Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Pancakes at home for breakfast with Patrick. Shopping: Best in Show pet store, Auto Erotica, Max Muscle. Nachos at that taco place (Fresca?) next to A Different Light bookstore. Dinner at Cote Sud (415-255-6565, 4238-18th St) with Patrick: a four-course meal: consomme, red bell peppers with cheese and olives, quail stuffed with a mushroom risotto, filet of cod with tapenade and mashed potatoes, mousse au chocolat, slice of chocolate cake yule log. This special Christmas Eve dinner was US$50 each, no drinks included. Patrick says, "a rather ordinary menu for too high of a price, the quality itself, French Provincial, it lacks the charm of Marseilles and much of that food. I enjoyed myself, but the dishes were half-ass. And they said it was a four-course meal, but that consomme wasn't a course." I agree. I couldn't even touch the consomme after a small sip—it was too rich and salty for me and tasted of some animal that doesn't agree with my stomach or nose. The red bell peppers course was uninspired—who can't slice some peppers, fry them in oil, put a slice of rich cheese on top, and garnish with a single sliced olive? The cod was prepared adequately, but not so well that it was worthy of comment. My mousse was fresh out of the refrigerator. Our waiter's attention was distracted by customers at many other tables. I felt cheated out of my money after dining here. After dinner we walked a few blocks to see the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus at the Castro Theatre. They sold out 3 shows tonight—a one-night-only performance with several guest performers. The show was fun, but disappointing for a variety of reasons. The acoustics of the Castro Theatre were bad for a chorus. Speakers helped somewhat, but the voices still sounded duller than they should have—frustrating. Another reason was that all the chorus members could not fit on the stage—there were too many of them, or the stage was too small. Another reason was that the guest performers mostly just sang their own songs—they didn't usually interact with the chorus. Patrick particularly didn't enjoy the auction part in which they invited people to bid for the opportunity to direct the chorus for a song and the proceeds of their bid would go to an organization of their choice. I couldn't help comparing them to the Seattle Men's Chorus whose performances I recall having a great deal more poise than the one I saw tonight.