Turk and Larkin Deli

Lunchie Munchie time rolls around at some point everyday. I don’t like to make food when it’s only me, plus it’s easy to get something to eat around here, since there are tons of restaurants. I was being super lazy when the show, Check Please Bay Area, came on KQED, my PBS station, one afternoon. Side note: I heart PBS. If you haven’t seen the show, there’s a host that interviews three people who recommend their favorite restaurants, and the other two eat, and report back. Turk and Larkin Deli was on this particular episode, recommended as a good place for lunch by one of the ladies who works in the area. Only a block away from my house, and I had no idea it existed.

After the segment was over, I decided I would check it out, and report back. Upon arrival, I noticed that it was aptly named, Deli. I’ve never been to New York, a wrong I plan to correct in the near future, but this is what I imagine a NY deli to be like. Fake wood paneling on the walls. Lunch trays. A drab 70’s feel emanates from the décor. I ordered the roast chicken combo, which included 2 sides. I picked the pesto pasta salad with peas and carrots, and a Greek salad. I also got a chocolate chip cookie, and a coke, to top off my order. The cute older couple who own and run the place are friendly. The chicken was moist, while slightly spicy, with a paprika/herb rub. The chicken, and both salads, were tasty.

One of the guys on the show said it is a very scary neighborhood, and he was afraid for his safety! He may not want to return, but I’ll be back. I always say, I’d rather be around a bunch of crazies, than no one at all. The deli is open for lunch Monday through Friday.



Watch the segment here if you want, but skip to 6:52, TL represent!

Initiation

The ceiling creaks as someone moves in upstairs. Someone else has moved in recently too, my boyfriend’s sister. Now, empty pbr cans litter our living room and kitchen. The new addition to our household has told us that her sleep has been restless. I suggest she maybe invest in earplugs, or another viable option, we’ve joked, drink more, a lot more, before bed.

The jingle jangle of the ice cream man.
Sirens.
The bus.
The neighbors hang a picture.
Midday- A woman yells ‘fuck’ a hundred times in a row.
The click-clack of the siblings on their laptops playing tetris with each other, while sitting right next to one another.

We take his sister out. I realize the man ahead of us is peeing while he's walking down the street, leaving a squiggly trail. Talk about multitasking! The people passing in the opposite direction act as if he doesn’t exist. They don’t see him. Blank shells, staring at the ground, in their own world. I turn to my compatriots, “Oh My fucking God!” “Don’t step in that (I‘m pointing), he’s peeing while he’s walking down the street!” I’m visibly loosing my shit, my mouth gaping open, while these people coming at us look like they’ve had their brains sucked out of their heads...Zombpees.

You would think that I’m immune, by now, to happenings such as this. What surprises me about this instance, in particular, is that people like this dude in front of me, actually do things like this. Who the fuck are you to whip out your penis wherever the fuck you are? When, a few steps later, he enters a building, where I suspect, there’s a toilet he could have used. But no, he’d rather expose himself to everyone, and pee on the sidewalk. Needless to say, if you think you smell urine, you do. Many thanks you weren’t there when it was happening.

When I think I’ve seen it all, I‘m always surprised with a new little treat. I try not to step in the runoff, my boots are new.

Welcome to the TL little sis!

Street Art Captured

Before:


After:








Super creepy baby, but I love it!

Sunday FunDay

Sunday fun fact: I love to check my stats!

I don't have too many. Sometimes I'll have a good amount of page views, and some nice comments. Which I love. I'm hoping to have lots more in the future. (Hint, hint! A wink and a nudge!) My stats tell me where people are in the world when they see the blog. Some views from here and there, mostly from the U.S. however; randomly, I'm big in Russia from time to time. My sneaking suspicion is they like my blog, Don't Blame It On the Vomit, where the white dudes disrobe and brawl in the street. I can see what browser is most popular, Firefox, Internet Explorer, in that order, or check the operating system that people use most often, Windows, Machintoch.

But I'll have to say, it's always the keyword search terms that make me laugh. Here are a few that are referring people to my blog:

i have super curly hair and big lips but i'm not black

when your man prefers texting to calling when he can afford (Afford what exactly? Can he really afford it, or does he just look like he can? These are the hard hitting question this woman needs to ask herself. The rest is missing, so we may never know!)

street signs in san francisco featuring no human pooping (Great idea!)

just realized i am in an abusive relationship (The internet can help!)

i hear gunshots (Ruuuuun! Get your ass outta there!)

dollar stores near larkin & eddy (What, where? I'm so there.)

"san francisco" beautiful grubby (It's true.)

And theeeeennn the kinksters end up on the wrong site. Sorry guys. What they’re looking for: tranny prostitutes and poop!

Thanks stats for all the good times.

A Day In The Tenderloin

Photography by my good friend Chelsea Rae Cole. More pics by Chelsea can be found at her flickr page here.

'Sus Me, For Sale

For a few years, I’d always see this little old Russian lady walking around selling stuff. I assumed she was Russian because she had this cute floral head scarf on that she’d tie underneath her chin. Sometimes she’d have a cart she’d pull behind her, but more often, she’d have a few things clutched to her body in her hands that she was peddling. As I walked by, she’d stop and say, “Sus me, for sale.” The word ‘sale’ would take its time leaving her mouth, as she held out an object in my direction. Sometimes it’d be food, a kit kat, or canned beans. Other times she’d have dishes… saucers and teacups. I’d think about her, and now that I haven’t seen her for a year, maybe longer, I still think of her. Where did you go? I haven’t seen you for awhile, I think I miss you.

Mirtille

A new café on McAllister between Leavenworth and 7th, in the Civic Center. Went in to check it out, cause hey, I like cafes! You can check them out here. What I’m looking for in a café is yummy food in a cozy place. First thing I see on the windows outside is words. Their concept, to be sure, explicitly written out, words like pure, simple, taste. I saw something like this recently, I wrote about it in my HipsterBikeRack post. In that case, they had spray painted a little bike symbol underneath said bike rack for the sole purpose of illustrating for us Tenderloinites exactly what this new foreign object is supposed to be used for. We might be new to up and coming trends entering our neighborhood, but we’re not that dumb! When I saw these words painted on the windows, I was reminded of our new bike rack… Duh, me live in Tenderloin, me not know what this is.

When you get inside all you see is purple, everywhere. Walls, seats, counter, all purple. It was purple overkill, and I like purple. The lamps are silver. It’s like they missed the boat for what’s modern. If they had opened in the late 90’s their décor might be considered modern. As for one of the criteria of a café being cozy, I didn't think it was.

On to the food...



I grabbed a ham and cheese sandwich. My sandwich was tiny, and almost non-existent. I paid 3.80 for it, and I got a tea. A tea, from a bag, which I‘m not opposed to, but they got it from Leland Tea Company, who actually sells loose-leaf tea. My total was up to around 10 bucks with tax. My sandwich was good, just pretty small for the price, when you can get a real life size sandwich at Saigon Sandwich for a little bit cheaper even. It’s not like I’m morbidly obese and need a crap load of food to fill up, but if you were actually hungry, I would try a salad instead. My friend joined me, she had a salmon and cream cheese sandwich, and when she got to the table, she had with her a chocolate souffle! Chocolate’s the way to my heart, and this dessert was yummy, and not tiny. Just the right size for the two of us to share.



The coziness level, and yummy food levels, weren’t that great for me, plus they aren’t open on weekends. The dessert was good, but the place didn't hit the spot. I’d rather head to Leland Tea Company, on Polk and Bush, to get their tea sandwiches and loose-leaf tea.