How Much Fun Can One Have On A Saturday?

This past Saturday my friend Stuart and I decided to venture to the Western Addition or NOPA as it has recently been nicknamed. I had heard about this awesome Mexican restaurant called Green Chile Kitchen. I was psyched to see that they had Eel River's Blonde on tap and ordered the combo-plate. I had a pork tamale, the chicken enchilada and the crispy steak taco. I also chose the green chile over the red chile and requested it to be mild. We sat at the bar and had a great time.

It was then a hop, skip and a jump down to their sister Chile Pie & Ice Cream for some dessert. Stuart and I both decided on the Green Chile Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust...a la mode, of course. They were serving Three Twins ice cream and we went for the Strauss Vanilla. The pie had just the right kick of spice and the cheese and apple crispy texture was so fine.

After pie, a Macchiato was in order and so we walked in Matching Half for our fix.  Sermon Espresso by Verve Coffee and done with a  Slayer machine, what more can a boy ask for? Plus, the decor is fantastic and the folks that run the joint are so joyful.  It was a great trip to this side of town.

After I left Stuart in the Castro, I cruised on down Folsom Street to City Beer Store to meet Shana. Because I was in the mood, I ordered the Decadent Darkness on tap. A very strong ale, combination, Imperial Stout and Barley Wine, from the Valley Brew folks. It was mighty! Especially with the Quejo Amareloda Beira Baixa from Quinta Serra da Gardunha... aka Salami and 4 cheeses. The Grafton Village 2 year cheddar from Vermont, the Cravenzina from Caseificio d'ell Alta (Italy), the St Andreas from BellwetherFarms in California and the Casalinga from Creminelli in Utah. I had made it through a pint of Oskar Blues ODB as well. This 4 Gold Medal World Beer Champ Old Double Bagger Barleywine has a 13.2% Alcohol content and is only 6 months old. It was nice to see a keg of it on the list.

For our last beer, I decided to go to the fridge for an Old Viscosity from the Port Brewing folks in San Marcos, CA.  A great priced strong beer that poured dark and was full of rich ingredients. Shana and I shared it as we planned our next stop.

Teased by the cheese, we decided to go try Radius when my buddy Rich arrived from Berkeley. It was the Rocky Jr. Fried Chicken that all 3 of us decided on. We also shared a Bread Salad with tomatoes, basil, mint, parsley, arugula, red onions and ricotta salata with red wine, tomato water and olive oil. The chicken was so thick and juicy and the skin was so crunchy and desirable. The salad was a masterpiece of flavor. Everything tasted so fresh. All the pastries and desserts looked really scrumptious. I had tastes of the cookies and cakes they were sampling.

From there, we went to Bloodhound, next door for cocktails. Basil Hayden's on the rocks for me and neat for Shana. It was a great bar I had never been to before. I totally fell in love with this Olde English Bulldogge named Abby that was roaming around. She was the sweetest girl with an amazing personality. I kind of ignored my friends and totally paid complete attention to her until she left with her daddy.

After about 3 whiskeys, Rich and I left Shana on the corner of 11th and Folsom and we headed to Slim's to dance with the boys at Blow Off. This was some, fun Saturday!