Sunday, December 21, 2025
Breakfast: one-egg soft taco with grated mixed cheeses and diced tomato; hot water. Troubleshot multiple problems with mail accounts. Reviewed energy usage. Lunch: I prepared for myself focaccia with pizza sauce from a jar and grated mixed cheeses; hot water. Patrick baked a chocolate olive oil cake. In the afternoon we rode Uber to the Fairmont Hotel. There was heavy traffic in the area directly around the hotel. Inside, we saw the gingerbread house and Santa then visited a holiday market with vendors selling jewelry, chocolate, kettle corn, artwork, baseball caps, and more. It had been planned for the rooftop area but was moved to the Venetian Room due to rain. Afterwards we walked around the hotel a while, seeing the rooftop area for the first time. We tried going to the Tonga Room, but it was closed on Sundays. Tony and Tadija met us there, then we tried to walk to Pacific Cocktail Haven (PCH) until I realized they were closed. We tried to get a drink at Top of the Mark which had just opened but there was already a 45- to 60-minute wait for a party of four. We walked to their car parked a few blocks away then drove to the Mission District for a midafternoon meal at Fried Chicken Palace. We each shared one order of chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Tony and Tadija had the sausage gravy; Patrick and I had the white gravy. Topo Chico for Patrick, plain waters for the rest of us. Everyone agreed that the mashed potatoes and gravy were delicious but that the chicken fried chicken had a coating that was a bit too gummy or chewy or gelatinous. It was edible and somewhat tasty, but not even close to excellent, which is what you need to succeed if it's your signature dish. The mid-century-modern interior was clean and well-designed. Afterwards we drove to our home and Patrick served us egg nog with or without rum and the chocolate olive oil cake he prepared earlier today. We chatted a long time, mostly about unlikely fears, politics, and finances. They departed, and Patrick went to bed soon afterwards. I stayed up for a few hours more before going to bed. A fine day.