Ritual

Breakfast in the Bay is a Tuesday’s child. Full of words, full of caffeine, and full of grace.

Is that fog or ash in the air? Emerging from the underworld of Bart, the Chronicle’s lead corner warns me that California is “on pace for (a) record fire year.” Two other headlines preach: “‘Americans reshape religion’ and ‘Satire at the S.F. ballot box in drive to ‘honor’ president.’ In the first I read that 70% of Americans believe multiple religions can lead to salvation, and that 21% of self-defined atheists believe in God. You’ve got to love a god buffet. The second article outlines a grave plot to rename a pollution control center the “George W. Bush Sewage Plant.” I read, too, that today in history, the U.S. Air Force dismissed any claims of UFO’s at Roswell. God bless the democratic process of belief.

With all of this pounding gentle nails into my head, I believe it is time for coffee. I enter Ritual to the beat of Tuesday drumming. Think stimulus. From the vibe of it, there could very well be a clandestine ritual occurring in the back room, a sacrificial roasting of Starbucks’ over-logisticised coffee siren. The menu is simple in the right way: Coffee, cappuccino, and French press ready to be poured, smoothly mixed hip-hop for ears too full of the Mission’s beeps and clunks, deftly sweetened still-soft chocolate croissants and pastel vegan donuts waiting for a tired head. Ritual, located in the Mission district at 21st and Valencia, helped me believe in the redemptive power of breakfast again. Which is important.

Enjoy your break slow. After all, if the front page blesses our dead, we’ll be flushing god down a toilet to a purgatory christened for our president.

Breakfast in the Bay: Making sense of waking up since Tuesday, 2008.