I Left My Heart(burn) in San Francisco, Part II

Later that evening, we made it over to Irving & Ninth near the UCSF campus to have a late dinner at Masala, our favorite Indian restaurant in the City. The onion naan and the poori bread were as good as I remembered as were the lamb vindaloo and the chicken tikka. Unfortunately, it became apparent an hour later that the curried spices were not mixing well with the dimsum from earlier in the day, leading me to fear that the 1962 Border War between China and India had reignited inside my gastrointestinal tract. All I will say further of Friday night is that a small nuclear detonation brought an end to the dispute. Border War notwithstanding, Masala holds a special place in our memories. It was where T and I had our first unofficial date nearly three years ago. That night after dinner, we took a random stroll down the Avenues, planning out the itinerary for our upcoming trip to London along the way; in the process, we walked what must have been a good five to six miles, all the way down to the beach and eventually up the length of the Great Highway to the summit at the Cliff House. I remember looking north up the beach that dark night and seeing countless bonfires strewn out like a long strand of red Christmas lights. Hundreds of San Franciscans huddled together at their respective bonfires to celebrate the weekend and the unusually temperate evening weather. It was quite a scene, and quite a party.