It was December and for Sharon's birthday, the two of us decided to have brunch at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. I had heard that the Christmas brunch was a gala affair and should be done at least once. The only time slot for brunch was quite early, so I booked the Palace Hotel for Saturday night also. Taking BART is the best way since the hotel is right on the corner of Market and Montgomery and the station is twenty feet from the side door to the hotel.

When we checked in, we were given an upgrade to a better room on the eighth floor (nice start).

The Palace was built a few years after the Big Quake of 1906. Since its 1909 reopening the Palace has remained the Grand Dame of San Francisco. This is the place where several US presidents spent their San Francisco time (Harrison, McKinley, Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Harding, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Clinton were among them).

The Garden Court's stained glass dome, with Austrian crystal chandeliers, is one of the highlights and a marvelous setting for the annual Christmas Brunch, our goal for this weekend.

In the lobby we noticed a display of a few gingerbread 'houses', and then it was up to our room. After getting settled, we decided to find a place for lunch and then take a walk up to Union Square to do some 'shopping' in the afternoon. If you want to skip San Francisco and want to see the 'Brunch', click here.

Instead of the Court, where lunch was served, we went to the Pied Piper, the bar and grill of the hotel.
It has a bit of history of its own:
For the grand opening in 1909 the artist Maxfield Parrish was commissioned to paint this 16-foot mural “The Pied Piper of Hamlin”.
In case you are not familiar with the Piper, let me at least mention that he was a legendary character who lured children away by playing his magic flute. It was his punishment to the citizens of Hamlin who had refused to pay him for driving out the rats instead.

During the winter months Union Square has an ice skating ring and a huge Christmas tree. It is a nice switch from the pigeons we normally see here. It puts everyone in the 'spirit' (even those lunching outside). The lobby of the St. Francis Hotel is always a 'must' with the big clock and the gingerbread 'castle'.

On the way back to the hotel we did a bit of 'window shopping' and later had a nice dinner at One Market.

Keep in mind that the main reason for being here this weekend was the 'Brunch' on Sunday. So what happened? Our internet reservation got all messed up and after some discussions we were given a time of one o'clock. 'We are completely booked full,' was the word. But after the first group of diners were seated I approached the maitre-de and coached her into making a table available sooner. We were seated right away for the 10:30 am seating. So persistence sometimes pays.

It was awesome to sit underneath the large glass dome and chandeliers and think that this was more than a century old.

A three piece band provided some nice background music. They were actually located in front of the large tree while we were seated behind it. Just as well, so we could talk while enjoying our scrumptious meal.

Our waitress poured us a glass of orange juice and champagne. Then we took a look at the spread . . . . . .

We didn't start eating desert, we were just looking, ok? Besides the usual array of covered platters of sausage, scrabbled eggs, ham, etc, there were several stations for omelets, roast beef, crepes, sushi, dim sum, pasta as you like it. Too much for one meal, but fun to try.

We got a kick out of talking to this fellow making pasta dishes. He had an accent and I thought he was from Italy. He was actually from Lima, Peru and when we mentioned that we had been there and to Machu Pichu he wanted to talk some more. Later he would make us some great dishes.

Anyone who knows me also knows that I love fish. But dishes from all over the world should be tried at least once. So for my first go around I had some sushi with tuna and shrimp, a couple dim sums, Ahi tuna rare, smoked salmon and a couple Dungeness crab claws.
My second plate had more dim sum and sushi but also short ribs, sausage and some potatoes. Not shown was my third plate of salmon with a teriyaki sauce, a piece of sea bass and some mushroom raviolis with fried shrimp, tomatoes and a creamy garlic sauce. Desert was creme brulee and a piece of tiramisu. When we were almost done, I remembered that I did not have any cheese and fruit, but we were too full to continue. It was time to check out and return home full and sassy.