My Last Days in San Francisco

I've only gone to Amnesia once, drunkenly, on my birthday, after Yelp-Celebrity-Ed suggested we take the party there since they had karaoke. I must say, I think I had an excellent time? It was pretty awesome that they had a Slash impersonator on stage with all the singers, and song selection was pretty decent. They had no vodka, but plenty of soju. Maybe too plenty? I think the bartender tried to cut me off...

With its big backyard full of picnic tables, Zeitgeist kind of reminds me of a high school quod, which makes it a bit annoying when its croweded. Just about everything else totally makes up for that, though: pint glass mixed drinks, perfect bloody marys, pitchers upon pitchers of beer, home fries cooked to order, and nightly visits by the Tamale lady. We always end up going to Zeitgeist a little toooo often in the summer, since it's one of the only places in the city with lots of outdoor seating. Get there early, grab a whole table for all your friends, enjoy the sunshine and drink up.

I'm so glad I had my birthday dinner at Katia's. Everything was soo delicious, and I should know, because I demanded to eat off everyone's plate. Everything from the herring appetizer to the sturgeon to the teas was really good. I think I managed to order dumplings for 3 courses (potato vareniki appetizer, beef pel'meni and cheese vareniki with cherry sauce for dessert), and did not get sick of dumplings by the end of the night.

Katia herself came out and took pictures of us. She's also hired an accordian player on Saturdays. I hear he takes any and all requests, including ACDC songs, which sounds awesome.

I've always wanted to try rock climbing, so I scheduled a trip to Mission Cliffs for one of my birthday days. Turns out, my friends are really only into drinking and eating, so not many people showed up. Sarah, my hiking partner, and super extreme couple Christina and Tomasz showed up, however, and we had a great time. There are a variety of walls with different skill levels to choose from, and they change it around every week so there's always something new to try. The clientel ranges from little kids to hardcore climbers. There's even a foozball table for when you hands get tired.