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Flying With Faber: Our Annual Trip to San Francisco
By Stuart J. Faber
The Dining Room at Farallon, San Francisco. (Courtesy Farallon)In the course of each year, my job takes me to the four corners of the planet. One week, I may be in Shanghai. A week later, I am on the other end of the globe – perhaps London. In between, I might visit places that some folks might regard is less glamorous.
That’s okay with me – I’m not always looking for glamour. You know, at times you might love to dine on gourmet cuisine (I’ve never quite understood what the term means), on a table adorned with white linen and bone China plates. Other times, it’s just as exciting, or even more so, to saunter into a dive in a small, obscure town and have a down-home sizzling steak or burger dinner. (For the latter, I’ve often written about, and rhapsodized over, one of my favorite joints in America – Jocko’s steak house in Nipomo, Calif. I can’t count the times we’ve flown or driven from Los Angeles just to devour one of their steaks).
The point is that I often can derive just as much pleasure and exhilaration, or more, from a trip to some off-the-beaten-path village as I can from strolling down the Champs Elysees. But when asked about my favorite places in the world, San Francisco is always near the top of the list.
One reason is that the environs of this city are so magnificent and unique that, as is true with all genuine beauty, the pulchritude increases with each observation. Another is that San Francisco was my boyhood home for two years during WWII. Some force draws me back each year.
The Airport
Flying With Faber: My Annual Visit to San Francisco
By Stuart J. Faber
Each annual trip to San Francisco reveals new, dramatic changes – some are impressive, others give me concern. Of course, I endorse city growth. I want every citizen to flourish. But why not develop growth within the bounds of the historical and architectural integrity that originally made San Francisco one of the world’s greatest cities? Why install modern arms on the Venus de Milo?
Some developers, those with conscience, passion and integrity, are erecting structures that enhance the fabric of the city. Others are building people warehouses – just four dreary cement walls to house the droves of pilgrims who want to live in town.
As we do every year, we roamed around the town – paid visits to where I lived as a kid during WWII and visited several restaurants, some old and some new. Here is a list of what I consider some of the city’s hotel and restaurant treasures.
Flying With Faber - April 2014
San Francisco – I Just Can’t Stay Away
By Stuart J. Faber
San Francisco at dusk. (Cab Balcioglu/Courtesy of San Francisco Travel Association)Those folks who are acquainted with me or who are familiar with this column know that for more than 20 years, I’ve been making an annual New Year’s excursion from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
I have visited just about every major city in the world. San Francisco rates among the most beautiful, vivacious and intriguing. On every visit, it looks the same and also looks different. With each visit, I discover new nooks and crannies everywhere I turn. The city exudes the panorama of Hong Kong, the diversity of New York, the enchantment and romanticism of Paris, the bustle of Berlin and the intrigue of Budapest or Istanbul.
Flying With Faber - April 2013
Seventy Years of San Francisco
By Stuart J. Faber
For some reason, it almost seems as if New Year’s day shows up twice a year. Perhaps it seems that way because, as I get older, the years grow shorter.
For almost 20 years, I’ve been making an annual New Year’s trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Last December, as I commenced the planning of this year’s trip, I felt as if I had planned the previous excursion just a few months before.
I’ve always regarded San Francisco as my second home. My first love remains my boyhood home in Wisconsin, however, my memories of the wartime years (WWII, that is), some of which were spent in San Francisco, always generate a groundswell of nostalgia. As we flew into the Bay Area and I commenced my descent into Oakland International Airport, it occurred to me that it had been exactly 70 years since my very first glimpse of the city.
Flying With Faber - February 2012
Our Annual Trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
By Stuart J. Faber
It certainly does not seem like a year has passed since I sat down to write my last annual Bay Area article. We’ve been taking this annual pilgrimage to San Francisco and the surrounding area for more than 20 years. With each excursion, we discover new treasures. We always end up in San Francisco, but along the way, we generally stop to have a look at some other cities that might be of interest to our readers. Palo Alto is one of those destinations. We landed at San Marcos airport and worked our way along Highway 101 to this charming urban oasis.
Located on what is referred to as the Peninsula, Palo Alto is one of many cities along the route. The Peninsula, which extends south from San Francisco for about 60 miles, consists of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo and Burlingame The city is reminiscent of early 20th century towns which centered around a distinct, bustling downtown with one-of-a-kind shops, cozy restaurants and sidewalks teeming with pedestrians. At night, the downtown street lamps along University Avenue cast their lights on the theater-goers and the college students heading to wine bars, sports bars, coffee houses and restaurants.
Flying With Faber - February 2011
Our Annual Excursion to the San Francisco Bay Area
By Stuart J. Faber
For almost two decades, we have been making an annual New Year’s excursion to the Bay Area. I am not certain why this tradition has endured, but each year, a few days prior to the holiday, I automatically begin preparations for this pilgrimage.
This year, we stopped at Half Moon Bay along the way. I wanted to take a look at the Three-Zero Café.
Great airport restaurants are disappearing with alarming speed. There was a time when the best breakfast in town was served at airport cafes. That’s still the case at the Three-Zero Café, (650/728-1411). The joint was packed when we arrived, and this was during a weekday morning. The café is housed in an ancient airport building, which sits along Runway 12/30. Huge portions of delicious traditional breakfast items are served every morning.
Half Moon Bay Airport (KHAF) is located just north of town along Highway 1. At an elevation of 66 feet above sea level, the field has the one runway, 12/30 which is 5000 feet long. Several GPS approaches are available. The FBO is San Mateo County, 650/573-3701.
What's Up?! - September 2010
So here’s the thing!
By Larry Shapiro
Larry ShapiroI know as you read this you will be thinking, has Shapiro gone nuts again? Naaah, it’s just that I have said this so many times I keep hoping it will stick. Semi-crashed or destroyed airplanes are worth more when parted out rather than fixing and trying to sell them.
I feel the same way about tired, worn out high-time trainers. When you pass 10,000 hours as a trainer, it might be time to head for the junkyard. The doors and wings are worth lots and as a rule, we won’t accept an airplane that old to sell and especially to a zero-time buyer. If some high-time dude wants one, that’s a different story. He’ll know what he’s getting into. As the saying goes, “Ya gotta know when to fold them” before they fold.
Flying With Faber August 2010
Tasting the High Life
By Stuart J. Faber
Over the years, I’ve criss-crossed the country more times than I can remember. Most of my articles are generated from these excursions. Generally, I spend an adequate amount of time in one destination to gather sufficient material to overflow my allotted space in In Flight USA. However, there are a number of stops where I may just overnight, or drive into town for the afternoon to explore a restaurant I’ve heard about. I tuck these memories away so that I can occasionally share these wonderful experiences.
The reader might notice that several of the restaurants featured herein are operated by hotels. The impression still exists that hotel food consists of little more than cafeteria-quality, old fashioned dishes. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today, hotels have the resources to invest heavily in hiring the most talented chefs, to purchase the best ingredients and create superior quality, innovative cuisine. Most hotel operators have learned to keep their prices the same or lower than those of free-standing restaurants. Several examples are included in this article.
Soaring With Sagar - April 2010
With it’s 4 crossing parallel runways, SFO is one of the world’s busiest airports. (Sagar Pathak)Navigating “Class Bravo” Airspace
By Sagar Pathak
When looking at your favorite sectional map, the most intimidating part seems to be the concentric blue lines of the Class Bravo airspace that surrounds 39 of the nations busiest airports. In Northern California, our Class Bravo airport surrounds San Francisco International (SFO), with nearly 400,000 operations in 2009. And a mere 10 nm north of SFO lies one of the most beautiful skylines in the world, one that hundreds of millions of people visit every year. But to get to that paradise, you have to transition through the dreaded Class Bravo airspace.
A Visit With the Blue Angels
The Blue Angels fly in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. (Sagar Pathak)By Stuart J. Faber
Everyone, including me, loves the Blue Angels. Through the years, I have attended a number of their spectacular performances. My enthusiasm increases with every new airshow I see. Recently, a few journalists and I were gathered around the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf where most of the Blue Angels pilots were billeted and hanging out.
While enjoying a buffet lunch of sandwiches, tapas and sweets at Knuckles Bar and Grill at the Hyatt, we were thrilled to meet up with two of the Blue Angel officers for a preflight get-together. Marine Captain Tyson Dunkelberger is an information officer with the Blue Angels. Navy pilot Lt. Ben Walborn flies aircraft number seven and is one of the narrators and advance men for the 35 airshows the group performs each year. Ben is a 29-year-old pilot who began his flight training in a T-34 and transitioned to jets via the T-45. He completed his flight training in the F-18 Hornet, then did a tour in Japan before he joined the Blue Angels. These two friendly, yet all-business guys shared our culinary largesse while graciously answered all of our questions.