Queenkv’s Brainpickings

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Mark gets this Loteria Cabal newsletter about cool, creative, artsy, wacky, underground events taking place in San Francisco. Our first semi-date was on a Thirftstore Olympics Game, organized by this group…I belieb it has its roots from Harry and The San Francisco Cacophony Society.

“Bangkok in Berkeley” was the name of the event. part 1 of my loteria cabal adventure involved Thai food and a Buddhist Temple…

Part 2 took place at Tilden Park. Most of our crew was dressed up as cowboy. After driving up to a spot, high up in the Berkeley Hills, we parked our cars to the side and everybody whipped out their water guns. Chu wanted to hijack the steam train that traveled through that neck of the park.

We found an opening in the fence and we headed for the tracks….we noted that the site lacked any “DO NOT TRESSPASS” signs….the park is open for everyone, yes?

As we pondered how to stage the train bandit scene - a conductor found us wandering in the bushes…he’s a friendly guy and he radioed our location to his boss, Ellen. We explained what we wanted to do and he led us through the tunnel and to a clearing where we could do our thing. When the train came around, the crew errupted into chaotic noise and yippe-ya-yahs and faking gun noises….Chu had the man in black tied up. The kids on the train were thrilled. They totally got their $1.75 worth!

Then the friendly conductor led us to the owner, Ellen - and she was pissed. She tersely explained that it’s a federal offense to tresspass and fool around on train tracks, no matter how small…..and with a sigh, she said she wouldn’t call the police. I kept my mouth shut and I tried to still the panic creeping up into my psyche. Harry, the smooth operator, apologized for our foolishness and thanked her for her understanding. We were escorted from the premises….

Folks now wanted to ride the train. So Harry checked in with Ellen to see if that’s ok - she said sure, as long as we kept our hands and feet inside the train….

So the train bandits bought a ticket….and road the train.

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It’s a lovely, sunny day….and I woke up around 1:30 pm…..heck, I had a 6-9 AM dj shift at kalx and I needed some shut-eye.

On a whim and some hope for fancy, we drove up to Napa….Without traffic - it took us an hour to get there…..we were impressed because the last time we attempted the trip, for an outdoor shakespeare festival - it took us 3 hours….stupid mapquest directions
Our first stop was for gas and cash….we were in Yountville and the Vintage 1870 shopping center always caught my eye from the 29 highway. Without any real plans, except for some wine tasting, we took a look. I suppose, if you’re an art collector - this would be a treat for you. But for mark and me, two yuppies on a budget… we were board. I was really disappointed with the vintage 1870 wine cellar…the sales lady was quite frigid with us. I was surprised, because I’ve only experienced nothing but sweet hospitality, when I visited Napa….I guess she figured us for yuppies with a budget. I found a bottle of port in there going for $500….we left the store

We had the munchies and I remembering seeing Gordon’s - across the street from the gas station. It looked cute and un-snotty….and we were just looking for a snack.

The kitchen was closed but we snagged a banana nut muffin, a huge bowl of coffee, a rosemary chipolte bread loaf, and some goat cheese (at the suggestion of the cashier). Yummy! I also had a glass of their Pinot Noir….it being Napa and all….we sat out on the porch, sipping wine and caffeine. It was relaxing….

Our next challenge was to find a winery open at 5 pm….Much to our disappointment, Mondavi was closed. But we found Peju. They’re open till 6pm and for $5 - you get four samples of wine….the tasting fee is waived if you buy a bottle of wine. I enjoyed their 2001 Chardonnay - light, crisp, nutty…..According to the wine guy at the bar - 90% of their business is from direct sales at this vineyard.

I was pleased we managed to fit a wine tasting into this later afternoon drive…but I was hungrier….so, we turned around and headed for downtown Napa. Gosh, this place looked empty at 6:00 pm! Lot’s of stores closed down and we concluded that it must be an adorable place to browse, during the daytime…We were looking for simple and down-to-earth grub - Downtown Joe’s fit the bill.

this is from their menu:
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Unpretentious, friendly and fun. Your neighborhood pub is always open. We welcome all species (including K-9) migratory and indigenous to the Napa Valley. Our mission is your satisfaction.

Screw the wine…I needed my dirty martini! (with 4 olives) Mark opted for the beer sampler - 8 4pt glasses of their finest brews…We also chowed down to their Buffalo NY 12899 - 12 for $8.99 “Served the traditional Upstate New York way” - First of all, he found the “12899″ to be stupid…if they were trying to imitate a NY zip code, they failed miserably. Plus, a native Buffalo dude, he wanted to taste for himself their claim to “Upstate New York” taste. It was. Apparently, it has something to do with the crispiness of the skin…..

I had the New England Steam Pot - $11.29 -
Fresh clams, shrimp and mussels steamed in a white wine, herbed tomato broth.

also yummy…but I didn’t like the skin left on the shrimp. Only a few places can get the skin-shrimp cooking right, and this wasn’t one of them. It was not crunchy and it was unpleasant to eat. Plus I didn’t want to dirty my hands with peeling the skin off.

It was a lovely time in Napa.

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After my yoga class at the RSF (which was completely packed with too many students, desparate to meet their New Year’s resolution - we probably won’t see them on the floor, the same time, next month), mark and i headed down to the corner of Russel and MLK for some Thai Food and Loteria mischief.

With some good parking karma - we crosses the intersection to the Thai Buddhist Temple Mongholratanaram. It smelled great.

One thing to note - it’s DAMN crowded in there. Most folks end up on the the temple’s front lawn, with their plates of rice, curry, and more….On a nice sunny day, it’s an ideal picnic.

Now, on to the next task - getting the food - here are a few pointers:
1. pick up your tokens first. $1 = one token. These silver pieces is the only currency accepted for the dishes….according to one volunteer (and everyone, the cashiers, the cooks, and more are all volunteering for this once-a-week event) this system is easier on the cooks and the other food preparers…One other thing to note - they buy their tokens back - so if you have any leftover, exchange them for American currency.

2. Decide which food is important to you - got a curry craving? Then hit that line first. Last Sunday, it was the longest and most popular. There’s a curry line, a noodle line, a mango salad line, a fried chicken and rice line, and a few others….The fried chicken was crispy and greasy and oh sooo good. For 5 tokens, you get a one plate of chicken and one plate of rice. That certainly filled me up. We also tried these green-onion coconut pieces and coconut pancakes (this is my horrid English translation…I’m sorry). They were running out of food, by around 12:45 or so….I was lucky to grab this combination snack - the coconut pancakes were fried-up, sweet and crispy. I enjoyed the green-onion bites - however, I don’t think they fried them long enough, because they got a bit runny.

3. Thai Ice Coffee and Tea - one token - and totally perfect for washing down the curry and chicken and tofu and well, just about anything.

I know my dad would love this place….I’m half tempted to make it my Sunday morning ritual…

on to:
part 2 of my loteria adventure…

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