There are only a few foods that I don’t eat: bell peppers (they make me throw up), cream cheese (it tastes bitter to me), sour cream (yuk), and mayonnaise (double yuk). I haven’t liked these foods since I was a small child. Every so often, though, I’ll give them a try, to see if maybe my taste buds have changed and I suddenly like them.

Tonight was the opening night of the San Francisco Food and Farm Film Fest, where you watch fabulous movies and eat great food. Match made in heaven, right? It’s running for a few more days, so if you’re in San Francisco, check it out.

Tonight’s program included eight shorts (plus one bonus) accompanied by a fabulous spinach and orzo salad. And a thick slice of homemade toast from Josey Baker Bread, slathered with… cream cheese. But it wasn’t any cream cheese. It was Sriracha cream cheese. A thing I love mixed with a thing I don’t love. Which love/not love would win out?

As I sat with my piece of toast, I pondered my options. The Sriracha cream cheese was evenly spread in a thin layer to every corner of the perfectly square slice. Had it been thicker, I probably could have scraped most of it off. Given it was so thinly spread, that wasn’t really an option. The slice of toast was thick enough that I could probably could just eat from the bottom. It would be messy, but I could make it happen. Or, I could just eat the slice of homemade toast, cream cheese and all. After a few minutes of staring at the slice, I decided on the third option.

I broke a small piece off of the corner. I popped it into my mouth and chewed, immediately tasting the freshness of the bread, perfectly toasted. Crunchy on the outside, but still soft inside. And then, the flavor of the Sriracha cream cheese. The hot spiciness cut the bitter flavor that I so often taste. I had another bite. And another. And another. Soon, my plate was empty.

I suddenly felt like narrator in Green Eggs and Ham. “I do so like cream cheese – BAM! Thank you, thank you, Sam-I-Am.”