Dolores Park | Shikha la mode

If there ever were an era to demonstrate the powerful ethereal diversity of San Francisco, this was it.

It’s been a historic past few days. Beginning with the strike-down of DOMA, people of all different genders, colors, and sexualities have lit up the city like never before. Such energy is unparalleled, and it makes me so proud to call myself a resident of this great place and to be present at a time of such monumental change. Fifty years from now, textbooks will be writing about the flying rainbows and the boundless smiles captured in this millennial zeitgeist.

History being made at Dolores Park, and being loud and proud with my bestie – friends since freshman year of college!

Happiness had no borders with the weather and the food this weekend either. With the mercury topping 80 degrees (unheard of in this foggy hood), rooftop bars, pitchers of celebration, and neighborhood pop-ups ruled. So let the energy unleash, because the summer of love never rang so true.

Stayin’ fly under rainbow skies.

Goin’ up

Oh hay SF

Starting the weekend strong at one of the city’s few rooftop bars. While normally I wouldn’t dare venture outside into the cloudy depths of the San Francisco night, El Techo de Lolinda does patio drinking right, and when the sun doesn’t set until 9pm, there is no place else I’d rather be.

Excellent guacamole, tangy ceviche, and reasonably priced margaritas (I’ll have a pitcher to myself, thank you very much) complemented the breezy evening nicely. Although packed, the line to get inside moves quickly. The waitstaff is picky about adding people to your table, so make sure to befriend them early on so they can let in your later additions by radioing them in, VIP-style.

Boogaloos, a frequent member of the “best brunch” list, popped up in Upper Haight this past weekend to give us neighborhood kids a taste of their desayuno. I love pop-ups because they encourage exploration of new places and foods that I would normally not think of visiting. They represent a camaraderie in the food business, as one restaurant shares their kitchen with another in the name of activating new customers with new palates.

If you’re in in a post-tequila state of mind like I was, the huevos rancheros and biscuits with (vegetarian!) gravy were fit to cure any hangover, although their bottomless mimosas activate the shampoo effect. Calm it down with some coffee from Flywheel Coffee Roasters, another neighborhood joint, and then get thee to Dolores Park for Pride festivities stat.

DP chillin’

Hey, remember that week when the weather was so nice that we sat in the park for 6 hours and wore shorts until 11pm?

Remember when this was the best week ever? No? Let’s change that.

No week is complete without a little happy hour whiskey time. And Sazeracs too, which I am just now discovering. Nihon Whisky Lounge is the Mecca of the liquor. And good food too!

First off – it’s May! That means flowers (showers are over, right?), BBQs, and the over-hyped yet staple “holiday” of Mexico’s Non-Independence that is Cinco de Mayo. For the first few days of the month, restaurants, work catering, and my culinary thoughts are south of the border.

That’s how I casser-roll.

On the home front, that translated to a chilequiles casserole – a healthy dish loaded with veggies (although it could stand to be loaded up even more), tomato sauce, corn tortillas, and a ~~sprinkling~~ fatty handful of cheese. Check out the recipe here. It keeps for more than a week and makes a great lunch for work.

My comida quest led me into food truck territory to rediscover how amazing Mexican food is, especially when it has a California twist. Read: French fries in a burrito. Oh yes. Thank you Senor Sisig for spearheading the lunchtime culture-clash amazingness.

And then there’s this weather. When the temperature is above 70 degrees, San Francisco ceases to be productive in lieu of being outdoors. This rhetorical city-wide state of being is one of the things that makes the Bay so glorious. While other cities (Los Angeles, I’m looking at you) bask in warm weather nearly everyday, we yearn to experience it more often, so when we have the opportunity, we appreciate the fuck out of it.

Dolores Park artwork is always transitory yet resilient. I love the Monopoly throwback.

As the weekend fast approaches (but not fast enough), I smile ear-to-ear for fortunate happenings such as these that make me appreciate how awesome life can be. As my chocolate cake flan (yes this is a thing, recipe next week!) cools, I leave you with a quote from my favorite DJ who I danced to until 4am and whose sig I snagged (remember how I said this was the best week ever?).