It’s National Cheeseburger Day! I hope you all went to your local McDonald’s and got a double-cheeseburger for only 50-cent (apparently, the original price for one when it first debut on the menu). A single day promotion only available on the McDonald’s app. I saw a kid trying to order from the counter and got declined. They really want to harvest your data!
I made the mistake of going to McDonald’s after work. Thanks to the promotion, it was absolutely packed with people ordering the $0.50 double-cheeseburger. Especially in these inflationary times, who can say no to a sub-dollar sandwich (with cheese)? Nutritional value be damned, we just want to save a buck or two. Regular price for a double-cheeseburger (San Francisco, mind you) is $4.19. I’ll take the nutritional deficit hit, thank you.
The first ever Sunset Night Market this past Friday was also absolutely packed with people. The local district supervisor had visited Taiwan and drew inspiration from the famous night markets there. The somewhat quixotic attempt to replicate it here in San Francisco (we can’t have nice things) was a rousing success… if you only count the sheer number of visitors. It was so packed that one could not see what a booth was selling without being right next to it. I haven’t been in such a dense crowd since rush hour subway in Guangzhou, China.
Prolific crowd number aside, there’s much to improve upon if the Sunset Night Market wants permanent staying power. Firstly there needs to be way more food vendors. The draw of the night markets in Taiwan is numerous food stands. By my count, the amount of food vendors at the Sunset Night Market was less than ten. This in turn worsened the experience of getting food, because the lines -for the vendors that were there - were super long.
The organizers didn’t allocate enough space for the lines (they’ve closed down only three blocks) so it was a mess of people in line blocking the general flow of the crowd. They need more space for everything. The next night market should close down at least six blocks for the same amount of vendors. Sadly, plans for the next one won’t be until Spring 2024!? I am rooting for its continued success, though.
A sea of people.