The San Francisco Treat

We live about an hour’s drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge. We seem to cross it semi-often as this is the only way into San Francisco from where we live. When we first moved here from Minnesota, I couldn’t help but think of those iconic images of the bridge, the TransAmerica building, cable cars, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Warf and Rice-A-Roni.

Since we moved somewhere considered exotic by Minnesotan standards, we had a lot of visitors from the homeland our first few years here. It seemed like I was always picking folks up at SFO for a week-long visit. When I did, I usually played a little prank. I would purchase a box of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat, and give it to our guests upon their arrival at SFO. I would tell them that if you said, “Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat,” they would give you a free box of Rice-A-Roni at the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza. Funny thing was, everyone believed me, at least for a while.

My brother Andy visited us for a bit back when we first came here. In fact, he lived with us for a couple of months. During his stay, his former girlfriend visited us as well. Andy knew the joke so he brought her a box of Rice-A-Roni when he picked her up at SFO. She fell for the joke without knowing it was a joke. Somewhere in the back of her mind she stored that information.

Years past and I don’t do the joke very often because no one believes me anyway. Then, not so long ago, I got a phone call from Andy. He said he had a funny story to tell me. Andy and his girlfriend broke up several years ago. But recently she called him just to say hello. She told him that she recently visited San Francisco with a girlfriend and they had a wonderful time. However, she had some problems at the Golden Gate Bridge. They took a little day trip into Sonoma County Wine Country. On their way back to the city, they stopped at the bridge tollbooth.

After paying her toll she looked at the toll taker and said, “Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat.”
“Excuse me?” the toll taker said.
“Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat,” she repeated again.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“Well don’t I get my free box of Rice-A-Roni?” she replied.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, lady,” he said.
“I was told that if I said, ‘Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat,’ that I would get a free box of Rice-A-Roni.”

The man just laughed and in her embarrassment with her friend in the car, she quickly drove off, knowing she had been pranked. At least 5 years went by between the time she was first presented with a box of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat and the time she asked for her free box, using the special code phrase. It still makes me giggle.