Some SF + OAK lovin…

Posted by random olio

I promised you a blog about San Francisco. We spent every waking hour either walking or eating. Why not? It is San Francisco. We spent one day playing in the city, and the second day in Oakland. I had a few favorite places I wanted to revisit on Saturday, and I was happily surprised and inspired by a neighborhood we found in the Mission that did not disappoint.

We ventured to Skunkfunk, and Synergy Clothing – both places I wanted to visit. On the way and in between, we found many other boutiques and design stores that did not hesitate to inspire. I love to see how different neighborhoods and cities showcase their current design tastes. On our way to finding a sweet treat, we stopped at Muji. My all time favorite Japanese pen shop with newer locations in New York and San Francisco. I have a passion for fine tip pens. The ones I purchase from Muji are .38. Hard to find in many places in the states.

Next stop: Kara’s Cupcakes.

Chris and I are cupcake fiends. Whenever we travel, we are always on the lookout for the best tasting cupcake. I really do not care what it looks like, it has everything to do with the flavor. We have our favorite in Portland, but by far the best cupcakes we have found in the states is Kara’s Cupcakes. They were a bit snooty with us, but the cupcakes did not disappoint. I found out on their website that they are opening a location in Monterey, CA this summer. As you can see they did not last long. Favorites of the day? Red velvet, Banana Caramel, and Lemon. Yum. If you are ever in San Francisco, be sure to go to the Marina District and try Kara’s.

On Sunday in Oakland, we made sure to visit one of our favorite coffee roasters, Blue Bottle Coffee. Yes, I know I am boring by purchasing decaf. Leave me alone. Their beans rock. If you want to try them from the middle of the country, you can purchase beans right from their website. They also now have locations in San Francisco and New York City.

We spent a few hours on Sunday walking outside in Oakland. It was overcast, and at times chilly and other times warm and sunny. While out for our long stroll, we saw this biker-come-kayaker. Quite the workout he must have had on Sunday!

While taking a break to rest our feet and get a warm drink, I found this fancy door. While I do not have a place for it in my home, it inspired me. A wine rack/barn/door. A very clever design idea.

A great trip. We are both a bit sunburnt, but had a wonderful weekend, strolling, talking, eating, catching up, and feeling inspired.

Bay area we will see you soon.

Have you had a cronut?

Posted by random olio

I am intrigued. A colleague at work told me the other day about cronuts. They are a cross between croissants and doughnuts, or more specifically croissant dough fried like a doughnut. I do not have a sweet tooth. If there is such a thing as a salt tooth, that would be me. However, the cronut interests me. I would at least like to see if the craze is worth all the hype.

On different blogs and news sites, I found that they are selling for $5 a piece and Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City is limiting the amount they can sell per customer. Another site says that Craigslist is selling them on the black market for 8 times the value – can you believe it? $40 a cronut. Dominique Ansel is now on the map as a bakery. I am sure they cannot keep up with the business they have acquired through their new invention. They will be what Magnolia Bakery was to cupcakes.

I even found that this blogger has come up with a recipe that takes Trader Joe’s croissants or chocolate croissants and turns them into a cronut at home concoction. While Dominique Ansel has only been selling them since May 10, if you do an Internet search you will see there is quite a bit of excitement in just the few weeks since they launched. There is even a website dedicated to cronuts.

I do not have plans to go to New York City anytime soon (although I would love to) so if anyone is going that way and then immediately coming back to Portland bring some back for me. Yum!

Travel much? Read this book.

Posted by random olio

Some of you may be staying in a hotel right now. You might be on a holiday vacation, or maybe visiting your family. You might also have an upcoming trip to a warmer place so you can get away from the snow or rain for a few days. Or, maybe it is a regular part of your job to travel for work and spend a large amount of your week in a hotel. Have you ever thought about how your experience at a hotel has to do with how often you open your wallet? I just finished reading the book: “Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality” by Jacob Tomsky. Definitely a clever name for a book.

It is a raw memoir of the life of a hotel employee. A book that sheds light on the inner workings and guts of a hotel. It also discusses how the way you treat a hotel employee may have a direct effect on how you are treated, but in ways you might not expect. Are their actions due to how the corporate hotel chain requires their employees to treat you? No hotel is the same. Or does the service you receive have more to do with how much you are willing to fork over from your wallet? One of my favorite excerpts from his book is this quick story from when he worked at a New York City hotel:

“Speaking of area codes, one of the most wonderful tools at my disposal is putting a guest into a certain room on the twelfth floor. What is so punishing about this room? Nothing by the look of it: a decent room by all accounts. However, if I put you in room 1212, your phone will not stop ringing with wrong numbers. Why? Well, a surprising number of guests never seem to learn that from every hotel phone you have to dial out. In general, to place any call, one must press 9 prior to dialing, local or otherwise. So all day, and believe me, all night, idiots dispersed through the building will pick up their phones and try to straight dial a local number, starting with 1-212. Whatever they press after that matters not because they have already dialed room 1212, and 1212’s guest will constantly pick up the 3:00 a.m call and hear the loud mashing of other numbers or some drunk guest saying, ‘Hello? Hello? Who is this?’

What time is it? Why are you calling me? Who is this?

I’d like to order the Szechuan chicken please? Excuse me? Is this Happy Family Palace’?” page 197

Wow. That will definitely make me think about how I treat the employees at hotels. There are many more experiences he shares, as well as tips for how to navigate the hotel world, whether for personal or business. In its own way, hotels are a world of their own. Tomsky shares how desk agents, bellhops, doormen, housekeepers, and management work together, how they have a system of their own, and how it works and sometimes does not. The tips he shares are snapshots of what travelers can do to navigate around hotel policies, and alert them to things they should be aware of when dealing with hotel employees.

If you do not read his book, then you will want to be on your best behavior, plan and connect with the hotel ahead of time, and be sure to open your wallet and tip for the best service. If you do not, beware and proceed at your own risk.