Mona Fail and Japantown Joy



“When Fortuna spins you downward, go out to a movie and get more out of life.”
― John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces  

"or visit Japantown."
-- Thomas Kilduff

This town is marked by intense bouts of joy followed by reversals in fortune, vice versa and around and around.

Let's start with my newest curiosity: food.

I don't plan on ballooning in SF but it's hard not to become a foodie. Consciously, I am savoring each bite because I truly want to gobble all that's set before me. It's a rare meal that will disappoint in Fog City. Take today's $7 compilation of super-veggie-burrito, side o' chips and bottle of water at "El Castillito" on Church Street in Duboce Triangle - once again we savor the holy trinity of low price, fresh ingredients and ample portions. Thus far, Vietnamese and Mexican seem to be the cheapest options but I've barely scratched the dinner table on this quirky peninsula.

I then met my friend Dustin and we kicked it around the Inner Richmond before my second apartment viewing. Supposedly, the locals refer to the Inner Richmond as "the other Chinatown" as it contains a burgeoning Chinese population pulled by cheaper rents and more ample parking. Indeed Geary and Clement Avenues both seemed an inexhaustible stretch of foods from all over the world: American, Chinese, Indian, Moroccan, Irish, French, etc. Think of Hancock Street in Quincy times five or six or a particular gastronomical corner of Queens. The Inner Richmond is the neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park (The Sunset lying to the South). Nearly 20% larger than New York's Central Park, GG Park abuts Ocean Beach and the Haight Ashbury neighborhood.

At 3:50 p.m. Dustin and I parted ways and I made my way to the apartment's address. I could really live here I thought to myself as I scanned the neighborhood. The Park is only five blocks away and the international meals would beckon from my front door. I could learn Chinese. I could even devote a blog solely to the foods of this peaceful outer borough. *



I approached a front door adorned with a Christmas wreath and rang a dysfunctional bell, noticing blue painter's tape lining the outer porch. Nothing. I then tried to call Mona and knocked on the door. Taking a few steps back, dressed as I was in business casual, I noticed a crack in an upstairs window and saw a Chinese woman sitting at a desk. "Mona, I'm here for my appointment!" I yelled. The lady just shooed me away. So much for my grand welcome to 28 Barbary Lane. Just in case it wasn't Mona, I tried phoning her again a few more times before collapsing into full lotus on her stoop for ten minutes. Breathe and wait and then surrender and sashay away. Strike Two.

For a little pick me up I took the 38 to Japantown and tried my luck with Mochi Mango icecream. Mochi is a Japanese form of ice cream that is served like a ping pong ball on a toothpick. It has a powdery, gelatinous shell with a gooey inside and only sets you back $1.50. My appetite tickled, I then ordered a "wrapped" Japanese banana, almond and nutella crepe. Look at the joy and delicacy in preparing it. This crepe chef has the best job in California.


But Japanese confectionery aside, the search for shelter continues. It took a friend of mine three months to find a place. There are a large number of SRO's (Single Resident Occupancies) that are basically bridge rooms for those who are homeless. New York City used to have quite a few but they've become high-end condos. SRO's are all over San Francisco and are my last option. Tomorrow, I have another lead in South of Market on 8th and Folsom for $830 (total with utilities) and a likelier room in the Castro (living with a gay single dad and his seventeen-year-old son) for $800 total. Eric and Richard have been such gems and are enjoying my stay but no amount of charm can wash off the the fact of a house guest. I've always been lucky with friends/family/hearth and home even when my love life or finances or health takes a stumble. Blessed be, all creatures of the Earth! Let everyone find someplace safe to rest their heads for a night. I persevere in a city of many Monas.

* This photograph borrowed from the wonderful website "San Francisco Days." Take a photographic tour as I refer to these neighborhoods.

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