While it might be an apt title for how I have felt on occasion over the last few months - it is in fact the name of a restaurant I found while in San Francisco for my MRI, CT Scan and immunotherapy infusion. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The morning of Wednesday, May 28 came early. 2:30 AM. Had to get up and get ready for my drive to SF for my upcoming appointments. Probably could have slept slightly later but the middle of the night is the middle of the night. And I am not a run for the gate type of person. Traffic of course but the drive was uneventful. Made it to the hospitial at 1101 Van Ness in plenty of time. Early actually. Read my book. After several hours of being in a tube the procedures were complete and I was free to go.
I drove to the Marina District where my daughter, Gina, son-in-law, Steven and most importantly our 3 month old grandson Luca reside. Found a parking spot not far from their house. Proceeded to stroll down Chestnut in the direction of Super Duper. Not really feeling a hamburger since we had barbecued over Memorial Da weekend - but a strong back up. About 2 or 3 storefronts down from Super Duper but on the other side of the street was Cracked and Battered. Great news! I was wanting breakfast and it was only 10:30 AM. I had been up for 8 hours and only piece of raisin bread.
I ordered a cup of coffee. Delicious. A good start. Mela and I like our coffee. I did not need to look at the menu long. Eggs Benedict with fried chicken and biscuits. So good. The chicken was tender and moist, lightly battered and seasoned and fried to perfection, the biscuits had just enough crisp to hold up to the hollandaise sauce and perfect soft center poached eggs.
Appetite satiated I head back to the kids house, Casa Benvenuto. I was greeted by Steven and Luca. Gina was downstairs working from home. A good visit with Steven and precious time with Luca. He is such a happy baby. Just chilled for the afternoon. Steven and Gina had some prearranged dinner plans which was fine.
I wandered down to Lil Original Joe’s. Original Joe’s is in North Beach but have opened a Lil Original Joe’s on Chestnut. I had been there twice with the kids and Mela. Great environment, great service and great food. I had tried the chicken parmesan and amazing. Also had the ravioli with meat sauce. The ravioli’s were pillows of perfection and you could put the meat sauce on a shoe. So good.
Anyway there was a seat at the bar with my name on it. Ordered a vodka martini. Which is now much more of a treat than a staple. After nursing my drink I ordered the ravioli with meat sauce and a glass of chianti. What came out from the kitchen was discouraging at best. Virtually no meat sauce and ravioli looked a little tired. Asked the bartender for some meat sauce. Took forever. Meat sauce was lukewarm and ravioli were chewy.
I shared this with my bartender and she said something. Told her I was not looking for excuses just wanted her to know. After a few minutes she did offer a free dessert - which I accepted and upon receiving my bill she had comped the wine. Which was all good but really just wanted the ravioli that I had eagerly anticipated.
Made my way back to Casa Benvenuto and had a wonderful evening, The next morning was an appointment with my oncologist and my infusion. Good news for me and hopefully for most - my MRI and CT scan results were alrady in and came back clean. Good for a few more miles. After a brief visit with the Dr I made my way to the cancer center where way too many people are getting there chemo or like me - there immunotherapy. With that completed it was time for one more meal before heading home. The Taco Bar on Filmore it is. A brief walk from the medical complex. One grilled fish taco and one grilled shrimp taco. All seasoned and cooked to perfection.
Being able to stay with the kids and finding great little places to nourish my body and soul make this journey far more palatable. So grateful.
Stay Strong, Be Kind, Be Humble and God Bless!