tinna "metal mouth" h.'s Profile

What a fun night!

With an endless supply of tokens to practice the dump truck game, the little gambler in me [didn't even know she existed] jumped for joy. Those of us playing games found "our machine" to sit on for the duration of the event. There is photographic evidence of me at the same dump truck game for a WHILE, tickets in hand. Thanks to the random couple [I don't know who you are!] who gave me their tickets. I ended up putting them through the counting machine and then into someone else's bigger pile of tickets!

Of course, we were supplied with enough energy too - trays and trays of club sliders, Philly Steak sandwiches, veggie skewers, clam chowder, garlic fries - YUM! The drinks were tasty too. For those with little patience, two beers to choose from. For those who could stand a little wait, there was something blue, sweet and wonderful.

Did I mention the Players staff being super friendly and awesome? Eye candy too! I guess that's how they raise 'em in tourism territory!

In a world where this girl buys $$$ in raffle tickets [one other person ended up taking home most of the prizes - WTF], throws her name in drawings numerous times, and NEVER wins, this Yelp Elite Event made me feel like a WINNER! The magnum of wine certainly boosts my spirits too. :-) Thank you, Yelp!

Photos from my phone: http://www.flickr.com/...
Photos from Yelp: http://www.flickr.com/...

What coffee shop? There's no coffee shop here!

*backs away slowly*

This is where you'll find me most nights with my head buried in the books or eyes glued to the computer screen, absorbing as much accounting information as possible. There's a big table for group discussions, free wifi, plenty of outlets to plug in, and simple drinks at simple prices.

Sometimes it gets crowded from the Marsh Theater crowd stopping in during intermission. Sometimes you'll hear random stomping noises above [very likely the latest performance]; they've chained someone up in the room upstairs or something crazy like that. I guess the only other con I can think of is that it's in the Mission and not the best place to find parking if you intend to drive. I'll circle around the block for more than just a couple minutes sometimes...

Oh, and once a man came inside from the street and yelled out, "I'm going to kill you all!" and walked out.

The people who work there are very nice.

When it comes to cupcake tastings, I've had previous experiences [Cupcake Camp!]. I know better than to order multiple cupcakes from the same place and try to eat them all by myself. It's a sugar rush, and you end up too stuffed to try more.

The plan of attack?

Gather the friends, grab a knife, and share multiples!

Cupcakes we tried:
La Farine [we were running a little late]: Chocolate and Vanilla
Sweet Adeline: Guinness Chocolate, Red Velvet, Banana
Cupkates: Smores, Lemon Raspberry, Pumpkin Spice, Double Vanilla

A savory break at Bakesale Betty was the perfect way to balance it all out. A nicely spiced fried chicken sandwich among friends. :) I justified stuffing my face with cupcakes first thing in the morning with an intense Pilates workout beforehand. Way to make a workout count, right? Also since I'd indulged during the crawl, the food at the birthday party that I subsequently attended was untouched.

Photos from my phone: http://www.flickr.com/...

A casual spot on a very touristy stretch that even this local approves of!

Players is situated at the very end of Pier 39. Like others have mentioned, it's like having a mini Dave 'n Busters in town!

Food - mostly bar food.
Drinks - beer and soju cocktails.
Games - arcade, shooting, skeeball, DDR, air hockey, etc.
Sports - this is where we watched one of the Philly/Yankee games.

I would definitely take a date here, show off my non-existent skeeball [theirs is non-traditional though] skills, and win him some fancy prizes [translate: Slinkies, spider rings, blow-up hammers, etc.]!

PS - It appears that they have a $5 token offer. $5 in tokens can go a long way in silly prizes! And if you don't want the silly prizes, please give those tickets to me, so I can save up for a stuffed Kenny doll!

I like this museum a lot. Modern art - I'm a fan.

There's not so much on display that you become overwhelmed.

There are chairs all about the circular hallway in the center, so you can rest your legs. There's a particularly comfortable seat facing the National Archive. There was a couple making out on it as I was passing through this particular room one day...

There's a reason it costs just a bit more than other pho places. The small bowl fills me up, and the quality of the meat surpasses some of the other places I frequent. Rare beef and tendons. I ask for the rare beef on the side, and they bring you a separate bowl to cook it in! Pickled lemonade. It's what I order when I've had a rough night with the alcohol. Hot noodle soup and a soothing/refreshing drink. Yum.

The first time, I could not understand a word the server was saying. Sounded like mumbling at first, but during subsequent visits, I started to GET IT. I love that he verifies the order by describing the dish to you, so you make sure you're ordering what you want. Of course, a few times, I was like.. yeah, yeah, that's what I ordered, just bring it, and when it got to the table, it wasn't quite what I'd expected. What I'd really wanted to order was the other dish that he'd described while taking orders... :-/

So yeah, I'm a fan. It's cash only, but there's an ATM at the door. The hours fit most eating schedules...

I'll never look at this Chevron in the same way again.

It probably saved lives today. I stopped by during the quick commute home to investigate a lit tire pressure light. I was way off balance - yikes!

Air is free, as it should be! Water too!

Fill up those tires, so you can roll over to a cheaper station.

I'm sick of the all-you-can-eat hot pot places with crappy meat! Notice I didn't call it a shabu shabu place because it's really Chinese hot pot.

We started out ordering specific plates, but one glance at the plate, and I knew I would not be full. So yes, I convinced the table to switch to the all-you-can-eat plan... AND I ATE ALL I COULD, which is a lot! Their policy is that the entire table must order the all-you-can-eat to even get it. FYI.

They try to fill you up by bringing you veggies and fish and squid balls, so we would go straight for the lamb and hand-sliced meat. We ordered shrimp on the side... They tend to slow down after a few rounds though, so you have to try extra hard to get their attention. :-/

All-you-can-eat is the way to go though. Beers and house sake are half off if you do so, so the bill after several hours of face-stuffing and strategic hiding of certain veggie items [I actually ordered more watercress - yum!] came to about $45/person. Not bad, considering we ordered some non-half off items also.

Definitely worth a revisit when I need a few extra meaty pounds without extra grease. And if you're looking for a raw egg to add to your sauce or something to skim the fat off the top of the broth, just ask!

By sitting in the last row [check your tickets, it's AA] of the balcony right in front of the guys controlling the lights, one can truly appreciate the grandeur of the Fox Theater. The theater is absolutely beautiful, and the seats/aisles are well-kept, comfy, and clean. Yeah, you're way up there, but if there is to be dancing, you can jump around freely in the back row without blocking anyone's view... which we did since it was the Kylie show!

You know those lines that wrap around the block that you usually see in front of venues? There's none of that here! They let you in the doors efficiently [Bonus stars in my book!], and if the front doors weren't enough, there's a side entrance at the Den where you can grab a few bites/drinks beforehand. For theater food, it's quite good.

In terms of transportation, it's not too far from BART. If you're wanting to drive, there's plenty of parking within walking distance. Our good parking karma landed us a spot right across the street from the theater!

Definitely a venue I wouldn't mind visiting again.

An evening on the pier with Ruggy and a bunch of Yelpers, and what do we have to show for it?

Two rainbow Slinkies, a pink blow-up gavel, a scorpion ring for Ryan to tie at the end of a fishing line, two spider rings that we'll never wear, and smiles on our faces on our short bus ride home. Oh, and gift bags with Pier 39 cookies that look more like bars of soap. When we approached the Yelp table, for a moment we were wondering why Ruggy was gnawing on a bar of soap. ;-)

We got through the maze in five minutes the first time. More like Ryan led me through the maze that quickly. A second time through alone left me lost and running into mirrored dead ends. I was not particularly happy to see myself on all sides!

There was a validated parking ticket in our gift bag, but we were glad to have taken public transportation as our wandering through the maze led us to drinks [beer/wine and soju cocktails] and games [you play for tickets!] at Players. Fun times, and we now know of a smaller and closer alternative to Dave and Buster's!