As a teenager I had a "holy trinity" of pop stars: Adam Ant (#1), Marc Almond (#2), and Bryan Ferry (#3). Marc and Soft Cell aren't very big in the US, so I had only seen him twice, back in the late 90s/early 2000s. In 2025 he toured as an opening act for Simple Minds, and in 2026 he toured as the opening act for Human League. So of course we went to the shows -- including a weekend trip to San Francsico to see him play at the Warfield -- a classic venue.
As a bonus -- and maybe the bigger part of the weekend -- I planned a Bay Area tiki crawl, including a chance to visit the
Trader Vic's Outpost at the San Jose airport... something only possible if you fly in or out of SJC.
We flew into SJC early on Friday, landing around 9:30 and walking straight down the concourse to Trader Vic's. We sat at the bar, admired the cute theming, and ordered a couple of cocktails -- including the SJC-specific cocktail and mug, the Pilo Pilo. Yes, it was early... but we were on vacation!
Our bar neighbors and the bartender were friendly and funny, and it was probably the most delightful airport bar experience I've had. Well worth flying in to SJC rather than SFO!
We took a car into town, got early check in at our very swanky, historic hotel: The Marker, Union Square, dropped off our bags, and went for a walk.
It's been a while since I've been in SF. Like all big cities it has challenges, but I loved walking around for the weekend and never felt unsafe.
Our first stop: Li Po Lounge in Chinatown.
Li Po opened in 1937 and is essentially the same -- the cave entrance, the red doors, the curved bar, the red lanterns. It's a little time capsule, slightly updated by some rope lights and new beer signs... and a renovation of its gorgeous hexagonal lantern sign outside. We settled in at the far end of the bar and of course had the famous Chinese Mai Tai -- a steal at $12. One of the ingredients is baijiu, a sorghum-based spirit we tried in Beijing several years back. It tastes and feels like the epitome of firewater. The clientele was a nice mix of locals and tourists, presided over by a feisty and friendly woman.
While in the neighborhood we swing by the tiny Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and then equally tiny Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant for a late lunch. It was a little cramped and we struggled because EVERYTHING IS VEGETARIAN -- rather than, usually, just one or two things. Paralyzed by choice, we had excellent noodles and a mushroom dish that we ended up having to take home to the hotel because it was too big for us to eat.
Next stop: Pagan Idol... though we popped in to a weird "startup cafe" sponsored by a "startup insurance" company that was full of people sitting alone at tiny tables, typing furiously on their laptops. Weird.
I think Pagan Idol was having an off night. Schedule mishaps meant they opened late, and the very good, very cool bartender seemed to be on the back foot the whole time we were there. That said -- the drinks were clever, carefully made, and delicious -- and when we asked if a drink with a "secret recipe" had grapefruit in it (which Wil can't have), the bartender swapped it out for something else.
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| Daywalker. The secret recipe contains grapefruit juice. |
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| Quarantine Order |
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| Mr. Hanalei; an delicious replacement |
The interior was beautiful -- upturned ship's hull, "portholes" with swimming fish, a kraken glass chandelier. The crowd was a little less cool, but it was early on a Friday night, we were in the Financial District, so maybe that's to be expected. We were sad that the back room wasn't open (again, scheduling), but I would go back some other time to check it out.
Later that night we went to the Warfield to see Soft Cell (and Alison Moyet and Human League). The sold-out show was hot and sweaty and dancy and very fun.
After the show we went out for a nightcap at Zombie Village. t's in a very rough part of the Tenderloin but only blocks from our hotel, so we went. No danger en route, just a little sadness, really. But the decor and little tables were cute, the staff was friendly, and the drinks were legit good.
I had the Disco Banana and Wil had the Curry'd Favor; they may well have been the best drinks of the day.
The next morning we rode BART to the Mission district for my favorite SF food: the veggie burrito at Taqueria Cancun. Years ago, when I was in grad school, we all were obsessed with the food writer at the East Bay Express. His favorite burrito was from Taqueria Cancun, so I've been getting one on every SF trip every since. I even took my inlaws there when they visited from the UK. As usual, it was perfect. I sometimes worry I build it up in my memory, that it's not as good as I remember. But it is. Wil says, "We need to remember to order one and split it" and I just say NO. I want it all, even if I feel stuffed for the next hour.
Rather than pub crawling in the Mission, we decided to walk over to the Richmond district to go to Trad'r Sam. A nice, long, urban walk to burn off that burrito! We crossed the Golden Gate Park panhandle, getting trapped without a walkway on the main road, and with no way to cross... until we found a little path that took us down to JFK drive. While there, we caught a glimpse of NAGA -- a worthwhile diversion!
Eventually rolling up at Trad'r Sam I ordered a very tall mai tai that, despite being served in a hurricane glass, was quite tasty. Wil had some sort of ice cream drink that the very cool, relaxed, and dedicated bartender re-made because she is "a bit of a whipped cream snob". It was beautiful and tasty.
As it was pretty early in the day there were only a handful of other people in the bar, including an older guy who walked in and was immediately served a Bud Light -- so it's clearly a local's bar, too. I like that.
Afterward we did something just for Wil: we hired a Waymo driverless car for the ride back to Union Square. It was nerve-wracking at first (how does it all work????) but it was simple an seamless and we ended up taking 4 that day. It's fun to watch the steering wheel move and see how the car responds to lights, other cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. We felt totally safe in the car, and got used to them on the streets.
In the early evening we took a Waymo to Smuggler's Cove, which was AMAZING. It's is, honestly, the best cocktail bar I've ever been in. We arrived just before they opened and joined the line, and then headed immediately downstairs. Wil grabbed a small table and I got in line for drinks. I had a Rum Barrel (and souvenir mug), Wil had a Painkiller in a different mug, and later (because we got to chatting with several very fun people) we had a Flotsam Fizz in a crate mug that matched our table.
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| Rum Barrel and Painkiller |
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| Flotsam Fizz |
Next up was Last Rites. Their vibe is "cargo plane crashed in a jungle" -- metal fuselage, jump seats, parachutes, vines. We got two odd little seats at the end of the bar and started to peruse the menu.
Wil noticed a handful of golden ceramic pig mugs and asked the bartender what drinks came in those. Bartender said they were leftover from a promotion earlier in the year, that they had held a golden milk mocktail but he could add booze or make any drink in them. We asked if they were for sale, he said no, but that they seemed to be disappearing...
After a brief pause, Wil said, "Oh, don't make us be the bad guys!" And the bartender said, "Maybe I'm being the GOOD guy!"
So he made us two golden milk cocktails in the pigs. We tipped well on our card, and also scraped together what cash we had, handed it directly to him, and slipped the now-empty piggies into our bag.
Note: I am not the sort of person who steals mugs. I love tiki mugs and usually buy one at a good tiki bar. We were clearly being invited to take them and that's why I felt okay about it.
Then it was time for our last stop of the night: dinner at the Tonga Room.
I have wanted to do this for decades. I paid extra to book a good table and everything. And... it was meh.
Food was okay. Service was courteous and prompt. Band was wedding singer quality and took two lengthy breaks in the 90 minutes we were there. Drinks were also just okay. I realized that I wanted TOO MUCH from the dinner. If we hadn't had amazing tiki drinks at the last two places it might have felt better. But I never have to go to the Tonga Room again.
Out early on Sunday to head to SJC, which meant we could have a farewell drink at Trader Vic's before getting safely home.
Yep, that was a lot of cocktails. It's not our usual thing (though I am aware that I also just posted about a little cocktail crawl at the TWA Hotel...) but seemed the perfect frame for our SF trip.
Travel Tuesday is a project I'm working on to get old photos and memories out of notebooks and onto this blog.
