Two
Neighborhood: SOMA
22 Hawthorne St
(at Howard St)
San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 777-9779
In the Know: Generally, I would agree that everything looks better in a darker setting; ambiance, design, your date who you are convinced resembles any number of your favorite bobble heads (I know from personal experience having recently gone on a date with one...come to
think of it, maybe it was dark because his head blocked out all the light) My point is, mood lighting works wonders for a design. For instance, lets say you have a designer that either may or may not have schizophrenia. (no judgments here) What would you get? A cluster f*ck of materials and elements, to say the least .Let me paint you a picture: Personality 1 - In the entrance/bar area, imagine putting a microscope up to cork and super-sizing it across your space. To get more technical, heavily grained wood veneers line the surrounding walls. Creeping up a large portion of those walls are what I believe to be the closest to green plaid booths south of Ireland. (I say this because in my mind Ireland is chalk full of red headed, green plaid wearing midgets frolicking through the green pastures guzzling down guinness. *But in the non-offensive way*) Now you can only have this sweet combo for 3 of the walls because one of them is taken up by gigantic windows. What to do? Personality 2 - Think of your favorite past time; sitting in the sauna sweating out all the toxins you ingested from the previous night
and going to second in the back seat of your 1972 Volkswagen Bus. Perfect. Put them together. Segmented wood planks comprise the base of your booth but for comfort add a dated 70's fabric. Personality 3 - I have to keep to traditional design in a warehousesque setting. Lets add a little brick, some dark wood tree trunk lounge tables, and metal tables, all surrounding a central oblong bar. Personality 4 - Now I know women can spend far to long in a bathroom. How do I make them comfortable and yet get them out as fast as possible. *View picture...need I say more. Personality 5 - Im feelin a lil' quirky. I also need to mask personality 1-4 with some chia pet lighting fixtures and 62 of Bambi's antlers (one lonely chandelier over one lonely thick wood table - all that is needed is the log cabin).Like I said, everything looks better in the dark. And that's the circle of the schizophrenic life.
*I can not fully review the large main dining room because I did not enjoy my $19 Cast iron pan half chicken, garlic, kale, pine nuts, currants there. I peeked in though. To my amazement Personality 6 & 7 came out through the Reno (I say Reno because it could possibly be the ugliest city in the world) Casino style fabrics lining the booths and chairs and a large, seemingly open kitchen. I say seemingly because it looks open but is behind sliding glass track doors. Oh you tricksters.
Behind the Bar: At first our server was pretty distant, I am guessing because my vamp style makeup might have led her to believe I would suck on her blood. However, once I asked her about the design she was extremely
helpful. Overall she was pleased with a far from cohesive design. At first glance I thought the designer did do a great job with space planning. Upon closer inspection, and only after she mentioned it, I realized the bar to dining ratio was a little tight. In more than one location you would be enjoying the behind side (the arse if you will) of someone standing at the bar while indulging in your $25 Pan roasted albacore tuna, tarragon-tomato coulis, and marinated three bean salad. Some might find that tasty, to each his/her own. Also the large, and out of place, black box holding all the alcohol makes it hard for a server to see they are about to run into an unknowing, white bloused victim around the corner. Splat! Bam! Pow!Who's Who: If you are looking to save a buck, go to the HH. Everything on the wine list is half price (might be the reason I agreed to go on a date with bobble head guy, too much 1/2 priced drinks), and bar bites are $2 and delicious. Anyone that serves pigs in a blanket gets two thumbs up from this girl. The crowd was sparse so telling you who attends is sort of difficult. From what I observed, the table next to us consisted of people with loads of tattoos mixed with what looked like lawyers. (great combination!) At the bar was a typical after work group. Across the way was an elderly couple. Him in a fantastic blazer and bowtie, her in large thick rimmed black glasses and pink hair. Seems like there are as many characters in this bar as there is personalities.
Too Much Information: Take Me Back!
