Paxton, Treasurer: Fill & Download for Free

Bananas used to be tastier.The bananas you find today in supermarkets (outside certain areas of Central and South America, Asia, and speciality food stores) are all genetically identical. They are a variety called the Cavendish. These Cavendish bananas taste worse than the bananas that your parents or grandparents would have eaten.Before the 1950s, the world's favourite banana was the Gros Michel. They're larger, curvier, and much sweeter than the Cavendish. Those who have tasted both the Gros Michel and the Cavendish universally rate the Gros Michel as the superior banana.Unfortunately, the Gros Michel was largely wiped out due to the Panama Disease. This is one of the major downsides to having most of the world's banana crop be genetically identical to each other - as soon as a disease evolved that attacks the fruit, we would be fighting a losing battle to contain the infection. It's almost impossible to breed resistance back into a fruit like the Gros Michel as they are infertile (it's the price that the plant pays in order to give you a smooth and seedless fruit). In the end, the Gros Michel can no longer be grown in any significant quantity over large parts of the world without it quickly being consumed by the Panama Disease. The only place where Gros Michel is still available today is in small-scale production, or in south-east Asia.When the Gros Michel crop began failing around the 1950s, banana cultivators scrambled to find a suitable replacement. They settled on the Cavendish that we're familiar with today - it didn't taste as good as the Gros Michel or some of the other candidates, but importantly, it was able to grow in the same soil and conditions as Gros Michel, allowing existing plantations to be replanted directly. Soon everyone was eating the Cavendish banana, and few remember or mourn the great taste of the Gros Michel.The Cavendish banana has an interesting history: originally native to southern China, the Irish botanist Charles Telfair, probably one of the world's first banana enthusiasts, acquired specimens of the banana in 1826 for his banana collection at his botanical gardens on the island of Mauritius. Telfair considered these bananas one of the most valuable in his extensive banana collection. In 1829, he sent two of the plants to his friend back in England, one Mr. Barclay of Burryhill (first name unknown). On Barclay's death in 1836, the two plants were purchased by a nursery (of the plant kind) in Epsom owned by C. and J. Young. The nursery then sold one of the two plants for £10 to Joseph Paxton (the very same Paxton of Crystal Palace fame), who was the gardener to William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. Like many Victorian gentlemen of his time, William Cavendish dabbled in the trade of bananas, a rare and exotic treat to the Victorians, and had many varieties of banana growing in his private glasshouses in Chatsworth; Paxton, already experienced in the cultivation of bananas, successfully established the plant in the Chatsworth glasshouses that year (incidentally, the Chatsworth glasshouses were designed by Paxton, and served as the prototype for the Crystal Palace). It's from this single plant growing in William Cavendish's glasshouses that the eponymous banana was (re-)introduced to the wider world. Almost all of the world's Cavendish bananas are derived from this specimen.It's unfortunate that few of us born after the 1950s and raised on the Cavendish will ever get a chance to taste humanity's original favourite banana. However, a lot of us may have come into contact with an unexpected legacy of the Gros Michel: banana flavouring. A lot of banana flavouring formulas date back to the days of the Gros Michel and haven't been updated. As a result, certain sweets and candy that are supposed to be banana flavoured are actually flavoured after the Gros Michel rather than the Cavendish. This is why these banana flavoured sweets and candy don't taste like the bananas that we're familiar with.Fortunately, the Gros Michel isn't extinct, it's still grown in small quantities in places around the world which can escape the Panama Disease and in larger quantities in south-east Asia, which is fortunately relatively free of the disease. South-east Asia is the world's treasure trove of banana varieties, many of which are also tasty but haven't reached our supermarket shelves because they aren't as suitable for mass cultivation in other climates, or are more difficult to transport, or have shorter shelf-lives than the Cavendish. I've found this video on Youtube reviewing the differences of the Gros Michel and the Cavendish, giving some insight into its flavour, lost to much of the western world for the last 50 years.Hopefully one day, with advances in genetics and agriculture, we might see the return of the Gros Michel, the world's original favourite banana; or maybe an even better variety to replace the runner-up of bananas, the Cavendish.

A few of my favorite places in SF ...You can also see these places (and others I like) on a google map here: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215812408968834024277.0004b9499b2b28ce7a07e&msa=0&ll=37.792422,-122.408295&spn=0.076508,0.159473&iwloc=0004b9499b2d4b4f1dbe4Mission/Noe/Bernal Heights area:Art:Paxton Gate. "Treasures and Oddities inspired by the Garden and the Natural sciences.": http://www.yelp.com/biz/paxton-gate-san-franciscoThe Red Poppy Art House. http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-red-poppy-art-house-san-franciscoSouthern Exposure Gallery: http://www.yelp.com/biz/southern-exposure-gallery-san-franciscoBalmy Street Murals (street art): http://www.yelp.com/biz/balmy-street-murals-san-franciscoClarion Alley (street art): http://www.yelp.com/biz/clarion-alley-san-franciscoBakery:Thorough Bread and Pastry. As good as Tartine, less waiting: http://www.yelp.com/biz/thorough-bread-and-pastry-san-franciscoCoffee:Sweet Chinito Coffee: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-chinito-coffee-san-franciscoRestaurants:L'ardoise Bistro. Charming, french "date night" kind of restaurant: http://www.yelp.com/biz/l-ardoise-bistro-san-franciscoFlour and Water. Italian Restaurant: http://www.yelp.com/biz/flour-water-san-franciscoFront Porch. Southern Food: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-front-porch-san-franciscoOutdoorsy Stuff:Lands End Trail. Beautiful running/hiking trail along the ocean with view of Golden Gate: http://www.yelp.com/biz/lands-end-trail-san-franciscoSutro Baths: beautiful ruins/caves: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sutro-baths-san-franciscoMisc:Green Gulch Farm Zen Center (Marin county). Offers retreats/classes on Buddhism, meditation, tea etc, or just a beautiful place to stay: http://www.sfzc.org/ggf/Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous (DogPatch). Ice cream is arguably better than bi-rite: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mr-and-mrs-miscellaneous-san-franciscoFlora Grubb Gardens (Hunters Point). Excellent nursery: www.yelp.com/biz/flora-grubb-gardens-and-the-palm-broker-san-franciscoSan Francisco Maritime Historical Park (Fisherman's Wharf) http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-san-francisco

You have a couple of options which are all conveniently located on Valencia between 19th and 20th stThe Curiosity Shoppe at Valencia/19th. Fairly traditional:http://www.curiosityshoppeonline.com/The Pirate Store - it's actually a writing workshop for kids masquerading as a "pirate store". The building is zoned for retail not a teaching space, so they put a pirate store in the front.It is a crazy-funky-cool pirate store though, nevertheless, it's definitely worth a visit.http://826valencia.org/ , at Valencia and 19th as wellPaxton Gate - a store of Treasures and Oddities, Valencia and 19thhttp://www.paxtongate.com/And of course I'd like to put in a shameless plug for Yukie Hikita's Kappa Zakka as well, which is located at 460 Grove in Hayes Valley between Gough and Octavia.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kappa-Zakka/121825221286909They have an interesting collection of unusual jewelry/tableware/kitchenware items with a very designer-y bent.