Since we’ve moved to Pacifica, Victor and I have started taking BART into the city and wandering, semi-aimlessly, around various neighborhoods. Last weekend we checked out the Castro. Yesterday we explored the area around the Civic Center.

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Got off at the Civic Center stop and headed up Market for a little while. The stretch of Market right by the BART stop is pretty ghetto, but after a few blocks we got into an interesting bit. We stopped in at a travel bookstore and bought a Lonely Planet guide to British Columbia, since we’re planning a road trip to Vancouver Island in August. Spun around once we realized we were about to overlap with our stroll around the Castro last week, and stopped in the Zuni Cafe for a bit of liquid refreshment. I had a Manhattan, made with Maker’s Mark. I had never tried a Manhattan with Maker’s before and found it quite good- the Maker’s complements the cherry flavor in the vermouth nicely. Victor had Grey Goose with grapefruit juice, on the suggestion of the bartender when Victor asked for “something refreshing with Grey Goose”. I think he was hoping for something a little more creative, but he said he enjoyed his drink nonetheless.

As we were sipping our beverages, we noticed a commotion at the other end of the bar, and like good bar patrons we flocked to the scene of the excitement. There was a fire on the 5th floor of the building next door, which was undergoing renovation. It looked like one of the plywood forms had caught fire somehow. It was a pretty small fire, but tricky to get to. Four firetrucks pulled up and we left as the firemen were assessing the situation.

Continuing on our journey, we turned up Franklin, more non-descript ghetto stuff, then down Hayes, which has apparently burgeoned into a little enclave of trendy stores and restaurants within the past fifteen years or so. It’s right near the symphony and the opera house, which probably accounts for much of its popularity: as we wandered past the Hayes Street Grill we saw a line of symphony-dressed folks waiting for tables. The bar/restaurant Absinthe and the restaurant/bakery Citizen Cake are in this neighborhood too. We thought to pick up some treats at Citizen Cake, but we were both hungry enough that the thought of something sugary wasn’t appealing.  We then flirted with the idea of stopping in Absinthe and ordering a couple of small plates and a couple of glasses of wine, but realized that this would undoubtedly result in us dropping fifty bucks or so on a small snack, and decided to just go hungry for another hour or so instead.

We turned onto Grove St. to walk by City Hall, the UN Plaza, and all those big, grand, landmarky buildings around that area.  We briefly stopped in the SF Public Library, but didn’t really look around much: it seemed to be closing when we got there at around 6pm. So, back to the BART station and Pacifica.