My Favorite Corner of SF
This article is part of My Favorite Corner of SF, a feature series that pays homage to a special place in the city.
I took it as a sign to start writing this story when I came across The Bold Italic’s latest Instagram post featuring a tweet by @oddrilynn.
If you know, you know.
Souvla’s closure in light of Covid-19 left many cult followers (like myself) in despair with a sense of nostalgia for getting takeout from them before it became mandatory. Given that this tweet’s description rang frighteningly close to home for me (I work in tech, have a Casper mattress, and admittedly often dream of Souvla’s salads), naturally it triggered me into writing this ode.
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My favorite corner of SF isn’t a street corner in the traditional sense of this series. Rather, it’s a corner inside Souvla’s Divisadero location in NoPa, where I’ve savored countless dream-worthy overpriced salads rounded out by frozen Greek yogurt cups filled to the brim with baklava crumbles, perhaps a spritz of sour cherry syrup, a swirl of olive oil and/or honey, and a sprinkle of maldon salt (I confess, I’m guilty of doing the most when it comes to froyo toppings).
I first stumbled upon this Souvla corner in December 2017. At the time, I was going through a “do something that scares you in 2017” checklist and arrived solo with the intention of checking off “dine at a restaurant by yourself.” I ordered what would become my usual — a veg salad with oranges “Greek style” (with fries on top), and sat my introverted self in the aforementioned corner facing the hypnotic fixture of rotating spit-roasted meats. Shortly after, the lights dimmed and the staff placed small glimmering candles on the tables to sweeten the space. Perhaps it was a combination of the warm ambience, the nourishing meal, and the companionship of Alice Waters’ memoir Coming to My Senses that resulted in a sense of home, safety, and belonging for me. I remember sitting there, overwhelmed with gratitude to have found what felt like the greenest grass in this little corner of the world.
At that moment, I couldn’t have imagined a better place to simply sit and stay a while.
The mission to dine solo was successfully accomplished and unfortunately led to a financially irresponsible weekly habit of going to Souvla, often solo, surrounded by the company of couples on first dates or groups of friends catching up over a meal.
I frequented Souvla so often those days that I befriended one of the staff members who knew me by name and my order by heart. As a longtime San Francisco resident, I was euphoric to finally meet the goal of becoming a regular somewhere in my beloved city. This was a big deal.
I joke that one day I’ll have a wedding reception at Souvla, in this corner. Turns out, this newly engaged couple was already thinking along the same lines.
I’m happy Souvla has finally just re-opened Hayes Valley and Marina locations over the weekend, though Divis remains closed. It may be a while until I can get back to my favorite corner of SF. Until then, I’ll grab my order to go and enjoy a socially distanced picnic at Patricia’s Green.
