My Kat Life

One of my best friends organized a girls weekend in San Francisco to celebrate her birthday together over delicious food and drinks in the city. I booked a room for myself and one of the girls in our group thinking it would work in our favor to sneak into her room with balloons and room decor while another girl enticed her to leave to take photos around The Proper at Charmaine’s. I goofed. She had planned for all of us to stay in the room together. It turns out, I couldn’t cancel my room, so I used it as an excuse to execute our plan, despite letting her down initially.

The day finally came and I went to my local Party City to pick up the 3-0 balloons. Tips: the 34 inch number balloons come in different colors now, and you can order them ahead online for store pick-up on the date that you want them! The last time I went to my Party City store to get balloons, the store was understaffed and I had to wait a while to get my balloons filled, so purchasing ahead helped mitigate some risk that I would run late. When I laid the 3-0 balloons down flat, stacked on top of each other in my trunk, they fit perfectly underneath the trunk cover! Whew, I wasn’t going to have to drive blind with balloons in my rearview mirror.

I checked into my hotel, The Donatello, and snapped some silly shots; little did I know it would be a prelude to the struggle I’d have wrangling two large balloons as I walked through windy Union Square to get to The Proper. All in good fun though! I texted the friend that was carpooling with Annie up to the city to get my cue when to start walking over to their hotel. The plan was for me to arrive while they were in the room and have the friend take Annie go up to the roof for photos. My cover was almost blown as the girls were still in the lobby when I arrived. I told the valet that I was sneaking in their room to decorate, and he let me know when the coast was clear. I got the room number from our friend and hid in the hallway just past their room so that they wouldn’t see me as they left. Alas, the surprise didn’t quite go as planned as Annie walked in while I was decorating; she had been nervous that we might run late to our reservation at JCB Tasting Lounge. As luck would have it, another friend was running late, so we took the opportunity to snap some photos while we still had daylight.

We made many attempts to have Annie blow confetti and create one of those beautiful action shots that you see on social media. It’s harder than you think! Or perhaps they used paper confetti vs regular confetti? I had my camera on burst mode to capture as many shots in action as possible, but the confetti was quite small. If anyone knows the trick to capturing a fun shot like that, I’d love to know! We had Annie throw up one of the confetti-filled clear balloons instead for some action shots and I managed to capture a better shot.

I had never been to the JCB Tasting Lounge inside the Ritz Carlton SF before, so I was excited for our visit. The lounge was tucked away on the first floor. When we walked in, it felt like we were transported back to a 1920s-era speakeasy, but for the wealthy. The lounge was dimly lit and the decor felt sophisticated with velvet everywhere. It was like Beauty and the Beast. I settled for a glass of the N°13 Brut Rosé, Burgundy. The four of us chit chatted a bit and caught up on life’s happenings before we called a rideshare to dinner.

Dinner was at Leo’s Oyster Bar in Financial District. Following the theme of being transported away from the city, Leo’s Oyster Bar transports you to a hip Miami seafood joint. The hostess took us down a narrow hallway to the back of the restaurant where there were more tables. I didn’t know the restaurant was so big; the first time I ate there, I was seated in the front dining area. We ordered an array of raw oysters, of course, and the tater tots to start. You probably wouldn’t have guessed from the photo that they are tater tots, but they are — loaded with salmon rillette, creme fraiche, house-cured salmon roe, and chives. I wanted a dozen of them once I tried one, but that would have been quite costly. I also recommend the Ocean “Bouillabaisse,” a steaming bowl of assorted seafood with crostini to compliment the stew.

We headed back to Annie’s room at The Proper and after popping open and finishing a bottle of champagne, we determined we were still hungry. The night was young, so we headed out to 707 Sutter, a well-known late-night (open until 2am Mondays through Saturdays and midnight on Sundays) Korean joint that serves up delicious food to be devoured before, during, or after drinking. The ambiance is lively as they play music and videos on the TV screens. My favorite items were the army stew and chicken wings. Koreans make some of the best wings…I’m obsessed.

The next morning, I woke up a bit too early, so I set my camera on top of a chair that I placed on top of the desk to create a tripod. The king bed was so big; I wanted a photo of me in it. If only it was my actual bed! In all seriousness, the room was quite luxurious, just without the dainty decor of The Proper.

I checked out of my room and met up with the girls in their room before we all headed down to Villon for brunch. You can’t spend a weekend in SF without brunch! Lucky for us, Villon is right inside The Proper. I ordered the Roasted Brussels and Bacon; it was packed full of flavor, although a tad salty for my taste. The portion was quite large with the amount of brussels sprouts included and I didn’t end up finishing it all.

I forgot how we got on the topic, but next thing you know, we were on our way to B Patisserie in Lower Pac Heights. The bakery needs no introduction; Belinda Leong was the 2018 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Baker. Talk about a strong female entrepreneur and culinary artist to admire. I was stoked to get my hands on one of her kouign amann. The day we visited, the special flavor was a pineapple coconut. The outside was flaky and it wasn’t too sweet. I took nibbles from my friends’ pastries that they purchased for everyone to share as well. I’ll be back, hopefully soon!