after i dropped off tom’s indian visa application yesterday, i started wandering around though union square. i stopped in the new barneys for the first time. as stores go, this one was nice but for barneys it kind of sucks, doesn’t even come close to the new york or beverly hills stores… too bad. mostly it lacks the luxury of open space. the men’s department feels boxy and the space doesn’t flow. plus, they don’t have dries van noten at this location, boo. as i was walking past the levi’s flagship store, i remembered reading about this body-scan thing that they had there and went in, but no dice, they had gotten rid of it. walked down maiden lane to admire shop window’s then bought a package of parliament ultra lights at a 711 on market street.
continued down market into the financial district ( i love how neighborhoods flow into one another in san francisco) in order to better aquaint myself with this part of the city. i love the office tower at 555 california street, its beautiful, and the space around it is awesome- it makes it feel as though you are entering a temple of something.
i continued down to embarcadero center which is also pretty cool close-up, it looks as though you are staring up at jagged cliffs. my grandfather used to work in one of the office towers here, but i wasn’t sure which one. had a coffee from tully’s and went into walden books to consult the san francisco guidebooks on my choice of restaurant for lunch. i was excited because tom told me not to spend more than $40 or else it would look to expensive when he does his expenses. anyway, spending $40 on lunch is not something I do very often (usually $4.25 lo mein special or a home-made sandwich) so I wanted to go somewhere really cool. flipped through the book and called my mom for a recommendation. she suggested one market, mostly because she used to live in the same building as the chef, and had a funny story about making him spaghetti-o’s once. anyway, i decided that i wanted an incredible view, so i decided on the top of the mark. walked through the le meridian hotel to check it out and ask the concierge if i would need reservations for lunch, which i didn’t. the lobby and restaurant were sleek and cool, but small for such a large hotel. on the cab ride over saw about forty people dressed in fairy costumes along california street.
Filed under: 3rd street, architecture, being poor, celebrities, fashion, food, los angeles, mid-city west, my neighborhood, people, restaurants, shopping
this morning i received a (1 1/2 year late) welcome to the neighborhood from norm’s diner on la cienega along with a $10 gift certificate, cool. went there for lunch, interesting 1950’s modernist architecture, slow service, but a good tuna melt– not as good as canter’s or johnny rocket’s but better than swinger’s. I owed them 52 cents plus $2 tip. Appreciated the free lunch but probably won’t go back, canter’s, j.r.’s and swingers are all alot closer.
on the way back stopped at polkadots and moonbeams and ravishing resale on 3rd street. the woman who own’s ravishing resale was cool, funny and used to be a buyer for filene’s. admired an alligator skin gianfranco ferre motorcycle jacket she has. the girl at the resale p & m store was very sweet/funny, but the girls in the boutique p & m store didn’t even say hello to me, even though i was the only person in the store. when you are a boy and you go into a woman’s only boutique, one of two things happen– either they think that you are stylist or something and are super nice, or they think you have no clue where the hell you are and ignore you. i wish more resale places had men’s things… btw, if anyone needs a knee-length mohair cape, there is one on sale at polkadots and moonbeams for $40.
also, saw a decent pack of paparazzi outside of the vegan-organic place on la cienega. almost stopped to see who was inside, but i was hungry, and vegan food tastes like shit.
