Saturday, August 17, 2013

At the Scene of the North Beach Confession

Since I just recently learned that Milton Friedman confessed at San Francisco's North Beach Restaurant  in 2003 to FT that his crude Keynesian-type monetary theory wasn't working the way he envisioned, I had to head over to the scene where the confession took place more than 10 years ago.

For the record, here is how FT reported the confession, via William Keegan:
The economic quote of the month - and probably the decade - is that Milton Friedman now admits: 'The use of quantity of money as a target has not been a success.' He added: 'I'm not sure I would as of today push it as hard as I once did.' (FT, 7 June 2003).
The North Beach Restaurant is located at 1512 Stockton Street in the Italian section of San Francisco that is known as North Beach. The restaurant was opened in 1970 and is a popular destination for businessmen, celebrities and conventioneers. It is known for its authentic Tuscan cuisine. The last time I ate here was probably a year ago, but now the place has new meaning.

The scene of the confession.

I let the waiter, Marco, pick out a glass of Pinot Noir for me. After taking care of my heart, I switched to a Bombay Sapphire and tonic. For the appetizer, I shared a prosciutto and cheese dish, and as an entree I had the seafood special of the day, petrale sole. 

Examining the menu, which probably included dishes that Friedman had ordered a decade ago. FT said he was a regular. It didn't appear to be a menu that changed very much.
  
Of special note, from my dining table, you could see outside and in view was the Nob Hill luxury high-rise that Friedman lived in, during his time in San Francisco. I'm told by a friend that he had a magnificent view of San Francisco Bay from his apartment.

Friedman's residence was in the high rise way off in the distance.
If Friedman ate here regularly, he ate well. The food is delicious (RW rating: four stars), but not cheap. The tab for two on my visit here came to $142.00 before tip.

2 comments:

  1. Cheap, very cheap, compared to Norway. What did it cost when Friedman ate there....

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm here now. I just showed the bartender your post. Good times.

    ReplyDelete