Sunday, June 1, 2014
No breakfast. Gym: elliptical trainer, stretching. Checked out the rooftop pool—a great view, but you can see only east. Unusual stainless steel pool. Today Richie set up UCSF Party, a GroupMe chat room for our group and a handful of others. Walked around downtown. Found a credit union ATM (Velocity) and was surprised to see a $2 surcharge but retrieved money anyway. It was dead seemingly everywhere immediately north of the Omni Downtown. I found almost no one walking on the sidewalk and no restaurants or shops open. I even found a visitor center on Congress Avenue which was closed. I turned south on N Congress Avenue and continued walking. Stopped at the Driskill. I was unimpressed with the architecture exterior partly because of the painted brick but also because the construction didn't seem like it was crafted very well in parts. The inside is very elegant but too dark for my taste. The cafe at Driskill (1886 Cafe & Bakery) had prices basically identical to San Francisco. It also had lots of uncleared tables, which I thought unusual at these prices. Brunch at Frank (512-494-6916, 407 Colorado Street). I ordered shrimp and grits, but when it arrived I noticed it appeared spicy, which the deliverator confirmed. The menu, however, made no indication that it was spicy, so I sent it back. My server Sara returned, I ordered pulled pork tacos with corn tortillas, and these turned out fine. My first bite into the pulled pork was heavenly. The meat is crisped on the outside before you reach the tenderness on the inside. The tacos were mostly egg and cheese; relatively little meat for a $10 plate. To drink: orange juice, ice water. Interesting fan installations, live DJ, excellent mixing. Service by Sara was excellent. The chicken and waffles seemed to be the most popular dish. The breaded and fried chicken is curved into a shape like a baseball mitt and the gravy is poured into it with the waffle beside it. Walked west to N Lamar Blvd then headed south. Stopped at Whole Foods Market (512-542-2200, 525 N Lamar Blvd) and bought apples and bananas. Walked back to Omni Downtown. Nap. Awoke to messages on my phone: John K and Conrad C planning dinner. We ate at Stubb's with Richie and Alexia joining us midway. BBQ here was very good. Two small issues: my meat was not hot (and it seemed from discussion at the table that this was normal) and the chicken was a little on the dry side. Mac and cheese was excellent. John said it reminded him of Kraft (deluxe). I had beef brisket, chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, margarita on the rocks. Back to the hotel room. Rested and freshened. Met the group on the hotel roof with Richie and Alexia joining. Amber planned to leave the next day. She had a Lady Gaga concert to attend.