Published: May, 2012
Crossing any bridge on the Bay is particularly joyful if the journey brings you to a destination offering stunning vistas and matchless entertainment. For those of us who cherish the adult privileges of drinking, smoking, gambling and eating well—this means Golden Gate Fields.
As luck would have it, the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo coincide this year, with the racetrack celebrating both events in superb form. On Saturday, May 5, GGF will partner with San Francisco’s own Grant’s Tobacconists to stage a VIP party complete with open bar featuring margaritas and mint juleps. There will also be reception-style dining menu celebrating Mexican and California cuisine.
Sulka, the men’s haberdashery that once counted the Duke of Windsor, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford and Clark Gable among its customers, made the finest leisure wear on earth. Many San Franciscans will recall when we had a store on Post Street, adjacent to another bygone classic, Dunhill. Both places disappeared in the last century. My last smoking jacket was purchased at Sulka—a custom-made burgundy velour number with a tasseled silk belt. It too, has gone by the wayside.
But those seeking to purchase a reasonable facsimile are in luck. Derek Rose, the venerable London-based maker of pajamas, robes and dressing gowns, has come up with a "Tartan" model that is quite attractive and good deal less expensive. The construction is durable, with 100 percent nylon lining and worsted wool armor.
On the Fly, located at 1 Embarcadero Center, carries a few in their showroom, and offers it on the website along with other smoking accessories. If you have not discovered this haberdashery, it’s well worth a lunch-hour walk to investigate. www.onthefly.com
Finally, as part of your May meanderings, I suggest falling by William Stout Books, where you will find over 20,000 titles on two floors in the fields of architecture, art, urban planning, graphic and industrial design, furniture and interior design, and landscape architecture. For over 30 years—20 in the current location—it has been a vital resource for architecture and design books, carrying American and international titles, both in and out of print.
While walking through the stacks or pouring over the site’s offerings, take a look at Wandering the Garden of Technology and Passion: John Marx Architect. Author Pierluigi Serraino notes that John Marx is of the generation of design architects who witnessed their pencils "morph into mouses" and their drafting tables into computer desktops:
"Throughout this transition, he has maintained a remarkable aesthetic consistency in his architectural projects. Wandering the Garden of Technology and Passion is a study of digital design through Marx’s work. This beautifully illustrated book traces the professional path of an architect whose mastery of digital tools transformed his practice into a global player, but who still manages to hold on to the intimate qualities of a boutique practice."
