Rare Book Monthly
Booking Diversity
My Book Heaven Pulp Fiction and Jen and Brad of The Book Shop in Covina.
No story about San Francisco is complete without a short discussion of food. The food at the show was utilitarian, at best. However, we had a few really good meals. Curbside, Too is a French restaurant near the Presidio...very unassuming, good service, good wine, and reasonable. Speaking of French, we went to Café Claude, which is about a block from PBA Galleries downtown. It's a cute little French bistro in an alley and they welcomed our dog, Ginger, with open arms. We also had several really good meals in Alameda, just across the Bay. We stay there at the Motel 6 on Embarcadero in Oakland because it's pet friendly and it's much less expensive than the City. They are about ten minutes from downtown San Francisco (traffic permitting) and because it's right on the shore of the estuary, it has a great view of the harbor.
If you go to Alameda and you like Thai food, try Toomie's on the main drag, and also, there is a nice pizza-pasta joint called Tomatina's that has these little garlic bread balls that are to die for. We did go to MoMo's in the City for lunch one day, but were rather disappointed. The food was okay and the service was good, but not exceptional and it was quite pricey.
Enough for now. I'm sorry I couldn't name all you wonderful booksellers we saw and met, but next year we'll have a whole new take on the show and a whole new list of fascinating people to see, places to go, and restaurants in which to nibble. If you are a bookseller, you might want to consider taking a booth next year or at least going to the show for the sheer pleasure of seeing so many delectable books. Also, there is going to be a smaller, but very tasty Gold Rush Book Fair in Grass Valley in May.
