Noe Hill Market

This morning while Vida was at a play date Victor and I had some time together. It was a lovely drizzly morning and after dropping Vida off we went to get a muffin and some coffee at Peets’s on Market Street. We landed at Peet’s after getting our favorite chocolate muffin from Sweet Inspiration a couple of doors down. Victor was still wearing his pajamas but had put on his red car rain boots. We hung out on the bench for a while watching the crowd and looking out the window.

On the way home I remembered that we didn’t have any milk or half and half so I thought it a perfect opportunity to visit a corner store. I found parking near the Noe Hill Market on 19th. I’ve been to this store a few times before and it is not one of your dysfunctional corner stores. We walked in the store and the owner immediately starting chatting with Victor. He asked him if he wanted a banana and when he finally got a quiet “yes” he went over to his small produce shelf by the front door and chose a “good one”. He started peeling it and handed it to Victor explaining that he needed to grab it by the peel in case his hands were dirty. Poor Victor didn’t really want a banana—it’s amazing to think that graciousness could appear so early or maybe he was just surprised by the attention.

Actually needing to buy something hasn’t been the norm on these excursions so after chatting with the owner and checking the 49’ers score and the fully functional coffee area we headed back to the coolers. I was so pleasantly surprised to see all the groceries on the neatly arranged metro shelving that I had to take a picture. The milk cooler had some nearly dated half and half that I avoided but it also had a full shelf of organic milk. I picked out some organic half and half and a half gallon of milk. I also chose a 24 oz. Red Stripe in a bottle even though it was 10 a.m. and went up to the register.

While I was paying I commented that he had a nice market and he nodded appreciatively. I was trying to strike up a conversation so I went on about how so many markets look like nobody actually works in them. This was clearly an interesting topic for him. He motioned toward a wall of wine bottles and the liquor bottles behind him and said that if you keep them dusted they reflect the light. He went on to say that while he didn’t have everything he had most of the necessities a customer would need. He didn’t understand markets that didn’t stock the shelves because they said they didn’t have any customers—they didn’t have any customers because they didn’t stock the shelves. . . I felt like I had met a kindred spirit—and I’m sure he could have gone on all morning. While I was chatting Victor was looking into the ice cream freezer at the register. He decided he wanted a Popsicle and picked out two mango ones, “one for Via” he said in his disarmingly cute way. We paid and went on our way. This was one corner store I wish was closer to our corner.

Victor’s Treat—a banana and mango Popsicle Beer of the Day—24 oz Red Stripe in the Bottle