Before moving to the Bay Area, I never experienced the concept of “The City” the way people here do.

Back in Plano, the closest urban center is in Dallas. It’s the typical Middle America downtown: a few landmarks and cultural venus scattered among glass skyscraper after glass skyscraper. It wouldn’t be the first place you think of when finding a bar or brunch spot (However, this has been changing recently, judging by the number of friends who have moved into Dallas).

In New York, some people refer to Manhattan as “The City”, but I don’t think that I would call it that. Manhattan might be the economic and political center, but the outer boroughs still have almost everything that makes Manhattan such a great place to live: high-density urban areas, great bars, restaurants, music venues, parks, etc. There just isn’t the distinct border between urban and suburban that you can see in cities like in Dallas or Detroit.

San Francisco, to many of my friends, is “The City” while everything south is the”Southbay”. I used to fight them, and explain how Palo Alto is actually part of the Peninsula, which is larger than San Francisco both in population and in land mass. However, as much as I hate it, I accept that this division is due to a very simple reason: transportation. People in SF without cars have a hard time getting anywhere because all public transportation options are terrible. Most don’t go very far, don’t run at night, run very infrequently, or run extremely slowly. The rest of us who live elsewhere have cars, and going to SF means that we have to park it somewhere, yet another annoyance.

That’s why trips to SF are an important affair to Brohaus. When we go, we make sure to make the best of it; and, as I’m doing now, we make sure to document it.

Friends’ Apartments

I love visiting peoples’ homes. Homes can communicate so much about their owners: their age, their hobbies, their tastes, their philosophy, even their mood. Regardless of what someone wears during the week or the mask they wear in public, you can know who she truly is if you visit her home.

That’s an intriguing thought, isn’t it? The home is where someone is most comfortable. That’s why I love visiting friends’ homes.

Below we see Bernard’s apartment. Bright and bare. It’s a minimalists dream. He has just the basics; He doesn’t even have an internet connection. It’s almost as if he is ever prepared to pick up everything and move. He may have taken minimalism to a level I wouldn’t be comfortable with, but he inspires me every day to simplify my life down to the essentials.

John takes a very different approach to his place. His apartment is more lived in, but that’s not a bad thing. If you slowly scan around his apartment, you see a few bottles of fine liquor, plants, fascinating books, video games. John is very culturally well rounded. He has wide enough interests that I can’t think of anyone that wouldn’t find a lot of common ground with him.

nopa
Alamo Square, San Francisco

Bernard, John and I had brunch at nopa, “a San Francisco gathering place north of the Panhandle, serving urban rustic food and specializing in organic wood-fired cuisine.” It’s all local seasonal food and a bright and modern a feeling interior. I liked it.

Here’s Bernard perusing the menu.

Yuzuki Japanese Eatery (Formerly Izakaya Yuzuki)
Mission District, San Francisco

Our dinner at Yuzuki was amazing. First, a few photos are from when Susie, John and I got there a bit early and hung out outside.

I love everything about Yuzuki. I love the name, Yuzuki (癒月) which means healing moon. I love their tagline “Yuzuki Japanese Eatery offers authentic Japanese cuisine in San Francisco, served with gracious hospitality”. The food is everything you can expect from a properly Japanese restaurant: quality and balance. They are also properly Californian in their care for the environment. They use soy wax candles to prevent inhalation of chemical fumes, they recycle their cooking oil and even turn used bonito flakes into dog treats. Pictured below are Susie and I with the bar in the background.

My impression of them is based on right before the chef change and name change to Yuzuki Japanese Eatery. So, things may have changed since I last went there, but I doubt that they have regressed. The food is balanced. The dining room is simple yet comfortable. Ask for sake and you will be treated not just to beverages, but to history and culture (they also teach Sake classes). Yuzuki takes the dining experience to another level.

I’m definitely going back in the near future, and I’ll report back to you all if things are still good. I’m confident.

Boba Guys
Mission District, San Francisco

There was so much hype surrounding Boba Guys, but it may have been too much hype. When I finally visited, I was disappointed. It can’t stack up to the solid boba places I regularly visit like Tea Era, Sharetea and Fantasia. The milk tea was a bit watery, cups weren’t heat sealed and the ink from the cups bled onto our hands. It’s not all negative though. They have the branding and location down. If they work their kinks out, they could do well.

Finally, I’ll leave you all with miscellaneous photographs. I hope you are all enjoying your holidays and the new year.