I love free things. I also love value items. (I’m not exactly sure where this affinity for free/discounted items come from. Maybe it was instilled into me by my parents over time, or maybe it’s just how I was hardwired.) And I also love the taco truck fad (though sometimes the food items are more expensive than they really should be). Today, all three converged in a side alley on Sacramento St. near Kearny, taking on the form of…the Gap taco truck.

Yes. Gap does have a taco truck. And it’s name is Pico de Gap. Actually, Gap has four taco trucks: one in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and SF. And they’re not just some regular taco trucks, they’re gourmet taco trucks, featuring “celebrity chefs” like Marcel Vigneron from “Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen,” Rich Gresh of David Burke’s Primehouse, cook-book author Katie Lee, and Ryan Scott of “Top Chef” fame (in case you were wondering, the order of the chefs match the order of cities listed).

But here’s the awesome part: two tacos and a bottled soda (Coke or Jarritos) for $1.69. Yes, you read that right. That is $1.69.

Jaw-droppingly shocking.

And we’re talking about gourmet tacos here, which any other taco truck would be selling for $3-$4 a piece. Even the Mexican bottled Coke is a $2 value at most taco trucks. Okay, so you might be thinking, “Pshh. Gourmet tacos. Fancy shmancy. It’s probably not that amazing.” Well, for all of you with hearts of unbelief, this is Ryan Scott’s taco menu:

• Chorizo and Crispy Potato Taco: with goat cheese, watercress, and charred lime salsa verde
• Mole-braised Brisket Taco: with pumpkin seeds, red onion marmalade, queso fresco, and Mexican chocolate vinaigrette
• Raw Yellow Corn “Ceviche” Taco: with dirty green rice, poblano aioli, guacamole, and charred tomato salsa
• California Taco: with pasilla-braised chicken, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, pepper jack cheese, and Cool Ranch Doritos

Are you salivating yet? Yes, they were delicious. I got two combos, picking up one of each along with my two bottled sodas, but I really wished I had doubled down.

And I’m not even done yet. While I was waiting in line, the Gap employees started handing out coupons, thanking us for being so patient while they were still getting things settled, this being their first day. (Apparently I had somehow managed to stumble upon them within the first 20 minutes of their first day of business). But again, what’s the big deal about a coupon, right? Here, read what the coupon says:

HERE’S TO YOU A FREE PAIR OF GAP JEANS

Valid for one free pair of jeans with a retail price of $90.00 or less at Gap, GapKids, babyGap and GapMaternity stores in the U.S. and Canada only, through December 31, 2012.

Those minutes in line waiting for my tacos to be ready? I was so happy and was so…so…I don’t know…so blown away? that this was happening to me.

Here’s an article on Pico de Gap SF: http://sf.popsugar.com/Pico-de-Gap-SF-Taco-Truck-Menu-Top-Chef-Ryan-Scott-18656591

My Tempurpedic came today! I’m looking forward to sleeping in it in a little bit. I even washed my blanket and sheets so that the first time would be perfect.

Today, Jon Tien and I went across the street to play tennis and found that the courts…were missing their nets. All of them. Judging from how new the courts looked (and by how they were missing their white lines), we deduced that the school must’ve repainted them. My first reaction was to head back home, but then I thought, “What the heck, might as well hit against the wall” (the paint was dry). Eventually, we decided to rally against each other anyway, despite the missing nets. And you know what? Not having a net was great for rallies. The posts were still there, so you could generally tell if you’ve driven a ball into the “net.” But because of the huge empty space, when you do hit the “net,” the ball doesn’t get stuck in the center–it just keeps on rolling over to your hitting partner. Definitely saves a good chunk of time with not needing to retrieve as many balls.

Actually, while we were hitting, I came up with an even better idea. What if there was a vacuum system along the outer walls of the court and the bottom of the net that would suck in all the stray balls that rolled to its vicinity, depositing them in a basket along one side of the wall? And if you didn’t feel like walking over to the basket for balls, you could simply shout “Ball Boy!” and the system would shoot a tennis ball from the basket through a tube out of the wall towards your direction. *Fwttt!* And you’d just simply have to catch it. It could probably be called the “Ball Boy Super Plus Plus” (yes, the two pluses are intentional).

Remember, if this system ever gets developed…you heard it first here.

Okay, I get to sleep on my Tempurpedic now. Yay!

Today was errand day, and it was quite productive. I began with a run to the dry cleaners on College Ave, bringing along 5 pairs of dress pants and 1 suit jacket. Yeah, I’ve been meaning to go for awhile now. It’s expensive to dress well; not only is the initial purchase cost of formal attire more expensive, weekly trips to the dry cleaners also adds up. I had even planned on getting cheaper dress pants so I wouldn’t mind too much the daily wear and tear, but I ended up getting Banana Republic when it went on sale sometime in May. Okay, that last sentence is a tangent.

After the dry cleaners, I headed over to Sleep Train in Emeryville and got myself a new mattress, a Tempurpedic to be more specific. The corporate living issued mattress I’m currently using has a very noticeable indentation when I lie on it; the sides tilt down into the center, which cannot be good for the back. Every morning, I wake up with some stiffness in some section of my back/neck/shoulder or other. It’s quite annoying and so I figured it was about time to invest in a good mattress, which I’ve also been wanting to do for a while now (a while roughly equaling about 2 years ago). Yes, the Tempurpedic definitely has a price premium, and like the iPad, it comes with MAP pricing (minimum advertised pricing policy), meaning vendors are contractually not allowed to price the product below a certain level (meaning no negotiated discounts). But it’s a good product, has a 20 year warranty (if the foam ever sinks 3/4 of an inch, I can get a new one), and has a good resell value once I grow out of the twin size. Also, Sleep Train itself has a pretty good service policy with a 100 day trial period in which you could return the mattress at any time if you’re not satisfied, as well as a credit program in which one could pay off the sum of the costs over a 36 month period with 0% interest and no required down payment. For me, it should come out to about $30 a month, which is not too bad, b/c if you think about it, that basically amounts to paying $1 every night for better quality sleep and the preservation of one’s back. And they also do free delivery. The entire process was relatively painless; I got to ask all the questions I wanted in order to be more informed in my purchasing decision, received sufficiently adequate answers, had ample time to try out different mattresses, filled out the paperwork, didn’t pay for anything (yet), and left knowing that I’ll be getting my mattress tomorrow afternoon, and this all within a 45 minutes span of time from when I entered the store to when I left. Exciting.

Leaving Emeryville, I got back on the 580 and went to Costco, mainly to buy supplies for the Lord’s day morning coffee table. The best thing about Costco? The free food samples! It’s like having a mini-meal each time. Today, I got to sample the tri-tip, chicken sausage, meatballs, wonton soup, teriyaki chicken & sirloin from the Hana Japan stand, and a cracker with almond butter spread. Yum. If I ever get locked in a supermarket/store overnight, I’d  want it to be Costco. In fact, I bet I could live at Costco for a few months without any problem…as long as the security personnel don’t usher me out.

And lastly, swung by Ranch 99 for some groceries, got a papaya milk smoothie from one of the boba stores (maybe more on papaya milk in a later post), and then went home.

All in all, I think all the errands only took me 3 1/2 hours. I was also pretty pleased with myself on how my route swung through all the spots in an efficient sequence with minimal backtracking.

From Matthew 1:5, footnotes 1 & 3 in the RcV, concerning Rahab and Ruth in relation to the genealogy of Christ:

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho (Josh. 2:1), a place cursed by God for eternity (Josh. 6:26). After she turned to God and God’s people (Josh. 6:22-23, 25; Heb. 11:31) and married Salmon, a leader of Judah, the leading tribe (1 Chron. 2:10-11), she brought forth Boaz, a godly man, out of whom Christ came. Regardless of our background, if we turn to God and His people and are joined to the proper person among God’s people, we will bring forth proper fruit and participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ (note 1).

The origin of Ruth was incest, for she belonged to the tribe of Moab (Ruth 1:4), the fruit of Lot’s incestuous union with his daughter (Gen. 19:30-38). Deuteronomy 23:3 forbade the Moabites to enter the assembly of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation. Ruth, however, not only was accepted by the Lord but also became one of the most important ancestors of Christ because she sought God and God’s people (Ruth 1:15-17; 2:11-12). Regardless of who we are and what our background is, as long as we have a heart that seeks God and His people, we are in a position to be accepted into the birthright of Christ (note 3).

I’ve read over these notes countless times, and still, I never fail to appreciate them each time. As we grow older and realize more of who and what we are, these footnotes are even more a consolation and encouragement. What mercy, that in spite of it all, when we turn to God, we can still be a factor to usher Christ in.

SF Chefs 2011 Restaurant Week is here! Yay!!

Since I’m right there in the city, it’s hard to resist trying at least one place. And so I did. For lunch, Silks at the Mandarin Oriental — a smooth corn soup with truffled popcorn and a pan roasted Pacific cod with curried cauliflower, peas, and potatoes. It was a fairly decent meal, though the portions for the cod were a little less than I would have liked. The kicker, however, was that the Maitre d’ asked if I wouldn’t mind giving her a critique of my experience once I finished the meal. Now that was cool.

After everything on my plate found its way to my stomach, the Maitre d’ revisits my table, and I proceed to give her a comprehensive review on the service and the food, pointing out a few things that they might improve on (i.e. serving the butter in a chilled container is nice for presentation, but practically, makes it difficult to spread and the flavor doesn’t come out so well). Apparently, she had also tried the main course, and agreed with my evaluation that while the texture of the cod was perfect (a gentle firmness with a slight bounce), the flavor (though done right) could be brought out a little more, and that the potatoes were a bit bland and perhaps could use something like a light crisp so that they’d be bringing something to the party.

I was crossing my fingers and hoping that she’d be so grateful for my straightforward, candid reviews that I’d get some future discount or a free dessert for my services. But alas, that was not to be. Still, it’s not every day a restaurant asks you to play food critic.

On a tangential note, but also related to food: Tonight, I learned about a dish that had been served to someone’s co-worker while in China. Now, I’m normally not that shocked by the crazy things people put into their mouth, but this was pretty up there on the unbelievable/slightly insane scale. The dish? “Three Squeals.” The primary ingredient? Baby mice. And apparently the saying goes something like this — “The first squeal is when you pick it up. The second squeal is when you dip it in the sauce. And the third squeal is when it goes into your mouth.” Now that, that is crazy.