Circumstances found me in the arts district among very dressed-up San Franciscans headed to the symphony. Since they were headed toward the show, I figured the most convenient bar in the area must be clearing out. So, I walked in, plopped down, and waited.
Now, this was kind of a weird setup for a bar. About 6 seats at the head of the bar, backs to the lounge area which had lots of tables, and then on either side of the head and facing each other across the bartender's space was one seat on each side. So, as a single, I picked one of these seats. And after a few minutes of the bartender doing anything but attend to me or even acknowledge me, I tried to get her attention by asking for a menu. While I was just about ready to walk out, she saved the whole situation when she acknowledged that she had been ignoring me because she thought someone else was getting me a glass of wine - a miscommunication, she said, her fault, and so sorry what can I get you? This, of course, was the start of a beautiful friendship.
By the time I left a couple of hours later, we'd made fun of each other, taken a shot of whiskey together, and shared all kinds of stories, including several involving her regular customer, a BMW-driving residential lender father of 2 named "Christopher", who ended up taking the other single seat across from me. We did a lot of loud talking and shouting at each other while the main bar seats were empty, but by the end of it, I picked up my drink and walked over to have some more civilized conversation. It never ceases to amaze me how much other people are amazed by the life I've lived, how (as Christopher put it) it takes balls to just change course and do what you want. I still don't know that I think of myself as ballsy in that way, so I was humbled to hear this again from someone who sincerely believes it.
But what did I drink? A ginger sour that was strong and tasty. And a lychee martini that was on the happy hour menu (which ended at 8pm) that the bartender "Sarah" made up for me even though it was past Happy Hour. I just wanted something with a whole lychee in it, since I've never had anything except lychee candy before. I liked it. I also forgot to mention that I showed up for dessert and cocktails, and their bread pudding is definitely one I would order again. Bread pudding is a love-hate thing for me. Either it's life-changingly delicious, or I won't finish it. This one was so yummy, if plated in a very refined manner (I guess you need to cater to the symphony-opera-ballet folks).
Oh, and when I told my new friends for the night that I would be blogging about this, they kinda joked about having their names changed. So, just in case they weren't really joking, I've given them pseudonyms. Kinda fun, actually.
Now, this was kind of a weird setup for a bar. About 6 seats at the head of the bar, backs to the lounge area which had lots of tables, and then on either side of the head and facing each other across the bartender's space was one seat on each side. So, as a single, I picked one of these seats. And after a few minutes of the bartender doing anything but attend to me or even acknowledge me, I tried to get her attention by asking for a menu. While I was just about ready to walk out, she saved the whole situation when she acknowledged that she had been ignoring me because she thought someone else was getting me a glass of wine - a miscommunication, she said, her fault, and so sorry what can I get you? This, of course, was the start of a beautiful friendship.
By the time I left a couple of hours later, we'd made fun of each other, taken a shot of whiskey together, and shared all kinds of stories, including several involving her regular customer, a BMW-driving residential lender father of 2 named "Christopher", who ended up taking the other single seat across from me. We did a lot of loud talking and shouting at each other while the main bar seats were empty, but by the end of it, I picked up my drink and walked over to have some more civilized conversation. It never ceases to amaze me how much other people are amazed by the life I've lived, how (as Christopher put it) it takes balls to just change course and do what you want. I still don't know that I think of myself as ballsy in that way, so I was humbled to hear this again from someone who sincerely believes it.
But what did I drink? A ginger sour that was strong and tasty. And a lychee martini that was on the happy hour menu (which ended at 8pm) that the bartender "Sarah" made up for me even though it was past Happy Hour. I just wanted something with a whole lychee in it, since I've never had anything except lychee candy before. I liked it. I also forgot to mention that I showed up for dessert and cocktails, and their bread pudding is definitely one I would order again. Bread pudding is a love-hate thing for me. Either it's life-changingly delicious, or I won't finish it. This one was so yummy, if plated in a very refined manner (I guess you need to cater to the symphony-opera-ballet folks).
Oh, and when I told my new friends for the night that I would be blogging about this, they kinda joked about having their names changed. So, just in case they weren't really joking, I've given them pseudonyms. Kinda fun, actually.
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| My lychee martini, me holding a lychee fruit, and "Christopher" in the background across the bar. |
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