June 21: sunny skies once again in San Francisco

Dear Friends and Relatives,

These cooler temperatures, cloudless skies and light breezes could spoil a person forever!  And this morning, as we were reading our emails and perusing FB, we ran across a list of the 10 best restaurants in SF.  One appealed especially, and we took Maureen's car to Glen Park, where we caught BART to the Civic Center, where we joined lots of people coming and going.  Our goal: Zuni Café, opened in 1979.  It won the James Beard Foundation Award for " Outstanding Restaurant" in 2003.  It is located in a triangular flatiron building dating to 1913.  Billy West, who founded it, plastered the interior to look like adobe and named the café after the Zuni, one of the indigenous Pueblo people of Arizona and New Mexico.  

Our meal, which we shared, was excellent: avocado crostini with greens, pickled vegetables, and olive oil; and a bowl of polenta with mascarpone.  For dessert we wandered further to the City Hall and Arts District area and stopped by the Christopher Elbow chocolaterie, where we had four piece of chocolate: raspberry, chai, chocolate, and coffee, all of which were amazing.  

From there we took a subway back to Glen Park, then retrieved the car and drove to the Twin Peaks, 922 ft. in elevation.  Originally, it was called "Los Pechos de la Choca" ("Breasts of the Maiden") by early Spanish settlers.  These two adjacent peaks provide postcard views and a treasure trove of animal and plant diversity.  There is a 180-degree view of the Bay Area from there, and we were able to see the coastal scrub and grassland communities of this 64-acre park, giving us an idea of how SF's hills and peaks looked before grazing and development changed them.  

We are back at home now, and will grab a small bite to eat in a few minutes before going to the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, where Maureen will have an MRI to determine the cause of discomfort in the right shoulder and neck.  I will go with her; her appointment is for 8:00, and by the time we get out of that, it may be too late to write a coherent report of the day.  Here's the best to Maureen for a speedy and painless recovery from her shoulder/neck issue!  As ever, Sylvia