Oliver "flowers" N.'s Profile

LAX doesn't do much for me.  I get that it's huge and has a ton of traffic flowing through it, but I'm just not very impressed.

The TSA staff at LAX, at least on my most recent trip, were laughably inefficient.  We stood for probably 30 minutes, 4 people in front of us in the security line, while we waited for someone to man up and do a routine inspection of a bag - meanwhile, four officers stood by and talked about how they were about to go on their breaks.  It's the kind of "it's not-my-problem" management that would make you uneasy if you didn't realize these guys have such a tight script to follow, it's easy for them to be inefficient but hard for them to truly fuck up.

after opting out of the backscatter scanner, I also had to stand around for 15 minutes waiting for someone to come pat me down.  Unprompted, my "male assist" did promise he wasn't going to touch my junk, which was at least a high point.

The food at LAX is also surprisingly mediocre.  I would've thought that such a big city airport would have better options, but there's not much to choose from (and nearly nothing inside security).

As the reigning duke and a long-time fan of Monk's Kettle, it's about damn time I left a review.  The Monk's Kettle is a true San Francisco gem.  It fits a surprising number of needs - whether you want a bar to chill with your friends, an intimate space for a date, a delicious late-night meal, or a snack and an insanely well-specified brew, The Kettle has you covered.

These cats know their beer.  It doesn't matter how well you know yours - they are super helpful and friendly and will find you something you like.  It doesn't matter if you walk in and say your favorite beer is Pinot Grigio, these guys will find something for your palette.  The beer menu updates frequently, and the selection is top-notch.

The food at Monk's Kettle has always been a big draw.  a big, rich New American menu has been the staple, but they recently got a new chef and a whole new menu, to which I cannot yet speak.  Of course that makes this paragraph completely useless.  You may skip to the next one.

I gotta give a shout-out to my homey Sayre - bar manager and beer buyer extraordinaire, Sayre has been advising me on liquor choices since our college days at the Red Room in Santa Cruz.  Now a Certified Cicerone (http://www.cicerone.org/), Sayre is the single most knowledgeable beer enthusiast - nay, professional - I've ever met.  He and his colleagues at The Monk's Kettle do an amazing job of running a top-notch establishment.  Look at me I sound like a shill.  It's all truuuueeeee

Pops got married here last year, so I'm under the influence of warm fuzzy family feelings, but Sulgrave Club was a really great venue.  The setting is spacious but intimate; the main ceremony was in a small, really well-lit room with grand victorian flourishes and a comfy couch.  Reception in the adjoining spaces left plenty of room for food, band and dancing, and the staff were courteous, professional and generally really helpful.  Everything went off without a hitch (other than my dad getting hitched).

Enjoyed an absolutely delicious meal here on my second visit to Houston (and my second visit to Catalan).

my tasting notes: Wagyu carpaccio (spicy, very tasty, nice thick-ish pieces tasty), the tobacco mash cured salmon (tasty, reasonable), the bone marrow (first time, rich and fantastic), the special oysters (snap), the salad.

sommelier was attentive, waiter was super knowledgeable (about the wine too).  panna cotta for dessert.

Great spot for a tuna melt - these colossal open-face sandwiches are big, buttery and flavorful.  Maybe some apple in there or something.  I tell you this: biting into one of these sandwiches produces a serious endorphin rush as my body rewards me for eating things it can make good use of.

Pro tip: if you're with a friend, get one each of the iced tea and the lemonade, and mix you a little Arnold Palmer.

I've never cared much for the food at Tropisueño, but the bar is good and it's a passable happy hour location.  And it goes off Like Whoa for Cinco de Mayo, if that's your thing.

my take on the food is that it's just not very inspired - I've just never been excited about anything I've eaten there.  Maybe I've become too accustomed to taqueria food, I dunno.  I mark a lot of places by their burritos, fair or not, and Tropisueños are just boring.

Really tasty breakfast sandwiches in the InterMission region.  And they serve 'em all day, as far as I can tell.  Hard to go wrong with tasty ham, cheese and egg on a good bagel.

Jalama Beach will forever occupy a warm place in my heart.  I left Santa Cruz one lazy summer night at about midnight, headed south on the 1.  many hours and one mountain lion encounter later, I turned off the highway on a hunch and coasted into Jalama Beach just as the Sun was making an appearance.  A couple surfers in the waves, a few R.V.'s taking in the view, I took a nice shoeless walk through the sand, then folded down the rear seat of my car and spooned up with my travel companion.  

What a beautiful place to wake up.

two trips to Cafe Claude, and two dinners of filet mignon: I can't seem to convince myself to order anything /other/ than this most-expensive-of-menu item, because it is absolutely fantastic.  open reasonably late, nice wine selection, useful staffpersons.  a nice tucked-away FiDi date spot as well.

Philz is a neighborhood jewel.  Good bagels (the house special Philz Bagel is a favorite of mine), good pastries, and of course, decent coffee.  

Wikipedia says that "baristas" make espresso-based drinks.   I don't think they make those at Philz, so i'm not sure what to call those folks, but I can describe them: they are, without fail, awesome.  They know the hell out of their coffee, they can make recommendations on the vaguest of preferences, they can craft a cup of coffee to any exacting specifications, and they always have a smile on their face and maybe a little joke to share.  I love those guys.