It is a hoot, to be sure, and worth one’s good humor. Life’s short . . .
Is it open? I heard some stuff about making it a swimming pool again. BTW, I did a building survey in the Tonga Room a long time ago. It was kind of creepy in the dark, a lot of funk behind the scenes but fascinating to see the stuff working, lights and rain.
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Oh man I haven’t been in years but I’ve heard the cocktails have gotten better. Now you have me thinking about a tiki bar crawl - Tonga Room, Pagan Idol, Bamboo Hut, Zombie Village and Smugglers Cove. Gonna need a designated driver.
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Carmel isn’t a day trip . From Santa Cruz to the city is a hour and a half. Consider hwy one traffic to Carmel add another hour at least. Traveling the coast route or going over hwy 17 to highway one
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Let’s face it. Round trip from SF to anywhere (Marin, Peninsula, East Bay) will eat a chunk of time. Bridge and moreover access to bridge time can be agonizing, particularly on weekends. Especially for a first time short visit, I repeat, KISS: keep it simple, stupid. There is more than enough in town to occupy anyone…for a lifetime! I know.
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Up to ?? weeks in advance?
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Hawker Fare is a shadow of its former self.
Sorry to disagree about Liguria bakery. Their focaccia is flabby and 2nd rate, and their rude take-it-or-leave attitude is a real bummer.
Here’s their cheap, industrial cheese and jalapeño version vs what good focaccia can actually be.
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I was introduced to Liguria Bakery by my Italian sister-in-law sometime in the '40s. Their focaccia was and is quintessential. Simple, lightly dressed, hours fresh. Originally there were plain, onion, tomato and raisin.
In the intervening years, mostly in the last 20, focaccia has become a household word and ersatz versions are without limit, including tarted up semi-pizzas with arugula, cherry tomatoes and cheese.
I’ve gone through two generations of bakers and FOH. The front room has remained the same, the service the same and to the best of my knowledge the product the same. It is one of the last producers of real Ligurian focaccia and its product is sold at several old time Italian delis in town.
It is one of the last bastions of “old” San Francisco.
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So what happened to them?
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I don’t think the focaccia bakeries of Genova would agree that their use of fresh or high-quality ingredients renders their product “ersatz.” Not to mention that focaccia di Recco (with Recco cheese) is one of the original styles and not some sort of new fangled innovation at all!
But I do agree that Liguria Bakery is a holdover from the “old San Francisco.”
From “Italy Segreto”, " Admittedly, it’s nothing like the golden, pillowy, dimpled focaccia you associate with the name. This delicacy is something entirely different, unleavened, hardly even focaccia at all in the traditional sense of the word. Yet it is the most decadent version of them all. If you’ve never been to Liguria, specifically to the area around Recco, you’ve most likely never tasted the stuff, or anything remotely close to it."
We are comparing apples and oranges.
Sorry ; Since October 1st it’s up to four weeks in advance. ( We got one for Saturday!)
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Exactly. There are varieties of focaccia, which are neither new or ersatz, and people who haven’t been to Liguria might mistakenly assume that not to be the case.
Regardless, Liguria Bakery’s product is 2nd rate, and their ingredients are of low quality, not least the cheese they use.
But it’s kind of all there is. So there’s that.
Btw:
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I don’t mind “The City”. I’m originally from an outer borough in New York, and don’t remember even Manhattan getting away with that!
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Those of us who grew up in Jersey used to refer to NYC (usually Manhattan) as “The City”, as in “I work in the city so I gotta ride NJ Transit every day.”
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