Wear-able Art: Victor Tung

Ever want to wear something that is truly unique? You know, be the only one wearing it. Hard to come by these days when everything is mass produced. Not true with Victor Tung Couture! Every time  I walk into his store I am just “WOWed”. The quality, colors and the modern elegance.

Victor uses a wide range of fabrics, most often high end fabrics like silk. The above dress and sheer coat are an example of the elegant side.

Wear as this jacket is just completely modern and funky. He also hand prints or paints onto the fabrics. Every article of clothing has its own special touch to it.

Check him out at 654 Commercial St.,SF, CA 94111 M- F: 10am – 6pm or call for an appointment #415-399-1588.

Picaro the “Tapas” Place

A funky tapas bar

Looking for a fun place to enjoy tapas? Then Picaro is the place to do it! It is in the Mission like any good Spanish place should be! Their address is 3120 16th St in SF and are open from 11:30am-10pm Sunday through Thursday and till 11pm on Friday and Saturday.

They have a great and very reasonable priced tapas menu that ranges from $5-$12. Now here is the cool part, they have a great happy hour from 5-7pm EVERYDAY where their sangria is $2.50 a glass or $10 a pitcher! Note the sangria is delicious and well made, not filled with too much ice or fruit! They also have a late night happy hour, which  means that Picaro is a good place to start off the night with.

My friend and I ordered four plates plus a pitch of sangria during happy hour and were extremely satisfied. Even more when we realized we were going to walked away with our bill being under $40. What a great way to start a night!

Balloons above the Valley

Hot air balloons are fascinating to many, not just me. Naturally when I found an opportunity to go riding in one and see the world as I loft in the clouds, I took it. My first try, I found a scam in Balloons Above Napa. Leading me to be extra cautious the next time. Luckily or more with better research, I found a very reputable company named Balloons Above the Valley with a great promotion; $189 per person with a champagne brunch included during week days! I quickly bought and I scheduled it.

We met up at the Marriott in Napa, had a light breakfast waiting and then shuttled to the balloons! Their team was already filling them with air when we arrived. It takes quiet a lot of air to get these balloons up and going!

It was nice to see the final stage and the first ones fly off. Soon after we were in our balloon and it was lifting away. You can hardly feel the movement your drifting so slowly. Yet it is amazing to see the sun rise and Napa Valley fill with light, the shadows dance.

When you are up there, you loft easily and spend most of the time craning your neck. You could see other balloons flying in the air too and then a little over an hour later you were back on the ground. Before your brain can process you’re back at the hotel being served a champagne breakfast! Once your done the day has just started and the wineries are open, it should be a great day.

Palio’s: Happy-Hour (2 drinks =$1 Pizza)

Have you heard of Palio’s

No?! Well listen up, it is a fantastic. Plus has a great happy hour. A lot of people think it is too pricy or fancy, but really it is not! This is one of the most down to earth places I have ever been and the service is off the charts.  Back to the happy hour, when you buy two drinks, you get a gourmet pizza for a dollar. Yes you heard me right, a delicious pizza for just a dollar when you order two drinks. YES! The drink prices are very reasonable and pizza is utterly delicious.

You probably will be quiet surprised with how big the place is. There are multiple rooms, areas for privacy and tons of seating. There are two side rooms that can be closed for private parties. Plus they are adding a second bar in the near future.

Palio’s spans from Sacramento street to Commercial alley. It really is spacious, you never feel crammed at all. The other thing is that the noise level stays very moderate which is fantastic. The decor is simple, elegant and yet family style comfortable. There is a lot of wood, stone and great art pieces.

The full menu is extensive and the Prix Fixe is worth it. You will not believe the size of the plate nor the quality.  You then have your choice from the entire menu with the Prix Fixe and can order independently too. Plus Palio’s makes most of their food in house and has a decent gluten free side too. If you do not have time to stop in and relax, check out their cafe on Montgomery for a quick bite.

The man in charge

If you ever have a concern go talk to Martino and he can work magic. This is a family restaurant and aims to treat you as such. I have been coming here for years with my family and now extremely happy to be coming here after work to unwind.

Don’t overlook Dada!

If you work in the city, then you probably on the hunt for cool spots to unwind after work. We all have our favorites and for different reasons. Sometimes its the view or to impress other times the vibe is critical.

When its for atmosphere, one of my favorites is Dadá on 2nd. It is easy to get to, right between Market and Mission.. just look for the blue paint and the neon orange sign above. You can walk right buy it as you would not think it was a bar. Don’t! Check it out and you are in for a treat. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) its a bit of a secret spot and I always hear, “How long has this been here?” The answer, about 5 years!

They have a great happy hour, with long hours, strong drinks for reasonable prices.  What more can a person ask for? Oh yeah; art, lighting, good music (a bit loud)…all of which are good to go. It has art pieces strung around and really filling the place.  Lights dimmed and changing slowly between red, green and blue.

The bartender is usually a one man show so you do have to wait a bit but that’s OK. Gets really crowded on Thursday and Friday, thus I go earlier on in the week. Where I can enjoy and drink a$7 martinis? No where half as cool, yet people would just walk by it thinking ill. Trust me, it is not a dive but you would think it is from the outside.

Hello World. Or more SF Bay!

Natasha in Sutro Baths. Always exploring curiosities.

My name is Natasha and I’ve decided to start this blog: Jump In SF Bay.  After living in SF Bay for most of life I have learned the Bay pretty darn well. Plus I’m always exploring it, since hardly anything stays the same! More often than not people ask me questions for: what to do and where to eat. Follow my yelp, ngm.yelp.com to really keep up on the in depth reviews.

Young in my life and starting my career means I am always on a budget, but I need to splurge on occasion too. I have no intention of not living my life and jumping right in; hence my name Jump In SF Bay. I hope to inspire people to jump in and do some of the cool happenings within the Bay and keeping their money in line.  We all are working on this and I am going to reach back into my childhood and bring out what my parents ( an accountant and banker) taught me.

The beatiful SF Bay.

Besides always have an ear to the ground on SF with in budget, I’ve an expertise in intimate apparel for women. This leads to me to have an interest in women’s fashion and tips on sales.  I have often heard from friends, “Why didn’t you tell me before!”… well I promise to try in here.

I also aim to be more healthy in my life meaning cooking and exercising more. This means cooking more again and finding healthy ways of eating out. Plus exercise must also be fun and easy to fit in other wise I won’t do it. Of late I have been getting in to dancing, snowboarding and yoga. I am going to try and fit in more besides chasing MUNI.

If there is anything you would like me to focus on… well just let me know!