1300 on Fillmore will transport you to another time, another place.
The glamorous San Francisco supper club greets you like a contemporary Southern belle with attitude from the moment you step inside its massive, heavy doors.
All warm, chocolate brown leather and polished wood, the lounge features a dramatic wall of back-lit black and white photos of the historic Fillmore Jazz District that surrounds the restaurant, a short drive from the Hotel Kabuki San Francisco.
There’s live jazz in the lounge regularly, and even gospel performances during Sunday brunch.
Recently, I was invited to be a guest of the four-year-old restaurant to try Chef David Lawrence’s singular take on Southern specialties. Lawrence owns the restaurant with his wife, Monetta, who greets guests in the dining room as if welcoming them to her own home. He is English-born, of Jamaican heritage, and French-trained — all of which shows on his plates. The food has the comforting quality you want in Southern cooking, but here it’s done up with far more flair and refinement.
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Fillet of black bass
Country rabbit and French prune pâté
Baker & Banker? That would be Pastry Chef Lori Baker and her husband, Chef Jeff Banker, who opened their convivial namesake restaurant, Baker & Banker two months ago, not far from the Hotel Kabuki.
The convivial restaurant serves New American dishes that are both familiar yet freshened with real flair. The restaurant, with its blackboard walls adorned with the day’s cheese offerings and specialty beers, was bustling on the weeknight that I was invited in as a guest for dinner.
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Performers in The San Francisco Ballet
Photo courtesy of Saturday Matinee
Known for its romantic possibilities, San Francisco is a city that encourages visitors (and locals) to dress up and head out for a leisurely evening out. One great location for a hot night on the town is the Civic Center district, where the opera house and the symphony hall vie for the patronage of classical music lovers. Here’s one of our favorite itineraries:
Start with an early dinner at Jardiniere, the first restaurant opened by local celebrity chef Traci des Jardins. You’ll be comfortable wearing evening dress in the two-tier art deco dining room. Live jazz slides smoothly through the air, enhancing the haute flavors of the French brasserie inspired California cuisine.
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Japantown at night, San Francisco
[Flickr/Averain]
Walking into the Japantown center in San Francisco is like entering another country; spend just a few hours wandering around the three story building, and you’ll feel like you just took a trip overseas, just without the jet lag. Here are a few shops to visit while there:
Pika Pika – Imagine a photo booth, where you put in a few dollars, and a strip of photos of you with a goofy grin spits out of the machine. Pika Pika does this, but with so much more style. Enter one of the seven Japanese photo booths. Pick your background. Add words and designs. Make them into stickers, stamps or print them on golf balls. Or just wander around and see what others are doing. 1581 Webster Street, Kinokuniya Mall
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