But I was brooding and irritable and mean and oversensitive. Many of us have been in Marlowe's pajamas at one time or another, particularly on New Year's Day, when the revels of greeting a brand-new year are a dim and nauseating memory. The reason we pay, medically speaking, is that the consumption of alcohol causes dehydration, resulting in turn in a myriad of physical unpleasantries. But water alone won't save you from the ravages of a hangover. For eons humankind has searched for that magical combination of elements that will end the headache and other symptoms in one tidy package.
Folk remedies abound.
I seldom conclude a night of San Francisco barhopping without visiting the fabled Sam Wo at Grant and Washington, thoughtfully open until 3 in the morning, where you can order several varieties of rice gruel, the classic pre-slumber hangover remedy. Los Jarritos, an all-day Mission District restaurant at 20th and South Van Ness, serves up several such curatives. There are all those masa-based carbs to absorb rampant inner toxins. There are tomatoes and avocados and peppers aplenty, important edibles after a night of boisterous malnutrition. One hallowed gustatory remedy that exemplifies the Mexican approach to the hangover is chilaquiles, a dish of day-old tortillas fried with eggs, onions, cheese, and salsa.