April 30, 2006 SF GTG
 

A group of Fodorites gathered for brunch at the Grand Cafe in San Francisco, thanks to Kal! Perfect choice of place, we could hear ourselves and each other talking, and unfortunately for Kal, he could hear me :) Great food and great service there - a hint for those visiting.

Shanghainese made reservations, Melissa HI brought gifts from Hawaii, all Iamq and FainaAgain had to do, was to show up! There were 9 of us, in addition to the above - Mrs Kal, Iamq’s partner and 2 Kal’s friends.

We ate and talked about our past and future trips, past and future get-togethers. I promise the meeting was peaceful. And I hope somebody will post pictures on the Internet, only knowing that Kal may do that makes me nervous. O-)

It was wonderful and I sure wish I could have stayed longer. What perfect weather we had, too!

Kal, I am looking forward to more good times in Hawaii!!

Thanks to all for a great time! I hope this is the first of many! Fun conversation, tasty food, good vibes and SUNSHINE! 8-)

-Bill

We need to see photoGRAPHS! please...

((r))i'2

I'2,
Yell at MelissaHI or Kal about pics. I forgot to bring my camera.
-Bill

bbq.......i tole you and tole you to take your camera! Geez louise, am I gonna have to come and dress you next time? btw, just what did you wear?:)

I'2,

I didn't bring hiking boots, if that's what you're wondering...and nobody dresses me, but ME!

-bill

Oh my...touchy aren't we dear? Didn't literally want to dress you, just wanted to help you pack the essentials for the day!

Sounds like someone I know needs a trip to the "hh"! ((r))***i'2***

I you kids can't get along, I will make you sit on the couch and hold hands the rest of the day!
((D))8-)

Yeah, Jamaltay, you do just that! And I'll bring my camera!

I'2,

Oh...in that case, I wore my favorite pair of Calvin jeans, black penny loafers, a purple, green, white and black irregular vertical strip cotton dress shirt (sounds odd, but it's great) and a woven black belt to keep everything in place. Pretty snappy, eh?

...and I'd gladly share a sofa with I'2 anyday, but no pictures Faina!

-Bill

Sure sounds like a fun brunch! I think that's so neat that y'all can get together.

But really, someone must have pictures of the "purple, green, white and black irregular vertical strip cotton dress shirt." LOL!

Faina, he doesn't want any photos of us together on the couch cause he doesn't want mama to see how happy we are together!

Kal.........Mels............how about some photos???

Did anyone eat the french toast or waffles with pears?

http://tinyurl.com/llabb

A most excellent time and the weather was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

Brief TR:
Galleria Park-Still a nice place and a "Kal Fave". Priceline less than $100.

Shanghai Kelly's. Still a funfilled neighborhood bareboned bar at Polk and Broadway.
Dave, Ray, Bruce, Walt and all the regulars can really make you feel at home. A rather eclectic crowd all through the day.

Rex Cafe on Polk. Very good meal.

Nice, casual atmosphere. Service was very good, the food was excellent (The Yankee Pot Roast RULES!) and a good wine list.

Grand Cafe for brunch was good...or maybe it was just because of the company?....
"Shecky Faina2" was the entertainment. :)):)):)) =D> =D> =D>

Kuletos still makes a mean Bloody Mary (hey....the guys have to have something to do while the ladies shopped at UnSq!).

Menopause: The Musical was funny and Mrs Kal says one of these days she'll explain the jokes to me. :-/

Dinner at No. Beach Pizza's Pier 39 location. Just as tasty as the No. Beach location but better scenery.

Hoofed it over to the FWharf Hyatt's Sports Bar, Knuckles, to watch the Kings game then back to the GP.
I-) I-)

"Picture postcard beautiful" this a.m. while driving home over the Bay Bridge.

Good friends...good times...Great City.:-X((l))((Y))

Thank you, Kal. What fun y'all had and now I'm not mad at Iamq any longer for forgetting his camera. Fun fun fun looking group.

"I'm having a hot flash...a tropical hot flash"...surely you could sing along to that one! I went to see it last year in Atlanta with 3 of my girlfriends and have never ever laughed so hard in my life.

Gonna do a gtg with all you fun folks one day!

Oh, and, Mrs. Kal looks like a movie star with the new do. Really really attractive.

We walked back to the hotel singing &quot;<i>Change change chaaaaaagne....</i>&quot; ((8)) ((8))

I'll relay your kind comments to Mrs Kal...I should get a LOT of mileage out of it! ;)

Great pics, what a fine looking group of Fodorites!! ((A))

On one of those pics it says &quot;Faina PM and Shanghai.&quot; Am I having a serious memory glitch? I don't recall being there. And I don't think I'm in that picure. Am I losing my mind? :-(

Menopause..the musical - what a hoot! Wonder if it's coming to Austin anytime soon???

P_M - if it does, let's have a GTG - 'bout time doncha think?

P_M,
Isn't part of menopause forgetfullness?
Don't you remember dancing on the table?
:-&quot;
Do men get womanopause? :-?

Hey Kal, your photos are wonderful! What a group of happy looking Fodorites! I love Mrs Kal's hair..very beautiful. Your GTG sounds perfect..good friends, good food, good drinks and good weather. What more could one ask for!

I danced on the table?? Did I yodel and do flips too? I really should stop taking Ambien. :-[

Hey, kopp, I'm ready for a GTG when you are. :-)

kopp and P M...if you go to see &quot;Menopause the Musical&quot; be prepared to hurt from laughing so hard.

Then come back and explain to Kal, just in case the Mrs. hasn't yet!!!

PM,
PM = Partner Martin, my partner, or as he is also known, Marteeeeeen.

I'2,
I think Faina had the french toast. It looked delicious.

kopp,
I like my shirt!

-Bill

So this is what y'all saying behind my back, huh?

PM, be careful with your questions :) When I ask if I'm losing my mind, my oh-so-compassionate co-workers slyly inform me, I had nothing to lose ;)

Icee, I think waffle was the only vegetarian dish on the menu... and salmon was served with lentils, yuck!

But the waffle was good. Darn chef must've tasted and tasted rum, not much was on those pears.

Bill: wrong stripes! They must be red, white and blue. Oh, you said no politics? My apologies.

Yeah, we must do it again. Who's coming to the city? Like we need a reason :)

Oh, and in that picture Kal called &quot;majic&quot; I'm showing off my zip-out bag. Not a Baggalini brand, no, a cheap imitation.

Thanks for that info, aimq. WHEW!! It's good to know that if I have a mind to lose, it isn't happening just yet. :-))

Hey Faina - Have you been pullin' my leg? Here I dun thot you lived in fancy San Francisco. What's this with the &quot;y'all&quot;? I see yer now talkin' Texan!

If any of y'all ever git to our neck o' the woods (Austin), we'd be much obliged if'n yu'd give us a holler. Mighty good grub down in these parts make for a mighty fine GTG!

&quot;Mighty good grub down in these parts&quot; - WHAT??????????

:-?

Fainar, don't you know nuttin'? Grub is vittles, of course. when u wander down ta these parts from up yonder, we'uns can all take vittles together!!

What great picture and fun thread!!

Um, PM, my how you've changed! ;-)

Yes AnnMarie, I've gone from a hen to a rooster. Didn't I mention that on the Friday R&amp;R's? How silly of me to forget. :-p

The photos are fabulous!

You mean, Grand Cafe as in Hotel Monaco?!?!?! How the heck did I miss that one? LoveItaly, where WERE we?

It looks like great fun!! How nice to have some faces to put with the posts! Thanks for the pictures.

Anybody in town over Mem Day weekend?
**== **== **==
There might be a &quot;The Original US Restaurant Friday Calamari Special&quot; in The Kals future.

Starrsy,
Kind of a semi-last min GTG thang once we found out the Original Wicked Wahine
from Oahu was going to be in town the same time we were.
And that was the sexiest centipede bite mark I have ever seen! \:D/

Special thanks to Shanghainese for taking the laboring oar on the ressies.
:*

Ooops, so much for fat fingers. Will be in Shanghai memorial day weekend eating lots of fried calamari, I'll be happy to make the res' for the next GTG. Have car, will travel!

Hi starrsville, well we will have our own GTG at the Grand Cafe when you can get to SF ;;) Hope all is well with you.

Great photos. Looks like you all had a wonderful time at this GTG.

...and the story behind the bite was very typical fodorite behavior, too! hahahaaaaaa

By the way, I had a real duck confit that night since the duck hash didn't include the whole leg! Don't get me wrong, the hash was yummers nonetheless!

Somehow the 1st part of my posting fell off, anyway, I'm still on a slow boat to Ameeriica, didn't find this posting till today!

It was so much fun to be with all the lovely Fodorites! No worries about making reservations, I used to take them many years ago, it's a great pleasure and honor to make them for GTGs.

Kal, you are a hunk but I won't want to sit next to you when you have menopause, ouch.

Melissa, where did you go for dinner? I need two duck legs, one to share with P M who couldn't find it in his hash either.