Why I'm writing about California's Prop 8

We have our own controversial propositions on the ballot here in Maryland - there's that little "yes on slots" initiative. I'm not saying how I voted on that (absentee, remember), and there's that "early voting" initiative. Okay, that's not terribly controversial, but I'm not saying how I voted on that either. That is in addition to that little matter of the presidential election. I'm also not sharing that!

As you know, I have tried to refrain from political commentary on this blog. But there is one thing I have to mention, and it affects me both directly and indirectly. It's California's Proposition 8, which would officially change the California State Constitution to define marriage as only between one woman and one man.

You probably aren't surprised that an unassuming gay man such as myself would be against this latest proposition from the prop-happy Eureka State. But why am I, a lowly food blogger based not in California but in the Mid-Atlantic, bothering to mention it here at all? I mean, it's not like Maryland is going to allow me to get married anytime soon.

I mention it for a few reasons: 1) I lived for several years in California; it's where I came out; 2) many of my friends on the West Coast are also gay men and women who love their partners; 3) I may find myself back in Cali someday. But even if I don't, there's 4) I am not a second-class citizen in my own country, and I will be damned if I am going to sit idly by and not do anything to help my friends - who are also not second-class citizens in their own country - realize that right. To be frank, I'm pretty sure same-sex marriage won't be coming to Maryland for a good while, if I ever see it as long as I live here. But I'm praying, literally, that my California queer compatriots do. And yes, I donated money. If powerful interests can donate millions from out of state to get Prop 8 passed, I can certainly donate a few bucks to get it defeated.

**SIGH** That was good to get out there.

Sean and D Paul at San Fran's Hedonia are lovers of all good food and wine in the Bay Area (no, not the Chesapeake Bay - the San Francisco Bay). They have a very nice post about the blog effort to show support for the No on 8 movement. It was on their blog that I found out about this effort on the Mombian blog (Sustenance for Lesbian Moms) - a blogger event in opposition to Prop 8, with over 400 bloggers around the country posting! The problem: it was yesterday. I am always late for every galdarned thing!!! Well, I'm still submitting this post. If it isn't up there yet, it soon will be!

One more thing: it's nice to know that some restaurants are donating some of their proceeds to fight Prop 8. Take West Hollywood restaurant Taste, for example. On October 20, it donated 25% of all its profits to No on Prop 8. Next time I'm out there, I'm stopping in (courtesy Eater LA).

Oops, now one final thing I just noticed after hitting "Publish Post": According to 538.com (I LOVE that site), the Field Poll is about to release a poll showing that Prop 8 is trailing 49-44 (that means the "No" side is ahead).  They're pretty good with predicting referenda (94% success rate), but it's still pretty close.  So here's hoping.

Secret Menu GOLD!

I was checking out the Mighty Girl blog, published regularly by San Francisco blogger and author Margaret Mason (who wrote the very funny No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog - hey, what if all you write about is food!?). I just got the book from the Baltimore County Public Library. Check it out!

Anyway, she posted something yesterday that really caught my eye: secret menus of Bay Area restaurants. It started at the popular SF restaurant the Presidio Social Club (no I didn't get there last August), and then her search just went from there. Margaret even links to a page about the secret menus of national chains and fast food joints.

Y'all know where I'm going with this by now.

So how many Baltimore-area places have secret menus? I need to start exploring this question. If anyone knows of some, please let me know. I want to start a running tally.

San Francisco #5: Japantown and Hummus in the Castro

Japantown has a longstanding monument to the tragedy of Japanese internment during WWII, when whole neighborhoods of Japanese-Americans were “evacuated” from their homes and sent to camps, for the alleged safety of the country (this was chronicled in Come See the Paradise, a great little flick from 1990 starring Dennis Quaid and Tamilyn Tomita; it takes place in LA but the same thing happened in SF). A disgraceful, tragic event in our nation's history, and not something that should be forgotten.

In the Japanese Mall on the Peace Plaza, with the large Peace Pagoda sticking up in the middle of the square, there are lots of sushi joints. I mean lots. But stuffed with chorizo and rosewater ice cream (I’m still belching roses), I had no room for sushi. So I just had to wander around and look. I did buy gifts for home, though: two large samplers of mochi and some roasted green tea. And I got a bag of Okinawan brown sugar cookies to boot. And you should see the Japanese grocery stores in this mall. Lots of cool Japanese products!

After Japantown I realized that I only had time to see one more thing before heading to the B&B for my things. I gave up on the Golden Gate Bridge (which, coincidentally, melted in another flick co-starring Dennis Quaid and Tamilyn Tomita, the eco-disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow), which was too far anyway, and hopped on a bus for Golden Gate Park. When I got there I headed past the majestic de Young Museum and (sticking with the Japanese theme) went for the Japanese Tea Garden. It was gorgeous and breathtaking, and very peaceful. Less peaceful were the people drinking tea. I didn’t get any myself.

Long story short: it was late, I hopped on the taxi, made it back to the Castro, fetched my things and sought some food. My last meal in San Fran could’ve been fish, burgers, sushi, but instead I got Mediterranean food at La Méditeranée Café. There I watched the people pass by while sipping a crisp Greek beer, sipping very lemony avgolemono soup (steam was still blowing off of it when I got it) and savoring curried Egyptian chicken on a bed of rice. The chicken was moist and tasty, the veggies retained their own flavors even as they had been stewed together, and the hummus it all came with made it even better. Total cost: $22 after tax and tip.

Done with dinner, I grabbed my mess of stuff and headed for the Muni, ready to wend my way back to Oakland Airport. And wouldn’t ya know it: cheapy airline Southwest (which I used) is going to start up service directly into San Francisco Airport at the end of the month – after I needed it!

San Francisco #4: Snacks for Lunch

I did a lot of walking today y’all, and my feet are feelin’ the burn. That’s even with most of my travel budget going to transportation costs – taxi, bus, mass transit, shuttles. I jogged for (about) twenty minutes this morning, then all but undid it by eating a slice of pound cake left by my bed n’ breakfast proprietor. He finally did pick up my payment, by the way, and let me keep the key to the place for as long as I stored my luggage there

I grabbed an iced tea at the Duboce Park Café on Sanchez Street. This is a fun, sunny place that serves bagel melts and the like for breakfast. I wasn’t hungry by the time I got there. A few dogs, a straight couple making kissy face, a few friendly lesbians and this attractive Australian guy that I think was flirting with me.

I wanted to see if I could walk to the Golden Gate Park, the park in the city that rivals Central Park in Manhattan in terms of size (it's almost 200 acres larger, in fact). Alas, it was too far, and I wound up trudging up hill after hill after steep hill to the Mission District, a place that echoes much of California’s Mexican heritage (to wit, the massive statue of Padre Miguel Hidalgo in Mission Dolores Park). I got a snack, or so I thought, at the Taquería El Buen Sabor at 18^th and Valencia (Reviews behind the link are of burritos, and those San Franciscans seem to love their burritos. I prefer soft tacos myself). For just $2.20 I got a chorizo and bean taco with the chorizo piled high on top of two small corn tortillas. This unassuming little taco was something to eat with a fork. I haven’t had such good chorizo in years. Topped off with a Sidral Mundet apple soda for $1.75, it was a small, simple and satisfying lunch.

Of course, that wasn’t all I had. I set forth up Valencia en route to Japantown and found a delicious Indian ice cream place. Lonely Planet gives Bombay Creamery raves for its sweet and savory offerings. Bombay Creamery offer many flavors that seem simply exotic to us: cardamom, rose, cardamom rose, saffron rose, mango, etc. I tried the rose and the saffron rose. The former had a very strong rosewater flavor, while the saffron rose was milder, saffron-y with lots of rose in the background. I got both, a double scoop for $4.

San Francisco #3: It's A-Rainin' Men!

San Fran being the gay old city that it is, one would be remiss not to stop in a few of the gay bars in town. I am no stranger to gay bars, so I was in my element. But straight people are also quite welcome in most gay bars. In fact, one bar was jam packed with young men and women - some lesbians, but also girls with their boyfriends, and more than a few Wills-and-Graces.

The night first saw me in the slightly seedy SoMa part of town. Okay, seedy after 9 PM, and near the Civic Center which even the travel guides say is not the greatest neighborhood to hang around in. Here I visited the Powerhouse Bar, recommended to me by some friends of mine back down in San Bernardino. Given that it was a Wednesday night, and I was there early - still on Eastern time - there weren't many people there. But the bartender, who had apparently bought a cheesecake for his boyfriend's birthday and had it on the counter for him, was both adorable and damn charming, and got me a Pilsner Urquell draft for $2.50 (happy hour till 10). I had two of those, and then a Guinness (bottle, after happy hour) for $4.50. I'd like to see it when it's more crowded.

Also recommended was the Eagle Tavern. I've noticed that there are a few Eagles throughout the country - New York, LA, Washington, San Fran, and of course in Baltimore, to name a few. These are of the "leather and levis" variety. The folks in these bars are more like to strike up a conversation and less likely to have a pole up their - okay, bad analogy. But they are friendly, and not just in a frisky way. I never made it over there, unfortunately, but I thought I'd mention it.

Back in the Castro I wandered around to see what other bars I could find, and encountered the charming little Edge SF, again with friendly and adorable batenders. Here I had another draft, I forget of what, and chatted with some fellow who, again, was quite drunk. All this drinking on a school night! I loved the decor in here. It looked like a rock outcropping was growing out from over the bar. Next to that were the light fixtures with feather boas in red, white and blue hanging down from overhead. Very cool!

Last I came to the very popular 440 Castro. It advertises itself as a "leather" bar but is nothing of the sort. At first I was put off because it looked like they were turning away "certain people" (read: "You're not attractive enough to get in here") from the door, so I snubbed the place. But later I found out it was just packed and the people hanging around outside couldn't get in because they coldn't fit. Absolutely packed when I got in ($1 cover charge), wall to wall people, gay and straight, male and female, young and old (but much more young). I started developing claustrophobia last night in the 440!

Not in the mood to spend anymore money or do anymore investigating of gay night life in San Francisco, I headed back to the B&B. Next stop? More dim sum? I don't know. I think I'm dim sum'd out.

San Francisco #2: Dim Sum and Then Some

I'm not sure, but all the dim sum I ate yesterday may or may not have canceled out all the walking I did around town. And all that walking - walking from the B&B to the Muni (the quite efficient - and clean - mass transit for the city itself, much of it underground), then after hopping the cable car and taking it to historic Chinatown. Mmm, okay, so I didn't do as much walking as I thought. But I walked a whole lot more on the way back, skipping the cable car altogether.

Stockton Street in Chinatown has many grocers, knick knack shops, clothing shops (both touristy and not), and not a whole lot of tourists. There were definitely non-Chinese roaming around but there weren't many, and it was easy to find people that did not speak English (and folks keep talking about making English the official language - ha).

I came, in part, for food, and the Lonely Planet guide I brought with me - San Francisco Encounter - suggested a "dim sum crawl." That is, go to different dim sum joints and just buy some here and there. The clerks to a woman (I only ran into female vendors) looked a little annoyed that I just bought one or two pieces and left, but it is money in their pocket. Here's where I went:

Fortune Star Cafe - I got a cold but tasty steamed shumai with pork and shrimp for under $1. Very moist and flavorful, this shumai was open on the top (I saw this shumai in several places up and down Stockton and off its side streets).

Wing Sing Dim Sum - Here I pigged out on a big rice ball, which tasted like chicken broth but was hardly soggy at all, and some custard buns with rice dough on the outside, sort of like what they wrap mochi in. This all cost me about $1.50. I had a very difficult time communicating with the woman behind the counter, but I still got what I wanted (dim sum) and she still got what she wanted ($$$).

You's Dim Sum - I got what was described as a shark fin potsticker (again, I saw this everywhere), three for $1. Didn't get the ubiquitous steamed buns that were everywhere. And they came in many different varieties, too - chicken, pork, chicken and pork, shrimp, red bean, rice, etc.

A few other places I stopped had my stomach bursting, or soon will anyway.

Mee Mee Bakery - I'm not the biggest fan of fortune cookies, but these folks make many different flavors and sizes of fortune cookie. I bought a 1 lb bag of flavored fortune cookies for $7. The flavors? Not only the traditional vanilla (that's the flavor we get in those free cookies at every Chinese restaurant in North America), but also strawberry, chocolate, and a few other flavors I didn't catch. I ate a strawberry one. Pretty tasty. The fortune I'll keep to myself.

Molinari Delicatessen - My eyes began to bug out when I turned the corner, hit Columbus St. and practically found a Little Italy right next to Chinatown, in SF's North Beach Nob Hill area. I bought a 2 lb. salami ($10) - "world famous" apparently. And I'm not coming back in God knows how long, so I figured I'd just buy it now. Haven't tasted it yet, but the patrons seem to love the food there.

Stinking Rose - I know I'm insane, but stuffed as I was I had to go into this restaurant. I've seen another one in LA of the same name. Their claim to fame is that just about every dish is made with garlic. In fact, it says right on their menu, "We flavor our garlic with food." But with all that dim sum in my stomach, I wasn't about to order much. I ordered their:

• garlic potato soup, which came with a pastry crust. At $8 for the soup, I was determined to eat as much of it as possible. I could only finish half of it. Very tasty, smooth soup, which was as potato-ey as it was garlicky.
• bagna calda, which means "hot bath" in Italian. Usually it is anchovies and garlic in a hot bath of olive oil. This one was a small pan filled with slices and slices and slices of garlic (it seemed like hundreds), with some sprinkles of anchovy, all in olive oil. The anchovy actually tasted like garlic - I couldn't taste it at all! Very good, especially when you spread the garlic on the bread that they give you. Don't even need a knife, just use the spoon they give you. Only $5 but I still couldn't finish it.
  
• Chateau de Garlique - you figured it out: a white wine infused with garlic, or made with garlic, or whatever ($7). It was an experience to drink it, an experience I'm not quite ready to go through again.

Stuffed with all the dim sum and garlic my stomach could, well, stomach, plus 1 lb of fortune cookies, 2 lbs of salami and an adorable outfit for my niece ($9), I made it back to the Muni and my B&B, ready for a night of debauchery. Granted I could move after all this food!

San Francisco #1: Quickly

Well, the plane ride to Oakland was uneventful. The trip from Oakland to San Fran on the BART Mass transit system was very much eventful, but for other reasons.* Anyway, I got to the bed and breakfast, the Castillo Inn in the Castro section of the city. I have never done a B&B before, and it's, well, different. Very cazh. The proprietor was not here when I checked in, so he told me to leave my payment for the room on my dresser. That was seven hours ago. Oh well. I'll just leave it here.

My first taste of San Fran was the gayest neighborhood in the gayest city in the world - both meant in a nice way, not the way that youths - even gay youths - sometimes use the word "gay" to mean "stupid". You've probably heard someone say "Dude, this is so gay" to mean "Dude, this is so stupid." Nope, of course I don't mean it in that sense. And if I did, a dozen angry drag queens would probably kick the shit out of me. Deservedly so, I might add - and those high heels can hurt!

Anyway, not far from what Frommer's San Francisco Day by Day guide refers to as "the gayest corner in the world" (Castro and 18th Streets), lies my first taste of San Fran deliciousness. It's called Quickly, and it ain't in any travel guide I've seen. This place, founded by entrepreneuse Nancy Yang, originated in Taiwan in 1996 (I think; their website isn't terribly clear). Quickly offers sickeningly cheap, quick bites - like junk food dim sum - from the US, Japan, China and Taiwan, Korea, Mexico and all over Southeast Asia, for anywhere between 60 cents and $4 (most things cost $3; the soft shell crab is one of their priciest, at $4).

I tried their hot dog - 59 cents, a standard but cheap hot dog - and something called chikuwa wrapped in bacon, on a stick. Six of these - in two groups of three fried, bacon-wrapped chikuwas - cost $3. So fattening, so greasy, and so - okay, above average. They fall into that "fried Twinkie" category - tasty once, but I'm not goin' there again, dude. Oh, and the chikuwas? I first thought they were squid, sans tentacles. Now I find out they're shaped like that, but made from the same stuff as krab-with-a-K.

I will get around to posting photos in a few days. I left all the wires I need to upload 'em into my computer back in the Inland Empire, so I couldn't even if I wanted to. It'll save me some time, so I can write about the dim sum crawl I went on today. Like a pub crawl, but with dim sum instead of beer. And dude, I am so stuffed from all that dim sum.

* This was a job offer and a very big choice, that's all I'm saying, and it so figures that I find out about it right now when anyone who cares is far, far away. At least it was good news.)

I'm Goin' Back to Cali, Cali, Cali...

Well, I fly out Monday for what will probably be my last trip out to Cali until next year. I usually try to get out there, by my track record, every eight months. Man it's good to have people to stay with so you don't pay for a hotel. No time this Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa - "Christmakwanzukkah?" (I can see the allure of a simple "Seasons Greetings") break, though, and next Spring Break I am planning something else altogether. I am seriously planning to get back out next summer. Yes, I neurotically plan ahead - way ahead - for these sorts of things! I have to.

To save money that I'd normally spend on magazines and crappy airport food, I checked some interesting books out of the library (no magazine expenditures), and will be making sandwiches to bring on the plane (no crappy airport food). I'll write about these sandwiches when I make 'em, but perhaps it'll take a while - I might be in the air by then.

Again, I fly into Ontario International. This time I'm staying with friends in San Bernardino, before I fly out for an overnight in San Francisco. It's my first trip ever! (No smart remarks.) After that, it's off to Yucaipa where I'm spending the rest of my trip.

I plan to eat out as little as possible during this trip, and when I do it'll probably be more Del Taco and less "fancy schmancy restaurant food." It's time to get my $40 ($30? $20!) a Day skills in gear!