Cory "DJ 50 States" G.'s Profile

Skates is for two things: prom date dinners and celebrations for coworkers who don't like to eat tasty, interesting dishes.

Terrible food, generic, upsell heavy service, and you're surrounded by people celebrating some sort of something so there are flashbulbs going off every five minutes. I knew this place would suck, and it did.

I guess they have a nice view.

No more crazy smoky bar!  Dave supports the Mosswood Greens!  Love it.

Anytime I'm this far way from a BART station in San Francisco I feel like I'm in a different city, so discovering Cresta's 2211 was a nice little surprise.

After having a blast at the Yelp! elite event around the corner and minutes after nomming some pizza slices for dinner, we ended up at Cresta's drinking cold PBR and listening to the locals talk.  

I love places like that that are simple & homey.  The beers were good and the locals were friendly and provided for interesting, albeit tipsy, conversation.  This was a good way to finish the night.

Did I miss something?  When did pizza prices skyrocket to $3.90 for a reheated slice of boring potato pesto?  Still, this was a needed snack after a Yelp party and it did the trick.

Also, the dudes who work here were playing some good music.  That is all.

One of my girlfriend's SF happy hour city spots.

I actually liked it a lot in here, you would not expect that this dumpy looking place right off Market street would have such a delicious beer selection or a nice staff, but they do. I got a giant mug of Warsteiner and a neat shot of Jim Beam Rye to prep me for the Hold Steady show at Mezzanine down the street.

Major points off for supporting the Red Sox though. Boo.

Nice little new spot in Glenview. This dinner almost didn't happen as they originally told us it would be an hour and a half wait, but while I was outside calling other restaurants the owner came out and assured us he could get us seated in 30 minutes.  He was super nice and took care of all night, even fetching our glasses of wine when the bar asked me to wait a couple minutes.

We sat outside on a nice little bench and drank out wines by the glass and they had our nice, window table ready in no time.

The wine list here is awesome, and the most expensive bottle is a $52 Gigondas. There is a ton of great, affordable Italian wine that matches will with the awesome food.

The Ciccetti sampler is a must, full of great small bites like  breaded and fried olives, crostini, and a delicious meatball.My Tagliolini Pepati was awesome as well, homey and rich with a lot of flavors playing off each other.

The staff is funny, talkative, and knowledgeable.  They made food suggestions without making us feel like we were ordering the wrong thing and paid us a lot of attention without interrupting the conversation flow.  It was a great dinner!

One thing to keep in mind that, given Bellanico's location, most of the diners will probably be older than you.

Acceptable hot plate Mexican served by an enthusiastic staff in a retro styled building with lots of neon and color. The menu is like, nine pages long and they have lots of interesting special dishes.

Consensus at our table was that the Margaritas were good and frosty.

We needed to waste some time before eating a hot plate Mexican dinner in El Cerrito, so we stopped in at The Spot for a beer on our way back from Sonoma county.

The Spot is a bar attached to a liquor store with a little door in between and it has a nice view of the underside of the freeway and train tracks.

They guy kinda chuckled when we walked in and said "IDs" but after we all showed him we were old he poured us cold beers. They have some weird signs in this place and an internet jukebox and a couple regular trickled in and out.  It did the trick.

We planned this dinner a few weeks in advance, and I was not disappointed.  I love Chez Papa on Potrero Hill and I always
love hitting up Chez Maman for a quick bite a few doors down, so I was super excited to try out their newest spot.  This one is sleek and flashy, with a dark interior and giant black chandeliers with crystals hanging through the middle.  The entire dining room is very open with a shared table in the middle and smaller tables around.  They also have a cool outdoor dining area that I'm sure is great for a nice downtown lunch.

We started off with some squash blossoms (mozzarella, goat cheese, pistou, tomato coulis, and aged balsamic) which were light and delicious with the awesome goat cheese flavor floating
on top.  I drank a draft Kronenbourg and had a great time reading the wine list.  

When it came time to order the wine our French waiter was helpful and fun and gave me a good range of wines and prices.  When I started to hone in on a couple he even brought me a taste.  After we ordered the wine (a 2005 Feraud-Brunel Rasteau Cotes du Rhone Villages) the sommelier came out because he "wanted to see who made such a good choice."  I gave the waiter full credit,
and we talked about wine for a bit before he helped my friends who ordered seafood find great matches for their dishes on the wines by the glass list.

The wine went GREAT with my Châteauneuf du Pape braised lamb daube with market vegetables and rosemary oil, and
when the server brought out my girlfriend's Kobe beef tartare he explained all the ingredients and then mixed it for her, finishing it in the shape of a heart.

The evening flowed perfectly and I had a great time.  The service is personal, professional, funny, and friendly and the food was
across the board excellent.  Bravo.

Pros: Close to work and I like the cages OK.  They have some decent bats.

Cons: The camera they have setup on a time delay so you can watch your swings after you take them rarely works, and the place is HOT & stuffy.  Get ready to sweat.