Sunday Funday San Francisco

We were having amazing weather in the Bay Area, so we decided to spend the day in San Francisco. The original plan was to do a food tour in S.F, but that changed relatively quickly.

I have been hearing from a lot of people to try the Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe so that was our first stop. It was around 1:30pm and there was a line out the door for a table.

Good thing we didn't want to sit and eat. We only wanted to stop by the bar for the Irish Coffee.

So we walked in and guest there were nice enough to make room for us to order our drinks.

The Irish Coffee is amazing. The best I have had yet. What makes its really good is the cold frothed cream they use.

Eventually the guest at the bar were heading out and were kind enough to give us their seats.

Since there was a huge line just to grab a table and we were able to score seats at the bar. We might as well stay a bit longer and have a drink. I thought we should try something else, so I decided on Irish car bombs.

Look at the frosted pint glass they use for the Guinness.

We had been starving since our drive to S.F, but had to grab drinks first. Nicole did a quick search on Yelp and stumbled upon The Codmother Fish & Chips.


They were taking a very long time to prepare our food, so Antonio and I head on a search for another bar while the others were waiting for the food.

The closest bar we found was Castagnola's.

We had another round of car bombs. That's a lot of Guinness.

By the time we got back our food was ready. We ordered the Cod, Crazy Fries, Shrimp & chips, and shrimp tacos.

The Shrimp and chips were nothing to rave about and didn't leave any memorable impression.

The crazy fries were good.

The Cod was also very good. I'm not a big fish and chips expert, but it was good. Would I go back... maybe.

The Shrimp tacos were also nothing to rave about also.

Next to The Codmother was Carmel Pizza Co. Codmother and Carmel Pizza Co. were like food trucks, but they seemed to be there permanently.

We wanted to try a bit of everything so Jeff got us two pizzas from Carmel Pizza Co.

Next to Carmel Pizza Co. was Bacon Bacon  they seem to have multiple locations, but there was a food truck on the day we were there also, but I guess they sold out because around 3pm they were closing up shop.

So after our meal head towards Penny Arcades, but on our way we stopped off at one of the old bars we visited last time. Fisherma's Grotto  enjoyed a Jamerson and Ginger for the short time we were there.


Then we stopped at the Penny Arcade... known as Musee Mecanique.


Obviously the games aren't a penny, but a quarter, but they had a huge selection of old school games. The engineering that went into these mechanical games is quite impressive. In a time when they didn't have joysticks and TV screens, they came up with fun and unique games.

This game was like a little shooting gallery, it shoot metal balls about the size of a pea and it had a mechanical score just above.

Check out this old school Rock 'em Sock 'em mechanical arcade. The controls were similar to gun handle that had two triggers, one for each arm.

After the arcades we went to Pier 39. We tried to stop by Eagle Cafe for some appetizer and drinks, but the bar was packed and we didn't want to wait. So we made our way through and stopped off at Mango's Taqueria and Cantina  we had one of ther Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita's. It wasn't great and actually tasted pretty water downed. I don't recommend stopping here for drinks. We downed that and headed off to the next bar.

At the end of Pier 39 there's Player's Sports Grill & Arcade.  They make some pretty good drinks here. Last time we were here Nicole got a Jager Bomb and they served it in a frosted pint glass. I like frosted mugs for some reason.

Finished our drinks here and we were getting hungry again. We headed back towards Eagle Cafe hopefully the bar would have seating available by now. On our way there we grabbed some mini donuts from Trish's Mini Donuts these are constantly being made constantly and you can watch them being made while your waiting in line. They are delicious, the one thing I regret is getting the large bag instead of the bucket of donuts.

We were able to sit down at Eagle Cafe  and had some calamari and lobster bisque with a few drinks too. It was a great evening appetizer. It was around 6 pm when we left S.F. We had other engagements to attend to that day so we had to leave early. If it wasn't for that I don't know where we would have ended up.

So what started off a food tour quickly turned into a drinking tour. Hopefully next time we're here we can try some of the great food that S.F has to offer.

Day 4: Earl of Sandwich & Holsteins

Since I didn't get to play Baccarat last night, I went to bed pretty early. So I was up early also. Checked out of the room around 11 am and headed over to Earl of Sandwich at Planet Hollywood for some lunch.



Tuna Melt

Chipotle Chicken Avocado

Couldn't decide on these two sandwiches so I split my order with Jack. The Tuna Melt was amazing. The Chipotle Chicken Avocado was ok. I usually get the Cannonball (meatball sandwich) but thought I would change it up this time.

After lunch played a few more slots at Planet Hollywood.

Even though we had a few hours before our flight home, Jensen was able to talk me into drinking again.

We didn't stick around Planet Hollywood for too long and headed back to Cosmo. Everyone had already checked out of their rooms and was on the casino floor burning some time and money until it was time to head home. The Baccarat table was finally open so I hopped with Phat and Pierce.

Had a lot more drinks while I was at it. Ended up sitting for about 2 hours or so on the Baccarat table and made a few hundred bucks back from Vegas.

After that Thomas, Parker and I headed to Holstein's Shakes and Buns for some burgers.

Fried pickle spears.



The Rising Sun: Kobe Beef, Teriyaki Glaze, Nori Furikake, Crispy Yam, Spicy Mayo, Tempura Avocado (I highly doubt that this burger is made from real Japanese Kobe Beef after reading this article) $18

Burger was pretty good though, but a bit on the fatty side.

El Caliente: Beef Patty Topped w/ Pepper Jack Cheese, Pickled Jalapeno, Avocado, Pork Chicharrones & Tequila-Cilantro Mayo

Nom Nom Burger: Kobe Beef, Cheddar Cheese, Potato Chips, 1000 Island Dressing (another play on the Faux Kobe) I guess to justify the high price of the burger. $17.5

close up of the Rising Sun Burger.

By the time we finished our meal it was time to head home. Made some of my money back on the last day and was able to finally play Baccarat and rack up some player point. I'm done with Vegas for now. I'll be back to see them again in May, but before then we'll be off to party in Austin Texas. Never been there before, so that'll be a new adventure. Can't wait.

Day 3: White Castle, Pho Kim Long, & Ichiza

By the time I woke up on our third day, I was done with Vegas, but realized I had another full day to go. I was starving. I checked my phone and saw some text messages from Phat that he has bought us all White Castle. I had always wanted to try White Castle and it was nice to find out that one had just recently opened up in Vegas.

So I head to his room. I guess he had purchased it from the night before after leaving the club last night. So it wasn't fresh, but good thing Phat's room had a microwave, popped the burgers in for a few seconds and they were good to go. Not sure how they are freshly made, but I did enjoy them. I like them more than McDonald's cheese burgers. Probably won't be something I crave all the time when I go to Vegas, but it was nice to finally be able to scratch them off my bucket list.



After everyone else got up we headed off for some noodles at Pho Kim Long if your looking for some good noodle soup, you're going to have to leave the strip.




The only problem with leaving the strip is generally it's hard to get a Taxi out there to pick you up if you aren't at a hotel. Especially if you have a large group, but the food is worth it. Just make sure to contact the Cab companies a few minutes before finishing your meal.

Spring Rolls.

Fresh coconut juice. Just what I needed to rehydrate.

Pork & eggrool Vermicelli. This was amazing.

I couldn't decided between the Vermicelli & the Wonton Noodle soup, so Anh and I got both and split this.


After lunch we headed back to the hotel. I was still burnt out so I took a nap. Woke up around 5pm and headed to Phat's room for some drinks.

Back at Phat's room we had plenty of liquor left over from the Superbowl game.

Looks like everyone had the same idea.





After finishing the bottles in the room we headed downstairs to gamble some more. While Phat was playing craps I had him order drinks for me. I didn't feel like playing any slots today. My mind was set on Baccarat for the night.

While the guys played electronic craps, Parker and I piggy backed off their drinks.






Jensen piggy backed off Phillip.


Are you sure you don't want to drink Pierce?

I think that's a yes.

Eventually John and his entourage showed up.

Diane wanted to get wasted at XS last night. Heard she was praying to the porcelain gods after the club. Mission accomplished.

Eventually it was time for dinner. We headed back to Chinatown for dinner at Ichiza







Angry Carmen.

Composed Carmen.


I don't like beer, but if I don't have a choice... I will.


Pork Kimchi

I think this is Bluefin sashimi

Yellowtail Tartar.

Black Cod.

Beef Carpaccio.

Fried rice.

Uni (sea urchin)


Chicken Katsu.



Honey Toast!


After dinner it was back to the casino. We waited for a long time to get on the Baccarat table. It was full. I was drinking while I was waiting, but the people never left. By 2 am I was too tired to wait any longer and headed off to bed.

A not so exciting third night. Still had 1/2 a day tomorrow.