At LAX - on the way to Oakland and then San Francisco!
Our Southwest flight into Oakland was slightly delayed so we decided to make the best of it and have drinks and chips at the Mexican cantina bar next to our gate. It was odd how cheery we were despite being surrounded by very grumpy travelers. We then moved the party over to another café/bar nearby. I usually try not to drink before or during a flight for fear of dehydration, but sometimes you have to just go with the flow. J
The flight was pretty uneventful and before we knew it, we arrived in Oakland – and a quick cab ride later, we got to our friend's dad's place near Lombard and Hyde (i.
Lounging at Circa!
e., near the famous "crooked street"). I always enjoy the drive into the city – so beautiful; lights glistening over the still waters, wonderful Victorian facades with gorgeous detailing …makes me want to move to SF every time I visit. Upon arrival, we freshened up and then headed out to Circa (see review). [sidenote – we discovered it's near impossible to get a cab on weekend nights in residential areas of SF, even if you call in advance; only tip I can offer is to stay at a hotel or find the busiest street nearby and hope a cab drives by …] We had planned to have dinner at Circa, but due to the delay we made a group decision to skip dinner and start drinking. (I would like to try the food sometime in the future.) After a few drinks, we tried another bar (mainly because we were told there was a pizza place across the street – because we knew sooner or later we would require non-liquid sustenance). The other club (metromix? or matrix?) was ok, but the crowd was not as good and the bartender made a really awful drink – at least the drinks were cheap (compared to LA) so it wasn't that big of a deal, but she really should have taken it back and made us something drinkable as a replacement.
Midnight snack!
Our time there was relatively brief because everyone was starting to get hunger pangs so we made a quick dash to Pizza Orgasmica. I had pepperoni and sausage on thin crust (quite yummy) and mushroom on thicker crust (ok, but the other one was better). Nothing beats pizza as a late night snack! We pretty much fizzled out after our tummies were full so we headed back to rest up for tomorrow's wine tasting!
This is a restaurant/bar but we only came for drinks so the scope of my review will be limited. This is a cool loft-like space with dark woods, plush drapes and a video of a huge white, serene flower to serve as a sharp contrast to the throngs of people in the bar. Drinks were good, well-priced (compared to LA) and the people were quite attractive and eclectic - ages ranging between mid-twenties to late-thirties; from professional yuppie types to artsy folks. Really fun, laid back vibe. Worth checking out.
I think this is their "sign" - i
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A shot of the main bar.
Lounging with the girls.
