Mindy Knows

Hi from one of my favorite wine bars!

Saturday after I hit the gym and had my golf lesson, 5 of us hightailed it up to SF for girls night out!

 Susie (far left) wanted to show her niece who is visiting from out of town (sitting between me and Suze) a night out on the town since she just recently turned 21. Coincidentally, we share the same birthday!!

{Birthday twins}

Susie put me in charge of arranging our visit to Press Club, my favorite wine bar in SF which I’d introduced to her to back in November. Press Club generously hooked me up with a sweet lounge area and a complimentary bottle of champagne.

They have some of the best customer service and have built an amazing rapport with their clientele which is why I keep coming back again and again to introduce friends to it even though it is in SF and we’ve got some great wine bars here in the South Bay. However, the big draw was the fact that Press Club was home to 6 Napa wineries (read about it in my first visit here), but now they have practically discontinued the Napa vintners! We are told that as of two weeks ago the vintners are only in house on Thursdays. Hey Press Club, why not a Saturday? My friends and I loved walking around to the respective wineries to wine taste! I especially, since I usually end up driving whenever we go to Napa Despite, my friends and I had a great time. And I got to catch up with a friend from college who recently moved back to the Bay Area!

Emily is another transplant from Washington whom I met down here while at school. She just recently finished grad school and is now freelancing in SF. Check out her portfolio here. She is an immensely talented graphic designer and artist!

Immediately following we walked over to Osha Thai on 2nd Street where we ordered more drinks.

And as always, the food was phenom!

{Ahi tuna tower, pad thai chicken, volcanic beef, tom sum papaya salad, green curry, fresh summer rolls.)

After dinner we headed back to our hotel, the Sir Francis Drake just off Union Square, to check out their lobby bar for complimentary drinks and the Starlight Room and Lounge for some dancing on the 32nd floor. Can I just pause here and say how awesome it was to just walk everywhere? Even in heels! Originally we were going to check out Mr. Smith’s after dinner which is a little out of the way so we would’ve had to cab it. However, the concierge pointed out that the Pride Parade was Sunday and street closures would make it difficult to get home — meaning, based on the club’s location, we’d have to walk a ways in a sketchy neighborhood to catch a cab. No thanks! Plus, we all hit the sack at different times so it was really convenient that we ended the night dancing in our hotel.

Despite the “mature” crowd and stodgy decor, we had a lot of fun dancing with eachother! No lines either, and as hotel guests we only paid $5 cover as opposed to $10. I think $10 is a little ridiculous for this “club” to charge. The dance floor is teeny tiny and despite them playing Top 40 it’s not very hip, but I suppose the view is worth it.

View from the Starlight Room. (source)

Usually I really appreciate my internal alarm clock. It gets me up and out to the door for my 6 am runs! Going to bed at 1:30 am, however, and waking at 6… Ugh. It was worth it to get up for breakfast, though! We were conveniently in walking distance to one of my girlfriend’s favorite brunch spots, Cafe de la Presse. It’s Parisian and completely charming.

We brunched outside, sipped cappuccinos, and I chowed down on smoked salmon eggs benedict — TO DIE FOR. Usually I steer clear of runny eggs and hollandaise sauce, but it was calling my name after all that alcohol I’d consumed the night before. The hollandaise sauce was nice and light and I liked how it paired well with the smoked salmon, runny eggs, and crispy english muffin… Perfection! Bonus, the weather was atypically — for SF — pleasant and perfect for eating outside! I believe it was Mark Twain who said “The coldest Winter I ever experienced was a Summer in San Francisco” — Ha! More than once I have come up to the city from a blistering hot day in the South Bay and been freezing. But not this weekend!

By the way, if you’re looking to bypass the exorbitant overnight parking fees hotels like to charge — I believe the Sir Francis Drake is something like $60 per night — Sarah, who drove  – has a garage she uses and we only paid $17 total to park from 4 pm Saturday – 11 am Sunday! Score! Just wish I could remember which garage… I will update once I hear back from her or maybe she’ll leave it in the comments section

Thanks to Susie for organizing the night and inviting me. And for all the photos! I *somehow* managed to take tons of photos of the food and drinks but barely had any portraits of my friends. Oops! Lucky for me, Susie is a professional photographer. Plus it’s nice to actually be in some of the photos since I’m usually the one behind the lens! Check out Susie’s website here!

Fab friends and fine wine… couldn’t have asked for a better time!