Below is an excerpt from a conversation I had with Chelsea about how this week is going:
" I'm here getting distracting and losing my will to work on school things now, but BEFORE this I was at that coffee shop with the good chais... [Ebenezers]
I made a breakthru on my paper proposal and got all excited as i was sitting next to the window bay across from the bar.... after like 2 hours
I stood up, poured my refilled coffee into my travel mug so it would stay warm, danced a bit to myself with my big green headphones on, bents down to get a new pen, found an even better pen than I expected and stood up excitedly, like hooray!
and backhanded the shit out of my topless coffee mug
which then exploded its contents not only all over my phone and computer, and my chair
but also the window
the wall
the floor
some more of the floor
the OTHER wall
another chair
and all over the shoes of the only other person still in the cafe with me...
Stories and insights from San Francisco, the District and grad school
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Things people don't tell you about "City Life"
- It's not possible to get rid of fruit flies.
- Doing your laundry regularly will break your bank. Since when does a wash cycle that holds half of your darks cost $2.50??
- Dress shoes (and all shoes) do not last long against 4 miles of pavement each day.
- It is absolutely possible to find any manner of "ethnic cuisine" within 6 miles of any point in San Francisco.
- When people say "excuse me" and a) don't immediately pass you, and b) are not holding a map or fanny pack, it's usually best to walk away (this based on statistically significant findings). I'm still having trouble with this one.
- Traffic signals can be useful recommendations for pedestrians and vehicles, but no more than that. If you live near a large traffic signal, however, it can serve the additional purpose of colorful dance lighting in your living room.
- Dancing on the center dividers of busy commercial streets is really no big deal, but you are not allowed to dance in MUNI buses or railcars. Hypocrites!
- "People on the bus" can be an incredible source of endless entertainment, but you must be equipped with earbuds or large headphones at all times; small headphones do not work, and books (hah, books....yeah right) are only to be read when qualifying earphones are available. They must be easily accessible and able to be fitted within no more than 5 seconds, as this is the longest break you will ever experience in a conversation you do not want to be having on MUNI. It's also become apparent that the other end of the earphones do not need to be plugged into anything in particular, but if your trickery is revealed to your new-found BFF, you best be getting off the bus lickity-split.
- Night Owl MUNI buses run time trials through the Richmond District. If there are less than 5 individuals on a given bus after 1am, a 25mph speed limit is really a 60mph speed limit, and hills, stop signs or other bus stops are only obstacles to the finish that deserve no attention.
- There are coyotes in Golden Gate Park and they eat small animals. Reportedly, they got bored with the people in Marin and decided to walk across the GG Bridge awhile back. Having found plenty of garbage cans and squirrels, and no competition from the local raccoon population, they decided to stay in town and enjoy their newfound dominance on the top of the food chain. Now when they get deported, they just cross the bridge again AND THEY DON'T EVEN PAY THE TOLL!
- Never ever expect it to be hot; but when it is, San Franciscans will freak out and fight each other. Symptoms include a general 40-pt drop in IQ among drivers, excessive testosterone for everyone, shouting arguments about philosophical theories between the homeless and businessmen, and an immediate tripling of "The end is nigh" signs on Market Street. Everyone seems to be happiest with the high 60s - so for the love of God, get your ass into the carbon market America!
- It's surprisingly easy to find people who work for local government, to the point of paranoia. We seem to be everywhere, and with 26,000 City employees, we really are.
- Don't mess with the bearded homeless guy.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Bluegrass Love, TARP and Archduke Ferdinand on Debt
This past weekend marked the 10th Annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival - or perhaps more accurately, this past weekend was engulfed by the 10th Annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. I say that because I can't think of a better word to describe 800,000+ people pouring into Golden Gate Park, forming a fluid mass that swelled to fill every space within the fenced event zone that included 6 stages, expensive heart-congestive food, and Randy Newman on a baby grand.
Between the aforementioned stud, Joan Baez, Fountains of Wayne (who indeed sang "Stacey's Mom") and Elvis Costello - who broke it to the crowd that the Padres would not let the Giant's choke, no matter how hard they tried - it was a good weekend that only demanded an 8 minute walk from our apartment. But above all others, a short feisty soul-singer made quite the impression as thousands of us danced till darkness, despite the San Francisco Mist. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings wrought their funk upon the masses for 1 1/2 hours without missing a beat - and oh my, that woman can sing. Somehow the program either acquired a permit or convinced the police that it was not worth their efforts to fight, but a few friends and I brought wine and champagne to drink out of plastic glasses on a picnic blanket and no one even blinked - mostly because they were too busy with the music and enjoying their own.
Endorsement #2 is going to Gaspare's Pizza House for their feta cheese & sun dried tomato pizza, the coffer of easy red wine and the 25cent-for-three-songs personal jukeboxes at every table.
Endorsement #3 is going to The Blarney Stone Irish pub on Geary St. with the free air hockey and shuffle board, whose barkeep cut all of their prices because of the Giants' victory ("obviously!" he says).
Besides the music, and besides the pizza and pressed grapefruit-vodka drink, I learned two very interesting pieces of political knowledge this weekend. Firstly, Germany just completed its last $92 million installment of its World War One reparations debt [1]. This was a little surprising to me, considering that I studied in Germany and still talk about German politics and their war guilt and such, but the fact that they still had tens of millions of $ in war 90 year old war debt – let alone that they were close to actually repaying it – was never really discussed. And for good reason perhaps, as the state is attempting to cut spending and every dollar is being watched. Nonetheless, according to my experience and the more reliable polling data in-country the German populous has almost entirely missed the memo, and most don’t know what the Treaty of Versailles was or demanded! (for the record, it demanded Germany pay around $400billion in today’s dollar value for “guilt”)
What this means for all of you history buffs out there who connect the first War with the Treaty, the near-failed German republic, the rise of Hitler, the second War, the end of Hitler, and everything stemming from the Marshall Plan, is that WWI ended yesterday.
Secondly, TARP worked?! The two year term for the controversial bailout/regulatory program (Troubled Asset Relief Program) officially came to a close this Sunday [2], and the initial performance review suggests that despite all of the absurd and often obscene rants – and the legitimate concerns – against the program, it seems to have been incredibly successful. Instead of the hundreds of billions of dollars so many thought it would cost, it may be closer to $50b-$70b with a possibility of making a return profit. That may still seem a little “out there”, but consider that there was no economic ruin, market collapse, 30% unemployment or returning of the Messiah before the Horsemen, and the market is actually recovering (though with hardly any of the jobs we had all hoped for…). It seems everyone is a little tongue-tied after railing against it for so long as the epitome of government failure.
Pretty neat weekend :)
Between the aforementioned stud, Joan Baez, Fountains of Wayne (who indeed sang "Stacey's Mom") and Elvis Costello - who broke it to the crowd that the Padres would not let the Giant's choke, no matter how hard they tried - it was a good weekend that only demanded an 8 minute walk from our apartment. But above all others, a short feisty soul-singer made quite the impression as thousands of us danced till darkness, despite the San Francisco Mist. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings wrought their funk upon the masses for 1 1/2 hours without missing a beat - and oh my, that woman can sing. Somehow the program either acquired a permit or convinced the police that it was not worth their efforts to fight, but a few friends and I brought wine and champagne to drink out of plastic glasses on a picnic blanket and no one even blinked - mostly because they were too busy with the music and enjoying their own.
Endorsement #2 is going to Gaspare's Pizza House for their feta cheese & sun dried tomato pizza, the coffer of easy red wine and the 25cent-for-three-songs personal jukeboxes at every table.
Endorsement #3 is going to The Blarney Stone Irish pub on Geary St. with the free air hockey and shuffle board, whose barkeep cut all of their prices because of the Giants' victory ("obviously!" he says).
Besides the music, and besides the pizza and pressed grapefruit-vodka drink, I learned two very interesting pieces of political knowledge this weekend. Firstly, Germany just completed its last $92 million installment of its World War One reparations debt [1]. This was a little surprising to me, considering that I studied in Germany and still talk about German politics and their war guilt and such, but the fact that they still had tens of millions of $ in war 90 year old war debt – let alone that they were close to actually repaying it – was never really discussed. And for good reason perhaps, as the state is attempting to cut spending and every dollar is being watched. Nonetheless, according to my experience and the more reliable polling data in-country the German populous has almost entirely missed the memo, and most don’t know what the Treaty of Versailles was or demanded! (for the record, it demanded Germany pay around $400billion in today’s dollar value for “guilt”)
What this means for all of you history buffs out there who connect the first War with the Treaty, the near-failed German republic, the rise of Hitler, the second War, the end of Hitler, and everything stemming from the Marshall Plan, is that WWI ended yesterday.
Secondly, TARP worked?! The two year term for the controversial bailout/regulatory program (Troubled Asset Relief Program) officially came to a close this Sunday [2], and the initial performance review suggests that despite all of the absurd and often obscene rants – and the legitimate concerns – against the program, it seems to have been incredibly successful. Instead of the hundreds of billions of dollars so many thought it would cost, it may be closer to $50b-$70b with a possibility of making a return profit. That may still seem a little “out there”, but consider that there was no economic ruin, market collapse, 30% unemployment or returning of the Messiah before the Horsemen, and the market is actually recovering (though with hardly any of the jobs we had all hoped for…). It seems everyone is a little tongue-tied after railing against it for so long as the epitome of government failure.
Pretty neat weekend :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
"Bacon scones."
"Or really?" It was clearly true, but the response was a reflex to obtuse ideas. Melted cheddar generously sprawled across the pizza-slice-sized pastry, riddled with small herbs or pepper bits, and slices of bacon protruded savagely from its sides in the places where anyone else would expect to find juicy blueberries or cranberries.
"Well we were really - I mean, I was just trying to ..." I looked to Meg for help, but she only raised her eyebrows and threw up her hands. The middle-aged Irishman looked back at me with what you might describe as puppy dog eyes, but seemed to say what are you getting at?. "I was thinking about having one of those - " I pointed to an enormous sugar-dusted almond croissant, hungrily.
"Yeah, or you could have one of these!" he pulled a scone out from behind the glass at the counter and set it excitedly on a plate. "I just made them last week. I was a bit bored sitting around at home and I had too much flour left over."
"And bacon?"
"Oh I always have plenty of bacon. But since no one was going to buy them at eleven o'clock, I froze them. They thawed last night and you'll be the first to get one. Lucky you!"
I wasn't surprised. "Yes, but I was hoping to try one of the almond croissant things that you have there," I emphasized, pointing again.
"Well then, I can tell you're really set on the croissant. And they're good too. I know, I made them as well - but how about if you also get a coffee, I'll just throw this scone in on the house, and you can tell me whacha think of it."
"Well I was planning on getting coffee too, I just hadn't-"
"WELL HOW ABOUT THAT! Oy, did you hear?" He turned to the cashier, who was slightly younger, jolly, and possibly Mongolian. "This young fellow right here wants to try one of my scones, and I'm giving it to him on the house."
"Well that's great...I suppose," the cashier frowned at the meat pastry. I handed him a Five as he crouched to reach our croissant behind the glass casing, and I prepared to sip my coffee with the expected satisfaction of a daily fix until I became aware of the owner's eyes staring anxiously at me. I stopped, and turned to him slowly.
"You gonna try it?!"
"What, now?"
"SURE, I need feedback!"
Wary, I replaced my cup on the counter and raised the scone to my eye level as the man stared at me - reviewing each visible slice of peppered bacon in its moment of desperate escape before being stuck forever in its pastry molding under a half-inch of pungent cheese - then to my nose, then to my mouth....
"And just so you know, I plan to use a lot less salt next time."
... ... ...
"And maybe a bit less lemon juice."
... And then to my mouth.
Somehow, delicious.
The Celtic Coffee cafe is situated between a series of nostalgic diners on McAllister near Hyde, and is technically part of the Tenderloin - a neighborhood long underdeveloped, underused, underfinanced and underappreciated despite its immediate nearness to the city's beautiful civic center. But within this enclave of persistent poverty, and just as in every neighborhood of San Francisco, there are discrete treasures of culture and entrepreneurship lingering behind inconspicuous doorways – and in this case, maybe behind some barred windows, vibrant graffiti and muttering street preachers as well.
It serves as an odd and appropriate metaphor for the hidden character of the district. Under layers and layers (and more layers and layers) of misperceptions, stereotypes and misleading agendas surrounding image and idea of San Francisco, it’s still part of a city dedicated to pushing the envelope in everyway it can. Indeed, there are more than 50 non-profit service groups active in this 0.5milex0.7mile neighborhood alone, and this often means a mad dash to front of the pack for attention, larger service populations and additional funding. Of course, few of them actually coordinate with one another (a common problem) but the energy directed inwards and downwards is nothing short of incredible. My Fellowship cadre got a chance to meet with one group who has been making serious headway in engaging the homeless of the area – the Tenderloin Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation… (more to come on that, but remember the name)
"Well we were really - I mean, I was just trying to ..." I looked to Meg for help, but she only raised her eyebrows and threw up her hands. The middle-aged Irishman looked back at me with what you might describe as puppy dog eyes, but seemed to say what are you getting at?. "I was thinking about having one of those - " I pointed to an enormous sugar-dusted almond croissant, hungrily.
"Yeah, or you could have one of these!" he pulled a scone out from behind the glass at the counter and set it excitedly on a plate. "I just made them last week. I was a bit bored sitting around at home and I had too much flour left over."
"And bacon?"
"Oh I always have plenty of bacon. But since no one was going to buy them at eleven o'clock, I froze them. They thawed last night and you'll be the first to get one. Lucky you!"
I wasn't surprised. "Yes, but I was hoping to try one of the almond croissant things that you have there," I emphasized, pointing again.
"Well then, I can tell you're really set on the croissant. And they're good too. I know, I made them as well - but how about if you also get a coffee, I'll just throw this scone in on the house, and you can tell me whacha think of it."
"Well I was planning on getting coffee too, I just hadn't-"
"WELL HOW ABOUT THAT! Oy, did you hear?" He turned to the cashier, who was slightly younger, jolly, and possibly Mongolian. "This young fellow right here wants to try one of my scones, and I'm giving it to him on the house."
"Well that's great...I suppose," the cashier frowned at the meat pastry. I handed him a Five as he crouched to reach our croissant behind the glass casing, and I prepared to sip my coffee with the expected satisfaction of a daily fix until I became aware of the owner's eyes staring anxiously at me. I stopped, and turned to him slowly.
"You gonna try it?!"
"What, now?"
"SURE, I need feedback!"
Wary, I replaced my cup on the counter and raised the scone to my eye level as the man stared at me - reviewing each visible slice of peppered bacon in its moment of desperate escape before being stuck forever in its pastry molding under a half-inch of pungent cheese - then to my nose, then to my mouth....
"And just so you know, I plan to use a lot less salt next time."
... ... ...
"And maybe a bit less lemon juice."
... And then to my mouth.
Somehow, delicious.
The Celtic Coffee cafe is situated between a series of nostalgic diners on McAllister near Hyde, and is technically part of the Tenderloin - a neighborhood long underdeveloped, underused, underfinanced and underappreciated despite its immediate nearness to the city's beautiful civic center. But within this enclave of persistent poverty, and just as in every neighborhood of San Francisco, there are discrete treasures of culture and entrepreneurship lingering behind inconspicuous doorways – and in this case, maybe behind some barred windows, vibrant graffiti and muttering street preachers as well.
It serves as an odd and appropriate metaphor for the hidden character of the district. Under layers and layers (and more layers and layers) of misperceptions, stereotypes and misleading agendas surrounding image and idea of San Francisco, it’s still part of a city dedicated to pushing the envelope in everyway it can. Indeed, there are more than 50 non-profit service groups active in this 0.5milex0.7mile neighborhood alone, and this often means a mad dash to front of the pack for attention, larger service populations and additional funding. Of course, few of them actually coordinate with one another (a common problem) but the energy directed inwards and downwards is nothing short of incredible. My Fellowship cadre got a chance to meet with one group who has been making serious headway in engaging the homeless of the area – the Tenderloin Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation… (more to come on that, but remember the name)
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