Location, Location, Location

Kevin Fisher-Paulson proposes that we start referring to residents of SF not as “San Franciscans” but rather “Friskies”.

I went on and on about dining last time but only mentioned the San Francisco Chronicle article in last Sunday’s “Food and Home” section about tasty meals for under $20 in our gentrifying city.

Now i’ve eaten in three of ’em on successive days although in no case did i eat the recommended dish.

At Goood Frickin’ Chicken, corner 29th and Mission, instead of the marinated and roasted chicken that made it famous i had the baba ganoush and the falafel, both of which i quite liked.  I should also mention that Sam, the Jordanian owner/chef is both helpful and nice.

At Pizzahacker, a half block south toward Virginia Street, instead of the Margherita, i had the Short Bridge: the superb thin crust that all the reviewers rave about topped with Fra’mani sopressata, house-made Italian sausage, mushrooms, bianco and Dinapoli tomato sauce, fresh house-stretched mozzarella, dried oregano, and Grana Padano.  Delicious food, delightful staff, and OMG, love that crust.

Then south on Mission to the point where Cortland hits, i found Cuisine of Nepal.  No, i didn’t have the recommended eggplant curry but instead ate the lamb curry.  Oh my goodness.  The taste is distinctly different from Indian curries, but i just loved it.

I’ll try the four remaining recommended restaurants soon, but for now i’ll go on about other reasons to love this neighborhood.

Library? The Mission branch is six blocks away at 24th and Bartlett.  I have to go eight blocks to the top of Cortland for the Bernal Heights branch, but it has particularly nice librarians.

UPS is only a quarter block west of Mission on 29th Street.

For the USPS, keep going another quarter block west on 29th and turn right on Tiffany Ave, a dinky little street three half blocks long closed to vehicular traffic at the other end that has got some gall calling itself an avenue.  The post office, the great joy of which being that i have yet to encounter much of a line at the counter, is two doors down on the right.

Safeway is a block away from me on Mission at the foot of Virginia.  I buy my produce, bread, and some of my cheese at farmers’ markets.  The rest of my dairy foods and canned goods i get at Rainbow.  But Safeway is there for a handful of critical items:  Bottles of Starbucks Frapucino, a beverage i quite enjoy that comes in a bottle just perfect for reuse for my chocolate sauce, of which i make quite a lot, it being so popular.  Bottles of diet Dr Pepper, my modest vice.  Eureka Organics Grainiac Bread, which makes the best toast on the planet.   Safeway carries Clover dairy products, and if i’m out of milk and need nothing else at Rainbow, i’ll buy Clover milk here.  And occasionally something else that catches my eye.

Walgreens is just beyond the south edge of the Safeway parking lot.

What’s not close is the blood draw place, the closest being my old one on Noe Street, but that’s ok because it has a gifted phlebotomist i call Alejandra the Great even though she stops at Alejandra.

Meanwhile, here’s a shot of my new home.