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A Pearl Of San Francisco
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In my recent trip to San Fran, I had the pleasure of being asked to sit in with my friend and notable jazz singer, Kim Nalley. However, I was not only coming to sit in with her at a gig, I was attending an evening at her marvelous jazz supper club, Jazz at Pearls. This is a venue that has been around for years in SF but the previous owners sold it to Kim and her husband, Steve Sheraton over a year ago and was re-opened this past fall. My first reaction in walking into the room was, "Wow! Somebody finally got it right!" When you walk in off the busy street in the heart of the entertainment district, you are immediately in a another time zone. Suddenly you are in a 1930's night club. The stage is set down in the center of the room, below the tiered seating. The lighting is focused on the stage and tables are dimly lit. This really lets an audience know where the center of attention is and creates a wonderful listening environment. However the really magical element it that it is done without a stuffy attitude. It is glamorous without pretense. Artistic without affectation. And the very diverse audience truly has a great time! The food and drinks are marvelous too! Their acclaimed Spanish chef, Juan Jose Pujol, offers a delectable menu featuring both cold and hot tapas and paellas as well as other entrees. There are special 3 course prix fixed dinners for $40 available. When my friend, artist James Jarrett and I attended, our favorites were, for starters from the cold tapas menu, the Fresh Mozzarella Combined With Cilantro-Garlic-Green Pepper Marinade. And from the hot tapas menu, the Serrano Croquettes: Spanish Cured Serrano Ham And Chicken Croquettes, served with an amazing house made alioli. We then moved onto paella as our main course. The paellas are prepared for two or more diners, served on a traditional searing hot Spanish paella pan. We chose the Spanish Paella Featuring Seafood, Chicken, The Famous Spanish Chorizo Sausage, Pork Tenderloin And Fresh Vegetables On A Bed Of Saffron Rice. Incredible! Then I had to leave it to James to do the service of having dessert. So he went along with that and ordered the Reve Au Chocolat. A Flourless Souffle-Like Molten Chocolate Cake With Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream. I have a feeling he liked it. There was nothing left on the plate! Many of the items are Atkins friendly dishes, which makes me happy! Aside from all the dreamy food there is of course the Jazz of Pearls! The music features different jazz artists every night. On Tuesday nights, Ms Nalley herself is the feature and hostess. What a show and what a hostess. She is so charming that you feel as though you were invited to a big party. Somehow the night slips away. You have been in the room for 3 hours and it feels like 10 minutes. This evening we saw the Kim Nalley Quintet with legendary trumpeter, Allen Smith. The music was energetic with Kim's beautiful vocals and the band of top notch players was a blast to perform with. I will close with saying this is one of the finest jazz rooms in the country. If there were more rooms like this one, people would make a habit of going out! Jazz at Pearl's | |
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