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[personal profile] dwenius
We went out on Sunday night to Teatro Zinzanni for a dual celebration of house-buying and early birthday. The show occurs in a spiegeltent from the 20s, a collection of wood, frosted glass, and silks that comes together with no metal fittings to create a stage and seating for about 250-300 people. It was a full house, or near enough.

The format weaves food, skits, songs, and stunts together in a seamless progression throughout the evening. I won't summarize the show, but I must mention several elements that will stick in my memory. First (although it happened last in sequence), Matt Plendl's jaw-dropping hula-hoop routine was one of those things that forces you to redefine the possible. He had effortless control of up to 8 hoops (maybe 10?), on every limb, on four different horizontal planes, you name it. Astounding. Next, the Chef character, who brought audible groans with an array of truly horrible puns. Oh yes, as the performers frequently bring the audience onto the stage, I feel it is my duty to remind you, under no uncertain terms, that you do NOT know how to juggle. Finally, two words: yodeling dominatrix.

The house band rocked. Tragically, I was in the washroom during the theremin solo :(

The food was quite well done. I had a cioppino that was marvelously constructed, with dungeness crab, prawns, several shellfish, and I think snapper or sea bass. A. had an equally well-made steak, with a divine peppers and squash side that was barely coated with some smoky sauce we couldn't identify. We decided to bring along one of our holiday gifts to drink rather than make a pricey guess from their wine list. As it turned out, the Chateaux Magdelaine 2000 we brought was the envy of the staff. A truly exceptional wine, and one that sadly I may never see again-- apparently, it was sold out before it even shipped, and that year already has a superb reputation, so they will are scarce. Oh well, if you can't drink your best wine when you buy a house, when exactly would you drink it? Clearly, more research into the wines of the St. Emilion region is warranted.

The whole evening was somewhat pricy, but if you consider it a 3+ star restaurant meal plus about half-a-Cirque, it doesn't seem that unreasonable. As Mr. Zinzanni himself put it, "We know that when it comes to burlesque musical comedy dinner theater circuses, you have a choice." Har har.

Date: 2005-02-08 09:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fredfred.livejournal.com
Synchronicity, man. I've never heard the word cioppino before, and I hear it twice in one day -- both from friends living in CA who had it at a restaurant this weekend (the other was via email, she lives in LA). What the heck is it?

cioppino

Date: 2005-02-08 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dwenius.livejournal.com
It's a tomato based seafood stew, not quite brothy enough to call a soup. I believe the dish originated in California, despite the seemingly italian origin of the name. Then again, given the heavy Italian population in North Beach and the wharf area, maybe it's not so surprising.

Date: 2005-02-09 12:16 am (UTC)
ext_8707: Taken in front of Carnegie Hall (picassohead)
From: [identity profile] ronebofh.livejournal.com
There is no cioppino entry in Wikipedia. I am shocked.

Date: 2005-02-08 10:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gen9.livejournal.com
I took my Mom, who was out visiting me from the east coast, to TZ last Thursday night and she loved it. I had wanted to give her a unique San Francisco experience and TZ definitely fit the bill from the entertainment to the food.

I had the cioppino too and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. Niether of us could finish the dessert it was so rich. I'm tempted to go again in a few months once the show changes.

Date: 2005-02-09 01:29 am (UTC)
damienw: (Default)
From: [personal profile] damienw
Damn, I was hoping for remarks about theremins. Maybe I'll finish the new box for mine this week.

Date: 2005-02-10 03:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mrbalihai.livejournal.com
Happy birthday, you. I will play an air-theremin solo in your honor, and recall the time that you and I saw Action Plus at the Hashbury Street Fest.

Date: 2005-02-10 07:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dwenius.livejournal.com
Truly an enjoyable band. Haven't heard a peep from them in ages, though, I wonder if they are still happening?

Date: 2005-02-10 10:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mrbalihai.livejournal.com
Looks like they emerged from a long hibernation in 2003 (http://www.actionplus.us/index.html).

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