Nutcracker
Today we went to San Francisco for some good food at Cheesecake Factory and some good ballet at The Nutcracker in War Memorial Opera House. We had to wait for an hour for the seats at the Union Square Cheesecake Factory, so we shopped for some Christmas decorations in Macy’s and we took some pictures in Union Square.
We got outdoor seats today, and the weather was not bad. There were very few pigeons, though, which is weird, because pigeons used to take over the leftovers whenever outdoor guests finished their food. Maybe it’s because of the weather or maybe it’s because Cheesecake Factory or the City has been cracking down on pigeons? Either way, it was pretty pleasant. I ordered the Hibachi Steak, which was basically steak with teriyaki sauce with wasabi mashed potatoes. Initially, I thought the wasabi was going to be mixed in with mashed potatoes, but they actually just poured some over it. The steak was actually quite good, despite being a little bit too sweet and little-portioned for my taste. Mom had meatloaf, even though Ellen and I both recommended against it, and then she complained afterwards that it wasn’t good. I forgot what Ellen had. For the Cheesecake, Ellen had her Brownie Sundae Cheesecake, I think I had the Chocolate Mouse Cheesecake, and I think Mom had the Red Velvet Cheesecake. They were all pretty good, but Ellen’s was the best. I think three cheesecakes was too much, though, we should have ordered only two.
Afterwards, since we had enough time, we shopped for some more in Macy’s. It was crazy because lots of people were there trying to pick up cheap Christmas decorations. When we finished, we decided to walk from Union Square to the War Memorial Opera House on Van Ness and Grove. Initially, my plan was to order a taxi from Union Square to War Memorial Opera House, especially since it started drizzling a bit when we were in Union Square. However, the drizzling stopped, and we were able to successfully walk from Union Square to the opera house. The store owners selling umbrellas must be pissed. Before we made it to the opera house, however, we stopped by DSW Shoes on Powell, because Ellen wanted to see some boots that she wanted to buy. Mom said she had too many boots. As we walked on Market outbound (I’ll never get used to SF Muni directions), we saw that as we passed the more touristy areas, SF actually becomes very similar to LA in terms of how run-down it seemed. It wasn’t until the opera house and civic center that it became nice again.
Finally we arrived at the opera house. We arrived a bit earlier, at 6pm, and the show is starting at 7pm. So we walked around to see what there is to be seen. There were some merchandise for sale, but nothing that really caught our eyes. It seemed like a very historical building, and it was apparently where the first Nutcracker performance in the US was held. The performance was very enjoyable, I liked how they set everything in SF so that we could relate more. Mom and Ellen understood more than me, of course, beause I’m just a Philistine, but I still enjoyed the show. The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra was amazing, it sounded as if the sound was straight out of a CD player. The dancers were good, too, but not nearly as flawless. I think it was a bad idea for me to eat so much before watching something, because I almost fell asleep. It wasn’t because the performance was bad, perhaps it was because I’m not so intuned into the ballet world. It’s amazing what these people can do with their bodies, though. I especially liked the part with the snowflakes and where the different countries danced. I thought the audience clapped too much, but I guess that’s just the American way.