WWDC Friday - End of Conference and Scoma's

It was the last day of the conference, and apple must have figured that they had celebrated enough the night before because the conference ended, "Not with a bang, but a whimper."Eliot.  As it ended early and I had gleamed quite a bit of knowledge out of it I decided that I would go down to the wharf to experience at least some of the city and see the ocean once before I left.  Besides, I had promised Kevin that I would at least try to find Scoma's (well I didn't really promise him, I promised me).

First though, I had to figure out how to get to the wharf.  After asking the concierge I was pointed to the trolly system.  He said that it may not be the fastest way to get there but it would be far more scenic and I would be sure to enjoy it.  More than that, the price was right. $5.00 for a trip to the wharf? Oy vay, what a deal it was.  First off, I've said it before but maybe not in this blog.  Whoever decided to build a city on a mass of hillsides was out of their minds.  There is no feasible reason (that I can see) that this city should have ever contained houses, let alone sky scrapers.  San Francisco is, by far, one of the most bizarre cities in America.  That being said, the city is a testament to engineering and the ability of people to overcome anything that nature can throw at it.  Is that a benefit of our species?  I honestly don't know.

Moving along with my story.  I jumped on a trolly just to find out that it was headed in the wrong direction.  The conductor told me this and then dropped me at a stop where I could wait for the next trolly to come along.  He somehow managed to bite his tongue and keep from saying "damn tourists" I assume he was thinking it but then again, after working for years on one of these vessels I suppose that they are used to a lot of stupid tourists.  I hopped off at the station and waited for a trolley that was headed in the correct direction.  Wonders never ceasing.  It was the same trolley.  They had to turn around at the switch yard (about 400 feet away) and then come back to get me.  I didn't get to sit the entire time of my ride, I had to stand grasping the hand rails, which is something that I don't think I could ever get used to.  The constant surges and stops make it nearly impossible to hold on gracefully.  If I lived in the city for a hundred years I'm not sure I would ever get used to it.

To top this off I forgot my camera and I can't show how the weather began to turn or how bloody cold it got.  The rest of the photos this post have to be either from other cameras or from my iPhone.  When i say it got cold, I mean it was down to 50 and the sun was a long way away.  It even rained (just a little) that night and I'm certain that it was the coldest that most of these people had ever experienced.  They were out in their winter coats, I wish I were kidding but it was me in a t-shirt and about 30,000 Californians in winter coats.  

I walked around the Wharf until I saw Al Scoma Way.  Then I saw the restaurant, Scoma's, in what looked like an extended single-wide trailer.  It was actually out on a pier and had a fishing boat with the company logo on the side of it.  I considered this a good sign so I decided to go in and have some of the food.  I made the same exact mistake that I made at the R&G Lounge.  Seafood, back at home, is always small portions and I have made the mistake, twice, of assuming that I can handle an appetizer AND a meal.  I saw four appetizers that interested me.  I also saw an appetizer sampler that piqued my interest.  It contained Crab Cakes, Shrimp Scampi, and fried calamari.  

Then the main course came The lazy man's Cioppino .  The waiter actually tied a paper bib around my neck and told me to take my time and eat as much as I could of it.  Having been given permission to take my time, I did.  I savored every bite.  I was given the option of regular and spicy.  I chose spicy, and it made the cold day feel so much warmer.

Nothing I can say can convince anyone who hasn't been there how big this bowel was.  It wasn't so much a soup bowl as it was a punch bowl.  It took up most of my table.  Consider that, and then remember that I had a huge appetizer.  It was nothing short of miraculous that I finished as much as I had (about 90% of it).  I knew I had eaten far too much but it tasted so good, and it was so warm that i honestly couldn't have stopped eating it until i did.  As it was, I had to ask them to take it away so that I didn't end up eating until I was sick. . . trust me, it was close.  

Something else happened to me there, and I don't know how to take it.  After I was done eating my waiter came up and sat down across from me and told me that he had been watching me eat and that it made him glad to do what he did when he saw someone enjoying a 

meal so much.  It also probably helped him that I had spent a lot of money and that I was planning on tipping pretty well.  He said that he was so happy to see someone enjoy the meal that it made his whole day worth coming in.  Was he coming onto me?  I don't think so, but it is San Francisco so I don't rightly know.  Mostly I think that he just enjoyed seeing me savor every bite (which I did).  Every bite was different, I bit into some crab and the flavor was sweet and rich and then the rich and earthy brine of a clam would balance it out perfectly.  It was, in my opinion, even better than the first meal that I had, and that is saying a lot.  I don't know how to describe the experience other than to say.  WOW.

The staff was fantastic (the hostess ignored the rest of her duties for five minutes to talk to me about the conference) the waiters never let my glass empty and top that off with the waiter who thanked me simply for being there and all together it was a very nice meal.  Oh, don't let me forget to mention the french bread, served with the meal, it was some of the best I've had in my life.

I walked around in to cold and headed to Ghirardelli square, I didn't have any room but I had a small piece of chocolate anyway, it was all right and I bet it would have been even better if I hadn't been completely full and ready to get back.  I walked back to the trolly and got on the right one.  I even ended up giving directions to people, who were even more clueless about the city than myself.  I walked back to the hotel and slept the sleep of the fat and happy.  It was my last night there, and I was determined to sleep well. I didn't, tossed and turned all night, there was so much that I had wanted to do, but couldn't.  I knew that Saturday was going to be long but I made myself sleep.  I just hoped that leaving would be more uneventful than arriving.