16.222 DeliciousHot Dog

Cycle 16 – Item 222

Post 5,701

15 (Fri) August 2025

DeliciousHot Dog

2.0

by Magi de Jesus

-San Francisco, California, USA-

with DJ, HL

Sending the Kid Off to College (The Cal Handover): Day 2 of 8

In the San Francisco Bay Area.  MISSION: transition DJ into his new life as a freshman at the University of California – aka Cal (to those who know) aka UC Berkeley (to those who don’t): sign up for a local mobile phone number, open a checking account, buy pillows for his dorm room.  After that fateful visit to Berkeley last summer, which I’d dared to hope would inspire DJ to apply later that fall, then get accepted and enroll in the spring – meanwhile, prdonating to the Buddha for Academic Achievement (see 13.094 Just Regular Eomuk), asking a priest for his blessing (see 15.256 Pretty Jeon), erecting a shrine to the Golden Bear Gods (see 16.082 Kongnamul Scallop Guk), and delivering a presentation to steer him in the right direction (see 16.083 Tangsuyuk) – the dream came true.  A graduate of Cal myself – Go Bears! – I look forward to buying a “Cal Dad” t-shirt.

4 nights at Hahn’s, 2 nights at Berkeley, 1 final night back at Hahn’s.

LUNCH

Now with a checking account in his name, DJ is at last a functioning member of American society, officially on the grid, not just a US passport holder.

Spider Roll (3.5) + California Roll (3.0) + Spicy Tuna Roll (3.5) + Negihamamaki (3.0)

Everything on this trip will seem to hold some kind of significance.

Recreating the pose from last time, sort of (see generally 15.178 Albacore Tataki).

The bank just happened to be down the street from MJ Sushi, one of our favorite restaurants on the last trip (see generally 15.176 Prime Rib).

ENTERTAINMENT

Like last year, we were fortunate for the Giants to be in town this weekend, playing the Tampa Bay Rays.

At bat, Korean superstar Junghoo Lee (who hadn’t played in the game last year) – clearly the fan favorite, the only player to get his name chanted by the crowd as he comes to the plate – he went 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Coors Banquet (2.0): as bland as a Korean beer.
To avoid this mess, Hahn informed me of a hack: apply the condiments then rotate the hotdog so that the condiments go inside of the bun – will try next time the opportunity presents.

Good game, even if it ended in a heartbreaking loss.  Tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 8th, the Giants loaded the bases with no outs.  Giants catcher Patrick Bailey lined a scorcher up the middle, which likely would’ve scored 2 runs if it had gone through, but Rays shortstop Haseong Kim made an amazing diving catch to preserve the tie.  Interestingly, Lee was on 2nd base at the time, and the 2 Korean players, who had played together in the KBO on the Kiwoom Heroes, were seen chatting just before the play.  The next 2 Giants ground out to end the inning.  The Rays went ahead 7-6 in the top of the 9th and held the lead to win the game.

MIDNIGHT SNACK

The right field side of Oracle Park – with McCovey Cove in the near background, below Levi’s Landing.
I’ve never seen them sold by anyone other than a Mexican/Latina woman, as was the case tonight.

Back when I was in law school, we’d go clubbing in downtown LA, emerging around 02:00 (when the clubs stopped serving booze) to find a line of hotdog stands, all offering one item, the same item: hotdogs wrapped in bacon, topped with grilled onions and peppers.  I recall with great fondness how good they were, or seemed, in light of our inebriation.

$10 x 2 hotdogs, plus $5 tip = $25.

Not as good as I remembered.  The bacon was kinda dry.  The sausage was bland.  The onions and pepper were greasy.  I wasn’t at all drunk, hence the more objective experience, casting into doubt my memories of the hotdogs outside of clubs in LA.

I’m assuming “Magi de Jesus” was the vendor’s name, as seen on the phone screen at frame right, presumably on display to receive Zelle/Venmo payments.

(See RESTAURANTS IN USA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See BOOZE)

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