circling san francisco
From the green mystery vegetables, I walked to another bin and studied red rings, convinced root vegetables tell their histories like trees.
I found promising fruit,
and the dependable tumble of colored peppers.
Enchanted by purplish brussel sprouts (we’ll return to these) on the stalk,
and inedible greens fashioned into bouquets,
I ordered my usual side of bacon while I waited for my friend Eric to arrive.
With Primavera out of chilaquiles, we decided on bento boxes for lunch; my burdock/mizuna/lotus root salad and wasabi mashed potatoes were astringent and bracing, an explorer’s meal.
We sampled Miette’s macarons to try and redeem the cookie for Eric, but I think he was happier with the chocolate gift I had found for him at Portland’s wonderful Cacao.
Eric might have to unearth his signature ascot for this mustachioed look (so hot right now) in 2009.
The city was full of English literati this weekend for the Modern Language Association conference, and soon Eric was off to a conference panel—I wandered through the tourists and heard up-and-coming drummers:
playing across the street from Duncan and Dylan’s Bizarre Bazaar,
where the Poem Store had set up shop (this is the moment, when a new piece of paper yields a fresh poem from the typewriter).
Joining my friends Ben and Liz (here, exercising their formidable critical faculties staring down the street light), we analyzed the semiotics of shopping while swinging purchases and were successful in our quest for a “thick and dangerously delicious milkshake” I blogged about last year (inspiring Ben to leave one of my favorite kthread comments ever).
There was slightly louder music this weekend too, and a little dancing in Rockridge between old and new friends (I’m connected to this group through a guy that can rock a hat with ear flaps):
and as if those charmed brussel sprouts had sprung to life,
as I left Ben and Liz (hope to see them for much longer next time), I happened upon a literati painting come to life, a rollicking reminder of all the new years to celebrate in the next month…
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Posted by Kristen Taylor on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008, 12:05 am * Filed in Design. * . Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 30th, 2008 at 11:26 am
So great to meet you, Kristen. Just arrived back in Jozi City and yours was my first port of call – as it will be from now on :)
December 30th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Heather, so great to meet you too! Glad you had safe travels back, and let me know when you’re around my way next—
December 30th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Great pictures! It looks like you had a great time.
I want an everlasting pear…
December 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am
I can’t describe how satisfying it was to wander the streets of san fran with you and liz–a dynamic duo. And I love Liz’s expression in that picture–probing, curious, cogitative–a most telling depiction. Thanks for guiding me to the dangerously thick milkshake; you once again put Kelis to shame. I only wish you could have stuck around for the roasted banana ice cream at bi rite and a surprisingly tasty drunken duck dish at this asian-fusion restaurant called Tangerine.
December 31st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Ben, I’m so jealous of your Bi-Rite ice cream, especially as Humphrey Slocombe wasn’t open yet (next time, we shall seek out the creamiest of the ices together). I’ll miss you and our party traditions tonight, and think of you while I stir collards for the new year…