Tell us about your journey through the hospitality industry.

My first job in the "hospitality" industry, outside of working in pizzerias and sandwich shops in high school, was as a bouncer at a now demolished nightclub in New Mexico. I worked Thursday to Saturday, and I was always asking the bartenders to train me or leave me behind the bar so I could learn by doing, but they never would. When I moved to San Francisco in 2000, I was determined to get behind the bar somewhere, anywhere really; my only obstacle was that I knew nothing about beer, wine, cocktails, spirits, or service. I did, however, have a degree in creative writing, so after trying and failing to get a bar job for a month or so due to my complete lack of experience and expertise, I tore up my 100% true resume and wrote one that was full of bars and restaurants and was also pure fiction. That duplicitous piece of paper eventually landed me at a short lived restaurant in North Beach where I took every shift I could get, went to other bars on nights off to drink soda water and watch good bartenders move, read a stack of books on all things service and alcohol, and generally scrambled to get to the bottom rung on the competency ladder before anyone realized I was faking the whole thing.

If you only had one day to spend in your city, what are the top 5 things you must see or do?

There's a tiny, historic, raw bar on Polk St where the service is gruff but friendly, the seafood always fresh, and the beer properly cold. Everyone who works there is somehow related to everyone else, fathers and sons, uncles and cousins. Get there before they open to get in line, they'll seat you as soon as they can.

Or, if you're not feeling like oysters and Crab Louie for breakfast, get dim sum. San Francisco has the best dim sum this side of Hong Kong, and there are plenty of Chinese neighborhoods to explore while you find a good place. My favorite on the weekends is out on Geary St in the Richmond district, on your left, one block shy of a certain world-famous tequila spot (which you should also go to). They still have hot carts and the best variety.

Out in Richmond on Clement is a great independent bookstore. They don't sell food or drinks, just books. The shop is well organized but still feels wonderfully cluttered across two big floors. It's like shopping inside the brain of a wild genius.

Take some kind of wheeled vehicle up to Twin Peaks hills and look East, out over the city. You can see from the Castro to the Bay, all the way down Market St. Bring a layer, it's breezy up there. Sometimes the fog will roll in from the West and then just stop, thoughtfully, so as not to hinder your view.

On a sunny day grab some snacks and a bottle of wine and go lay out at Dolores Park. You will see tennis, old guys with tropical birds, skateboarders, naked people and dogs in excellent fashion. Everyone just being whomever they want to be, with everyone else, in true San Francisco fashion.

Tell us about your first experience with Jägermeister and your favorite way to consume it today.

My first experience with Jägermeister was in Ibiza at a giant club, or I was on a dance floor in NOLA. It was dark, there were BEATS, it was loud, there was a cocktail server who I swear really did like me. I know for sure they were cold. I still drink it at night after a long meal, straight out of the freezer.

Tell us how to have the ‘Best Night of your Life’ in your city from your perspective.

I'd start in the Mission with a couple early tacos for fortification, and then walk around Valencia St., etc. to some of the best bars in the city. When hunger comes knocking again, I'd head off across the city to a good, real charcoal, Korean BBQ spot. After that you're going to need a nightcap; I'd find a nice dark shotgun style bar, order a nice dark cloudy liquid in a glass, and settle in to discuss the next move. Karaoke in J town? Dancing at a club in SOMA? A walk on the Embarcadero? A warehouse party in Oakland? Honestly, if it were me, odds are I wouldn't make it out of that long dark bar with the sweet/bitter dark liquid.