Tenderloin Christmas Light Extravaganza!

Christmas means Christmas lights!! When I lived in a small town my Mom would drive me and my sister around to look at all the elaborately decorated houses. On certain blocks every house would have a display, it was almost magical. They would like up the darkness and you could feel the time of year all around you.

Now I live in San Francisco, because of that I haven't driven for a very long time. But don't you worry, I still get to see Christmas lights!! Here's a tour of my neighborhood and some of the displays we've got...

Our tour begins:

Even the businesses got into the spirit...

The best lights display of them all...

And I even saw Rudolph and Santa!!

The Twelve Days of the Tenderloin

On the twelfth day of the Tenderloin my true love sent to me,

Twelve dirty bums
Eleven new parks
Ten people smoking crack
Nine naked homeless ladies
Eight drug deals
Seven cars being broken into
Six piles of poopy
Five golden teeth
Four used condoms
Three pigeons eating throw up
Two Australians
And a tranny prostitute getting into a car!

Dottie’s True Blue Café:

Deserves a post all its own...

My favorite breakfast place. Was up early the other morning so decided to go to breakfast with the boyfriend. You can find it on Jones between O’Farrell and Geary.

Found this place when I was new to the neighborhood. It had a long line out the door, so had to check it out and it didn’t disappoint. It always has a long line out the door. The food is worth the wait, but if you want to avoid the sometimes hour wait, get there right after they open or around 2 because they open at 7:30 and close at 3pm, and are closed on Tuesdays also. You might have to wait for a few minutes, but it’ll be better than an hour. I’ve gotten lucky while waiting in line a few times, though, because I’ve been witness to a bum fight, and once a bum was standing on his head next to the line asking for tips, forrrrever, needless to say, there can be some great entertainment since this place is located in the heart of the Tenderloin. The food is homemade, fresh and super delicious. The service is uncomplicated and efficient. The owner is the main cook, which only adds to the homey-cuteness levels here.

Homemade pastries and thick-cut bread. Their juices are fresh squeezed, while my usual is oj, you should give the grapefruit juice a whirl; I was never a fan until I had it here, it tastes different and so much better when freshly squeezed.

This is not a place to go if you’re in a hurry, take your time, relax, enjoy the company, atmosphere, and of course, the yummy food.

Don't Blame It on the Vomit

I fell asleep on the couch again tonight and to my horror and great pleasure I was awoken at 1:30 am by the sweet sounds of a brawl. Someone was shouting… I listened closer, the chant, “Knock ‘em out,” “Knock ‘em out,” came billowing up from the street below. Ohhhhh, I thought as I sat bolt upright and wrenched open the blinds. The people shouting were across the street and as I followed their line of sight, there was the ongoing fight occurring right under my window. How long have they been there? Probably won’t last long. I made a mad dash for the new camera. Let’s see what this baby can do, really open her up this time.

Fortunately, they were mostly in the street, and I was able to glimpse what was going on. They were white, and as such, had the foresight to remove their shirts before knocking each other senseless. Next to them a bunch of balloons and a puddle of vomit. To my dismay the fight was over fairly quickly. It ended uneventfully as one drunkie decided to stumble away.

When it was over one of the bystanders reached for the balloons and held on to them long enough to exclaim, “There’s blood on here, man, I don’t want no blood.” The balloons were discarded as quickly as they had been snatched up. And just like that the fun was over.



*First chance using the new camera at night!
**Also pictured here, my dying tree, post about this to be announced.