On a Friday afternoon of an exhausting week, a lunch of leftover sweet and sour shrimp does a couple of things. First, it reminds me of The Orchid, a small, usually empty Chinese restaurant in Berkeley that, sadly, is no longer. The owners took my sons under their wing for some reason, and whenever they showed up, they got freebies of various kinds. Sometimes, it was a free can of soda. Whatever they ordered, they got extra. My younger son wanted to have his graduation lunch there. Which was when we found that The Orchid had vanished.

The second thing? If you’re like me and have various reactions to MSG, the food makes my heart beat faster. Sometimes this is not so good, but today, as I listen to Hope Sandoval’s mesmerizing voice, and realize how much work I’ve got to do before 5:30, a little extra heartbeat or two won’t hurt.

And no, the shrimp is not as good as what we got at The Orchid.