San Francisco - Diners & ChinaTown - Rosie and The Operator

Seated on the plane ready to go and bravely facing a 12 hour flight with the promise that I wouldn’t moan to the Operator too much, we nearly didn’t get off the ground! We were buckled in, on the runway all ready to go…..when the pilot said that we were going back to the stand as there ‘technical abnomilies’ he wanted to get checked out, don’t be alarmed ladies and gentlemen while I gun the engine a few times…cool, a faulty plane….and it was still proving faulty an hour and a half later as we waited in our seats….Oh yes, we sat and sat…..Rosie was fair moaning to the Operator and we hadn’t even left the country!

Arriving in the USA and facing US Customs is very serious, they do not joke, or smile, or chat…..its very serious. There are absolutely no bio security restrictions and there were planeloads of Asians piling in….you so know they have their cases full of nuts, seeds, weird animals, uncooked food and eggs with yummy chicken foetuses in them. NZ you do a great job in keeping those misfits in check! We got our passports stamped, our fingerprints digitally taken from both hands and mugshots taken….surreal, I asked if they would be permanently on record….they are. Wow, big computer for Big Brother.

After a forty min drive into town, (they have it sorted here), there were traffic jams galore for Joe everybody but buses and taxi’s have their own lane and we fair flew into town. We arrived at our hotel, The Handlery Union Square. http://sf.handlery.com/default.aspx?pg=gallery
A nicely refurbished old style place with plenty of character, a good amount of space and an enormous bed beckoning me. We had a freshen up and hit the streets before I could succumb to a snooze.

The Operator was after a nice cold beer and we came across Lori’s Diner, totally hokey and totally cool, the 60s refit seemed totally….well from the 60s. The two tone leather booths had their own personal

jukeboxes and even coat hooks. Teenagers were hanging out on dates and making eyes at each other over milkshakes. It was cooooool. Plus the beer was cold and the nachos were excellent! We were watching other patrons to see what they did with their bill as we were agonising over how to pay….being our first tipping experience and all. No one left a tip on the table they all seemed to be going straight to the cashier. I asked for the cheque, and let out a sigh of relief, no guess work here, or mathematics needed, the tax was included and they had a ‘Gratuity Example’ calculated on the bottom at either 18 or 20%…..no misunderstandings there. Back at the hotel it was still early….the bed was looking mighty fine….but as it was only 5.00pm we thought we would go for a walk up the road to Chinatown.

Chinatowns are Chinatowns the whole world over….they are crammed and packed full of….Chinese. The junk shops, the eateries, the herbalists, mah jong players, lanterns and old people playing squeaky instruments. This Chinatown is the most densely populated suburb in the States out of Manhattan, it covers 22 blocks and houses a community that was established in 1849 for the gold rush and the building of the railways. Most people that live here earn under $10,000 per year…..