Thursday, December 31, 2009

San Francisco! (aka Tales from the Tenderloin)


In retrospect, our time in the Tenderloin was humorous. Here we were, the 1st National tour of the Tony-award winning revival of South Pacific (or SPOT, as we like to be called) in our glamorous, inaugural city of San Francisco, wading knee deep through passed out crack addicts on our way home. We were warned about the depravity of this neighborhood which housed the famous Golden Gate Theatre: there were constant reminders to never walk alone after dark, we were to always walk home in groups. I was gearing up for the hills, fog, gorgeous seaside vistas and receptive gay audiences, but wasn't prepared for dodging drugged out homeless people who were so high, you could see the light of sanity completely extinguished in their eyes.


Through our misadventures of jumping over pee puddles, escaping proposed duels by scorned natives at the late-night Walgreens, or skirting love struck street residents (my fave quote was probably: " Hmmm. You so fine, you finer than fine. Ima stick witchu."), there were also high points to be enjoyed. San Francisco has a flavor all it's own from any city in California; Inherent is the free-spirited whimsical feel personified in the art, local neighborhoods, and the typical Californian cuisine that overstates smoothies and avocados. However, there is a certain sophistication and irreverence that is reminiscent of my beloved Manhattan. Couldn't put my hand on it, but perhaps it's partly due to the proximity of the nearby world-renowned Napa Valley (An entire valley designated for producing wine? Heaven. Possibly one of my favorite places on earth).

Or maybe because it's one of the most culturally diverse places I've been to. In addition to hearing every language in spoken in Europe (okay, maybe counting tourists in there) I haven't been around that many Asians since I lived in China. Loved it. My Peeps! This also equated to having every favorite ethnic cuisine you could get a craving for, a stumble away: Thai. Indian. Italian. Pakistani. The SEAFOOD. Chinese. (And I mean the real deal, half my time was spent in Chinatown.) Vietnamese. The cast found this little hole-in-the-wall Pho place that was apparently dubbed the best in the world by Julia Child. And lets not even get started on the progressive fusion places- Heaven's Dog had not only the most unique cocktails that would give Soho mixologists a run for their money, but the pan-Asian inspired fare had me braving dark walks after shows for their noodles. For southern breakfast enthusiasts, most mornings we'd lose half the cast to Dotties, where the line on weekends spanned the block. Hands down however, most of my money went to this one little Japanese establishment that boasted the best noodles in California. And I sorta believed them. The wait list was packed with Asian People, that's how you know it's good. San Fran is your own gastronomical world tour.


Aside from blowing entire weeks of per diem on rampant sushi excursions, yet another pet spot of the cast was The High Tide. This amazing establishment became the watering hole of choice in my estimation partly due to its proximity to our hotel (across the street) and partly due to Kim. This delicate whippersnapper of a bartender extraordinaire was our host who addressed all her dive bar clientele with a Sweetie or a Honey. She had flair, tough love, and was kind of like your hip Korean mom. But there was always the 9mm by the register to remind all to stay in line. We loved Kim, and Kim loved us back. Before we left town, she invited us all to the bar after the closing show for a full Korean dinner she cooked for the cast. It was never clear whether she owned the bar or was related to the older Asian lady that would help her handle the busy Sunday nights (Sunday is our Friday) or how old she really was. But she indubitably kept us properly libated and coming back for more.


As far as opening cities go, we certainly departed with our share of tales from the Tenderloin. Not all shared my enthusiasm for the vivid neighborhood that we lived and worked in. But all in all I personally was grateful for such a colorful experience. It always kept me on my toes, awake and open to what would come at me on any partiucular day. This, in addition to the bonus of the world's fare being a hop skip and a trolley ride away, made for delicious and fond memories of our first city on tour. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this amazing country has in store for us. Stay tuned for more from the Road Gypsy Diaries.