Uncanny Valley

This place bills itself as “San Francisco’s Newest Attraction,” which may be so as I hadn’t really known about it until happening to stop by. I don’t spend a lot of time in the wharf, as it is a bit of a tourist trap. I also likewise ignored the old Boudin store, as it was mainly geared towards tourists as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love their bread, but there’s just something about seeing it used as a soup bowl that deters me.

So, this has a large bread bakery and gift shop as one may expect. They also have a restaurant with pizza and stuff. Still not amazing, despite having the bread on aerial conveyor baskets from the bakery to the counter. They also have a big window on the street that allows you to see the bakers at work, and they have headphones that you can ask them bread-related questions. I’m not sure what questions you may have about bread, but there you go. What I liked though was the museum, which goes above the bakery part and allows a better view than the window. They also have tasting, which is always a plus. I also liked the display of SF food inventions, like the fortune cookie, martini, and of course sourdough.

Even if you don’t go on the museum tour, the place is worth a stop by now. Even with all the additions, I feel like they are less of a tourist trap now and more of a real destination.

I love garlic. I could have it in almost anything. Except for peanut butter cups, those are some of the most horrendous things…

Anyways, if you’re like me, a garlic-lover, then this place is for you. Everything on the menu is made with the bulb, and usually an abundance thereof. There are one or two things on the menu that are lacking garlic, and are appropriately marked with a little vampire symbol. But seriously, why are you here if you’re a vampire? That’s like a vegan going to a steakhouse (macaroni and cheese is not a vegetable, people!).

I’ve only been to the SF version, so I can only assume the following paragraphs are applicable:

Personally, I think they could have kicked it up a notch, but then again I have a high threshold. The vegan selections are a little limited, but seeing how the green garlic spread they put on the table for the rolls is vegan and simply divine. I think every time I have like two jars of that and then barely have room for the primavera. Unfortunately they don’t sell that in the gift shop, but you can get a recipe.

Oh yea, there is a gift shop. Small, but a good place to go for that cook or garlic-lover in your life. Other than that, the decor is retro and eclectic and fun. Each room is slightly different. Some of the tables are small, and the place is right on the main drag, so reservations are recommended. It can also get a bit noisy, so if that’s an issue,try to get a booth, as many have high walls that muffle the sound.

I love garlic. I could have it in almost anything. Except for peanut butter cups, those are some of the most horrendous things…

Anyways, if you’re like me, a garlic-lover, then this place is for you. Everything on the menu is made with the bulb, and usually an abundance thereof. There are one or two things on the menu that are lacking garlic, and are appropriately marked with a little vampire symbol. But seriously, why are you here if you’re a vampire? That’s like a vegan going to a steakhouse (macaroni and cheese is not a vegetable, people!).

Personally, I think they could have kicked it up a notch, but then again I have a high threshold. The vegan selections are a little limited, but seeing how the green garlic spread they put on the table for the rolls is vegan and simply divine. I think every time I have like two jars of that and then barely have room for the primavera. Unfortunately they don’t sell that in the gift shop, but you can get a recipe.

Oh yea, there is a gift shop. Small, but a good place to go for that cook or garlic-lover in your life. Other than that, the decor is retro and eclectic and fun. Each room is slightly different. Some of the tables are small, and the place is right on the main drag, so reservations are recommended. It can also get a bit noisy, so if that’s an issue,try to get a booth, as many have high walls that muffle the sound.

Add me to the long list of people disappointed that this isn’t a museum for doughnuts. Actually I’m more disappointed in the lack of vegan donuts. There is a bit of museum though, it’s just about WWII. Lou apparently was a vet who liked to tell people about the war. Ironically enough, Lou’s not living. Now his friends/fans the Chavira family have taken over the restaurant and museum.

I had been warned about the non-doughnutness of the museum beforehand, and so didn’t really spend that much time here. My grampa was in the Navy in the Pacific, so I know a bit of what he went through. When I got back and flipped though the brochure I got I realised that I somehow missed the part where there is an admission fee charged. The layout inside was a little confusing and I had thought that the pictures and memorabilia on one side of the shop was the museum. Oh well. Maybe next time I’ll see the rest.

Occasionally something on South Park is actually real. I can think of two, actually: Casa Bonita and Wing. And it seems that the place is pretty accurately represented in the episode. This used to be a chain, but the penultimate one closed in October 2005 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Other than the carry-out, this is a all-you-can-eat place, so you have to pay for food to get in and see stuff. Multiple reviewers, and even a suit from the parent company what owns Carls Jr. said that people should go here for the entertainment and not the food. But for $9 I don’t think it would be that bad.

Image copyright © 1997 - 2003 by Comedy Partners/Comedy Central

I always wonder why I am one of those people who never seems to see any ghosts. I love watching the Ghost Hunters and reading about haunted places, but I just need to see for myself. That’s one reason I went to this place. Tales about the Blue Lady, the resident ghost, were even on Unsolved Mysteries. Though I heard all the ghostly happenings may not be caused just by ghosts, if you catch my drift. So I figured I’d see something.

But somehow I missed the real ghost(s) as well as the faked ones. The hoaxes include the lights above the bar shaking, strange knocking and piano-playing, a chair in the foyer that moves, and a shadow appearing on a stained-glass window. I clearly should have been more prepared.

Besides the hauntings, the views here are excellent. The windows are huge, and there is a patio with blankets and benches as well. You can also wander some of the paths around here, but the signs strongly advise against this. I advise saving up for any food purchases, because this place is pricey.

Getting here is easier than it may look on the map. From highway 1, look for the HUGE sign between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. You will be guided through the maze by a few other smaller signs. Did I mention this place was used for alcohol-smuggling during Prohibition? Now you know why.

UPDATE: So went back, and got a drink at the bar. Saw the lights jiggle. The bartender make a smile at my reaction, but I don’t think he pressed a button. It’s probably on a timer. My EMF detector picked up no reading when the lights moved. The EMF detector didn’t get much, except for a light plate in the bathroom. My S.O. say the face in the mirror in the bathroom. A much better trip than last time, especially with the super nice barkeep.

Despite being Czech and Polish, I know very little about polka, nor even how to do the polka. So I can not really describe the nuance involved in the different styles. Supposedly the SF style of polka is like the SF style of anything, more eclectic. And probably involving some inability to drive. Then when you realise that the official musical instrument of San Francisco is the accordion, it all fall into place. I guess.

All this would be fine and good if it existed. Now I thought it was a little odd that this was supposed to be in a pizza parlour, but all I saw on the walls were empty display cases. I would understand if they were rotating with displays for other polka halls of fame, but there was nothing there.

Now I have a few defunct attractions on my site, but they all existed when i wrote the initial entry. This was gone before I knew about it, and despite my desire not to put any more ephemera up, I feel I should make a page so that people will not go and get too disappointed. Sorry folks. You’ll just have to check out the appropriate attractions for Chicago-style or Cleveland-style polka.

A way to relive the reign of the Khmer Rouge in culinary form. The menu consists of gruel-like dishes as well as a fancy egg dessert made for the anniversary of the Khmer Rouge’s rise, and a tea made for Khmer officers. The staff wears period garb of black ‘pajamas’ and checkered scarves too keep you in the mood.

The restaurant is across from the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which is where thousands of Cambodians were tortured and/or killed.

The restaurant was closed 1 October 2005 because it had no license. Business was also a little slow, and I hear the government is not very thrilled about this place. The owner has stated that he will get a license and reopen, but we shall see.

This is a unique dinner theatre performed on horseback in Old Town Chicago. Actually, I attended a matinée which was without a meal, although chips were available for purchase. The audience was light, especially considering the holiday weekend. It was mostly children, and they were RAPT, even during the slow parts. I’ve never heard such quiet children in the U.S.. If your kids are being bonkers, take them here and get some quiet nd see a fun show.

There are different shows throughout the season, and the one we saw was the King Arthur one. The story was a bit light but the horsemanship was excellent. There were many tricks like the rider swinging under the horse and back up to the other side, and a rider standing astride two horses jumping over obstacles. Other less showy tricks were more like making the horses walk sideways, and many people don’t know how difficult that is.

The show was one hour, and for the dinner it is 1½ hours. I suppose that the extra 30 minutes is for the meal and the shows are the same. Afterwards you can meet the performers and pet the horses. The seating is nice and spacious, and the theatre lacked any strong manure smell you may have been anticipating. All in all well worth the money, even if it did not meet my very high expectations.

A restaurant furnished with items from thieves’ markets (in Hindi that’s ‘chor bazaar,’ get it?). The food was not that great but not horrible. The decor and service were good. Perhaps worth a stop by if you’re near Delhi Gate.

The restaurant is in the Hotel Broadway, which most drivers seem to know about.