Gary Wong 9/29/25 Gary Wong 9/29/25

San Francisco, July 25-28, 2025

I hadn’t planned on coming back out to San Francisco so soon but after visiting in January but I once again had some RUCs to burn and the Mets were in town so I figured, why not!? Anytime I can get a lie-flat for the price of economy, I’m gonna go for it. And, of course, there’s also the opportunity to eat and drink myself into a food coma at the Delta One Lounge at JFK.

#SFMets

Toronado… for maybe the last time?

To quote myself from the last SF trip report earlier this year:

As always, no trip to San Francisco would be complete without a trip to the craft beer mecca that is Toronado. Little did I know at the time of my visit that it could very possibly be the last time I get to have a Pliny there as they announced later that month that the bar was on the market.

As it turns, its demise wasn’t as imminent as it appeared back in January. It’s not even as imminent as it appeared in the spring when it was reported that it had been sold to a crypto entrepreneur who had some ideas for the place. How real was this sale? Was it actually dashed by the guy being less a crypto entrepreneur and more or a crypto douche (some might say there’s no daylight between the two)? We may never know but, for now, the place is still kicking as it is. Will these visits be my last ones? Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Not wanting to leave it to chance, I ponied up some dough for a hoodie so I’d have something to remember them by besides the copious pints of Pliny I’ve imbibed over the last 17 years.

The Food and Drinks

I hit up a few favorites from past SF visits on this quick long weekend, including a ridiculous amount of pastries from Arsicault Bakery - I first went here after Oktane in 2022 and don’t think I’d ever have found them had it not been for a dear co-worker and friend going there in the morning, literally while I was on a bus coming back south from Santa Rosa. It was a grand discovery then and I leaned in even harder this time, nabbing a jamon beurre for post-race recovery, in addition to the required pastries.

On that same trip in 2022, we had dinner at the Michelin-starred Kin Khao - no pictures exist of that meal as it was dark and we were hungry. This time, I had lunch and went with a staple in the Khao Mun Gai. A different co-worker of ours once remarked about how the idea of poached chicken didn’t seem appealing until he had the southeast Asian version of it. That’s a very accurate way of describing how something as simple as poached chicken can differ by culture. And the one at Kin Khao? It’s exceptional. The meat is tender and that rice is so goddamn flavorful.

As for something new…. how about Four Kings in Chinatown? This may be my new favorite fancy pants Cantonese restaurant in SF proper, with prices commensurate with the fancy pants label. I paid a premium for some very classic dishes like the fried squab and the claypot rice but I imagine that comes down to the contemporary preparations of those dishes, in addition to sourcing of ingredients, and, frankly, bang-on execution. I dined alone at the counter but sat next to a fellow solo diner from London making his way up the west coast and he seemed as though he was deriving the same amount of pleasure from his meal.

The Mets!

I’d been to AT&T Oracle Park before back in 2008 during my first-ever time in San Francisco for a game and even went on a ballpark tour later that summer but this was my first time seeing the Mets here. And what a great time it was to see them! They won both games I attended, finishing off a three-game sweep. Both games ended with Edwin Díaz walking absolute tightropes to close them out but he got bailed out on Saturday night with an absolute defensive gem by Pete Alonso, jumping and grabbing a liner at his highest point; on Sunday, he bailed himself out with two strikeouts after walking/hit-by-pitch and leaving the bases loaded. The vibes were good after this weekend and they would be well on their way to righting the ship.*

* I wrote this line after they lost two of three to the Nationals on the penultimate weekend of the season, falling out of a postseason spot for the first time since April. The vibes, they are bad.

San Francisco Marathon Alexi Pappas 10K

Another factor that tipped in favor of doing this long weekend trip was that I had a 20-mile long run to do and, as it turns out, this was the weekend of the San Francisco Marathon. Perfect! I’ll sign up for this marathon that goes across the Golden Gate Bridge and that’ll be my long run!

Turns out, doing a hill workout at pace in a very hilly Porto a few weeks earlier was not the best idea. My back was all sorts of messed up afterwards and I couldn’t keep up with the 18-week block I usually do before a goal marathon. Thankfully, they had multiple race distances that weekend so I switched my registration to the Alexi Pappas 10K without penalty - the penalty was paying over $200 to now run a 10K instead of a marathon.

This was fun, though! The nice thing about the 10K was starting at 7 am whereas the full started at 5 am - I’ll gladly take an extra two hours of sleep, especially since the Mets game the previous night started just after 6 pm and didn’t end until after 9. The course was super flat and, this being San Francisco in July, the temperature was race-perfect. I even got to high-five Alexi Pappas, the namesake for this race, shortly after crossing the finish line! Best thing, though, was cracking open a fresh bottle of Pliny and drinking it in my hotel room, post-race, while eating that jamon buerre from Arsicault.

➾ Related Foto Feed Posts

The List

Restaurants

Cable 55 | @parc55hotel
Saigon Sandwich | @saigon.sandwich
Dumpling Union | @dumpling_union_haight
Hon’s Wun-Tun House | @honswuntunhousesf
Kin Khao | @kinkhao
Four Kings | @fourkings__

Breweries

Black Hammer Brewing Company | @blackhammerbrewing
Otherwise Brewing | @otherwisebrewing

Bars

Toronado | @toronadosf
Vesuvio Cafe | @vesuviobarsf

Bakeries

Arsicault Bakery | @arsicaultbakery

Places

Oracle Park | @oraclepark

Gary Wong 4/23/25 Gary Wong 4/23/25

Northern California, January 1-4, 2025

I’m gonna make it three for three when it comes to trip reports that come about due to an absurd airline credit/perks reason. Remember how I ended up in Seattle (then Vancouver) because of expiring Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUC) that had to be used. Yeah, so I had four of them to use or lose and this round trip that began on New Year’s Day from JFK to SFO in Delta One was how I used the first two.

I live a hard life, I know.

#NorCalNewYears

I’m gonna make it three for three when it comes to 2025 trip reports that come about due to an absurd airline credit/perks reason. Remember how I ended up in Seattle (then Vancouver) because of expiring Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUC) that had to be used. Yeah, so I had four of them to use or lose and this round trip that began on New Year’s Day from JFK to SFO in Delta One was how I used the first two.

I live a hard life, I know.

This one made the most sense though! I booked with a fairly decent SkyMiles redemption in Main Cabin and was able to confirm a day or so later (after calling their support line) my RUCs cleared into Delta One. So, in short, I paid for cattle class and leveraged a status benefit to get into bougie - a solid use of an upgrade cert, for sure.

With a booking in Delta One, that meant I could start my trip bright and early at the Delta One Lounge at JFK. I’ll refer you to my eventual trip report for my trip to Spain in November/December for a more in-depth recollection of my first visit to that lounge. I’ll note that, even at 5 am, this lounge was eerily empty - perhaps that has as much to do with traveling on New Year’s Day at such an ungodly hour but I basically had my run of the place. I was able to squeeze in breakfast with a made-to-order omelette, a 15-minute sit in a massage chair, and then a mimosa after the bar opened at 6 am, all without any wait. Love it.

Not as loved? The seat in Delta One on the 767-300 - they’re worn and, in the case on my return flight, falling apart. The one thing I’ll say in its favor is that it’s softer than their newer seats. As for the rest of the hard product, the IFE screen is a relic of the 2000s and that’s if they’re even operational (not a problem on this trip, thankfully).

As per usual, the soft product made up for the deficiencies of the seat. The service on the outbound flight was incredible and leant into it being New Year’s Day and the meals on both flights were solid, though dinner on the return flight easily beat out breakfast on the first one. Honestly, it’s incredibly rare to get a good in-flight breakfast, no matter the class of travel and I’d say it’s even more disappointing in business class as you’re (normally) paying for that mediocre meal.

The Food and Drinks

I’ve been to San Francisco quite a few times since the pandemic - this was my fifth time there in the past three years - so I didn’t feel the need to go anywhere too fancy while in town. Good thing as I barely spent parts of two days in town. I did manage to have one “nice” meal at Michelin-starred Hilda and Jesse but it was an incredibly not fancy spot that was actually open on New Year’s Day for brunch. Everything there was solid but that half-order of pancakes, served last, were basically a dessert - it was a perfect sweet-sour end to a savory meal.

As always, no trip to San Francisco would be complete without a trip to the craft beer mecca that is Toronado. Little did I know at the time of my visit that it could very possibly be the last time I get to have a Pliny there as they announced later that month that the bar was on the market. I hope the next owner a) keeps the place open and b) leaves it the same as it ever was (except maybe try accepting credit cards?). If the former isn’t in the cards, I may just have to find a reason to go back out there for one last sit at that bar, nursing a few West Coast IPAs. Or, maybe that is the reason? We’ll see!

I Nature’d

Okay, so I’ve previously established I’ve been to San Francisco and the greater Bay Area quite a bit over the years. Somewhere I haven’t been? Yosemite National Park! That’s something I corrected on this trip, taking a tour bus out there and spending a night at the Yosemite Valley Lodge (I nature’d a bit on this trip but I didn’t rough it by camping). Two days worth of mild winter hiking with a more winter-ish trail run in the morning was absolutely invigorating and the visuals were just magnificent. Few places are more stunning than the magnificent vista laid out in front of you when look out upon the valley and park from above.

It wasn’t all just about getting out in nature while in Yosemite - of course, there was food and drinks to be had and the sit-down restaurant and bar I visited did not disappoint. Nothing quite like throwing back a few cocktails at The Ahwahnee Bar, followed by hustling over to The Mountain Room a mile or so away in the dark to make a 6:30 pm reservation.

My time at Yosemite was brief - all in, it was maybe 28 hours - but I can’t wait to come back for a longer stay. Perhaps, maybe, this time when it’s warmer out?