Appreciation Event: A’s vs. Giants ~ Battle of the Bay!

If you’ve been a friend, client, or colleague of mine over the years, you know how much I enjoy my clients and people who have referred me. I try to do a couple appreciation events during the year, ranging from happy hours to full-on parties. Most recently, I threw a little appreciation event by hosting an A’s vs. Giants game!

There were about 20 people at the game, including past clients and sponsors Nancy Glad (Impeccable Interior) and Jason Bringingham (Admiral’s Choice Irrigation). As usual, I gave out some raffle prizes throughout the game, including house cleanings by Impeccable Interior, a goodie bag of peanuts, licorice, popcorn, and other baseball game treats, a bottle of wine and even a Giants panda hat! Funny enough, that prize was won by Sara, an A’s fan.

Jason also contributed $10 each for food and drink. It was an awesome time at the ballpark, we had a mix of A’s and Giants fans, with the Giants winning 5-1. It’s always nice to go out and mingle in a non-business setting with my clients and get to know them even better. As one person noted, it is creating an environment where people can connect with others!

Connecting with people and helping them through the process of buying and selling their homes is one of the reasons I love what I do. Getting to know them in a fun and personal setting builds a friendship. A few of us stayed to experience sitting on the field watching fireworks to 80’s-themed music – well worth the wait in line. The only thing I’d change is maybe doing a Saturday game next time so we can go ahead of time and tailgate!

Want a fun day in the sun? Head to AT&T Park!

With basketball season coming to an end (Go Warriors!), the only major sports action in the Bay Area will be taking place in baseball stadiums in Oakland and San Francisco. I really like going out to Giants games because it’s a great excuse to go to the city.

I prefer day games because it can get so cold with AT&T Park right on the water, but it’s a fun experience nonetheless. Recently, I went with my friend Rick to a Giants day game and had such a great time sitting in the sun and cheering on the team. He buys a couple of tickets for various games from a season pass holder and the seats are past first base in the lower section. Unfortunately, they did not beat Cincinnati, but it was still a really fun, action-packed game.

For those who would rather go to the stadium to socialize, drink and eat, there are a lot of options. At this game, Rick introduced me to the Giants crab sandwich which is located at a booth beyond the outfield wall, close to the Coca-Cola Bottle. As expected, the line is always really long because it’s so popular, but Rick knew a secret; if you go to any of the booths alongside the crab sandwich booth (i.e. to get a beer), you can also order a crab sandwich and avoid the long line!

Be forewarned that Giants games can get a little pricey. For tickets alone, depending on the matchup, you could be paying $40 or more per seat. Then concessions, travel, and drinks add up and it may take a toll on your wallet by the end of the night. It’s worth it, in my opinion as I don’t go that often! If you want to save a little money but have a fun experience watching a game, go to an A’s game. Otherwise, check out the Giants schedule and try to catch a day game during the week!

Side Note: Jeremy, my writer, is a big Dodgers fan and cringed when he had to write this up, so maybe he is trying to steer you over the A’s intentionally…

MoMo’s happy hour has potential

As you know, I like to try all the new restaurants in Walnut Creek. Most recently, I went to MoMo’s in the old McCovey’s location.

The original MoMo’s is across from AT&T Park in San Francisco and is a hugely popular place to go, especially for Giants fans before and after ball games. This is the first time they’ve expanded since opening in 1998.

The happy hour is nice, and the food itself is reasonably priced (I haven’t done a full meal yet – just happy hour), but I’ve heard from two separate parties that they thought the food was bland. Others have raved, so I’ll have to go back and try a full meal.

They have a really cool entrance and an awesome fan under a blue ceiling. They offer homemade fries, pizzas, and oysters during happy hour. The pizzas are tasty and are a great size for the price, so I’d definitely recommend that. One thing that annoyed me was that there was no sound on during the games on TV because of the loud music!

Margaritas, mules and other cocktails are $7 during happy hour, and you can get local beer and wine at the bar as well. The oysters are $1, pizza and wings are $5, and you can get calamari, lamb sliders, and a half-pound burger all for less than $10. In the grand scheme of things in Walnut Creek, that’s a pretty good deal.

According to Diablo Magazine, the lettuce leaves appetizer and lamb burger are both really good. They also loved the smoked salmon flatbread with pesto and the more upscale petrale sole dish.

Either way, this is a cool new attraction in Walnut Creek that definitely deserves another trip back for a full meal. It’s an improvement over McCovey’s and adds to the list of trendy hangout spots in downtown.

Have you checked it out yet? What did you think?