Bluebird Cafe King Foot Subs DeLessio's
The other day Vida was asking about Dinner with Vida—when she could read it—and what I was going to do for Victor. I was thinking Café’s and Corner Stores—other than restaurants these are my favorite spots and of course extremely plentiful in San Francisco. I didn’t start Vida’s blog until she was almost three years old and having another child poses very difficult issues of fairness—Vida has her picture of the week albums—and now seven years later when most photos are digital do I do the same thing for Victor? What if I start Victor’s blog now when he is only six weeks old. And then how do I explain the charms on my necklace—Vida has relinquished her baby shoe and the ring with the “V” in favor of the more recent diamond “V” that grandma got when Victor was born. I guess they will work it out but in the years to come I’m sure I will get an earful.
You wouldn’t even know from Dinner with Vida that we were going to have another baby. I stopped writing for months and when I did write I avoided mentioning it altogether. I inherited somebody’s proclivity toward superstition and omens and I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it until our newest bright and shining star was in our arms. I told Vida the name I had chosen early on—mostly because I didn’t want her to get her heart set on “Sean” which was her choice. After that she told everyone she came into contact with-- including the entire school. I don’t think one person we know had to ask what his name was going to be and people I didn’t know would come up and ask how “Victor” was doing.
Although Vida has been telling me for months that she doesn’t like going out for dinner we have managed to go to quite a few restaurants. During basketball season we went to quite a few places I never finished writing about—when my goal was to hit as many restaurants on Divisidero as possible.
Months ago I wrote: Blue Jay Café was another place I eyed longingly on our frequent drives down Divisidero. Looking hip and fairly expensive, I couldn’t imagine I would get there any time soon for a casual dinner with Vida. One evening after basketball it was clear that Rara had enough of hunting for burrito places. She suggested Blue Jay Cafe since having been there already she thought it would be fine for all of us. I had no idea what kind of food they offered. As it turned out it was a kind of Southern/American style.
Entering Blue Jay Cafe we walked into a cloud of smoke as some kind of early evening meat searing or a moderate cooking problem was happening. Below the cloud we could see a large horseshoe shaped counter in the middle of the room that of course was very attractive to Vida. A corner booth with wooden banquette seating was a reasonable compromise. We could see the specials list clearly on a chalkboard including “Rooty Tooty” Soup. Vida got more than a chuckle out of that. Vida wanted to order a steak and mashed potatoes. I didn’t think she could finish an entire meal so I ordered a modified Cobb salad and some delicious spicy French fries expecting to help her out. Rara ordered catfish and mashed potatoes and was moderately pleased. Vida is used to Niman Ranch rib-eye steaks so she was disappointed with her slightly tough N.Y. The salad was fantastic though—almost worth a visit on its own.
We also managed to hit King Foot Subs. They make a passable submarine sandwich. But since we forgot to say “no mustard” and it tended to fall apart in Vida’s hands as submarines often do I had to open up a can of soup for her and finish the sandwich myself. When we were tired of trying to find places on Divisidero we decided to visit the Lower Haight where we had burritos to go from the unremarkable La Carretta .
One place I don’t have to convince Vida to frequent is DeLessio’s on Market Street. I think it was 3 years ago that Rara gave me a gift card for DeLessio’s. I used it occasionally for a cup of coffee and a cookie when I was in the neighborhood but never managed to spend the entire thing. The place does most of its business before dinner time and closes early. Since I loath eating an early dinner I never made it there to enjoy their salad bar or hot food bar sold by the pound. One afternoon we were at Flax, the art supplies emporium next door, and Vida was complaining loudly about being hungry. We went next door to DeLessio’s and Vida gravitated immediately to the macaroni and cheese kept warm under bright orange lights. I grabbed a plate with the mac and cheese and a piece of chicken. She was in heaven and I finally used a significant portion of the gift card. Five minutes later she wanted another round. I got her some more mac and cheese finishing up the card and reaching into my own pocket for the first time—and it isn’t cheap. By the time she wanted a remarkable thirds I was getting hungry myself. I got some to go containers and put together some Caesar salad, chicken, potato salad and few other nibbles from the salad bar to take home. We definitely broke the bank that night without even getting any of their delicious desserts or pastries. When we got home Vida helped me with the salad and I helped her with the rest of the mac and cheese since she had finally had her fill.
Most recently we have been going to Moshi Moshi on 3rd Street. B and R introduced us to this low key and friendly Japanese restaurant. I think they like it because B doesn’t really eat fish and there are plenty of other traditional Japanese dishes on the menu. The sushi rolls are good—the shiso cucumber is one of my favorites. The teriyaki is only passable in Vida’s book but she enjoyed a fried chicken cutlet on another visit. Vida suddenly is a huge seaweed salad and miso fan so her choices have definitely improved beyond the avocado roll she usually favors. She will now eat almost any roll with tempura in it and now loves tempura shrimp. She even tried some salmon sashimi at We Be Sushi the other night. But before she did she made me announce to M and her dad that we had this very important rule at our house about trying foods that it turns out you don’t like. She was exposed to this concept when she went out for Korean food at Han II Kwan on Balboa with her school friends S, J and M and their parents. Apparently at S and J’s house if you don’t like something you can’t say “ick” and throw a fit. They are told to put it aside quietly or leave the table immediately. It’s a great rule and it definitely made an impression on Vida. I think she likes it so much because she rarely dislikes things so much that she has to make a show of it—it’s one behavior extreme she can avoid without too much work.
When Vida went out for Korean food with her friends it wasn’t the first time she has gone out to eat without me to a place that I haven’t visited myself. I didn’t really anticipate this phenomenon. I have to quiz her on her experience and try and get as many details as possible. She came home very excited about her Korean meal. She loved cooking at the table and had a great time with her friends. I asked her if she had any pickled vegetables and she said “what pickles” so obviously nobody challenged her to try anything unusual. Her friend Z and her parents have also treated her to meals at Polkers on Polk Street. At first I felt a little guilty that Z ordered a reasonable toasted cheese sandwich while Vida ordered steak and mashed potatoes. She was thrilled to have ordered a steak on her own and equally enthused about the doggie bag with the leftovers. Unfortunately the next time she went to Polkers the steak was only fit for Z’s dog.
One evening we got advanced tickets to the movie Ratatouille and invited Z and her parents to join us. We had time for dinner and they suggested Kabuto Sushi across from the theatre on Van Ness. The menu was extensive and it was fairly crowded so I thought it would be o.k. I was as usual starving and ordered too many rolls. Unfortunately most of the rolls were dripping with a horrible cloying hoisin type sauce. I am well aware that sushi rolls as we eat them are hardly authentic Japanese food but these rolls were an obvious attempt to appeal to an American touristy palate for sweet foods. I felt like I had been transported to a tourist trap on the wharf.
Vida has had her share of hamburgers but she has never gone to McDonalds—when she sees McDonald’s advertisements she definitely is “hating it” like the well indoctrinated anti-fast food child she is. I have gone to one McDonalds in San Francisco—the one on Van Ness. I didn’t actually eat there though. Many years ago I went to keep my cooking school friend company while she indulged in a big mac as a form of rebellion against the food at the culinary academy. I do make a distinction even though it probably isn’t entirely rational between single location local fast food joints and the mega chains. A Whiz Burger is o.k. occasionly but McDonalds, never. Whiz Burger is actually the first place I took Vida out to eat on our own. A couple of weeks ago she was invited to go swimming with her friend B.F. from school. They spent the entire day in Livermore going down a waterslide and were too starved to make the trip home without dinner. B.F.’s mother called to ask if it was o.k. if Vida went to In and Out Burger. She was a little embarrassed and made a point to say they didn’t typically go to such places but they couldn’t find a child friendly alternative. I had no problem given the circumstances. Vida had a thrilling fast-food experience even though she said that the burgers were so tiny she had to have two. Even though she yells “In and Out Burger” when we come across a sign on the highway she knows the difference be fast food and healthy food.
Subway though is another story. There is a shop at UCSF in the same building she does Tae Kwon Do. We have stopped by occasionally for a snack but never ordered a sandwich. Recently Z’s mom needed to feed them fast and bought them Subway. Vida was instantly smitten and talked me into buying her one the next week. I have to admit I was curious about what Subway was all about considering their low-fat healthy marketing campaign. Vida wanted the mini-sub with turkey and cheese with lettuce and no mayonnaise. It was immediately clear how they get the low calorie counts—there is nothing on the thing--one tiny slice of cheese and meat in a squishy bun.
One of Vida’s favorite outings is to Pier 39. She started going with Grandma years ago. As soon as Vida could be trusted not to run off Grandma would take her on the F car lugging the stroller just in case she started flagging. At first the aquarium and the carousel were the focus of their trip but as they have been going over the years they started adding activities. Vida would sometimes spend hours (or unfortunately just minutes considering the expense) petting the starfish and other child friendly sea creatures. At some point they started getting mini donuts from a donut stand and clam chowder in a sourdough bowl from Chowders. Even when Grandma wasn’t around she wanted to go down to the Pier so finally I went with her and experienced the bread bowl. I thought the chowder was pretty decent and we even went so far recently when down there with Ra Ra to order fried zucchini. Most recently Vida discovered the arcade and since then nothing is as important as loading up and tokens and throwing our money away in exchange for cheap toys.
So there’s the past 9 months in restaurants . . .just add one pregnant, cranky, tee-totaling mother to all of the above experiences. Since Victor was born we have mostly just gone to our regular places, Ebisu, Moshi Moshi, and many taquerias. Victor just sleeps through most of meals. Now that things are starting to become more “normal” I’m ready to start checking out some new places.
Restaurant Total: 235
