No longer November...

November seemed to go by at lightening speed....

Enjoying some of the last remaining hot days of the season in typical Mel fashion, i.e. in the Mission. Lazing in Dolores Park and then enjoying guacamole and margaritas in the sunshine, thanks to the new outdoor seating at Puerto Allegre. Hooray!




A night of boobies and tassels, curtesy of Little Minsky's Burlesque at Club Deluxe...


There were a few 80s-inspired acts that night, in particular I enjoyed the kitschy Like a Virgin performance, during which the audience got to see the dancer give birth to a baby doll after she was 'touched for the very first tiiiiime'...


An art show opening night at BellJar offered an opportunity to mingle with friends and enjoy a cocktail whilst perusing all the curiosities on offer. Located on 16th at Guerrero, this shop sells clothes, jewellery and a myriad of gorgeous little things.




Retox-a-billy night is a go-to Friday night place to be for good music, friends and dancing...and it's freeeeeeeeee entry!




Always on the hunt for cool stuff 'n' things at bargain prices, I've been to various flea markets lately, including Alemany Flea Market. Pluses: it's within walking distance from my house and free entry. Negatives: it's over-priced and has a kind of creepy vibe. Hellooooooo, stop peddling your junk to me as 'vintage' when it's just plain old.






Scampering about Coit Tower was fun! Unfortunately you cannot go to the top of the tower as it is currently closed for renovation. Hmph!




Fish 'n' Chips somewhere other than England, I hear you say? Yes! Well, no, I'd probably call them Fish 'n' Fries, as they were not real chips. But it was pretty tasty (if not a little greasy). Plus, Red's Java House is right on the water at Embarcadero so you get to sit outdoors and enjoy the view. Just watch out, as one of the many birds may swoop down and swipe your food...


A night of dancing to everyone's favourite sounds from the 80s at Barracuda SF was a treat. This monthly party is held at 111 Minna, and when we went along it was packed! The music was awesome, there were make-up stations on hand to fix people's hair and make-up into decade appropriate stylings, the room was decorated with helium-filled balloons and as if this wasn't enough, there was a free photobooth...


After a very successful shopping trip to Haight Street in search of a winter coat, we popped into Club Deluxe for a cozy sing-a-long with the Dimestore Dandy and friends. This was the perfect way to end the afternoon and a nice way to see in the evening.


Having last been to these Sunday sing-a-longs during the summer, I can safely say that I really enjoyed it a lot more this time around, as the bar was busier, and because it gets dark earlier now, there were candles flickering on all the tables creating a more relaxed, homely atmosphere.

A thoroughly delicious Thanksgiving.

Time is flying by so quickly! It's been nearly a week since Thanksgiving, and although it is only the 1st of December today, I have seen so many Christmas decorations and heard a few festive songs around San Francisco in this past week already.




So back to Thanksgiving....I was very excited to be in the USA during this holiday, as although I have spent a lot of time in California over the past few years, it has been quite some time since I have actually been here for turkey day. Who doesn't love the opportunity to (over)indulge in a pre-Christmas, Christmas dinner, with the added additions of pumpkin everything and sweet potato something, pray tell?










The day was spent with a big group of friends (I think there were around sixteen of us!), with everyone bringing a dish and/or drinks, and the staple dishes (including a ginormous turkey!) being cooked by our host. The food was plentiful and delicious, in fact there were so many dishes to choose from it was like a mini buffet. There were a few weird and wonderful things that I hadn't tried before, such as tofurkey (I still haven't tried it!), crab mac-n-cheese (I'm still not sure how I feel about the seafood/cheese combination, unless it's a tuna melt), brussel sprout salad (yum!) and sweet potato & date pie (this was strangely yummy)! The tried and tested turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie for afters were my top three taste sensations of the night overall.




After dinner we sat down to play some games, including Pictionary, Balderdash and Apples to Apples. There was some slight confusion with the first two games which quickly led us to play the much more self explanatory Apples to Apples, which I had played for the first time the day before at unemployed brunch. This game is easy, laugh-provoking and good to play with big groups of people. The premise of the game is that everyone takes it in turns to pick a green (apple) card and reads out the word written on it, the rest of the players then look to the seven red (apple) cards in their hands and choose one that corresponds to the chosen word. The red cards have various people, places, objects, stuff and things on them, so the winning card that the caller chooses is always very subjective to them (so when handing over the red cards, you try to play to what you think the caller would pick). All in all, this game brings on the giggles!








Another thing to induce laughter: whipped cream fight. Oh yes. Thankfully this only involved two members of our party, so no sugary mess in this blonde's hair!


Yes, Thanksgiving 2010 was definitely a time to be thankful for wonderful friends....and their wonderful cooking abilities....


...and wonderful kissing abilities.

Shuckin' and Jivin'

Earlier this month we had another birthday edition of Team Brunch, and this time we hit the road and left the city to go oyster shucking at Tomales Bay.




Awww shucks....

It was a beautiful, warm day and I was super excited to eat oysters and be fancy. When I found out on the drive up, that we were not going to be served oysters, but would rather be shucking them, my mind conjured up images of our group, calf-deep in slushy water, scooping up oysters in fishing nets - drat: I shouldn't have worn white.

When I found out that we would remain on dry land, and that 'shucking' was in fact the action of cracking open the oyster shell, I settled back into my 'aren't we fancy, off to eat oysters by the water' mindset.


A gorgeous shucking day

Tomales Bay is beautiful, and when we arrived to our oyster-eating destination, it was packed! You sit right by the water, on one of the many wooden table benches, each one complete with its own bbq grill. Most people had laid out some pretty impressive picnic spreads, and whilst my first thought was 'damn, we should have brought cheeses, and dips, and salads, and and and...' by the time we finished our seafood spread, I was glad that we stuck to bringing just bread, crisps, wine and lemons as accompaniments. After all, what's the point of going somewhere for seafood if you end up bringing a whole bunch of other stuff to eat?






The menu at Tomales Bay Oyster Company is cheap (hooray!) and basic - you can buy different sizes of oyster, as well as clams, muscles and hot sauce. You can then eat them raw or bbq them. We did both! When bbq-ing the oysters, (it's best not to use the smallest ones, as they shrink a little) you simply place the oyster shell on the grill and it pops open when it is done! This is a tasty way to eat them, and also means that you don't have to fiddle with trying to crack the shell open yourself. Personally though, I think the raw oysters had the slight edge for me, as they were so fresh and delicious tasting, straight from the shell with just a dash of lemon and hot sauce.






Oh for shucks sake!

The shucking involved wearing a thick glove, with a marigold glove worn underneath (so as not to get your hand soggy with oyster juice) which you hold the oyster in, you then use a special little oyster knife to pry open the hinge where the two shell halves meet. It is at first a little trickier than anticipated, but once you have cracked open one or two, it gets easier, and there is something really satisfying about the ritual of it.




After this we drove a few minutes down the road to a cute little place and each got a small cup of clam chowder and watched the sun setting.






The perfect day, and an experience I would recommend to all oyster lovers and wannabe shuckers...

Rockabilly Retox!

The detox is finally over - Rockabilly Fridays are back!


Since closing the doors on our beloved Rockabilly Fridays at the Jay n Bee back in May, Friday nights in San Francisco have been lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. Complaints from neighbours, following a particularly hoppin' rock-a-birthday Friday, put an end to our fun...temporarily. But just six months later, and with a brand new location, it's back on, like donkey kong.








The new Rockabilly Fridays aka the new Jay n Bee aka the Retox Lounge is located in the Dog Patch neighbourhood. Luckily, it's tucked away in a non-residential spot, so hopefully there will be no stopping this party!


I like the new bar - it is still small, but long, and with enough space to dance. There are also comfy seats to lounge in at the front of the bar as you walk in. The drinks are maybe $1-$2 more expensive than at the former location, but I can live with this. I also think this place has a slightly more nightclubby feel to it, with a black and red colour scheme, and a fabric canopy covering the ceiling. Although it is no Jay n Bee (I love that place), I already like the Retox a lot, and I think it will continue to grow on me.








The bar was packed for the opening Rockabilly night last Friday, and ironically, just as the last Jay n Bee ended on DJ Tanoa's birthday, the first Retox kicked off celebrating DJ Rockin' Raul's. It seems everyone I spoke to had a blast, and given that the birthday boy had so many ladies queuing up for a birthday jam that he had to dance double trouble every time, I think it's safe to say that he had a blast too....






The addition of birthday cake, candy and various other snacks around the room was a welcome treat, and apparently there will be BBQ next, so be prepared for a finger lickin' good dance party!








The tag-team djing between DJ Tanoa "Samoa Boy", DJ Rockin' Raul and DJ Okie Oran Scott, ensured a night of non-stop awesome music, to which, unfortunately I could only take it easy dancing a couple of songs, because of my busted baby toe. Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! But I will be back this Friday, and make no mistake - I will be dancing.