October 23, 2007 12:20 pm : Comments 000
I was saddened to read this morning that Vincent DeDomenico died. He was the man behind Rice-A-Roni, the well-known pasta-meets-rice comfort food with the catchy and enduring advertising jingle that I paid tribute to just last week.
Rice-A-Roni is etched in the minds of an entire generation as being “The San Francisco Treat” thanks to an addictively catchy jingle that was paired with an equally unforgettable advertising campaign highlighting the city’s beloved cable cars and the jangle of their bells.
“One thing my dad insisted upon was a jingle,” his daughter Marla Bleecher told The New York Times. “He said if there is a jingle, people will say it over and over in their heads.”
Mr. DeDomenico certainly got that right.
Given that the city and its famous cable cars are so much a part of the Rice-A-Roni story, it seems only fitting that San Francisco acknowledge the passing of a man who no doubt did wonders to boost the city’s tourism over the years. Rather than a minute of silence, however, I suggest a minute of loud cable car bell ringing to commemorate his memory.
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October 19, 2007 9:35 am : Comments 008
I know I promised to not write about airlines for six months, but Jackie is off on a well-deserved vacation and I’m fairly sure she has no Internet access out on that big boat at sea. So I’m going to slip in one last airline beef that I just have to get off my chest.
I’m sitting on an airplane (Virgin America if you really must know) and watching yet another inane demonstration on how to fasten a seatbelt. What gets me is that after the demonstration, passengers are advised to shut off all electronic devices, including laptops, cell phones, and pagers (pagers? Who still uses a pager?).
Is it just me, or is there something ironic about being left to our own devices (no pun intended) when it comes to operating the sophisticated technology stuff they say interferes with the flight controls, but apparently we need a choreographed walk-through on those complicated seat belt buckles.
Yeah, Anthony, I know: “My name is Eric and I am an airline blogging addict.”
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October 18, 2007 1:09 pm : Comments 003
Click Here for some mood music while you read.
I’m quite open about my fondness for San Francisco and for what locals refer to as the Bay Area. The region attracts some of the smartest, weirdest, and most passionate people in the nation, and if you love the outdoors as much as I do, it’s a delightful playground.
I confess to getting a rush every time I drive through Silicon Valley and see signs for places like Cupertino, Mountain View, Santa Clara, and Palo Alto. New York might be the nation’s center for finance and culture, but in Northern California they actually create things. At any given time, the guy or gal I’m passing (I drive like a New Yorker) could be a designer at Apple, a programmer at Google, an engineer at Intel, or a senior R&D executive at HP. Or the person who has made an absolute killing selling black mock turtlenecks to Steve Jobs. The folks out here have literally changed the world, and it’s exhilarating just to be among them.
Over the years, I’ve developed some fairly strong opinions on the best places to stay and eat in San Francisco. I always appreciate travel suggestions, so I thought I’d share a few of my own. I’ve limited my recommendations only to places in the financial and Union Square area, but if you have the time, I strongly encourage you to venture out into the city’s wonderful neighborhoods.
Where to Stay
The Prescott Hotel
San Francisco is filled with boutique hotels that are usually described on places like TravelAdvisor.com as having “charm” or being “quaint.” I generally avoid these hotels because too often “charm” means small and “quaint” means there is no view. One of the best known in this category is The Prescott, which is owned by the Kimpton Group (heck, they even refer to themselves as a boutique hotel on their website). I once booked a room at The Prescott Hotel, but checked out minutes later. The room was uncomfortably small and overlooked the side of another building. To be fair though, a lot of guests love the place (I will tell you how I know that in a minute).
Westin Market Street
My favorite hotel, on the corner of Third and Market, is a recently converted Westin. I’ve been staying here for more than a decade, first when it was the ANA Hotel and then The Argent. I like the place because the sizeable rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, afford wonderful unobstructed views, and get flooded with natural light throughout the entire day. Third and Market also is an ideal location because it borders the financial district and Union Square, the Moscone Convention Center, and the Museum of Modern Art. AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, is an easy 15 minute walk. The Peet’s Coffee, Whole Foods, and the Verizon store I raved about earlier are all nearby.
I never cared much for the staff at this hotel under the previous ownership, but a no-nonsense hotel management firm out of Dallas has taken over the property and is fast making improvements. If you can afford it, or are fortunate to get upgraded as I once did (thank you Starwood Preferred!), I highly recommend the 06 line of rooms on the higher floors, which are end-of-the-hall suites.
Third and Market has quietly become Starwood row, as there also is a St. Regis, a Sheraton, and a W within blocks. I’ve never cared much for the W chain, but the one in San Francisco is quite a happening place, particularly for twenty-somethings. The Four Seasons also is located just off Third and Market.
If you prefer to stay in Union Square, I was quite fond of the Pan Pacific Hotel, but it has since been taken over by the JW Marriott so I can’t vouch for the property.
Places to Eat
Kokkari Estiatorio
A client took me here in June and I couldn’t wait to return to the wonderfully delightful Greek restaurant. I’ve never been to Greece, but I’m told this place is quite authentic. Everything is wonderfully fresh and delicious. And despite being one of San Francisco’s most popular restaurants, the staff is pleasantly down-to-earth and extremely accommodating. The restaurant also has some fabulous wines in the $40-$50 range. Given the quality of the food, Kokkari is quite reasonably priced, at least by New York standards. Take my advice and go when you’re next in town. You’ll thank me later.
Aqua
For many years, Aqua was my absolute favorite restaurant anywhere. Although it was always pricey, it served some of the most glorious foods I’ve ever tasted in one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the country. But then executive chef and partner Michael Mina left, now operating his namesake restaurant at the Westin St. Francis Hotel (as well as others around the country). Aqua subsequently expanded, opening new locations and introducing a prix fix menu. While the restaurant remains popular with the trendy crowd, the food no longer has the same pizzazz, and given the paltry portions, seems a tad overpriced.
Having said that, I still recommend Aqua for its signature tuna tartare dish, which unquestionably is still the best I’ve tasted anywhere. You can have it classically prepared or with a blend of moroccan spices, lemon confit, and fresh herbs. Fortunately, you can order the dish a la carte. I highly recommend going to Aqua to sample its tuna tartare and a glass of wine (it’s a great place to meet for a drink) and then go somewhere else for dinner.
Postrio
Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio is another popular local restaurant but, as the travel experts at Fodor’s write, “Gone are the days when Postrio was the destination.” The restaurant is located in the aforementioned Prescott Hotel, its home since opening in 1989. Overall, I’m as underwhelmed by the food served in the main dining room as I am by the hotel that houses it. Its bar food, however, is another story. The place makes its own gourmet lamb, veal, and duck sausages that are served with various sauces and pretzels. The magnificent three sausage dish costs all of $11, making it quite possibly the best gourmet food deal anywhere. Postrio’s sandwiches also are quite good, and I also recommend the mixed greens salad, for its freshness and generous size. Postrio also serves reasonably priced wines by the glass.
I frequently meet Prescott guests at Postrio, all of whom seem to quite like the hotel.
Dottie’s True Blue Café
It’s always dangerous to use superlatives, but I’m quite comfortable using one when talking about Dottie’s. This neighborhood joint serves the best – the very best – American breakfast anywhere. Jacob, our creative director, seconds me on this as do, it seems, many others. A few words of caution: The restaurant borders San Francisco’s rather seedy Tenderloin district and a line often begins forming even before the tiny place opens. Trust me, their fresh-baked muffins and the world’s most perfect pancakes are worth the trouble.
I’ll leave it to others to tell you where to shop and which tourist “must sees” are worth the price of admission. I’m just the Lodging and Food & Wine Guy.
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October 17, 2007 10:05 am : Comments 001
People who know us know that I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Jackie; we’re complete opposites, which is apparently a very good thing. We go back now more than 10 years – a lifetime in this business – and have had our fair share of celebrations and setbacks. Fortunately, there have been far, far fewer of the latter! Like all partnerships, we’ve had our share of tense moments, but we always manage to quickly work through them and keep the business on track. There is no one in business I trust more.
Jackie also is a very gifted editor. I have never encountered anyone who could massage copy with the skill and deftness as she can, not even during my earlier years as a professional journalist. She can make words sing off the page, as they say. Jackie, never afraid to rein in my passion when warranted, has saved me from embarrassment on more occasions than I care to admit. Her record on this score is almost impeccable: she has only let me down once.
The year was 2001. While on a visit to San Francisco, I came across an issue of SF Weekly that featured three women striking a Charlie’s Angels pose on the cover. It turns out they were tech sector headhunters. Their big secret to finding potential job candidates? If memory serves, they would go partying wherever dot-commers liked to hang out. The story irked me because it celebrated these women as industry leaders, when I viewed them as the embodiment of the ills dragging the sector down. I found the article sufficiently outrageous that on my return flight home, I drafted a letter to the editor.
As always, I asked Jackie to review the letter before sending it. She cleared it with nary a punctuation change, a highly unusual event. I recall she was annoyed with me at the time, although I don’t remember over what issue. So I sent the letter.
Admittedly, the letter was a tad too passionate. Although Jackie vehemently denies it, I believe that she made a cold, calculated decision to let me hang that one time, figuring not much harm could come from me sounding a little over the top to readers of a free alternative weekly in San Francisco.
But this is the Internet age, and if you google my name and SF Weekly, that letter shows up in all its glory, as does the editor’s snarky introduction to it: “Choose one: This reader (that would be me) recently had a bad experience with A) a pretty woman, B) a job recruiter, C) A and B.”
I’m painfully reminded of this bombastic letter every time I’m in San Francisco. Thanks to Google, it will no doubt haunt me forever. Or at least until I get my payback. Hmmm…
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October 16, 2007 2:35 pm : Comments 000
We always caution clients about the dangers of being an oracle. While making bold predictions is a surefire way to get media visibility – as Henry Blodget learned when he predicted in December 1998 Amazon shares would hit $400 within a year – they can forever haunt you if you turn out to be egregiously wrong. Tom Watson, former chairman of IBM, serves as a classic case in point. Despite his many accomplishments, Mr. Watson will always be best remembered for his suggestion that “there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
Another real doozy of a prediction was made by an unidentified New Yorker who was quoted by reporter Mark Calvey in a November 1996 San Francisco Business Times story saying that “the Internet is a hot fad that will be over in a year.” What was that guy thinking?! I’ll bet he feels pretty stupid now…
Okay, so that comment doesn’t appear to be one of my proudest moments. But for the record, I strongly maintain that I was misquoted.
As I recall my dinner conversation with Mark, I said that the excitement about dot-com companies was a bunch of hype because Internet technology at the time wasn’t sufficiently user friendly and that most dot-com entrepreneurs didn’t understand or appreciate the importance of good and reliable customer service. (I regard customer service as the best barometer of a company’s viability). In 1996, consumers didn’t have high-speed connections and if you ordered a product or service over the Internet chances were better than even that you never received it because the order never went through. I might have been wrong about the duration of the hype, but I think I deserve some credit for being among the first to predict that many of the era’s dot-com companies would eventually implode.
I consider Mark as being one of the most honest and decent reporters in journalism; after all, he could have legitimately quoted me as I never insisted beforehand (as I do when I’m accompanying a client) that our dinner conversation be treated as off-the-record. I long wondered if Mark even remembered my infamous quote, so this past summer I gave him a call and left a message on his voicemail. My worst fears were quickly realized when he called me back, as our conversation went something like this:
ME: Hey, Mark. Are you in New York? Your number showed up with a 212 area code.
MARK: No, I’m in San Francisco. I probably show up with a 212 area code because our phone lines are over the Internet. You know the Internet now has that capability, don’t you?
Yeah, he remembered.
ME: About that quote, you know that isn’t exactly what I said.
MARK: No, I’m pretty sure I quoted you accurately.
We agreed to forever disagree.
I’m coming clean on my infamous quote now because I figure it’s only a matter of time before Mark discovers that I’ve launched this blog. I can almost hear him snickering already.
Okay, Mark. Give me your best shot.
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October 15, 2007 3:48 pm : Comments 000
Is it just me who can’t help start singing “Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat” every time I hear the bell of a San Francisco cable car? The commercial hasn’t aired in years yet every time I visit the City by the Bay it still keeps playing in my head over-and-over-and-over…
Is there a clinic that treats Rice-A-Roni Jingle on the Brain?
Now repeat after me:
Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat. Rice-A-Roni the flavor can’t be beat…
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10:10 am : Comments 001
Were it not for the Twin Pine Casino on the far edge of town, Middletown, CA could easily be mistaken for Smalltown, USA. There are no Starbucks, no Applebees, and no McDonalds to satisfy the coffee and junk food whims of local residents. There are no Targets, no Macy’s, and no 7-Elevens to be found. The town’s main drag, Calistoga Street (a.k.a. Highway 29), is a mere mile long. There are plenty of available parking spaces and you’ll never see anyone hustling-and-bustling by you on the sidewalk as they pound away on their BlackBerry or Motorola Q. Toto, we are definitely NOT in New York anymore.
Allow me to play Travel Guide
Locals tell me that Middletown, so-called because it was a resting place for stagecoaches traveling between Calistoga and Clear Lake, had long been dominated by extremist “America Love It or Leave It”, far-right Bible-thumpers. In earlier days, however, it attracted a less godly crowd. The treacherous road through Mount St. Helena into town was once the preferred launching site for countless stagecoach robberies. While police haven’t reported too many horse-drawn hijacks in recent decades, there’s still trouble to be found if you know where to look… or what to ask for. A few years ago, I had the audacity to ask this heavily tattooed, motorcycle-leather-wearing, menacing-looking guy working the register at the local gas mart if they sold contact lens solution. He let me know with one threatening glare that “real men” don’t wear contact lenses, at least not in Middletown.
But alas, that may no longer be the case. Middletown has been quietly undergoing a transformation in recent years. The area is increasingly becoming popular with artists, artisans, and New Age people who appreciate the area’s mountainous beauty, peaceful tranquility, and ideal climate (well, except for winter when it rains a lot). The 1600+ acre Harbin Hot Springs resort has become the biggest employer in the area and a wealthy high tech entrepreneur is launching a New Age time-share. The long-timers don’t care much for the newer arrivals, but they live a peaceful co-existence. Think of this place as a rural Switzerland for the left and the right.
Middletown may be small, but it boasts some eating and drinking establishments worthy of note. There is an upscale restaurant called Boar’s Breath, which is run by a couple named Frank and Suzette Stephenson. Frank, the chef, prefers to laden his dishes with lots of butter and cream (no tofu and sprouts here), so the selection is extremely limited if you are on a low fat diet. Frank served a steak special one evening that was as good as any I’ve had at New York’s best brasseries. What also impresses me about this place is how they mix drinks – It’s one of the few places I’ve ever been to where they take the time and effort to chill a martini bone cold. They also serve some excellent wines by the glass, including those from nearby Langtry Estate & Vineyards (which now incorporates those formerly under the Guenoc Estates label).
Two other must-tries are the gourmet coffee shop called Mugshots Espresso and a specialty sandwich shop called La Sirena (go for the tuna salad sandwich!). A woman named Diana, who emigrated to Middletown from Holland, owns both. Although there is nowhere to buy a daily copy of The New York Times in Middletown, a copy of the Sunday edition is delivered each week to Mugshots. Consider yourself forewarned: You will have to fight me for it when I’m in town.
Middletown’s supermarket, Hardesters, is also the town’s hardware store. I can’t speak much to the quality of their lugnuts and wrenches, but their fresh produce is far superior to what you would expect at some of the best gourmet food stores in New York. Granted, this is California, so maybe that’s not exactly a big surprise. Hardesters has a pretty extensive selection of gourmet food and other products, including – thank goodness – contact lens solution. Another great feature: there are no lines at the checkout, one of my pet peeves. I wish I could shop here every day.
If you are a beer aficionado, The Mount St. Helena Brewing Company is definitely worth checking out. The restaurant and bar brews its award-winning beers on site that are served up for a mere $2 a pint on nights when football games are on. The place also serves a pretty darn good chicken parmigiana sandwich and the pizza also looks pretty tasty. Unfortunately, I will probably forever remember this restaurant as the place where I watched the Yankees’ pathetic 2007 series ending loss to the Cleveland Indians (not that anyone in the place cared but me). The restaurant’s owners are looking for a beer distributor, so if you know someone in the business, maybe you can help them out.
If you are looking to spend the night in the Middletown area, I highly recommend Spirit Lake Bed and Breakfast about 20 miles north, which is run by an engaging couple named Peter and Elaine Marie. They bought and built their property after seeing an ad in the Penny Saver News. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who will make you feel more welcome than Peter and Elaine. As an example of just how small the world really is, they also own a B&B in Hawaii that, as it turns out, is literally next door to my cousin’s house!
However, all is not ideal ideal in Middletown, like most places. The town and surrounding area are vexed by chronic unemployment, which is being blamed, at least in part, for the growing drug problem. Crystal meth labs are rampant here, creating a virulent colony of drug addicts who need to beg, borrow, and steal to feed their addictions. Diane informed me last week that she has to remove seating she had put in front of her sandwich shop because it had become a place of choice for these drug addicts to congregate.
Peter and Elaine aside, many people in the Middletown area are not particularly friendly or welcoming of outsiders. To be fair, that’s a common enough reaction among the Old Guard whenever a town’s humble character and quiet way of life are perceived as threatened by aggressive land development and the resulting influx of new residents. My colleague Jackie sees the same thing happening in her backyard down by Princeton, NJ (it pains me to admit this, but Jackie is actually a born and bred Jersey Girl).
Having lived in New York City for nearly 20 years, I’ve grown somewhat immune to standoffish locals, so I can deal with chilly Middletowners and not let their somewhat icy demeanor dampen my affinity for their town. Next time you are in the Napa Valley region, it’s worth the 20-minute drive up Mount St. Helena to check out Middletown and the Lake County region. Just make sure you’re well-rested. The dangerously steep and winding road leading into town is a real doozy that would test even the great Grand Prix racer Jackie Stewart’s driving skills!
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October 9, 2007 12:21 pm : Comments 001
As I am out in rural northern California, I had my breakfast yesterday with a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle instead of the usual New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Wow, did this story chase the sleep from my eyes.
Few things are more dangerous than a journalist blinded by preconceived notions, especially when that reporter has made it his or her mission to prove a company guilty of some wrongdoing. Calls are made, subjects interviewed, records requested… and some semblance of the originally intended story written, filled with innuendo and rumor when supporting facts are disappointingly missing. Much ado is made about, as it turns out, nothing. In journalistic circles, it’s known as not letting the facts get in the way of a good story.
The front page of yesterday’s Chronicle had such a story of dubious distinction. Under the headline “Even Google Suffers Users’ Gripes,” the paper informed its readers of “the discontent Google’s growing legion of users have voiced” to the Federal Trade Commission. “Aggrieved, annoyed and occasionally misguided, users have lodged hundreds of complaints (emphasis mine) about everything from Google overcharging for advertising to returning pornographic Web sites when users search for their own names.”
The Chronicle’s information is based on a review of anti-Google consumer complaints filed with the FTC; the paper gained access to the information via “open records requests” that were made against the “backdrop” of a “larger federal review of Google’s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of online advertising firm DoubleClick, following concerns that the deal will create a monopoly and harm consumers.”
Sounds like a legitimate enough story idea, right? Well, despite what the negative headline implies, there were, relatively speaking, a very small number of complaints lodged against Google when you consider how many people use their services every day. Readers who took the time to continue reading the story’s jump inside the paper learned that the hundreds of complaints against Google were filed over a 30-month period: 74 in 2005, 133 in 2006, and 176 in the first six months of this year. That’s right – a whopping 383 complaints during this time. To be fair, the Chronicle admits that these numbers are “a small sliver of consumers, considering that in August, Google had 128.5 million U.S. users” and, later in the story, that “only a handful of complaints took aim at Google’s proposed merger with DoubleClick or the information Google collects about its users.”
But talk about making mountains out of molehills! Despite all the qualifiers, the Chronicle still deemed this non-story worthy of page one treatment – and above the fold no less. Ironically, the story ran on a day that Google’s stock closed above $600 for the first time. The company is based in Mountain View, which is just beyond the Chronicle’s backyard.
When you read trite stories like this one, is it really any wonder that local newspapers, including the Chronicle, have suffered a major erosion of readership? The Internet, an easy scapegoat, is usually blamed for what ails the print news industry. That makes sense. Whereas people once turned to their local broadcast outlets to learn details about breaking news, they can now go online and access that information from a broad and geographically diverse range of sources.
But is blaming the Internet a cop-out? To some extent, yes, as there is another elephant in the newsroom that should not be ignored. Sadly, budget-conscious publishers are showing the door at an alarming rate to experienced editors and reporters who are subsequently replaced by neophytes who are not yet ready to fill their shoes – and their stories reflect it. While I’m not trying to suggest that that may be the reason for the unimpressive Chronicle story, the reality is that upstart print reporters, especially on the business beat, are all too frequently thrust into editorial positions before developing the journalistic depth, financial sophistication, and business acumen necessary to write compelling stories. The sad truth is that daily newspapers are rapidly losing readers because increasingly they are publishing stories that just are not worth reading.
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