!

I'm out!

On the road again: San Francisco, day 2

I slept a lot last night. A lot. It was wonderful. For almost three hours I was not tired. At one point, I inadvertently said aloud, "Damn," as I realized that the taste of energy I was feeling was what it was like not to be exhausted. Fortunately, fatigue set in soon, and I was back to normal.

I seriously do have to fix my life and this fatigue.

Last night, we tried the tasting menu at Luce, hoping to taste the creations of Chef Dominique Crenn, who soon will be vying to become the next Iron Chef. Alas, she was no tin, so another chef composed the menu. The dish here, hamachi (young yellowtail) on a red pepper tartar on a slice of melon, came early and promised great things. The rest of the dinner did not live up to the hope this dish induced. I would eat at Luce again, but I would probably order off the menu.

Our waiter, John, deserves special mention. He was good and funny, and we were happy to have him serving our table.

Lunch today was a strolling meal through the Ferry Building, where we sampled a variety of foods from local vendors. Everything was splendid.

In the middle of the afternoon, we took the first pilgrimmage to Humphry Slocombe. A line of people waited outside to order. We joined it. As we drew closer, we got to see these four paintings. In case you're not sure you're reading correctly, yes, the one in the upper left advertises Fetal Kitten Soup. I might try Secret Breakfast soup or even the Hibiscus Beet, but not this one.

No, sir, I do not want another.

We sampled a handful of flavors. All were quite good. I particularly liked the cream cheese and the Tahitian vanilla, and the olive oil was yummy.

If you magnify these two photos you may be able to see all of today's offerings. Had I time and stamina enough, I would have tried them all.

Though they were very good, though each and every one would blow away the competition from a chain Coldstone or Maggie Moo, and though I plan to go back tomorrow, none of these concoctions was as good as the top five or six flavors from Jeni's. For now, Jeni's remains the undisputed holder of the Ice Cream World Heavyweight Championship.


On the way back, a house and a shop sign particularly charmed me, so I leave you with these pictures of them.

People released its best-dressed list

and once again, I'm not on it. If I may be frank, and I believe I may, I'm getting a little tired of them ignoring me year after year after year. I may have to up my fashion game. Perhaps it's time to start my own clothing trend. Maybe I should resurrect a classic. Maybe I could bring back these. Admit it: I'd look awesome in a pair of green lederhosen, perhaps with a matching vest.

In other, unrelated news, a group of us will be heading after this Sunday's 3:00 signing at Borderlands Books to this place for what promises to be some amazing ice cream. Not convinced? Check out these flavors. As Kyle, who refused to fly across the country to join us for the signing and the screamage, observed, you have to love the very idea of ice creams such as pistachio-bacon and government cheese.

Lest my fashion crisis and subsequent resolve scare you, rest easy: I probably won't be wearing lederhosen to the signing and the subsequent road trip.

Probably.