Downtown

For the past five months, I have been contracting for a large national bank in downtown San Francisco. The reason why I don't use the name is that they seem a little bit sketched out about people blogging anything that might affect their company. They don't forbid it, but I figure this way neither of them nor I have to worry about it.

I have basically had three jobs since I moved to San Francisco in May 2000. All three have been in the traditional business corridor along Market Street between Van Ness and The Embarcadero.

I have never really been the type to prepare and pack my lunch for work. Partly because I just don't make the time to do it, and partly because I just can't stand being indoors for eight straight hours. I need to get some fresh air and sunshine. I like to be in the hustle and bustle.. people-watch.. stretch my legs. My lunch hour contributes to my daily dose of these things, and it's painful to go without it.

I struggle each day to maintain that age-old balance between hitting those spots that I know I'll enjoy, and seeking out new good spots I can add to my lunchtime arsenal.

There are several factors at play in evaluating a lunch spot.

• Time - It depends on the day. Some days I have more time than others. I don't mind traveling for lunch. Sometimes it's worth it, but watching the clock can take away from a relaxing dining experience. So can slow service and long lines.
• Food - Obviously no one wants a crummy meal, but I like to stay healthy, so besides taste, I also try to pay attention to nutrition. Greasy paper bag specials abound, as do the fast, tasty, and cheap national chain stores. I can do those now and then, but bad habits are hard to break. Why create a new one?
• Price - If you do the math on lunch, it's a really big expense if you dine out every day. ($10 x 5 days x 50 weeks = $2500/year, $20 lunch = $5000!). I try to keep my lunches around $6. It's a challenge and I don't always make it, but I know those meals are out there! Tip: One thing you can do to keep it healthy and cheap - ask for tap water - they always have it.
• Environment - If I am short on time, I might eat my lunch at my desk, but if I have time, I'd prefer to have a nice comfy relaxing atmosphere. Outside in the sun is best, weather permitting.

Too much to ask for a financial district lunch? Well it takes some searching, but it feels like a real accomplishment when I find something good.

Today I found a new spot, and I felt so accomplished I had to write about it:

1. Toaster Oven - 3 Embarcadero Center, 2nd floor concourse. They have a small selection of good sandwiches, all of which they run through a slow conveyor toaster before putting on your choice of fixins. Don't forget to pick up a free cup of pickled peppers from the counter! They taste just like the hot peppers on the famous Rosamunde sausages. $4.99 + tax. I got tempted by the bag of chips, but really the sandwich is enough. This is a double bonus because it is directly next to a great spot to eat in the sun I'll call the Davis Bridge.
2. The Davis Bridge - between 2 and 3 Embarcadero Center on the bridge crossing Davis street. It's not a restaurant, but a nice place to eat. I just can't believe how pleasant this spot is. In the concrete jungle that is downtown, it's tough to find a nice sunny spot not overshadowed by a skyscraper (and that doesn't smell like pee). Somehow this spot is uncrowded, bathed in sun, clean, quiet, nicely landscaped, with comfortable tables and chairs. When I'm there, I cannot stop quietly thanking the architect.
3. Ichiban Japanese - Stevenson alley off 1st Street. I go to this place a lot and always get their Teriaki Chicken Bowl. There are a few teriaki dishes. The bowl is the smallest and cheapest, but really is plenty of food for me. Rice, chicken, and some tempura vegetables. $6 including tax. It's a mom and pop type of place. They have the lunch rush down to a science. Service is curt, but solid.
4. Mastrelli's Delicatessen - The Ferry Building - Like any good deli, just take a number and wait. Grab the bread you want from the box and hand it to your sandwich artisano when they're ready for you. Great ingredients, hard workers. Yum. Italian Combo Sandwich $6.25. Trivia: Owner used work at the famous Molinari in North Beach.
   
5. Prather Ranch Meat Company - The Ferry Building - I have only tried their BBQ pork sandwich. Tender, sauce-soaked meat on a nice sourdough roll. Simple, tasty, and filling - $5.95
6. Rubio's - 4 Embarcadero Center - Ok, it's a national chain. But the ingredients seem pretty good. I'll get a taco plate with corn tortillas and beans. The salsa bar is great and plentiful and the service at this particular store is especially good - fast, smart, and friendly. Two taco plate with chips and beans - about $7.

I think when I am fully evolved as a human, I will prepare my own lunch. That would be cheaper and healthier. I'll have more time to enjoy my break and more cash in my pocket at the end of the week.

But for now, I'll keep seeking out the bang for the buck.

Chinatown

This morning I walked to work along a new route. My girlfriend Erin is subletting my friend Heather Rae's studio apartment in a neighborhood I would like to go ahead and nickname "The China Nob". It's two blocks from the top of Nob Hill and one block above Stockton street in Chinatown. San Francisco neighborhoods are amazing the way they morph into one another in a single block. Her block is the no man's land in between.

Last night I helped her settle into her new surroundings. I brought over a bottle of champagne after work to toast the new digs, and then we set out to explore for the evening.

It really is quite remarkable how Chinatown is shoehorned into a few square blocks between two extremely sought-after pieces of real estate: The Financial District and its gajillion dollar high rises, and Nob Hill, the historic home of the wealthiest of tycoons and their mansions.

As we walked, I recalled a story I had heard about how some political interests had made an attempt to eliminate Chinatown just after the 1906 earthquake. I was impressed to learn that the Chinese government itself had stepped in and used its leverage to preserve the neighborhood and rebuild it as a Chinese community.

As we descended a few more blocks into North Beach, we got a taste for what that area is like on a weekday evening. Living on the other side of the city in The Lower Haight neighborhood, I rarely make the trip out this far, especially on a quiet weekday, and I avoid it altogether on the weekends. In my experience, North Beach fills up on weekend evenings with drunken Bridge and Tunnelers. It gets crowded and I often find the nightspots rather obnoxious.

But I always knew North Beach to be a vibrant local community also, rich in history and colorful inhabitants. I look forward to the opportunity to sink into that a little bit.

After dinner at the always tasty (and busy) Tommaso's, we walked back up the hill to investigate a spot named Le Club. The name was so cheesy and intriguing, we just had to see what went on in there.

It turns out, it is indeed a bar/social club. Apparently it used to be a super fancy restaurant, and now, although it is still upscale, caters to a somewhat lower crust crowd with its pool table, poker/chess room, and chatty bartender. It's ok. But not the white leather 70's disco (le) chic I was hoping for.

This morning, I headed down the hill to the high rise I currently work at only ten blocks away from Erin's. It's funny how different a neighborhood feels in the morning. I've been in Chinatown on the weekends and a few choice evenings, but never in the morning. As I walked down Clay street with the Transamerica Pyramid facing me at eye level, I felt like I had moved to a completely new city. It reminded me of what it felt like when the taxi cab dropped me off my first morning in Buenos Aires last year. Everything was comfortably urban and serene, but nothing was familiar.

My same old home town, but from a new angle.