Ahhh, the Civic Center

When I tell people in SF that I work in the Civic Center, they assume I work for the state. What I mean to tell them is that my office is in the square that makes up the Civic Center. To which they reply, "oh, so you work in the Tenderloin." Then I tell them that I work at the Orpheum Theatre, to which they respond "oh! can you get me tickets to Wicked?" No, I can't.

My point is, working in the Civic Center/Tenderloin ain't as bad as it seems. If you can get passed the homeless people sleeping on top of the vent outside my office entrance, the crack heads yelling about Jesus, the panhandlers with creative signs that say "I bet you $1 you read this sign," the area has a lot to offer. And I must admit, the weirdos give it even more character.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, there is a wonderful farmers market in the U.N. Plaza every Wednesday. On Thursdays and Fridays, there is an incredibly awesome bazaar with really cheap jewelry (I'm talking two dollars for a beaded bracelet and a pair of earrings), black market cell phone accessories, a wide variety of beautiful pashminas, a hat stand... it's like a mini outdoor flea market. One day I had to buy some crystals for this window display we were doing for The Phantom of the Opera, and i bought 20 or so hanging crystals from a guy at the bazaar for like $10.

On sunny days, it's really nice to sit outside in the Civic Center plaza and eat your lunch and read a book. They recently put an outdoor soup stand nearby as well. And it makes for really good hobo watching. And if it's a rainy day, you can go to the Asian Art Museum for $6 with your old college i.d. or duck into the library and peruse the dusty shelves.

While we have our fair share of fast food restaurants nearby (MacDonald's, Burger King, Carl's Jr., and my all time favorite: Subway), there are a bunch of mom-and-pop places to get your lunch fix too. There is a fantastic Mediterranean place that sells the best kebab wraps I've tasted outside of Greece. There's also a little cafe called Sam's that makes omelettes for those days I'm just too hungover to eat yogurt and berries. And a fantastic little "New York Deli" just up the street. I'm usually not a fan of places that include the words "New York" in them if they're in fact, not in New York, but this place is the real deal. And if I'm in the mood to throw down $14 for a gourmet salad, I can walk down the street to Urban Harvest where the woman behind the counter once yelled at me for talking on the phone and trying to use a debit card at the same time. We're friends now though, so it's chill.

All in all, even though I'm sure there are plenty of fantastic neighborhoods in this city to work in, some of which might be considered far better than the sketchy Tenderloin/Civic Center - there are many reasons (more than the ones I've listed) that I am quite content with my 8 blocks of eclectic lunch time activities. And if it gets to the point where I just can't deal with it anymore, BART is right downstairs and I can shoot on over to the mall and buy myself something pretty. Or take a short bus ride to Hayes Valley and pretend I'm on Greenwich Ave (the one in CT, not NYC). Or catch the J line to Dolores park and bask in the sun. The possibilities are endless!