Just Keepin' It Classy

A couple weeks ago we went to Bix for a work dinner and were totally unprepared. Yes, it's in the Financial District but it's only three $$$ on Yelp and San Francisco restaurants tend to be a little more laid back. This smaller, alleyway restaurant however is definitely working hard to keep it's classic feel (think piano and jazz singer in the corner, fluted columns and a whole lot of mahogany). I'll be honest, while most of the restaurant customers were in suits, we were rocking a collection of ripped jeans, fleece jackets and plaid. Great apparel for SF, not for Bix. Thankfully the bar area is right near the entrance and their martinis are quite superb.

However, it was hard to feel uncomfortable for long as the friendly hosts and servers chatted us up. We slipped into a comfy half booth, half table situation and assess the wine list, which is quite lengthy. After ordering a pinot noir we had a go at the starters menu. First must have on the list, potato pillows. How can you go wrong with something called potato pillows? These bite sized morsels were almost like gnocchi but a little more mashed potato-like. Topped with creme fraiche and caviar, they were decadent but strangely homey in a way. If you're going with a second appetizer (or you have no desire to try something called potato pillows which is just silly), go with the steak tartare. It's prepared table-side, so you get to watch them break up the running egg yoke into the steak, along with shallots, capers (a great addition to any tartare!), parsley and mustard. I also tried the pork belly banh mi (a Vietnamese style sandwich), which comes out in little bite-sized sandwiches and was surprisingly good for an American restaurant with no clear ties to anything Vietnamese. The deviled eggs were good (aren't they always?) but I think you can get better ones elsewhere. I can't recall what the oyster selection was that day but they were pretty gritty and I got a piece of shell in my mouth, so I'd pass on those.

After the little banh mi sandwich bites, I was in the mood for pork belly so I went with the pork loin and belly entree. The pork is served atop a warm potato salad with a mustard seed aioli, which gives the dish a punch of flavor. The pork was cooked perfectly. The belly was a good balance of soft and crisp and loin was moist. In retrospect though I wish I had ordered the Bix Club Burger, a black truffle cheeseburger. A couple people at the table ordered it and it looked amazing. It has a thick grilled onion on it that's almost as thich as the burger itself. I found out afterward's it's on 7x7's "2013 Big Eats" list.  I did manage to snag a couple truffle fries from their places, which were of course delicious.

After that you'd think we'd be ridiculously full, but what sane minded person passes on dessert? Especially when you have the opportunity to say "I'll have one of everything." After trying a bite of everything and it all being amazing, I can still recommend without hesitation the  bananas foster with dark rum and vanilla ice cream. While it didn't have the fancy flambe presentation, it melted into this creamy soup substance that we were literally trying to scrap the bowl for. To summarize, I'd recommend Bix just don't wear jeans. It's listed on Zagat as a top place for a date, so get dressed up and go with someone special.

As an appendix of sorts (it seems fitting for this review), I have to address this perfect article that I was recently told about. I live in a studio apartment and on nights when I'm not out at dinners like this I'm at home making scrambled eggs. People read my blog and incredulously ask me exactly how much I spend eating out. As I recently found out, being in advertising (and especially media), I'm lucky enough to be included in a special category called the "poverty elite." While I'm far enough in my career now where poverty might be extreme, I fondly remember the days as an assistant planner in Chicago, making $25,000 annually, living above a drug addicted landlord, buying all my clothes from Target yet having martinis at the newest, hottest restaurants in town. There's nothing more surreal. 

Musical May

I was worried after April, and all of its Fauxchella fun, was over. What will I do on the weekends? How will I keep disintegrating my ear drums bit by bit? What if I get too much sleep on weeknights? Never fear, May was chalk full with great acts coming through town.

The month kicked off with Bottle Rock 5/8-5/12. I'll admit, I'm getting told old for a four day music festival so I went with the 3 day pass. This was the very first year of Bottle Rock, which takes place in Napa. A music festival in wine country? Yes please! Word on the street is that they got a 10 year contract, so this festival will be around for many more years to come. There was a little shadiness, as the fest got approval from the Expo board without consulting the city. The verdict is still out on if Bottle Rock hurt or helped Napa, but overall it sounds like the 35-40,000 attendees made most business happy. The lineup was pretty solid. I'd have to say my favorites were The Flaming Lips. Wayne puts on a crazy show with plenty of lights and lasers. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros were pretty good too. I unfortunately missed Allen Stone, a soul and R&B musician from Washington, who's on the cusp of blowing up. I'll probably go next year, although I hope it's less hot next time. The lineup will hopefully be just as solid and the food/wine selection was one of the best I've seen in a while. Hopefully they'll finesse all the first year issues (namely the disastrous parking situation and the dust). Tip: Book your place to stay up there as soon as dates are announced, all hotels/airbnbs will fill up fast!

Next up I caught Dragonette and The Presets at the Fox Theater in Oakland. When you look out into the crowd and it's just women, gay men, glow sticks and sparkles, you know it's going to be damn good party. I've seen Dragonette live before and love them. Martina Sorbara, the lead singer, knows how to get the dance party started. She's energetic and gives her all no matter the size or enthusiasm of the crowd. I liked them better than The Presets, although they were good too. It's just with The Presets (a two man Australian electro duo with vocals, drums and keyboards), they're stuck behind their instruments which can limit the stage energy unless you're someone like Justice.

After that, we hit Tame Impala, which was also at the Fox but had a completely different feel. Walking into the Tame Impala show was like walking into the 70s, completely with psychedelic lights and weed. When bands play slow jams these days, everyone usually holds up their cell phone lights. At this how everyone actually held up legit lighters! I forgot how beautiful that looks. Tame Impala is a rock band that reminds me almost of the Australian version of someone like Dinosaur Jr, which more funk thrown in. Elephant is probably their most well know song but my favorite is Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.

Last weekend I went to Mumford & Sons at the Greek Theater, a gorgeous outdoor amphitheater in the hills of the UC Berkeley campus (seriously, we parked at a frat house). I love Mumford and these days it's hard to find people who don't, they've gotten so big. They played three nights straight at the Greek, which sold out in minutes. For those of you living in a cave, this four man English folk band formed in 2007 hit the scene big in 2009 with their release of "Sign No More," which won them the Grammy for "Best New Artist." In 2012, they release their second album "Babel," which in my opinion is just as good as their earlier stuff. Seeing them live is great because they really put their all into it and interact with the crowd. They were able to get the entire Greek Theater (8,500 seats + the lawn) to be completely silent while they played a couple acoustic songs, which was amazing to behold. While you never really know if artists are telling the truth, they said this was the most silent they've ever gotten a large crowd to be and a memory they would treasure. Regardless, it was a pretty great show.

Last Saturday (and technically in June), we went back to the Greek (should have just slept there, is this an option??) for the xx. Again, another English band, who started as an indie duo and added on 2 more once they started touring. Their sound is hard to explain. It's a little electro, a little instrumental, with almost eerie whispering vocals. They hit it big with Crystalised in 2009. They release "Coexist" in 2012. The lead duo is a introverted, so it's a totally different experience and while I love them, I could take them or leave them live. They did have a pretty decent light show with some cool lasers (you can't go wrong with lasers). When at the Greek though I hate being up in the seats because you can't stand up and dance.