Today, December 5th 2024, would have been Joan Didion’s ninetieth birthday. Didion’s writing helped form my conception of life in America, specifically the idiosyncrasies of California, and I think of her work often as I wander this land. Last week, I was enjoying a holiday Martini at the Thaddich Grill, a place Joan would have loved - or probably DID love - and one of several San Francisco centenarian dining establishments with which every bay area maven should familiarize themselves, and, not for the first time, I considered the restaurant’s history. This grand space, with its endless mahogany bar and well-shorn white-coated servers, originated when three Croatians - Budrovich, Gasparich, and Kosta - opened a coffee stand that served grilled fish on a pier in 1849, a time when the San Francisco bay came to the edge of Montgomery street, and California was not yet an American state! Just one year prior, in February of 1848, the United States wrested California from Mexico, and on December 5th 1848, President James K. Polk told congress gold had been discovered in California, setting off the California Gold rush. San Francisco went from a town of 1,000 people in 1848 to a city of 25,000 by 1850, when California became a member of the United States.

As I finished my cocktail, I considered that from 1920 until 1933 my drink was prohibited by the US government, by the will of the people, and no one was having Martinis at the Thaddich Grill for those fourteen years (the origin of the Martini is disputed, but they were certainly in circulation by 1920). Then I conjured thoughts of the festivities that must have engulfed the city following the 18th amendment’s repeal on December 5th, 1933, one year to the day before the birth of our dear, insightful bon vivant and national treasure, Joan Didion. How time flies!

The past is known, albeit strange, and the future uncertain, though sure to be even stranger. Let’s not forget how different things were around here so very recently, appreciate what we’ve got, and know that change will come. In this frame, Oakland Yard is a blink of an eye, but a beautiful blink and all the more reason to come celebrate life with wine and friends. This coming ‘Welcome Wednesday’ Julia will be serving up a hearty Tuscan Ribollita soup, full of beans, fresh veggies, and we’ve got wines by the glass from noon until nine every day.

But first, TONIGHT...a special THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHT with guest winemaker Terah Bajjalieh of TERAH WINE CO.:
2023 Verdejo
2023 Skin Fermented Falanghina
2022 Pinot Noir
2022 Barbera
Flights $20 from 5 to 8:30 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 12/7: WINTER REDS - We’ll pop a delicious MAGNUM of northern Rhone Syrah, along with three other rich, satisfying, full-bodied reds from Italy, Spain, and California, all fit for a holiday meal or just a chilly December evening.
2022 Domaine des Entrefaux Crozes-Hermitage 1.5 Liter
2021 Terra d'Aligi Tatone Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
2021 Juan Gil Monstrell
2022 Cary Q Hollis Mourvedre
Flights $18 from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,

Max