Keeping Cool in the City

Tricks for Staying Cool on Sweltering Days

Here at the SmartsCo offices in San Francisco, we’re typically clad in jeans and sweaters of some sort. The only difference between summer and winter is whether we wear sandals or boots on our feet. And our favorite item on the lunch menu is a nice bowl of soup from some of our favorite nearby jaunts such as Kate O’Briens or Town Hall. But this summer is quite different ...

Typically we San Franciscans get a nice little chuckle in the summer as we relish in our 55 to 65 degree weather knowing that our neighbors just over the hill are sweating it out in 100 degrees temperatures.

We relish in the fact that if we feel cold in the summer, we can take a short drive, ferry or better yet bike ride to Sam’s Cafe in Tiburon and enjoy the warm weather over tasty Ramoz Fizz and Crab Louie, and then return to our typically foggy home and snuggle up under a nice warm blanket. The best part of living in San Francisco is we can choose whether we’re hot or cool.

But this summer is quite different. It’s hot! Really hot! And most of us don’t have fans, much less air conditioners. And at SmartsCo HQ, we are on the top floor of a building with no AC that just sucks in the hot air. Currently our thermostat reads 94 degrees, and it’s actually cooler than yesterday. So, what are we doing to keep cool?

Ice, Ice Baby

This morning I grabbed a bag of ice for the office. To quote one of our team members “It’s like Christmas morning. The best gift ever.” Who knew a little ice could make such a difference. Not only are our coffees and waters iced, we can drench ourselves with the ice.

Don’t Pass the Buck

While typically a Peet’s girl myself, unfortunately, their shops typically aren’t so great for hanging out. But Starbucks generally has great seating, and they’re air conditioned. We’ve been sucking down their herbal berry ice tea and even bringing our laptops to do some work.

Cold Soup

While our hot soup preference isn’t too appetizing these days, cold soup can really hit the spot. While gazpacho is the obvious choice, I’ve been indulging in some really yummy ones lately, including: cold sorrel soup (delish), cold cucumber soup, and cold asparagus soup.

Creative Salads

Green salads don’t have to be boring, especially with all the great wonderful fruits and veggies that are in season right now. Last week I made a delicious salad with: sugar snap peas, jicama, fresh corn (cut it off the cob uncooked), tomatoes, red peppers, and some black beans. Toss on a spicy vinaigrette and it’s fun time. Or throw in strawberries, melons or even peaches to a green salad and it’s really refreshing.


H20 Melon

I could just eat watermelon all day long. Not only super refreshing, it’s actually quite low in calories. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Pass the Prosecco Please – or other light wine

When all else fails, have some wine. It certainly seems like sundown comes quicker. We typically keep the office fridge stocked with the very reasonably priced Vinho Verdhe from Broadbent Selections. It’s slightly effervescent and low in alcohol so we can continue to function at full capacity. Or when we really need some bubbles to wake us up, we’ll pop open a bottle of Italian Prosecco – which are typically bright and cheerful, and good bargains to boot.



That’s all I can think of to stay cool on this blistering hot day. If anyone else has brilliant ideas, we’d love to hear them. I’m proud to announce that last month I became car-less, which is my attempt to do my small part to stop contributing to global warming. So it’s all public transportation and in the rare occurrences that I need a car, I check out one from our friends at ZipCar. Not only am I saving $100s / month, I never have to worry about high gas prices (gas is included with ZipCar), insurance, and I don't have to worry what day street cleaning is. Why I didn’t do this sooner is the biggest mystery.