Do any of you ever suffer from meal regret? It happens to me all the time (a hazard of the job, I guess)—most frequently when I have a disappointing, though calorie-rich, meal then wish that I’d saved I hadn’t wasted 1/3 of a my daily allotment of food on something that wasn’t even that tasty. But occasionally, the meal regret occurs when I’ve already eaten a full meal of deliciousness, then see something else delicious that I wish I could try but am too full to consider.

It was the latter type of meal regret that occurred last week. Given that it was gloriously sunny and warm, I opted to reorder my cheap eats eating itinerary in order to revisit Roadside BBQ rather than scoop up hot stews down the road at Assab Eritrean Restaurant. The sun was still shining when I got to Roadside, and I had no problem putting away my pulled pork sandwich and grilled corn-on-the-cob. Then, driving home, I took the route that ambles through the Castro and then the Mission, skirting down 18th street where, on a warm night, the people-watching is something to behold.


Spotted: Let's Be Frank sets up shop outside Bi-Rite.

But then! Wait! Something else to behold! Right outside Bi-Rite market, amid the throngs of people waiting for a table at Pizzeria Delfina, was the familiar bi-colored umbrella and affable weiner-dog logo of the Let’s Be Frank mobile hot dog cart! I immediately wished I could re-do dinner, just so I could pull over right then and there, in the fast-fading June twilight, and chow down. The good news—the news I always comfort myself with in times like this, is that there will be other warm evenings, other meals. I got in touch with Larry Bain of Let’s Be Frank to made sure the sighting at Bi-Rite wasn’t just a fluke—looks like the cart will be setting up shop before every Dolores Park Movie Night—that’s July 10, August 14, September 11 and October 9. Mark your calendars.