19 August Saturday

There is a wonderful lyric by the late, great Fred Ebb:

Familiar things,

the thing about familiar things, is how you keep imagining they never go away. They’ve always been there, they’re nothing special, and so you never can appreciate familiar things.

But here I am, again among familiar things and finding what they mean to me, the evidence is clear-

our lives are filled with strings, connected to familiar things, and all of mine are here.

Last week, the grocery store down the street, Duc Loi, closed after eighteen years. Now, this wasn’t necessarily the best grocery or cleanest or most affordable grocery in the whole wide neighborhood, but it was the only corner store I’ve ever known at that corner. It’s been there as long as I’ve been here, and when it goes away, what does that mean? Anything? It has been a slightly strange time for San Francisco with regards to our long standing food and drink traditions. For those whose salad days were spent inventing start ups at the wooden tables of the original Philz Coffee, its recent closing must have felt like a generational turning of the page. For those who are a hundred and twenty-six years old, the folding of Anchor Steam Beer must have really stung. That last one really sucks, I especially loved, adored, their Christmas Ale. It was the only one I’d drink, honestly.

Still kickin. No sooner had Duc Loi gone (and its sweet Touch Me Tender sign above, as well as their famous Re-Grand Opening! banner) than they were replaced by the International Produce Market, destined to be the birthplace of many memories for years to come. Who knows, maybe they’ll even bring back Anchor Steam. I’ve known the owner, Amanda, for years and the other night I had a dream that she came up to me in the canned food aisle and wanted to give me a hug and thank me for being such a wonderful customer. I’m sure she hasn’t given a single thought to me in real life, it doesn’t work that way.

In the meantime, I kept myself busy in the kitchen this week. Simple simple simple simple.

For the first time in my entire life, I was wondering what to have for dinner, and there was a cooking show on in the background, I overheard it, went into the living room, watched it, realized I had all the ingredients and prepared the dish while the cooking show was still on. Funny huh? That never happens.

The show? Milk Street? The dish Aglio e Olio, ie. spaghetti with garlic and oil. Only this time, we spice it up with basil and tomatoes, and of course, cheese. Above, before, below after.

Believe it or not, there were still plenty of tomatoes and basil left after the pasta was gone. So, I chopped up the basil real good and made a vinaigrette that made a super Caprese Salad.

Now this was fabulous and finished off the tomatoes and mozzarella, but left me with plenty of vinaigrette for another salad, which was last night’s dinner:

A cute, little top round steak salad. Some things didn’t get pictures, like the sausage with bell peppers, rich chicken noodle soup, or the minestrone that is simmering on the stovetop right now. From one trip to the farmer’s market, I’ve made twenty-four meals and still counting. Good times.