It was at the back of a thirty-person line that extended down a side street in the Mission District that a stranger walking by scoffed in our direction: “Why are you all waiting in line for ice cream?!”
Truthfully, I didn’t have an answer to this question. Smoth and I had joined this massive line reluctantly after noticing the daily ritual of people waiting patiently for this mysterious ice cream, right up until the store’s closing time of 11pm. The revered Bi-Rite Creamery joined the list of eminent eateries that defined our experience in San Francisco.
Later that week we waited in a similarly daunting line at the Tartine Bakery, which stretched halfway down the street before its opening time 7:30am. Barely awake enough to navigate our way to this acclaimed french-style bakery, we foolishly ended up ordering a deliciously creamy lemon tart, a double pain au chocolat, a bowl of bread pudding topped with fresh fruit and a warm morning bun coated with cinnamon sugar and candied orange.
This decadent “breakfast” rendered us out of commission for a few hours after its consumption, causing us to swear we’d never be so cruel to our bodies again! (This promise lasted two days. Though the next time we exchanged the pain au chocolate for a chocolate eclair.)
Similarly stuffing was our first meal in San Francisco, after living off of McDonald’s double cheeseburgers and cheap airplane beer for the day, we ducked into a crowded Mexican restaurant near our apartment. Eager to experience authentic Mexican cuisine, we asked the cashier to recommend us the best thing on the menu. Enthusiastically he began gushing over this amazing dish of which we could not register the details of due to his thick accent and our tired minds, dazed from the day on the road. Embarrassed, we panicked and ordered two.
Ten minutes later, the cook came over with two giant cast-iron skillets of sizzling beef, bacon, chorizo, pineapple, onions, mushrooms and peppers. Another cook followed with freshly made tortillas, spicy salsa and a variety of fresh vegetables as toppings. “That’s going to make an exciting breakfast tomorrow,” smirked a lady beside us, noting our failure to barely make a dent in this feast after eating for an hour.
Some lines got the better of us, like the line to a trendy Korean place we happened upon, where the server was clumsily organizing the growing crowd with an iPad. Discouraged, we left, only to happen upon a Japanese restaurant specializing in koji (fermenting agent used in Japanese cuisine). After a long discussion over the menu, we settled on an earthen pot of salmon rice, shrimp and roots vegetable tempura with green tea salt, chicken meatball skewers and fried rock fish and shrimp dumplings.
Having recently discovered our love of oysters, the next day we headed to the iconic Ferry Building to join the line-up outside of Hog Island Oyster Co. Short for cash, we forwent the main courses to afford a platter of one dozen assorted oysters. Fresh and delicious, we unfortunately slurped up our uncomfortably expensive meal in under ten minutes — spending the rest of the time filling up our stomachs with the free bread.
After our oyster “feast,” we visited the nearby shops selling fresh bread, cheese and meats for our trip to Napa the following day. After a morning of touring vineyards and tasting award-winning wine, we settled in the shade with our sourdough rye, creamy havarti artisan cheese and smoked pastrami. Our frugal meal left me enough money to afford a banana cream tart at one of the many fancy nearby restaurants.
After waiting for nearly 30 minutes, we finally reached the front of the Bi-Rite Creamery line to claim my cone of Honey Lavender and Brown Sugar ice cream. Delicately flavoured and perfectly creamy, we were happy with our decision to dedicate our evening to discovering the appeal of this shop. Ice cream in hand, we began walking home only to be accosted by another stranger who accusingly jeered, “you guys really waited in line for Bi-Rite ice cream?” Unsure of what to say, we paused awkwardly.
“Just kidding, that stuff is delicious!” he said before walking away, leaving us to enjoy our treat.
Sojourning With Smonk 