Joe's Ice Cream
When I was writing about Subs Inc. I thought about the fact that the location had changed owners three times that I know of. I started thinking about other restaurants that I had visited in two or three different incarnations. The other night I went to Woodhouse Fish Company--previously World Sausage and before that Café Cuvee. It’s rare that I would care about the turn over, there is usually a reason why places don’t survive. I prefer Bullshead on 18th street to Ryan’s or any of the other half dozen restaurants that the spot has been. The exceptions are places like Rica’s Pupusas, a place I only went to once but has been such a part of my visual landscape that I was entirely shocked to see it being transformed into something else.
The other day Rara’s dad came into the store and was telling her that he went to their old haunt Joe’s Ice cream on 18th and Geary. I’ll let Rara tell her own story about the place but she was surprised to know that the place had the very same owners making ice cream and sandwiches as when she was a seven year old ordering “the ususal”. On Saturday I decided to take a break from our regular posts-soccer game place, House of Bagels and Rara and I would take Vida to Joe’s.
Joe’s is becoming a rarity in San Francisco—an old school dive that has never been remodeled or adopted by hipsters but still manages to survive. They make their own ice cream and “Joe’s” wife makes the sandwiches in miniature kitchen equipment. It’s as if they unloaded the grill and bun warmer from a carnival truck that was passing through town and decided to stay. We ordered Vida a hot dog, French fry and milkshake combination. She opted for a mango milkshake but as usual she was more interested in the milkshake concept than actually drinking it. The hot dog was split down the middle and grilled (just like I like it). A tiny serving of French fries was served on the side.
A few customers trickled in while we were there looking for their favorites—such as the seasonal pumpkin ice cream. Vida left most of her milkshake and wanted to move on to actual ice cream. She ordered her favorite, rainbow sherbet and we left with one happy girl.
Restaurant Total: 221
Subs Inc.
One amazing thing about kids is that they sometimes listen when you least expect it. Vida was complaining that her Tae Kwon Do class was too long and too hard. I told her in that instructional tone that will be annoying in just a couple of years and unbearable in a couple more that if she worked hard it would be easier later. Tae Kwon Do is really difficult especially for children who barely know the difference between their right and left hand. You have to think not only about how to do the kick or punch but which leg should be forward or back and which way to turn your body. Fear of not understanding such seemingly simple spatial directions and looking like an idiot has plagued me my whole life. I could never take an aerobics or dance class because I can’t watch and move in the mirror direction. Vida doesn’t know it but I am doing her a service in letting her get through this as a kid when nobody cares and she is not alone in her confusion. Vida and her friend Z just laugh and giggle when they are told for the millionth time how to do something—its not that they don’t care its just that its o.k. not know how to do it. What a concept.
After Tae Kwon Do class on Saturday Vida and Z exchange play dates. On Saturday they got into our car and one of the first things Vida said to Z was that “if something is hard the more you do it the easier it is”. It was almost verbatim what I had told her earlier in the day. She said it without a bit of self-consciousness as if it was something she just came up with on her own.
Feeding Z on Saturday play dates is a real challenge. Z is the classic “picky eater,” She won’t eat anything that isn’t pizza, pasta or a hot dog. Forget about vegetables or salads. I’ve tried to use the situation to my advantage when trying to get Vida to try new things or things she has previously rejected. She often will eat salad just because Z won’t. She gets a little proud of her adventurousness but it gets a little iffy when she tries to tell Z that she should try new things or not to be such a “picky eater”. That’s when you don’t want them to listen too hard to what you have been saying.
I have always been a big submarine sandwich fan. When I lived in Seattle I used to drive my little 50 c.c. scooter out Lake City Way in order to get what I thought was the best submarine sandwich in town. There was a closer place on University Ave. that I liked almost but not quite as well. I loved the ones with “Italian” dressing, pepperoncini and every possible meat and cheese you can think of. A submarine sandwich is probably one of the least kid friendly meals you can get. First of all they can’t get their mouth around it and second, it violates the clear needs of kids to see and know exactly what they are eating. For that reason I have passed by submarine sandwich places with longing for years. The torture became more extreme when Subs Inc. opened on Castro and 24th where Isabella’s Dessert and Ice Cream Café (and before that, Rory’s Twisted Scoop) used to be and across the street from Tom’s Peasant Pies. We drive by the place almost every day.
One evening we had to be back at school for curriculum night. I decided to heat some soup up for Vida and get myself a sub. Subs Inc. has a simple sub menu and also sells drinks, potato chips and ice cream. I ordered a “poor boy” un-toasted with everything. I took it home and dug in to a very acceptable sub. I offered some to Vida but she wasn’t interested. She happily ate her new favorite meal—canned soup—something she rejected for years of course. I could only eat half the sandwich before we had to leave.
After the evening at school, Vida was of course hungry again. I really get tired of having to figure out something to give her to eat after we have already eaten what I had planned. I don’t want to giver her junk and sometimes there just aren’t that many speedy options. I almost jokingly offered her the rest of my sub. Although she said yes I still expected that she would reject it after she saw what it was. Surprisingly I didn’t hear another word out of her until she bellowed, “I want some more” from the other room. I was shocked and just a little bummed that I wasn’t going to finish it myself. But, how upset could I be with a long future of submarine sandwiches ahead of us.
Restaurant Total: 219
