The Castro, Mission District and Noe Valley

Camila responded to Penny's post but it doesn't seem to have been posted:

You should go check out the neighborhoods you never go to. Or maybe it’s just me that feels that I always go to the same places each time (union square, Chinatown, north beach, fisherman’s wharf). When i first wandered through the marina and the mission, I was like, oh, there’s so much more to see! Ha ha. I’d plan my day around where to eat...Tartine. Oh and that kenji Lopez alt guy has a “wursthaus” that he just opened but i think it’s in San Mateo...but right by BART it looks like.

http://www.wursthall.com/

Exploring the neighborhoods is fine with me, since we'll be staying in one: the Outer Sunset.  I've already suggested walking to the beach but I've also been intrigued by "Noe Valley", which is on the other side of Twin Peaks.  Unfortunately it takes about 50 minutes to get there by public transportation because you have to take 2 or 3 buses.  But we could combine it with the Mission District and The Castro, taking the Judah Streetcar (N) and walking down Noe Street and then left on Market to Castro Street.  On Noe Street we'll stumble across L'Ardoise, a French bistro, but it doesn't open until 5 or 5:30 pm.  There aren't many commercial establishments along the route but once we hit Market, there's Super Duper Burgers and across the street is Tacorgasmico.  It's hard to ignore the latter's name but the food and interior sound interesting.  Back on the other side is a seafood restaurant Catch but it seems somewhat pricey.

Turning down Castro Street at Harvey Milk Plaza, there's a Castro Ice Cream & Dessert that's really a tiny Turkish bakery with baked goods, tea, coffee, baklava, etc.  Looks good but no website, only yelp.

Quite a few clothing stores for men (underpants) but also Cliff's Variety Store.  Their website says they maintain a stock of hard-to-find hardware items so it definitely sounds like a place to browse or you can browse online at Pointy.  After this on Castro Street there really doesn't seem to be much more so we can walk east on 18th Street until we get to the Mission District.

About half a mile along 18th is Bi-Rite Creamery.  I wouldn't mind trying a few of their ice creams (black sesame and tcho chocolate?) or maybe one of their signature sundaes like Dainty Gentleman with honey lavender ice cream, hot fudge, blood orange olive oil & Maldon sea salt (which is from England, by the way).  Or we could make our own sundae for $8.50.

Then we'll roll out of the creamery and march on to Tartine Bakery on Guerrero Street where Fernando can inhale the sourdough aroma.   It opens early (7:30 am) so we can at least pick up some croissants but they say their bread doesn't come out until 4:30 pm and expect the loaves to cost $9-11.  Camila should be happy with this posting; it's all about food.

We are a couple of blocks southeast of Mission Dolores at 16th Street & Dolores.  I don't remember ever having visited it and how can we say we've been to the Mission District if we haven't been in the Mission?  There is both the old Mission Dolores and the new basilica (1918).  San Francisco Travel says:
"Most visitors head to Mission Dolores to get a glimpse of the oldest building in San Francisco, while those in the know go there to view rare art, listen to an acclaimed choir and see one of the most stunning rose gardens in San Francisco."
Unfortunately the choir sings on Sunday when we're in Berkeley but we can visit the cemetery and gardens and get a view of the city from Dolores Park, but that's back on 18th.

There is a Heath Ceramics tile factory several blocks east on 18th Street beyond Alabama which might be interesting because it has a retail store and a Tartine Manufactory for food.  I'm not sure how we fit this detour into our walk but at least we know it is there.

Now we must hurry to Mission Street or we'll never get to Noe Valley!  It appears that California foodies have taken over the food scene on Mission Street.  It used to be Mexican when we lived in Albany in the 70s but now it is "Gracias Madre" whose "mission is love" with "plant-based Mexican food" and which starts their lunch menu with a $9 Madre Green Smoothie (spinach, cilantro, mint, avocado, pineapple and sea salt), followed by a $15 Bowl Uno of tempeh chorizo, black beans, guacamole, brown rice and pico de gallo served on a bed of romaine and topped with nacho cashew cheese and pepitas.  You can't get more nutty Californian that that!  Where's the huitlacoche I'd like to know.

More famous is Mission Chinese Food,  offering dishes like Sichuan Carbonara, smashed cucumbers with tahini instead of garlic and chili oil, Kung Pao Pastrami and Chinese Giardianiera.  California is all into fusion food but I can borrow the Mission Chinese cookbook from the library.  There are lots of restaurants in the Mission District and we only have one meal to eat.  Perhaps we should save our appetite for Californios.  You can't get more cutting-edge Californian cuisine than that.  And then there's Foreign Cinema, specializing in oysters and Californian/Mediterranean dishes and located in a bright airy space where some amateur photos on Yelp have enough light to look good.

We already saw the Mission District murals the last time we were in San Francisco and there don't seem to be many museums in this area, except for the David Ireland House.  David Ireland was a "conceptual" artist.  (Is that the same as "installation art"?)  Hoodline has an article on the house: "Inside The David Ireland House, The Mission's Secret Art Museum."  I'm always looking for new decorating ideas, although I understand that his furnishings are rather sparse.

As you near 24th Street on Mission, establishments appear to be a bit more Mexican but there is also a Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen on 24th Street where Papi may be able to find that pastrami sandwich he's been looking for.  He can also get a spicy horseradish michelada, a breakfast burrito with pastrami, a pickle plate of vinegar and salt fermented vegetables, and a Chinese chicken salad.

We need to pick up our pace now or we'll never get to Noe Valley, which we should reach if we proceed West on 24th Street for about half a mile from Mission to Church Street (we can take the #48 Quintara/24th St. bus if it passes by).  There's the Mission Branch Library along the way on Bartlett Street, in case we need to make a pit stop, and half a block north on Valencia Street there is the Arizmendi Workers CoOp Bakery, if Fernando wants another inhalation.  Finally at Church Street, we begin to encounter the upscale restaurants, home-decor boutiques, and chic clothing shops that characterize Noe Valley.  They also say to watch out for aggressive strollers and packs of golden retrievers.    If we take another detour and walk 5 blocks south on Church Street we'll run into the Omnivore Book Shop on César Chavez whose new titles page features food magazines I haven't even heard of.   I'd be up for one of their events on Thursday, June 7.  Elizabeth Minchilli, the author of Eating My Way Through Italy: Heading Off the Main Roads to Discover the Hidden Treasures of the Italian Table  is talking from 6:30-7:30 p.m.  She has a blog on Rome.

And if we keep going south to 30th Street, we'll run into that Sardinian restaurant, La Ciccia.  It's not cheap, especially if you order a primo, secondo and contorno.  But it is well recommended and Zagat says to order the Octopus Stew and the Spaghetti with spicy oil & bottarga.  Like many upscale restaurants it is only open from Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30pm to 10.  If we're lucky we can take the J Church streetcar down Church Street from 24th and back up again.   Or by then we might be ready for an Uber Lyft.

Another recommended restaurant is Firefly on 24th Street for locally sourced food.  But I have troubles with a restaurant that serves "bits" with "yummy spread", "apps" with "nut alerts!", and "GF cornbread for the intolerant".  There's also Peasant Pies on 24th: "Inspired by a favorite meal of 19th century French villagers, Peasant Pies® are filled with fresh vegetables, poultry, beef or seafood and baked in a crisp bread crust."  Now here is something we could take home for dinner.  There's another location on Irving Street in the Inner Sunset.  And I forgot to mention Mission Pie on Mission south of 24th that specializes in sweet pies.  But how would we carry all these pies home?

This is enough for this district.  What neighborhoods should we visit next?

Where to Eat in San Francisco #1

Despite my desires to revisit old restaurants like Schroeder's, Grotto Number 9, Spenger's, and Yamato Sukiyaki, it doesn't work.  Most of them are not there anymore and the others aren't worth visiting.  Remember Foster's Cafeteria?  But go look at the menu at Schroeder's and you will see what I mean: smothered tots, schwings and fried pickles!  As in every other establishment that serves beer, they have to have hamburgers (I suppose they ARE German).  The old waiters we knew at Schroeder's must be turning in their graves when they see the rowdy young whipper snappers there these days.

So we have to start from square one:  browsing the neighborhood or searching on Yelp and Google Maps, hoping to find restaurants for old people.  I actually thought I had gotten farther in this post that I started weeks ago but evidently most of my restaurants are on my Google map of San Francisco.  I have browsed a bit along the Irving Street Corridor in the Inner Sunset and along Noriega Street near the apartment and so have added some restaurants there, in case we are hungry at night.  On Clement Street, there is a French restaurant, Chapeau! which has an early bird prix fixe menu from $40.00, available on Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm but otherwise it looks a bit expensive, which is what appears to be the norm in San Francisco.  Perhaps I'm trying to relive the Hotel de France that we went to as kids when Daddy paid...

Perhaps we would be interested in visiting neighborhoods like Noe Valley.  There's a Sardinian restaurant there called La Ciccia which is "intimate" so there shouldn't be rowdy diners but will probably be expensive.  It was reviewed in the NY Times article,  My Go-To Places for Regional Italian Food in San Francisco in 2011.  In that same article they mention Perbacco, next to the Tadich Grill on California in the Financial District.  Both sound good if we are interested in Italian.   So does the Tadich Grill, but no prices on their menu.

But perhaps we are interested in something more foreign to us, although Penny can eat absolutely anything in New York City, unless we go with the totally weird fruits and nuts of California.

Should we find a replacement for Grotto #9 on Fisherman's Wharf?  The last time Fernando and I went to Grotto #9 we were the only diners there and we eventually walked out because no one was waiting on us.  There's Pacific Catch on 9th St near Irving below Golden Gate Park which advertises "sustainable salmon from the pristine shores of Chilean Patagonia".  Isn't that where farmed salmon is polluting the coasts?   It's very Californian with sushi, poke, rice bowls and tacos and not too expensive.

There's also Hog Island Oyster Co. whose special is oysters but they also have bowls of chowders and seafood stews.  However it is in the Ferry Building so is probably touristy and overpriced.  The same with Fog Harbor Fish House which is near the ferries on Pier 39.  Going inland there is the Woodhouse Fish Company with two locations, one on Fillmore Street and one on Market.  Woodhouse offers the classic dishes like clam chowder, iceberg Louie salad, steamed clams or mussels, fish and chips and cioppino.

So here's a start on food.  I've got to go plant some shrubs now but will be back when inclement weather strikes!

What to do in San Francisco

We’ll be in San Francisco after Juliana’s wedding for 5 days, and I’m wondering what we want to do.  It seemed like a great idea as we remember fondly trips there when we were kids, and we had a good time several years ago when we visited.  Now I’m wondering if there are enough new things to keep us busy.
Erica has the reputation as the ace ticket finder and she uses Gold Star so I checked them out.  Looks like there are a number of Bay events such as a Red and White Fleet Golden Gate Bay Cruise, a rocket boat ride (with rock and roll music), an escape from the rock cruise, and I think I saw a sailing schooner one.  They are about $20-25 and we can probably buy the tickets at the last moment.
For plays there is “An Entomologist’s Love Story” at the San Francisco Playhouse.  Great title huh?
I’ll continue checking Gold Star to see if anything wonderful pops up.  We’re there during the week so that means fewer events.
We have wanted to take the Diego Rivera Murals walk with the http://www.sfcityguides.org/current_schedule.htmlSan Francisco City Guides.  That’s 3 pm on Monday, so it might be a bit tight, and they only take reservations 10 days out, so we’ll have to check back, and maybe set an alert!   And we can check out other walks such as Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco and Cow Hollow.
On Thursday we should check out Presidio Twilight from 5-9, with food trucks, bonfires and what not.
And I guess we should make a list of restaurants, so we don’t end up eating at the first one we come across.  But I’m doing this on my iPad and I don’t know really how to compose, so I’m waiting for Cathy to begin that list.

Fruit Cup

Oh, I'm going to like England.  Where else can you ask for fruit and get a cocktail?

And this isn't our mother's "fruit cocktail".

According to Wikipedia (the world's go-to source, good-bye Britannica), a fruit cup, "also known as a summer cup, is traditionally an English speciality drink designed to be made into a long drink with addition of a soft drink such as lemonade or ginger ale." The base is usually gin but could be vodka and there's the classic Pimm's Cup made with Pimm's Liqueur, now owned by Diageo of course.

I'm becoming educated in liquor terminology.  The term "long drink" refers to a mixed drink served in a tall glass with a lot of mixer, like a Tom Collins or a Cuba Libre.  The term originated in Finland at the 1952 Summer Olympics when two brands of pre-mixed, bottled, ready-to-consume long drinks were sold: the Gin Long Drink (gin with grapefruit) and the Brandy Long Drink (brandy with Pommac - a fruit and berry soda).

I prefer "long drinks".  Penny, on the other hand, likes her "short drink" of gin on the rocks.  In the U.S. a long drink is a highball but I haven't heard of a "low ball".

Back to the fruit cup.  This is traditionally a summer drink and is garnished with fruits and herbs.  The Pimm's Cup, according to Wikipedia, is one of the two staple drinks at the Wimbledon tennis tournament and the Chelsea Flower Show and is also the standard drink at polo matches. 

I frankly don't much care for its iced tea color, which looks too much like an Arnold Palmer.  Or iced tea.  What fun is that?

Sipsmith's London Cup looks a bit prettier and more refreshing.  At least it's not all murky and you can see the strawberry and slices of lemon and orange.

Of course it will be almost fall by the time we arrive in London so we'll miss the fruit cup season.  Maybe they will have closeouts.

The Keepers of London's Secrets

According to this BBC article, the drivers of the black cabs in London who have passed the "Knowledge Test",  have memorized every street, landmark and route in London (25,000 streets, 100,000 landmarks, 300 routes).  (Go to Transport for London to learn more about the "Knowledge".)   No GPS for them!  As a reward they can frequent these historic green food sheds that were erected in the late 19th and early 20th century to give shelter to the cabbies, who then drove horse-drawn hackney carriages.  There are only 13 left so we'll have to keep an eye out for them.

The sheds are run by the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers who offer a Cab Guide Course to Hackney Carriage drivers in conjunction with the Museum of London.  After you pass both a written and oral exam, you get this qualified taxi guide badge.  So if we take a black cab, we'll have to keep our eye out for it.

The shelters don't have "loos" and according to the article, finding a public lavatory while on the job is one of the cab drivers biggest bugbears.  (That doesn't bode well for us elderly tourists now, does it?)

Naturally there is competition between the traditional Black Cabs and Uber, many of whose drivers are recent immigrants using GPS and Waze.  You can read more about the clash between the Black Cabs' knowledge and experience versus the techie upstarts in this Oct. 17, 1917 article from the Washington Post.  There's even more in the New York Times: On London’s Streets, Black Cabs and Uber Fight for a Future: London’s cabby wars are less about the disruptive power of an app, or a new business model, than about the disruption of Britain.    This is a particularly interesting article, profiling a British Black cabbie and a Moroccan woman Uber driver: "She had come to London in 1997, at age 18, unable to read or write or drive, with a new husband she barely knew."  Schooling wasn't allowed for girls in her village.  Lots of baggage here worth reading.

The English Breakfast

Haven't I already talked about this?

However, now I'm reading Colman Andrews' The British Table: A New Look at the Traditional Cooking of England, Scotland and Wales.  (By the way, he doesn't even mention gin.  Can you imagine that?  Especially when his final chapter (which is teeny) is on Whiskey, Beer, Cider and Wine.)

His first chapter is about breakfast (and he says that nowadays the British eat the same kind of breakfast, including Kelloggs, that we do except on special occasions) and he mentions the English Breakfast Society whose website lets you explore the history and traditions surrounding the full English Breakfast.  Evidently the full English breakfast was started in the early 1300s by the "gentry" in the countryside who wanted to maintain "Anglo-Saxon" traditions and show off the bounty of their estates.  During the Edwardian period, the ingredients of the English breakfast became more standardized and accepted by the middle class: "bacon, eggs, sausage, black pudding, baked beans, grilled tomato, fried bread and toast, served with a jams, marmalades, tea/coffee and orange juice."  By the 1950s even the working class was claiming the full English breakfast, the fry-up, as their own.

But, sorry, you can't have potatoes with your fry-ups: "We here at the Society believe that hash browns and french fries are used as a cheap breakfast plate filler in badly run cafes, by people who have no respect for our traditions."  We'll have to eat our hash browns at Denny's.

Gloucester Pig

We can, however, experience the different back bacons, sausages and black puddings in the various regions of England.  The English Breakfast Society has a Guide to British Sausages (of which there are more than 400) in which they mention that the Cumberland Sausage is probably the most famous.  We'll be able to try that when we are at Derwent Banks in Keswick, Cumbria.  And thank god their sausages are traditionally made with pork and not with chicken or turkey, although I must admit that I don't care for the breadcrumbs added to their bangers.

And a note on back bacon:  it's not belly bacon like in the U.S. and it's not Canadian bacon which is cut from the loin.  British bacon has both belly and loin in each slice and they have bred pigs to produce the best cuts.  So we must have British back bacon in our full breakfasts, along with black pudding, which is a controversial foodstuff that Sir Isaac Newton wouldn't eat.