René Seifert – Entrepreneur & Global Citizen

Posting these foodie-fresh memories from a week in the Bay Area after a short connecting stop in Munich from the airport lounge. As always it’s been tremendously inspiring being over there, once for the Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference in San Jose, then the weekend in one of my favourite cities San Francisco. Here, by the way the picture set on Flickr (please forgive the many conference-slides).

As it goes, an event or a city by itself has some value or charm respectively. However, what really matters is getting together with the right people who are inspiring, honest and fun, such that you really enjoy having food with them. And in that respect this visit was absolutely phenomenal, kind of “social media delivered” – in real life on your plate. Most of the people, admittedly, Germans. But never mind. We seem to be welcome:

So we had at the conference the “German Stammtisch” with Marcus Tober, Horst Joepen and Andi Schwabe when we decided to skip the second event-party with an estimated male-geek ratio of 94 % and rather head for San Francisco for dinner. The side effect: male-geek ratio of stunning 100 %! Still we felt that the trip was deserved, as I dare to use the rare expression of food being “disgusting”, what it truly was at the SES with one and the same selection of abysmal junk food every day served on plastic plates with plastic cutlery.

Glad that the guys followed my recommendation to go to Morton’s in Post Street where you’ll get the biggest, largest and most obscene steaks in this world. Best is having them “Medium Rare Plus” and given the size of the meat being frugal with the side dishes like mashed potatoes. Also a must at Morton’s is the warm chocolate cake which has to be ordered together with the main dish as it takes time to create. When arrives with its inner core being warm it literally melts in your mouth to “death by chocolate”. It tastes as if invented by and for little angels.

After the conference, on Friday if first headed south on Highway 101 to the Gilroy Factory Oulet to meet my former boss from Lycos, now friend Dirk Lüth who just moved over to the Valley with his family to start an exciting company in the Enterprise 2.0-space. Always held Dirk in highest regard for his smart, focused and at the same time easy-going manner.

Not saying this, because he bought me lunch in this really honest American restaurant-chain Applebee’s. Overall, I can really recommend this factory outlet to find great deals on otherwise expensive brands.

When I “moved over” to San Francisco, I enjoyed as always staying in the stylish Clift Hotel with its unique Bar “Redwood Room“. On Friday, Thomas Bindl took me along with his travel companion Billy Brüggemann to meet his SEO-friends Frank Watson from New York and Todd Malicoat from San Francisco. We were headed to Tataki in Pacific Heights. Sushi in this little cosy place was really good there. After that I went straight back to the hotel where I fell into a deep jetlag-coma-sleep – no Propofol required.

On Saturday, I met my tall German friend Sören Stamer for lunch who got married to his charming American wife, Heidi, recently and moved to SFO a few weeks ago. We had some solid salad with shrimps & crab at Pier 23 where we passionately discussed the economics of abundance in the digital age and the value of this ever-scarce thing called human attention.

The evening started with a sundowner with a breathtaking panorama on the Bay Bridge from the 39th floor at Marriott’s “The View” with Marcus Tober and Jens Brechmann.

For dinner, I followed the advise of Sören to check out a really cool place “Blowfish Sushi”. The taxi ride there turned out to be an unexpected highlight when the Jamaican taxi driver made it a point to explain how “2 out of 3 men in San Francisco are gay” and therefore he was “having sex with elder ladies between 50 to 60 years who are desperate, because they can’t get anyone” and who after the accomplished act wrote him a cheque. “And if they don’t write me a cheque, I never come back to them.”

Blowfish Sushi in South of Mission turned out to be a unique hit, both from the deco with wild Manga-comics on the walls, but equally from the creative standpoint of the chef. The restaurant really managed to re-invent sushi, yet still respecting its very roots. So one would get sushi-rolls with fish, meat, vegetables, yummy dressing and altogether spiced up.

While Marcus and Jens headed back to the hotel, I went for a final drink to Rickhouse, a new bar in the Financial District to catch up with Auren Hoffman after the Menorca TechTalk. Auren’s parents were in town and so he proved to be a good boy for first heading out only when they were in bed and second to get home not to late so that his Mum wouldn’t worry ;-)

Yesterday, on a lazy and sunny Sunday, I finished my trip with a visit to the International Orange Spa in Fillmore Street. The therapist did a phenomenal job in providing a heavenly massage. Best prerequisite for meeting Heidi & Sören, who happen to the same place for yoga, for Oysters at the Ferry Building.

Then it was time to head to the airport, upgraded myself with eVouchers to First Class where the food-festival continued. But more importantly, enabled me to have a night of good sleep in the plane before continuing my trip back to India. And I am sure, they will have something little to eat for me there as well …