My experiences as a outsider in Bernal Heights

I have visited, Bernal Heights, San Francisco’s Arcadia like district over the past few months via the 28 line, one of two buses that pass through the neighborhood. The bus turns left onto Cortland Avenue from Mission Street where a green street sign overhead reads “Welcome to Bernal Heights” and where the Mexican restaurants that line the street quickly turn to San Franciscan cottages.

As the Mission district fades into the background, I can feel the bus jerk as it struggles to climb the steep incline that reaches to the heart of Bernal Heights, Cortland Avenue.

On Cortland there are many small mom and pop restaurants and shops. It is not unusual to see mom’s pushing their children in strollers out clothing boutiques or couples enjoying patio front meals with their dogs resting at their feet.

The bus stops at Bocana and Cortland in front of Imad’s Deli Pub. Imad Yaish has owned and operated his restaurant for more than 20 years, serving a variety of international beers and hot sandwiches and salads with a Middle Eastern twist.

Inside Imad's Deli Pub 20-year-old plants climb the walls

The restaurant is usually slow with customers coming and going at a steady pace. So Imad sometimes stands at the restaurants cottage door welcoming guests into his eclectic space. My favorite part about visiting Imad’s is admiring his many plants that climb the inside walls of his restaurants, plants that he told me he brought to his shop when he first opened 20 years ago.

Just a short uphill walk from the Deli Pub is Holly Park.  The park is one of two locations in Bernal Heights with a high enough peak to enjoy a panoramic view of the city. With every sunny weather visit to Bernal Heights I have opted to take in the citywide view from Holly Park over the view at Bernal Hill, never finding myself ambitious enough to climb the “hill.”  The park benches here are inviting to park bench readers and lovers who occasionally peer up from their occupations to admire hikers trekking up Bernal Hill or boats traveling in the San Francisco Bay.

After my eyes feel weary and my belly hungry from hours of watching the admiring the beautiful scenes that Holly Park offers I begin to make my way to Progressive Grounds, a coffee shop just around the corner from the park.

Turkey and curry wrap on a spinach tortilla at Progressive Grounds

The mixture of hot coffee, soups, and wraps greet me at the door. The shop seems to be a favorite for all ages, from children enjoying ice cream cones with their grandparents or young adults doing work on their laptops. I have become accustomed to ordering a house coffee and turkey and curry spinach wrap with my every visit.

Bernal Heights will forever have a place in my heart as a neighborhood that displays peace and serenity with in the city that never stops moving. My experiences here like seeing the city from a 360 degree view for the first time and experiencing a community so well knit will be memories I keep for a life time. Thank you, Bernal Heights.

Holly Park- Bernal Heights

Holly Park in Bernal Heights (Picture from maplive.com)

Holly Park, San Francisco’s mecca of serenity
Holly Park, located at the Southern edge of San Francisco’s Bernal Heights,  is a peaceful destination for San Franciscans who yearn to escape the city’s chaos without having to leave the city.

Holly Park is located on the corner of Bocana and Newman Streets in the center of Holly Circle.  The park sits on a hill, above the cottage style homes that  make up Bernal Heights, overlooking San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay.

The serene location invites dog walkers, park bench readers and families for fresh air outings
from within Bernal Heights as well as neighboring districts.

“It’s a true example of public space, all neighborhoods in the area use this space,” said Andrew Rothman, 25, who has lived in Bernal Heights his entire life.

Rothman faces the parks North view of downtown and Bernal Hill with his yoga mat, he practices meditation and yoga here daily.

Amongst the parks native Eucalyptus trees, visitors can find that the park offers a baseball field, tennis and basketball courts, picnic areas, and a playground.
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Jairo Monar Zuluaga, 52, sits on a park bench reading a book entitled “Visualizacion Creativa,” Creative Visualization, occasionally peering up to admire the ambitious hikers climbing to the top of Bernal Hill in the distance.

Zuluaga walks from his home in the Mission district to enjoy the park’s 360 degree view of the city; the park allows him to gain inspiration to get through the week, he said.

“I come here for 20 years,” he said, “ it has always treated me the same,” said Zuluaga.

To visit Holly Park in Bernal Heights take the 24 Muni line towards Divisadero and get off at the corner of Cortland Avenue and Bocana Street.

Welcome to Bernal Hieghts

Bernal Heights district sign on Mission  Street and Cortland Avenue

“Welcome to Bernal Heights,” reads a street sign on the corner of Mission Street and Cortland Avenue, looking past this sign is a steep incline guiding residents and rare visitors away from the rich streets of the Mission District into Bernal Heights,  a very quiet and secluded neighborhood in San Francisco.

Cortland Avenue stretches across the diameter of Bernal Heights and  serves as the neighborhoods’ shopping mecca, as shops,salons and restaurants line its street.

My first stop on Cortland Avenue, an eatery called the “Deli Pub.”

Imad, owner of "The Deli Pub"

The Deli’s cottage door is an invitation into the eclectic grandma’s-living-room themed dining area filled with vintage furniture, over grown house plants climbing the restaurants walls and jazz music playing softly in the background. The Deli’s owner, who goes by Imad, has owned and operated his Deli Pub for more than 20 years.

The menu is diverse with Imad’s classic handcrafted sandwiches like his grilled ham and cheese on bannock or his most popular sandwich, a tuna melt; all of Imad’s sandwiches are under $8.

For Bernal Heights’ residents Imad not only serves up sandwiches but also serves as the community’s mock psychologist.

“When people come in some want to be close to me [at the register] and tell me the problems they are having with their neighbors,” says Imad as he describes his community role as a listener.

As Imad stands at the register admiring his freshly cut Jasmine plants picked this morning from his nieghboors garden, Andrew Dai, a silicon valley tech worker who recently moved from Hong Kong to Bernal heghts walks into the Deli Pub, Imad looks up and already knows Andrew’s order,

“Tuna melt,” says Imad, Andrew nods his head and smiles.

Andrew sits down next to me and we begin discussing what he calls the “Pleasantville vibe" of Bernal Heights.

“The community is very slow pace, but there is a there is a lot going on," says Andrew as he takes a bite in to his tuna melt, "There are garage sales every weekend, dog walking groups and festivals.”

Progressive Grounds Coffee House

Just opposite from Imad’s Deli Pub is “Progressive Grounds,” a coffee, sandwich and ice cream parlor.

Inside the parlor a high chalkboard menu which displays a wide variety of coffee drinks, smoothies, sandwiches, and wraps. 

The parlor's owners, Aziz Benarafa and Marco Boujebha, have owned and operated "Progressive Grounds" for more than 10 years.

Today, Aziz, one of the owners is working behind the counter, he suggests I check out the back patio of the restaurant. I quickly narrow down my decision to an iced Chai latte and a pumpkin and crème cheese muffin and head for the patio; The parlor is separated into three areas, first the main café entrance where small tables over look Cortland Avenue through a large bay window, followed by a  short hallway leading to another seating area decorated with colorful pillows and funky tables, outside of this room is the parlor’s rustic patio fit with willow trees, blossoming garden flowers and vintage patio seating.

Upon leaving “Progressive Grounds” Aziz tells me how his international cooking experience influences his cafe dishes and restaurant environment.

“As you walk through the different spaces, you are to feel like you are traveling the world.” he says.

Holy Park over looking the City's Bay

After spending the day eating and snacking on Courtland Avenue, I walk up Bocana Street, another of  many steep inclines throughout Bernal Heights, to Holly Park. 

When I met Andrew earlier today at Imad's Deli Pub, he suggested that I visit Holy Park, known for it's incredible view of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay.

Site referrals:

1. For a list of Bernal Heights restaurants and their reviews visit http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/6/505/SF-Bay/Bernal-Heights-restaurants
2. For more information on Holly Park in Bernal Hieghts visit  https://sites.google.com/site/hollyparkcircle/