An Evening with the Swells

See that little table on the far left? That is where we were last night.

Ohhhh, I am tired. We climbed into bed at 1AM. I felt fine up until that point then I remember just passing out. On the way home, we never had a car in front or behind us. A rare event.

We began with kisses on both cheeks from the French manager of a Mexican restaurant owned by our French friends near Don's loft neighborhood. Young. Hip. Inexpensive. Somewhat gritty area. I had a duck confit soft taco. It had Chinese spices and vegetable cut into fine spears with a finish of creme fraiche. Rich, a bit sweet but the perfect blend of flavors to feature the duck.

Both Michael and our friend Don had the duck confit quesedilla which was HUGE and they ate every last bite. We made our way down a hill, took one exit off the freeway then drove straight for a couple of miles, all the way up to the top of Nob Hill. We entered the Huntington Hotel named after one of the Big Four Transcontinental Railroad guys. Yes, the "Driving the Golden Spike" guys. The others were Leland Stanford (his only child who died young was the reason he and his wife began Stanford University), Collis Huntington for who the old hotel is named, Mark Hopkins (one must visit the Top of the Mark also on Nob Hill) and Charles Crocker (I have a connection with him, which I can't tell you. Sorry. Too much information.)

When entering, there is a carpeted staircase with a cosy area around a fireplace, which we passed as we strolled past the bar. The room reeked of old money with lots of dark wood and many pieces of original art from the Big Four's past. It felt right. Monied but somehow comfortable. The bar is famous but the restaurant even more so as it has a reputation for serving odd meats, like lion, once every couple of months. Don has attended each of these "wild game" dinners, though very expensive. (The animals are all raised for their meat.) Ah, no thank you.

It was packed last night but since Don is there most Friday or Saturday nights, we were quickly seated at a private table just inside the bar and dining room. The reason it was so crowded was a wedding reception found its way to the bar through the evening. The groom was famous. Lots of "swell" people, using an ancient term. It was fun to watch the hair styles, shoes and fashions of both sexes. They closed at midnight, Michael and Don finished their THIRD cocktails and I drove back down the terrifyingly steep hill, back to the freeway for one exit and back to Don's neighborhood.

I am grabbing a quick breakfast within seconds, just enough for a base for my morning pills, then I am going back to bed. I got under 6 hours of sleep and I need to have full concentration inorder to play well at the orchestra concert tonight. Mom is due at 4:00, the call to arrive at the venue is 5:30 and the downbeat is 7:00. Here we go.