After a harrowing VS4 we’ve been taking a mental break from schwag for the week. We’re still gathering it, rating it, and sorting it, but we’re taking a break from thinking about it. So if you have a specific question about schwag, billing, shipping, etc, just get in touch with Amy at support@valleyschwag.com. What follows is Jonathan writing whatever comes to mind on a Friday afternoon.

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One good thing about working in the South Park neigborhood is the food. A lot of places died during the post-dotcom dry spell, when hundreds of companies employing thousands of overpaid workers all went out of business on the same day (roughly). The ones that made it through did it by having really good eats.

Top of the list for quality is The Butler and The Chef, an authentic French bistro with a real live (insane) French Chef. This man is not afraid to throw you out if you take too long, publicly berate you for having bad taste, or simply refuse to serve you if he doesn’t feel like it. He’s also not afraid to make perfect food. I can’t explain it.

For something slightly cheaper and quicker the hordes choose Caffe Centro. Here you can wait in line and try to hear your competitors’ employees drop secrets of their next product launch. Want to know what Frog Design is up to, or which features are being added to Technorati next week, or when Adaptive Path’s next book will be out? Just pretend to read the menu (which is totally unnecessary — get the Caesar Salad), try to eliminate the chatter of all the architects, and hone in on what the scruffy-beard guy is saying to the girl with the Chrome bag.

If that scene is too overwhelming you can run across 2nd Street to Hennesey, a wine bar that secretly sells fresh sandwiches and good cheese. Get something to go and sit on the grass in the park (just watch where you step, there are a lot of dogs around). On a good day you’ll find the cool kids from VideoEgg, Mule, AP, Technorati, Frog, Apple, Yahoo, Google (”working from home” for the day), Odeo, Vertical Response, ActiveWeave, and whoever is just passing through. Bring a frisbee.

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