Long before folks like Bill Cosby,Barbara Streisand, Woody Allen, Jonathon Winters and Bob Newhart were seen on TV, they paid their dues performing in front of a brick wall in a little North Beach club owned by Enrico Banducci. The Hungry I name wasn’t yet used to sucker in patrons to a sleazy strip joint and still was a very famous venue here in the 50’s & 60’s that numerous live albums were recorded at.

San Francisco’s Performing Arts Library & Museum, located on the 4th floor at 401 Van Ness in the Veteran’s Building is featuring an exhibit on Banducci’s famous Hungry I nightclub through the summer, and it’s well worth the FREE ADMISSION…

So if yer a fan of show biz in general, you’ve got no excuse not to check it out, and if you’re a veteran, well it’s in a convenient place if you happen to be sorting out your affairs…

Details on the history of the HUNGRY I club, more pix and the hours of the exhibit etc after the jump
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So the wild boom years have passed, as have the youths of many SFers wooed here by stock options, boom-era employment, and stuck here under the weight of fully leveraged 725 square foot condo, are no longer interested in raves, E, or thousand person parties. They want mellow. Lounge. They want, according to the Chron, the new SF bar scene.

It’s a chicken and egg thing - or a something and something thing - is it just that residents are older? Less gainfully employed? Or just tired?

I’m not even 40 and I think I’ve completely missed that big party hankering completely. But a nice lounge bar, a neighborhood joint - sign me up. I don’t need everyone to know my name, but its nice to hang out somewhere someone could at least hear my name if I introduce myself.

My favorite local hangouts are less swank and more comfy - R Bar off Polk, Eldos here in the Inner Sunset - along with Yancy’s and the Little Shamrock. It’s not that I don’t like swank. I adore swank, swing, flirt, and all those other buzz word worthy type places. It’s just hard to get swanktified these days - though it’s the right time of year for it.

But the shift in the SF party scene, after a shift in its economy and demography, leaves one to wonder what comes next. If the economy slowly comes back, what’s the logical heir to this trend? The article mentions that people are more netflix than cineplex, so is cocktail hour bound for a comeback too? I suppose it makes sense to stay home once you paid that much for it.

But are we still having fun?

And the food is okay too.

But not the best ever.

Traveling through San Francisco with a set of semi-permanent tourists, I found myself trying to accommodate the out-of-towners’ hankering for Chinese food. To them it seemed like Chinatown would be a good place to start and I would’ve been hard pressed to argue. I like Chinese, but I don’t love it, so I had no idea which of Chinatown’s dozens of eateries would be the best.

We entered Chinatown through the Grant Avenue Gates off Union Square and I began scanning the street and skyline for something that sounded familiar or looked good. The tallest thing I saw was a sign for the Empress of China and I figured, hell, anything that paints its name on the side of a building can’t be all bad.

Getting up to the Empress requires passing through a ground floor lobby decorated with 8×10 glossies of the restaurant’s famed diners. Most of the photos seem to be from the Who’s-Who-Of-San-Francisco, 1970s collection with stars like Eric Estrada and San Francisco politicos wearing distinctly dated hairstyles and clothing. An elevator attendant swept us up to the 6th floor and we grabbed a menu to see if the Empress had what we were looking for - not that we knew what that was anyway.

The Empress’s brochure describes it as “the only high rise Chinese roof garden restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown,” an honor I couldn’t argue with since I know of no other high rise Chinese roof garden restaurants in San Francisco Chinatown. Or anywhere else in SF, for that matter. The entryway is round, ornate wood pavilion. Stemming off from that impressive start are the main dining room and the cocktail lounge (yeah, your father’s cocktail lounge, all the way. We’re talking 100%, ‘Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson’ territory).

The dining room is designed to seat as many guests as possible with a view of the impressive Telegraph Hill, North Beach vista framed by the large picture windows. Peacock feathers and gold leaf adorn the walls and posts. Though the tables are draped with white table clothes, I wouldn’t worry about the dress code since the restaurant possesses a distinctly tourist-friendly air, which is usually an indication of luke-warm cuisine.

The food was a tad on the expensive side - and don’t worry about fumbling with the take boxes when you stumble up to North Beach for after dinner drinks because there probably won’t be any (because you won’t get that much food, not because it’s that tasty). But the service is attentive and polite and the food is still good - just not superb.

What the Empress is missing in terms of fine cuisine it more than makes up for in atmosphere. I have a feeling there’s much more local history tied to the restaurant than I took the time to learn. I would definitely take visitors there again for the view - but perhaps I would forgo dinner in favor of drinks in the adjacent cocktail lounge.

Empress of China, 838 Grant Avenue between Clay and Washington, 415-434-1345, open daily - lunch, 11:30-3, dinner, 5-11, Sundays 12:30-11pm, cocktail lounge open until 11pm. Items range from $8-$18, several fixed price options (min of 2 people) from $20 - $40. Cozy, romantic, opulent setting rich in local history and a sense of drama.

p.s. Ever right a review and then feel guilty? I’m sticking to my guns on my evaluation of the food - it was good but not Best Ever caliber. I don’t, however, want anyone to think my use of “kitsch” in the title of this post means I think the inside isn’t beautiful. You don’t find many places dripping with this much character anymore. It’s lovely. Just making that clear.

… Also known as “The One Where Nicole Eats Malaysian Food and is Reminded of Home” …
It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and we needed to escape the overwhelming heat inside our apartment. As I was hankering for some Malaysian food anyway, I decided we should get out and head to the Singapore Malaysian Restaurant on Clement Street, and perhaps get some Chinese grocery items from a local market. I’ve visited the restaurant numerous times in the past, and it stands as one of the better Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants in the Bay Area (While my favorite is still Banana Island in Daly City, the Singapore Malaysian Restaurant is still a strong second in my book).
We took the #28 up to the Richmond district, and then walked over to Clement Street. There were banners everywhere, imploring us to “Shop & Dine at Clement.” Seeing as the banners were mostly on Clement Street, it seemed like the banners were preaching to the choir, as what else would most people on Clement Street be doing? Especially with the plethora of restaurants and dining choices available — the hungry consumer is simply spoiled for choice. While there are mostly Asian restaurants in this area of the city, the observant will notice the occasional non-Asian alternative. Of note are the Russian Bear, Clement Street Bar & Grill, Hamburger Haven, Pizza Orgasmica, and so forth. But we paid no mind to them, as we headed single-mindedly to the aforementioned Singapore Malaysian Restaurant.
The restaurant was empty. Not surprising, I suppose, as it was only 3 p.m. at the time. We were welcomed in, and sat down at a table close to the wall. I smiled at the familiar decor; Malaysian kites adorn the ceilings, and Malaysian tourism posters dressed up the walls. I also noticed several travel brochures along the back wall.
Back to the food. Malaysian food is heavily influenced by Indian and Chinese cuisine, and it’s really quite difficult to describe until you actually go to a restaurant and try the food. I personally recommend that everyone try the Roti Canai/Roti Prata to start, as it is probably the most Malaysian of dishes. We certainly did, and it was delicious; it was perfectly grilled crispy bread, dunked in an accompanying bowl of curry. I was in the mood for something spicy, so I ordered the Curry Mee (noodles in a curry coconut-milk broth with chicken, shrimp, tofu, and bean sprouts), and the fiance ordered the Mee Goreng (fried noodles with tofu, chicken, shrimp, egg, and bean sprouts). The food is meant to be shared, so the portions are quite large. We finished the lot of it, which surprised both of us. Both dishes were simply delicious, with a delightfully spicy kick. The curry mee wasn’t too spicy to me because I’m used to it, but the fiance did think it was a little too hot. So be forewarned that this restaurant doesn’t downplay the spiciness of its food to fit the traditional Western palate.
We decided to have a stroll around the neighborhood after we ate. I wanted to get some packets of Yeo’s Chrysanthemum Tea (it’s a sweet tea made from chrysanthemum flowers; Yeo’s is a Malaysian brand), so we headed to the large and relatively well-known Richmond New May Hwa market on Clement. I experienced such a joy perusing the aisles of this market, because it reminded me so much of home. I also noticed boxes and boxes of mooncakes for sale, and of course I had to get some. They reminded me of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, which incidentally will be celebrated in San Francisco’s Chinatown in a couple of weeks. You can read up on the history of the mooncake, as well as the festival itself, here.
After buying two six-packs of the tea and a box of assorted mooncakes, we headed home. It’s quite amazing really — a simple day excursion turned out to be a homecoming of sorts for me, as both the restaurant and market experience reminded me of what I miss about Malaysia. That’s what I love so much about San Francisco — a visit “home” is just a short bus ride away.