Sunday, November 10, 2024
Breakfast with Patrick: one slice each of the last of the autumn-spiced, frosted quick bread. Water to drink. I also had a small glass of cold milk. Afterwards we attempted to ride Muni to 9th and Irving, but the next 66 bus was in 24 minutes. We rode bus 48 to 19th and Quintara hoping to catch bus 28, but there was a group of perhaps 80 persons dressed in military uniforms already waiting. We chose to walk north on 19th to Judah. We waited 10 minutes for the N-Judah train to take us to 9th and Irving. This trip took us about 30 minutes instead of the expected 15. We placed our name third on the waitlist at Art's Cafe and were seated outdoors in about 10 minutes. Service was extraordinarily slow, but when it arrived it was notably polite. We later noticed a help wanted sign in the window. Patrick had bulgogi breakfast with two eggs sunny side up, hash browns, and sourdough toast with butter ($16.25). I had hash brown melt with two eggs scrambled and wheat toast with butter ($12.75). Coffee with cream for both ($6.50). All food and drink were excellent. I tipped 20% despite the slowness because it was very clear that they were doing the best they could within a broken system. Patrick and I caught bus 44 at just the right time (finally Muni works as expected!) to the concourse then walked to the de Young Museum, meeting Susie and Jeff at the cafe. Everyone had coffee except me, and Jeff enjoyed a slice of cake. We chatted about Spain, tapas, flamenco, Portugal, expat life, retirement, pastries, Vienna, Prague, tourism backlash, The Met in New York City, homebuying, homeownership, remodeling, recent election results, positivity, and more. They got us in on their membership to see the Tamara de Lempicka exhibit, which we loved. A few of my faves: Young Girl in Green, some of the silk dresses, the sole male nude from Harvey Fierstein's collection. Afterwards Patrick and I walked to Starbucks where I got my free birthday coffee (grande peppermint mocha with whip), and Patrick got a grande chestnut praline latte. Walked and rode Muni home. Patrick napped while I took care of financial paperwork and administrative things for home. We watched various YouTube videos. Later we rode rideshare to dinner at Aziza. Cocktails: High Atlas for Patrick, Golden Sands for me. Food: spreads trio with two flatbreads, little gems salad, roasted prawns, chicken roulade, corn bread. Glass of albarino for Patrick, glass of riesling for me. We shared yuzu custard for dessert. Patrick also had an espresso. All food and drink were delicious. The receipt says our server's name was Spark, and we had great service. $238.42 before a $40 tip.