gordonzola (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gordonzola) wrote2004-06-08 08:03 am
gordonzola) wrote2004-06-08 08:03 am
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I'm almost there
Visible while crossing Mission street are the shells of the old sausage factories. Butcher Town is a few miles away, but I guess 14th and Mission used to be Where-We-Encase-Those-Parts-of-Animals-You-Wouldn’t-Eat-If-You-Could-See-‘em Town. But not anymore.
They were active until a few years ago, despite animal rights paint bombs and the old glue in the lock trick. Walking to work in the morning I’d often see some old guy on his knees in front of the door cleaning out or changing the cylinder. Finally the one on the west side went. A few years later the east side one put up ‘For Rent" signs. I kinda miss the spicy smell. I don’t miss the nasty rotting flesh smell. You never knew which you’d get.
At the corner was a bar that always scared me. When I moved to San Francisco I wasn’t city savvy enough to tell whether it was a dangerous place or whether I was being racist, but I crossed the street to avoid it. When it closed suddenly, the new tenant found guns and drugs hidden in secret compartments throughout the bar.
You can find that tenant wearing shorts and tank tops and chain smoking outside her converted bar apartment. Don’t say hi from me, she doesn’t know who I am. She’s usually shouting into her cell phone anyway.
Down the block there’s a great café run by one of the sweetest guys in the world. That space is cursed though. Some artists used to live there until the house got bought and they were evicted. The new landlord removed all trace of them including the Freida Kahlo mural on the side of the building. It was vacant for awhile until someone moved in with the worst business plan ever; hairdresser/café. I mean, I see the idea of serving someone coffee if they have to wait for their hair appointment, but can you imagine ordering food there?
Patron: "Excuse me, there’s a hair in my soup."
Counter person: "Duh."
They also had a really nasty display where they made a pyramid out of bagels then left it there for a year uncleaned. Not yum.
After another period of vacancy, a cafe moved from Hayes Valley to that location. They were fun but also had cleanliness issues. Roaches boiled by pouring coffee over them is not appetite-whetting.
But the new guy is great, I swear.
They were active until a few years ago, despite animal rights paint bombs and the old glue in the lock trick. Walking to work in the morning I’d often see some old guy on his knees in front of the door cleaning out or changing the cylinder. Finally the one on the west side went. A few years later the east side one put up ‘For Rent" signs. I kinda miss the spicy smell. I don’t miss the nasty rotting flesh smell. You never knew which you’d get.
At the corner was a bar that always scared me. When I moved to San Francisco I wasn’t city savvy enough to tell whether it was a dangerous place or whether I was being racist, but I crossed the street to avoid it. When it closed suddenly, the new tenant found guns and drugs hidden in secret compartments throughout the bar.
You can find that tenant wearing shorts and tank tops and chain smoking outside her converted bar apartment. Don’t say hi from me, she doesn’t know who I am. She’s usually shouting into her cell phone anyway.
Down the block there’s a great café run by one of the sweetest guys in the world. That space is cursed though. Some artists used to live there until the house got bought and they were evicted. The new landlord removed all trace of them including the Freida Kahlo mural on the side of the building. It was vacant for awhile until someone moved in with the worst business plan ever; hairdresser/café. I mean, I see the idea of serving someone coffee if they have to wait for their hair appointment, but can you imagine ordering food there?
Patron: "Excuse me, there’s a hair in my soup."
Counter person: "Duh."
They also had a really nasty display where they made a pyramid out of bagels then left it there for a year uncleaned. Not yum.
After another period of vacancy, a cafe moved from Hayes Valley to that location. They were fun but also had cleanliness issues. Roaches boiled by pouring coffee over them is not appetite-whetting.
But the new guy is great, I swear.
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Typically the gang members hang around 14th, 16th, 18th, and 24th.
But I love the cafes and bars around 16th and Valencia.
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And for the record, "when I first moved to San Francisco" refers to 1989. Living on Valencia and 16th for more than a year (mid'93-late'94) made me *hate* that area, especially on the weekends.
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