PARTS OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

It was his second to the last day in the city, he had been here last year and at that time due to family issues he didn't have as much time to enjoy and explore. I had gone out to the front steps for a smoke where he was doing likewise. He's my landlady's stepson from New York. So he's staying downstairs.

He made sure to tell me to convey his thank yous to my apartment mate for the croissants from Juniper which she had brought over. My apartment mate is a very considerate woman, whereas I am, most of the time, a casual and downright insensitive dude. I am glad that after all these years she still associates with me. She picked me up from the hospital both times (coronary stent, appendectomy), which pissed off her boy friend at the time, but she had done the same for him (panic attack, wheelchair malfunctions, idiot health nut dietarily induced ailment), and eventually broke up with him, so hey. Whatever.
She tends to gift people eaties. Very nice.


I guess it's obvious I didn't get along with her now ex boyfriend.
That's probably my problem, and we shan't discuss it.
She tolerates human frailty better than I do.

Which makes me wonder why all the dysfunctional stuffed animals live in my room, and all the sane and capable "roomies" stay on her side of the apartment. How did that happen? How did I end up with the German raccoon who went to Heidelberg and the hippopotamus who false-remembers that he and I used to rob banks together? Or Lennie the tentacled cardshark who lives under my bed? How odd.

Anyway, the croissants from Juniper (1401 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109. Pastry chef Amy Chen) are absolutely stellar. They're the best I've had since coming back to the United States by a mile. Humongously excellent. Might make me a morning person again.

They're also close enough to the apartment that I could walk there before lighting up the first pipe of the day.


My friend the bookseller has the Caffe Trieste around the corner from him, I have Juniper around the corner from me. There are excellent claypot rice (煲仔飯), roast duck (燒鴨) and siu yiuk (燒肉), pizzerias and pasta places (意大利菜) in between. Plus Anthony Bourdain's favourite burger (漢堡包) in San Francisco. As well as the gâteau St-Honoré and fabulous dumplings. It's a wonder that none of us are fat.

It's probably the San Francisco hills. It makes people lean and wiry.
All that exercise is good for the appetite.



Now, what I should really like is a place two or three blocks away that started seving jook and phở (粥同河粉) early in the morning, with good strong Hong Kong style milk tea (港式奶茶) and Vietnamese coffee (越南咖啡). Perhaps on the corner of an alley, so that a man could light up his pipe at the tables there without getting screamed at.



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