Day 2: Donuts and burritos and pears. Oh my!

EAT:
I don't like donuts. I know, I know they are fried and covered with sugar: what's not to like? But I can't help it. The Krispy Kreme phenomenon was lost on me. I only go into Dunkin Donuts to use the bathroom. Give me a cookie, a brownie, ice cream or pie. Just please don't make me eat donuts.

Unless of course they are Dynamo Donuts. This place came highly recommended. I was told stories of people traveling more than an hour to get donuts at the lone location just to be turned away as they were sold out by 10:30am. With this type of recommendation, and the fact that it was conveniently located near the apartment I stayed at my first night, I dutifully looked up the address and put it in my mental filing cabinet.

Like most things that I file away in this manner, I misplaced the information. I was convinced that it was located just a block away from the 24th and mission subway stop. Walking with purpose toward the BART, I caught a whiff of warm sweetness emanating from a coffee shop. I stopped in my tracks and thought to myself that I would abandon my breakfast plans to order something from this unassuming, roadside eatery. As I backtracked, I made out the words on the awning - it was Dynamo Donuts. I accidentally found what I was looking for.

Decisiveness is not my strong point, so I purchased two donuts. The lemon pistachio, which looked interesting and innovative to me, and the spiced chocolate, which I was told was the most popular choice. I had the lemon pistachio first and I thought it was OK. Probably one of the better donuts I have had, but a donut just the same. But then I bit into the spiced chocolate, and it was like a whole new world opened up for me. Dusted with cinnamon, nutmeg, (possibly cloves), it was as comforting as a mug of hot chocolate in the middle of snowstorm.

Lunch had a lot to live up to, and yet, it managed to surpass my expectations. Burritos in the Mission district of San Francisco are famous for their fattiness, heartiness, yummy goodness and, of course, their true Mexican flavor. They are the kinds of places that aren't afraid to cook their beans in lard and slap on sour cream with gusto. But there is also another popular type of burrito in the Bay area that sacrifices some authenticity for a uniquely California twist of fresh, local farmers market ingredients. We went to Picoso Taqueria, which squarely falls in the second camp. On the recommendation of the friendly owner, I ordered the shrimp super burrito (filled with rice, sour cream, black beans and guacamole). I watched as they hand-pressed our flour tortillas, and yet I was still astounded by the light, smooth-textured taste of it.

Following lunch, we got cupcakes from Love at First Bite. It was pitched to me as having the best cupcakes my friend has had (and she's a native New Yorker). I ordered the strawberry cupcake. And I will admit that the first bite was like an explosion of strawberries in my mouth. It tasted as if it were made with buckets and buckets of fresh strawberries. However, in the end, it was a bit on the sweet side for me.

Then we went to the farmer's market were I sampled home-made conserves (not to be confused with jam, which apparently is made with 50% sugar), ripe pears and creamy yogurt. I was on the edge of feeling like I couldn't eat anymore when I purchased an oyster that made me feel like I dived to the depths of the Pacific Ocean (in a good way). The oyster was so good, I might be fated to never eat an oyster outside California ever again.

DRINK:
I ate too much food. No room for drinks.

YOGA:
I almost feel like it is unfair to critique the "vinyasa" class I took at Yoga Mandala tonight. By the time the 6pm class started, I still felt stuffed from lunch and was experiencing severe jet lag. Dark room, 20 minutes of eyes closed meditation, and I was goner. When the teacher did finally have us start moving(choosing to make us hold poses for a long time as opposed to flowing from one posture to another), I started to feel resentful that she was keeping me awake. I fell asleep during savasana (the final resting pose), which left me in a groggy haze afterwards. As I stumbled out, I heard other people in the class thank the teacher for the experience and describe it as "delicious." I was (and am) only hungry for a good night's rest.