After a long week in San Francisco I just wanted some time to relax. Lindsay gave me a night. Then the birthday activities started. Pre-birthday, really, since my birthday was Monday, but who wants to celebrate their birthday on a Monday?

First up was a cozy breakfast of griddle cakes at White Lily, followed by an afternoon of beer sampling at Rorschach. It was my/our first time there, and I was pretty psyched. I had a “Syncronicity” Oolong tea & lime saison, a “Malevolent Benevolence – Turtle” pecan coffee & cocoa nib imperial stout, and a “Malevolent Benevolence – French Toast” maple syrup, cinnamon & vanilla imperial stout. All on a rooftop patio amongst trees, by a park. Pretty sweet pre-birthday afternoon, right?

For dinner that night we hit another new place: the Maple Leaf Tavern. I liked the vibe right away: very relaxed, but with a serious (read: meat-heavy) menu. We sampled heavily — to the point where multiple staff members came to our table and told us, “I like what you’re doing here.” We delved deeply:

• When we mentioned this was my birthday celebration dinner, they brought over glasses of sparkling, which I’m guessing were the N. Pearce Ward 5 Brut Blanc, but I’m not sure.
• They make their own sausages so we got three: French Onion, Jerk Pork, and Arabiki. Each came with a special mustard. I’d go back just for the sausages.
• Extra bread
• Whole Ontario Burrata w/ extra virgin canola oil, Baco Noir balsamic, and Newfoundland salt
• A bottle of Mencia
• 24oz tomahawk pork chop w/ rosemary apple sauce
• 7oz Wagyu flat iron steak w/ tarragon butter
• Honey & cumin glazed carrots w/ parsley yoghurt
• Beets
• A bottle of No Name Barolo

The next morning we slept in until…like, 11 or something. Crazily late for me, at any rate. When we finally got up we made our way to Eastbound for brunch where I annihilated a Bo Ssam pulled pork & kimchi sandwich. We spent most of the rest of the day chilling on the couch, ending the day drinking a bottle of Kew Vineyards 2014 Blanc de Blancs and eating a bowl of plain kettle chips.

So: bonne fête à moi, right?