(no subject)
birthday dinners have always been special for yours truly. back in the day, before red lobster came and went from its el camino real location in los altos, my family used to eat at shogun, the japanese restaurant that occupied the space. entertaining teppanyaki style suppers replete with knife play and special fried rice ensued. when shogun kicked the bucket we celebrated at benihana up in burlingame, which has the best view of landing aircraft on runways 28L and R at SFO. if we timed it right we might see a landing air france 747 among the omnipresent united 737s. eventually i grew tired of the post-benihana bloat so following birthdays took place at little italy, a restaurant that no longer exists, on 24th street in noe (noë ?) valley, a very nice neighborhood in san francisco, to those of you unfamiliar with the city. sadly that restaurant, a real san francisco institution of sorts, became a dot com casualty of the late 90s, when rents around the city tripled or quadrupled or whatever. after that my champagne tastes developed and perhaps hit their peak, with blowout dinners at michelin 3-star places like le grand véfour in paris for my 21st birthday and constant foie gras here and there becoming the norm. tonight i'm eating tacos at home with my mom.