Cycle 15 – Item 182

5 (Fri) July 2024

Top Dog Frankfurter

4.0

at Top Dog

-Berkeley, California, USA-

with the Family

Summer Holiday in USA (Day 10 of 11)

• • Day 1 (15.173 Sauteed Pea Sprouts with Garlic)
  • Day 2 (15.174 White Clam Chowder (in a Sourdough Bread Bowl))
  • Day 3 (15.175 Giants Dog)
  • Day 4 (15.176 Prime Rib)
  • Day 5 (15.177 Snow Pea Prawns)
  • Day 6 (15.178 Albacore Tataki)
  • Day 7 (15.179 Chicken Tacos Regular)
  • Day 8 (15.180 Classic Beijing Duck)
  • Day 9 (15.181 Surf (& Turf))
  • Day 10 (15.182 Top)
  • Day 11 (15.183 Turbot Fillet)

In the San Francisco Bay Area.  With the Family.  Their first time in Northern California.  The immediate objective was to escort DJ and three of his friends to compete in the finals of a global logic competition at Stanford University, while taking advantage of the opportunity to show the family my hometown/region, including San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Berkeley, and visit my best friend Hahn, who lives in Los Altos, maybe even drop by my childhood home in Saratoga.  The itinerary is packed, nearly every hour scheduled with activities.  Stay tuned.

After three nights at a hotel in downtown San Francisco, then 4 nights at a rented house in Redwood City, the final 2 nights at Hahn’s place in Los Altos.

TOUR PART I

Spending our last day visiting Berkeley.

For starters, I wanted to see if the apartment where I’d lived was still there.  Turning onto to Haste Street, the address immediately popped into mind: 2218 – if I’d tried to think of it just a minute before, no luck.  It was still there.

LUNCH

Top Dog is an American restaurant.  Specializes in “finely seasoned grilled sausages on French rolls.”  Local landmark – founded 1966.

When I was in college, Top Dog was a daily thing – not really, but seems so in memory.  Open from 10:00 to 02:00 (Sun-Thu) or 03:00 (Fri-Sat), I’d grab one on the way to class, or in between classes, or on the way home, or during a pub crawl or during a late-night cram session.

Amazing, exactly as I remembered it.  The classic Top Dog Frankfurter – or “Top,” as in “I’ll have 2 Tops, please.” – was perfectly burnt to a crisp, perfect snap, perfectly salty and juicy and beefy, topped with my favorite combo of sauerkraut + dark mustard – as per the website “With kraut n’ mustard, please!” (yellow mustard, ketchup, minced onions also available).  I would’ve had more, but I was saving myself for dinner (which didn’t happen as planned).

One thing that I love about America is the continuity, the history, the tradition of even the smallest things – that the hot dog joint that I enjoyed 30 years ago is still around, same location, same menu, same quality.

TOUR PART II

After lunch, I took the family on a quick tour of campus.

Having spent the past few days in and out of Stanford, often described as having one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, I was struck by the contrast at Berkeley, which I found more beautiful by far – and not just because I’m a graduate, and we detest everything about Stanfurd.  The buildings at Cal are more traditional, and more varied in their design – the Spanish-style buildings at Stanford are kinda cute but boring in their uniformity.  The rolling hills make the landscape feel more natural, more dimensional – Stanford is flat.  And the lush greenery, including so many majestic trees, which I’d never noticed as a student, was gorgeous – by comparison, Stanford looks like a desert.

Also notable was the difference in climate.  Largely due to the weather itself, the East Bay (Berkeley) is inherently cooler than the South Bay (Stanford).  But the larger buildings, rolling hills, and big trees made Berkeley feel even more more hospitable, a place to lie down on the grass in the shade and read a book – as I often did, as an English lit major.

Best of all, as hoped, the campus tour generated interest in DJ, who now wants to apply.  In fact, he seems more interested in Cal than Stanford.  I would be extremely proud for DJ to attend Stanford, of course, but I would be proud and pleased if he chose Cal instead.

TOUR PART III

Berkeley didn’t take very long, even after buying Cal merch at the student store, even after shopping for records at Amoeba.

So we decided to visit the Golden Gate Bridge, which we’d overlooked during the San Francisco phase of the trip.

Alas, the famous San Francisco fog was so heavy that the bridge was mostly obscured.

DINNER

The plan had been to eat dinner at Steve’s Korean BBQ in Berkeley, but we’d left early.

So we returned to Los Altos and revisited Chef Chu’s, our favorite restaurant of the trip.

I couldn’t help daydreaming: if DJ were to attend Cal or Stanford, I would visit him once a year, stay with Hahn, and eat every meal at Chef Chu’s.

MIDNIGHT SNACK

Back at Hahn’s, we finished packing, said our goodbyes, and left for the airport to catch our midnight flight to Korea.

The United Polaris Lounge was slick in decor but skimpy on the food and booze, which was kept behind the bar and poured upon order in tiny servings.

From day one to the very end, it was the most exciting, most down-to-earth, most fulfilling, most nostalgic (didn’t get around to visiting my childhood home), most expensive (total estimated cost, not including personal shopping: ₩24,009,231) family vacation ever.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN USA)

(See also BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGING)

(See also BOOZE)