I remember going there as a little kid with my parents on my very first visit to San Francisco, not long after the building opened in 1969, and falling asleep at cocktail hour because of the time difference between here and the East Coast.
Reading that the Carnelian Room's close was imminent, David and I decided to go for cocktails this past September on our anniversary, before an as-always perfect, celebratory dinner at Delfina. It was a beautiful evening and a great way to start the evening. The decor, staff, menu, and cocktails seemed unchanged since my first visit, which helped to explain the plans to close and the primarily-tourist crowd, but it was also slower-paced, retro, and with service that was comfortably clubby: you expected to see Karl Malden and Michael Douglas shooting a "Streets of San Francisco" chase scene when we peered down into the city streets.
Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and we're very glad we got to enjoy it once more before they closed the doors. And here are a couple of quick snaps from that evening.
P.S. Know why it was called the Carnelian Room?
why WAS it called the Carnelian room?
ReplyDeletereally? no one's even gonna try? alright, it's b/c the building's facade and plaza are faced in carnelian granite...
ReplyDelete