It was a year of digging through old shipping containers. It was a year of some guy holding a straight razor to your neck. It was a year... that was not nearly as bad as those things make it sound. Herewith, a moment of reminiscence:
Wheels required to get somebody flowers: two. (See: BloomThat bike delivery.) To get you your lunch from Burma Superstar: two. (Thanks, Luckybolt bike delivery.) To get you to buy some pedal-ready pants from Brooklyn: two. (Osloh bike pants.) Yep, 2013 was the year of the bike. Like we said up there.
Let’s just call a haircut what it really is now—an excuse to play some pool at JA’s Razor Club, or to buy bike shelves at Fellow Barber Footprint. Of course, if you just needed a cut and shave, there was J.P. Kempt. Nothing saying you couldn’t shoot pool somewhere after.
Finally, the Jack/Knife guys started selling jeans on the Internet. Finally, Copin Denim gave you some jeans to alternate with Jack/Knife’s. And finally, you got a Gant Rugger store to help you dress like a Kennedy on a schooner. Hey. Sometimes you elevate pub wear. It’s a thing that happens.
For years, it was the Ferry Building owning the farm-to-table thing. Then Napa got the Oxbow. 2013 was Sonoma’s moment to shine—Shed opened for three square F-to-T-ish meals, a garden-tool section and kombucha on tap, and the Barlow upped the game. With bocce courts.
Things you learned in 2013: a canning warehouse is a great place to pick up a wool sweater and camping gear, assuming it’s a warehouse that’s been turned into Triple Aught. And some old shipping containers are a great place to find Aether coats for winter, assuming... well, you know.
Mud baths and mineral springs: two things Calistoga was historically good for. Mud and water. Seems kind of weird when you think about it in such blunt terms. Anyway, now there’s a mod motel and a gourmet B&B. Both of which are a step up from mud and water.
You hear a sentence that starts with “Cliffside at Big Sur...” and you’re already in for almost anything that follows. Almost. Luckily, the sentence is: “Cliffside at Big Sur, you can now commandeer a beautiful private hot tub in South Coast House at Post Ranch Inn.” Not something weird.
