SF Underground Market

We went to the SF Underground Market where we got to sample some some fantastically inventive culinary creations.  In the spirit of pop-up restaurants and the food truck sensation, the underground market is a way to bring backyard and home-kitchen style cooking right to the people, giving aspiring chefs the chance to share their food with the public without needing commercial grade facilities.

Concept-wise the underground market is nothing short of brilliant.  Here's the way it works: Everyone who wants to attend these events has to sign up as a member.  Sign-up is quick and painless, only requiring an email address and acknowledgment of the indemnification agreement.  A date is set and a venue is rented out for the event.  This last time it was held at the Public Works building in the Mission. 

There's a $5 cover charge at the door, and once inside you can pick and choose what kind of food and treats you want to buy.  The different booths had food ranging from $3 - $6, and portion sizes were generous.  We bought several different dishes to share amongst the three of us, and found ourselves happily stuffed after only a handful of different plates. My favorite food of the night was the duck gnocchi, the rabbit stew, and the chocolate and pistachio bread pudding.  The Dungeness Crab tostados looked good too, but there were so many other things we didn't get to try. 



The Public Works building isn't enormous, but the Forage SF crew managed to pack a lot into a small space: two floors of vendors, scattered tables and seating, a stage with a live band, two full bars, and the art gallery (for additional seating), as well as the back patio with outdoor seating and a couple more vendors.  

Come early to avoid the long line that wraps around the building.  And once inside, tag-team the lines to get your food because as the night goes on, the lines only get longer.

Sharktoberfest!

How does shark week and beer go together?  Sharktoberfest! at the Cal Academy of Sciences 
Each week the museum hosts a different theme for the special nightlife program.  This month it was sharks and beer.  The museum opens after hours, which is kind of cool, and admission is only available to those 21 and older.  Patrons get the entire run of the museum, and there are food vendors and bars set up around random exhibits--think club night for the intellectual crowd.

My roommate, Courtney, and I had a good time exploring all the exhibits, handling starfish in the marine touch-tank, trying to figure out where all the shark displays were, getting freaked out by the albino alligator--all while enjoying some nice craft beer...For a shark week theme, we couldn't find too many exhibits relating to sharks (I think we counted 2). It was the one disappointment of the night.



Admission for nightlife is only $12, compared to the normal day price of $20 for adults.  It's actually a brilliant business plan--charging a low cover and raising the premium on drinks-- which is exactly what they did.  Eight dollar beers, eleven dollar wine, food was reasonable though--I'm sure they made a killing!  

Still, it's fun exploring the museum at night--another one of those activities that are uniquely San Franciscan...

The Concrete Luge

I'm loving San Francisco and all of its quirky surprises.  Nestled in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood is a hidden park with two concrete slides carved into the hillside.  The Seward Street Slides are so unexpected--a rare urban delight that you don't expect to find in litigious America.  Because of its clandestine location (you won't find it unless you're looking for it), its unknown to most San Franciscans, and the park's nearby residents would probably prefer to keep it that way.  Too bad the secret's already out. Sorry, nearby neighbors.  I discovered it while doing a search for interesting things to do in the city.  There's already a fan following on Yelp.

In need of a study break, I met Cait for lunch and suggested that we try to find these concrete slides. She had no idea what I was talking about, and she's lived in the city for years.  I only had a vague idea of where the slides were (and secretly doubted their existence), so we stopped a couple of times to ask for directions from some friendly locals.  Cait was a little skeptical when the directions kept leading us up and further up the steep hills with no sign of any park or slides.  It was a trek, but worth it when we finally found them.  Part of the slides attraction is the tucked away location that makes you feel like you've stumbled onto a little secret. 

There are scraps of cardboard cut from boxes left in a pile of sand for you to ride on, or you can BYO cardboard.  We also found plastic McDonald's trays that people left behind for riding, and even a metal baking pan, if you're feeling really adventurous.  It's pure reckless fun--the kind that makes you feel like you are six again.  

The slides are deceptively fast.  People sometimes hurt themselves having too much fun.  A little boy actually warned us of its dangers, telling us about his older sister who had to wear a scarf for a month because of a cement burn she got on her neck.  "It's dangerous, you can get really hurt," he said with wide eyes.  Still, how could we resist?  The two slides just beg to be, well, slided on...And since there are two, you can race your friends.   



So if you're looking to get reacquainted with your inner child, or just want to look for something different to do in the city, the slides are worth a visit.  But be conscious of the posted signs about the noise (for the neighbors' consideration), and know that they cite people if you try to slide after hours.  The park is only open from 9am - 5pm, which is a rule that the neighbors make sure is enforced.  I guess if I lived there, I wouldn't want all kinds of drunk crazies trekking to my neighborhood to ride the slides at 2am either. 

How to get there?  The slides are located on Seward and Douglass.  It can be accessed from 20th Ave,  which is very walkable from the Castro neighborhood if you're willing to brave the hike up into the San Francisco hills.