'Tis the Season (Seasons Restaurant -- San Francisco, CA)

So yesterday I got to be a lady who lunches and eat my noontime repast at the illustrious Four Seasons in their restaurant (which is predictably called "Seasons"). The director of one of the theatres I teach for took a bunch of us to lunch (awww...thanks, Andrew!) as a little end of the semester thank you.

I had only eaten at a Four Seasons once before, and that was on my honeymoon in Maui. Curiously enough, that restaurant was also named Seasons. I guess they don't have the creative staff working overtime on naming the restaurants. Anyway, what I remember most from that visit was the service. The hostess actually raced me to my chair as I was returning from the bathroom so she could properly place my napkin back in my lap. It was rock star all the way.

Anyway, at our little festive luncheon, I quickly saw that the service at our very own Seasons was going to be just as yummy. The staff was very attentive, answering our every little whim. At a table full of actor/teachers, you can imagine how trying that would be for a server.

At any rate, the food was quite good. Not the most amazing food in the world, but everything I ate was expertly prepared, if ordinary. I had a damn fine chicken sandwich with balsamic onions, smoked mozzarella, basil aioli and roasted tomatoes served up nice with some kettle chips. And the tuna poke appetizer was delightful (Jeeves, please bring around the car). I also very much enjoyed the panna cotta that ended our meal.

That said, my sandwich was $17. A damn fine sandwich, but not $17 fine. I can get the same thing at Slow Club for $8. You're paying for the atmosphere and service, though, and I have to admit, that's almost worth paying $17 for that sammich. Wow, my posts are heavy on the sammiches lately, huh?

Here are the best/most fun/most entertaining to our table things about the restaurant:

1. The fun little hand towels in the bathroom

2. The floor to ceiling doors in the bathroom

3. The view of Grant Street from our table

4. The big comfy chairs

5. The ice cubes in our lemonades and iced teas that were made of lemonade and iced tea (I got to be the smarty pants and tell everyone what the strange ice cubes were -- go me!)

6. The simple syrup in a little tiny pitcher to sweeten the iced tea

7. The little pots of honey that came with the hot tea

8. The sterling silver cone in which my kettle chips were served

9. The oh-so-nice servers/bussers/host(ess)

10. The people watching

I would definitely go back again if someone else was paying and/or I was filthy stinking rich. Otherwise, I can live without the impeccable service with my chicken sandwich. I expect service like that in my four star dining experiences, but then I also expect haute cuisine in those experiences as well. Seasons is, in a sense, an oxymoron. But that's OK, 'cause I got to be a laaaaaaaaaaady yesterday. And Jesus Christ, the world would be a better fucking place if everyone treated each other the way the staff at the Four Seasons treats their customers.

Happy Holidays to all my faithful readers out there. The best present I received this year was knowing that people who don't live in my house have been reading my shit.

Rock on.

xoxo
Joy



"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."
--La Rochefoucauld