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401 Geary Street |
The
Pinecrest
Diner boasts, "We serve the best breakfast in San Francisco," but that's
not what it's known for. The otherwise standard issue urban diner is the
infamous location where cook Hashiem Zayed shot waitress Helen Menicouover
to death over an argument about poached eggs in 1997. Zayed and Menicouover
worked together at the Pinecrest in the heart of the theatre district at
Mason and Geary for more than 20 years before the killing. On the day of
the murder, Menicouover berated Zayed for preparing poached eggs at the
request of a customer before Zayed fired five shots into Menicouover behind the counter. Locals will tell you that prior to the murder there was friction between the two coworkers over money Menicouover lent the cook. The dead waitress is honored by a framed photo on the wall, but management is otherwise very discreet regarding the crime. A recent attempt to order the breakfast that got Menicouover killed was met with polite refusal by a young waitress. "The cooks don't make them poached," she told Mister SF, "for some reason." |
Copyright 2001 Hank Donat |