Eating By the Bay

This weekend Sam Brown is in San Francisco for some food and drinks. Grab something to eat, I have a feeling this is one episode you don’t want to watch on an empty stomach.

Friday afternoon: Samantha starts in Chinatown. Sam meets up with Shirley, a local Renaissance woman. Shirley shows her a shop that introduced tofu to San Francisco. They get a piece of tofu and it sounds like Shirley’s arguing with the grocer. But Sam likes the end result. Next, Shirley heads to a restaurant for dim sun. Shirley says you have to shout to get what you want. She tries to get some food at their table and the tenth time is the charm. They keep trying to get more carts but it’s a bit difficult. Since Sam loved the pot stickers, Shirley gets her into the kitchen to learn how to make it. After some flirting between Sam and the chef, the two go to a fortune cookie factory. “You are contemplative and analytical by nature” is her fortune. Sam disagrees.


Coming up: Alcohol! Were you expecting otherwise with Sam?

Friday night: Sam goes to Harry Denton’s Starlight Lounge for cocktails. She gets a tour from Harry Denton. Mr. Denton sounds like he did some heavy smoking once upon a time. His lounge has a great view of the City by the Bay. Harry introduces her to Jacques, his mixologist. And he mixes some expensive drinks. He heats up her glass to help bring out the flavors. Her face shows that it’s worth $200. Harry also designs dresses. He says he doesn’t wear them, but the model adds “Not on video anyways.” That’s followed by a beep.

Saturday morning: Napa Valley! She visits a vineyard and heads for the buried treasure. Really--the barrels are in underground caves. The owner helps Sam out and lets her help him test the wine. They do so to see how it is aging.

Coming Up: Bread. I think.

Saturday Night: Samantha goes to a taco truck. It’s apparently the best she’ll have. She jokes with some other patrons and asks if one is a doctor. Turns out, he is. The share some meals.

Sunday morning: Sam meets Fernando, who introduces her to the “Mother Dough.” It was started from the late 19th century and saved during the 1906 earthquake. Sam helps them prepare the loaves to be baked before she gets to chow down on a piece.

Coming Up: I…I don’t even know.

Sunday morning (cont.): Sam goes to a class to learn cooking. The class is broken into teams to prepare a meal. Sam ends up on Team 1. Sam says she doesn’t know much about cooking before she’s used to ordering out. Sam decides to go spy on the other teams, but they are wise to her. Sam helps her team by suggesting duck fat and calls out another team. The instructor counts down from ten—Happy New Year! Sorry, competition’s done. And the winner is Team 1. Sam high-fives her entire team.

Sunday night: Sam and her friend Sarah go to the Supper Club. Is it a drag place? It’s a drag place! With beds? Apparently, you eat in beds at this place. Sam asks if they can order a massage and the patron next to her says he didn’t know you could do that. Sarah and Sam enjoy the show. They are impressed. Sam ends the night with a massage as Sarah looks on.

Well, that looked tasty. Of course, I am a very picky eater, so a foodie weekend isn’t my cup of tea. But those wine tours looked very appealing…Their next stop is…a barber shop? The owner’s family has had that shop for 85 years. He also plays the Erhu and was in the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” according to the sign next to his door. He plays for Sam, ending her tour with Shirley.