This past Thursday, we hopped on the N-Judah and headed to Embarcadero. Destination: the Exploratorium’s After Dark series. Theme of the night? Bananas.

I love riding the N. It’s not the speediest, but the architectural views along Irving and Carl make up for it. Plus, once it hits the subway, it hauls.

We could’ve taken the F Market. But it’s a 15-minute walk from Embarcadero, and the evening was too nice to pass up. The Embarcadero was packed. Great for people watching.

At the museum, we grabbed seats on the observatory deck for the Pairings lecture. Bananas took the spotlight. How they grow, how to cook with them, how to drink them. Yes, drink.

Learned about Voronoi diagrams. And got to see what happens when you put a Geiger counter in a bunch of bananas. Tick-tick-tick. Decaying potassium. Who knew!

The pairings? An avocado and banana shrimp dip (shockingly good). And a banana-infused clear rum cocktail, spun up in one of the Exploratorium’s centrifuges. Smooth. Subtle. Dangerous.

Avocado and banana? Odd but brilliant. Rum and banana? A natural fit. But the best pairing of the night? The N-Judah and the Exploratorium. Two San Francisco icons. No parking drama required.

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