A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ... with Dogs

Let's get one thing straight. I don't pretend to think I can afford to buy $1000 & up bottles of wine. Not because I can't afford it (although it does seem a bit profligate regardless of personal worth) buth rather because I don't trust my palate to appreciate it.

Now if you follow me at all or know me personally you might be a bit surprised - I've often been called an elitist, a snob, an epicure & a spendthrift.

But this is not because I undervalue my own tongue but rather because there's ample evidence that very few people can truly differentiate between even reds & whites in a blind taste test much less anything more subtle. (I truly think *I* can tell the difference between white & red - I can tell  a lot of varietals so at least I've got that going for me.)

Have you seen Top Chef Masters where Very Famous Chefs can't tell certain flavors when blindfolded? Human often overestimate their own abilities. Snob that I am I do embrace this simple truth & short of being alien instead of human I know that I, too, probably shouldn't spend over $1000 for something I'm probably going to share with friends & down within the hour.

Okay onward.

Here are my fave places in Sonoma to taste wine. Why Sonoma? I'm just there right now - slightly closer to the city, fewer tourists, more laid back, less blazing heat.

Points

3 - tasty wines
3 - laid-back staff
2 - dog friendly
2 - outdoor seating
2 - food option with wine
1 - kid friendly

Wineries

Gun Bun 13
Scribe  12                                                                      
Kunde 10

Best Bay Area Old Man Bars

I once hung out with Anthony Bourdain. Before he was famous, before I had any clue who he was, probably before he fully had a clue who he could be, before I considered myself a foodie but after I could do up a mean souffle & pick good whiskey out of a line on a top bar shelf without being close enough to read the labels. This was in November 2000 after I checked out Damien Hirst & Matthew Barney exhibits at the Gagosian & went in search of a drink at an old man bar. Let's pretend I wound up at Walter's - looks about right through the haze of time although the crowd looks different. But hey, things clearly change.

On the lottery-winning-stats-chance he ever reads this & declares that he never drank on the west side back in the day, hey, it's been a long time, I could be wrong. But I'm NOT wrong about getting the shit scared out of me running into Christopher Walken during the SF Film Festival in the bowels of the Kabuki.

I digress.

I love an old man bar. I especially love an old man bar when it comes under new ownership by a woman who still welcomes the old men but invites others & finds a way to bring it all into harmony. Hotsy Totsy anyone? You'll have to find out about that on your own - its merits are too awesome to fully share.

Again ... I digress.

Back to SF & the greater Bay Area for some of my fave old man bars.