Sunday, November 11, 2018
Day 4 of poor air quality due to the Camp Fire. Slept in. Breakfast: leftovers. Rode UberX with Patrick to the Mission for first-visit brunch at Alba Ray's (415-872-9409, 2293 Mission Street) with Jonathan O, Phil, Drew, Danny, Quyen, Dave, Chris G, Andy T, and Patrick. People got a bunch of cocktails and coffee, and I remember Andy got an end of the road ($13), Patrick got an absinthe suissesse ($13), and I got a peach cobbler cocktail ($11). We ordered three sets of beignets with salted caramel sauce ($8.50)—delicious, even if not as airy as at Cafe du Monde. Phil got loco moco ($13.50), Jonathan had creole chicken and pork jambalaya ($13.75), Dave ordered smoked pork hash with egg and tater tots ($13.50), Quyen did not order (having just come from dim sum brunch with family), I had fried chicken ($18), Patrick had crispy shrimp po'boy ($14.75), Andy had shrimp remoulade eggs benedict ($15.50), Chris had smoked pork hash with egg and tater tots ($13.50), Danny had shrimp remoulade salad ($15.25), Drew had a breakfast sandwich ($15.50) which looked like a burger. Partway through the meal I also ordered a French 75 ($12). They didn't have a dessert menu—only beignets. I saw later that our receipt included a line item for "SF Business Mandate (4.00%)." I thought this dining experience was terrific, and I had a great time. The (paper) menu is notable for its fine attention to typography. Afterwards Chris and Andy took off and the rest of us came to Patrick's and my place for Patrick's homemade tiramisu. We also served Bialetti espresso, dessert wine, and water. Service by Olivia V. was very good. Afterwards Patrick and I realized that we forgot to distribute napkins—oops—but no one mentioned it. Rested and tidied. Late, light dinner: leftovers. Today I noticed that the tree outside our home had been trimmed, and Patrick told me that the landlord had asked the city to trim it and they did.