Celebrating a birthday with dumplings and ice cream
My friend Kris' 14th birthday was yesterday, the 27th, a birthday shared by my Dad (who would've been 82) and old friend Nancy (no age, please). He was driving with his Mom Krisa down from Coos Bay on his birthday and arrived back in the Bay Area this afternoon, phoned and took me up on my suggestion for a lunch celebration.
Kris (aka Kuri, his baby name in Japanese, which means little brown chestnut) and his Mom, Krisa
Clear skies after days of rain, so we motored in the Toaster (see the November 27 post) across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco.
Shanghai Dumpling on Balboa at 34th was our destination; dumplings were on our minds.
Luck was with us: there was a parking one space away. The restaurant sported a sign that informed us it was "CLOSED", but we'd called ahead and had been assured that it was open. So in we went after checking ("we called from Berkeley") to find two other tables of people just finishing.
This place is SMALL! Two little rooms, menus only in Chinese on the plain white walls, no heat, supplies visible on the floor in the back, tables jammed in for parties of all sizes -- from a couple to a large family. Ah...steamed chive dumplings and juicy pork potstickers -- both served with a sauce of black vinegar with shredded ginger, steamed thread bread served with a savory-sweet condensed milk dipping sauce, and fried onion cakes. Cheap and delicious eats!
Where to after dumplings? Ice cream, of course!
Down to Ocean Beach where the big waves were crashing in from way out and past the Park... then threading through the Outer Sunset to a San Francisco Institution: Polly Ann Ice Cream. This was a favorite destination when I first moved to San Franciso in 1983 -- lots of exotic and ordinary flavors too; a complementary cone for the dog (if you had one with you); and a big spinnable wheel marked with not only more than 40 available flavors but also "free" spots (your ice cream was free if you hit one of those spaces). Ah, living dangerously in Ice Cream Land. I'd driven around Noriega and the 20s, then the 30s looking for it with Bianca two weeks ago. Bianca finally spotted it out at the NE corner of Noriega and 38th -- in a new building, but with the same wheel!
The wheel is in the back. Below is a close-up: "Can't decide? Are you 'wheeling' to try for anything?". The catch is that you HAVE to buy whatever flavor the spinner stops at. No forgiveness!
Kris: root beer!
Krisa: sesame seed!
Dianne: ginger!
Yummy!
Happy Birthday, Mr. K! Indeed!
Kris (aka Kuri, his baby name in Japanese, which means little brown chestnut) and his Mom, Krisa
Clear skies after days of rain, so we motored in the Toaster (see the November 27 post) across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco.
Shanghai Dumpling on Balboa at 34th was our destination; dumplings were on our minds.
Luck was with us: there was a parking one space away. The restaurant sported a sign that informed us it was "CLOSED", but we'd called ahead and had been assured that it was open. So in we went after checking ("we called from Berkeley") to find two other tables of people just finishing.
This place is SMALL! Two little rooms, menus only in Chinese on the plain white walls, no heat, supplies visible on the floor in the back, tables jammed in for parties of all sizes -- from a couple to a large family. Ah...steamed chive dumplings and juicy pork potstickers -- both served with a sauce of black vinegar with shredded ginger, steamed thread bread served with a savory-sweet condensed milk dipping sauce, and fried onion cakes. Cheap and delicious eats!
Where to after dumplings? Ice cream, of course!
Down to Ocean Beach where the big waves were crashing in from way out and past the Park... then threading through the Outer Sunset to a San Francisco Institution: Polly Ann Ice Cream. This was a favorite destination when I first moved to San Franciso in 1983 -- lots of exotic and ordinary flavors too; a complementary cone for the dog (if you had one with you); and a big spinnable wheel marked with not only more than 40 available flavors but also "free" spots (your ice cream was free if you hit one of those spaces). Ah, living dangerously in Ice Cream Land. I'd driven around Noriega and the 20s, then the 30s looking for it with Bianca two weeks ago. Bianca finally spotted it out at the NE corner of Noriega and 38th -- in a new building, but with the same wheel!
The wheel is in the back. Below is a close-up: "Can't decide? Are you 'wheeling' to try for anything?". The catch is that you HAVE to buy whatever flavor the spinner stops at. No forgiveness!
Kris: root beer!
Krisa: sesame seed!
Dianne: ginger!
Yummy!
Happy Birthday, Mr. K! Indeed!
posted by Dianne at 9:34 PM
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