One hit, one miss

Remember Nickie's, the dance club/bar in the Lower Haight? I hadn't been there in like 10 years and I remember it always being crowded and dark and not all that great. Well, they remodeled it and it's sort of loungey now and much nicer. I was in there yesterday for a pint and they have a whole new bar food menu that looked good. I tried the sliders and they were delicious. It would be a good place for late afternoon/early evening drinks and food. Good vibe, friendly bartenders.

Oh, and how about this for a coincidence. They had a framed Munster rugby jersey on the wall and, as you know, I was just in Limerick for the Munster European Cup win. WEIRD.

Today, Super Hot Irish Girlfriend and I decided to go to the Park Chalet for brunch. I also hadn't been there in a while (as a matter of fact, we went there for brunch on our second date) and now, it's buffet-style, which is fine, but I have two problems: (1) it's 30 freaking dollars a head (but 35 with bottomless champagne, which would be where you'd make your money back but I wasn't drinking), and (2) they automatically add an 18% gratuity to the check, which I can understand since the service blew and they wouldn't be making anywhere near 18% if they didn't do that. But still, 18% for basically just bringing you drinks is ridiculous.

The food was pretty good, though. Omelet station, prime rib, sushi, lots of sides, creme brulee french toast, etc. I would do it again if I were with a group and wanted a leisurely brunch and wasn't driving. You get the table for 2 hours, and you can probably knock back enough cheap champagne in 2 hours to make it like $10 or $15 instead of $30.

One other tip: don't go to Trader Joe's on Sunday. It was a scene of human misery and despair.