Desire & Design: Vargas, Hefner and Real Old Paper September 29, 2017 Earlier this week, we learned of the death of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner at age 91. A true American original, the pajama-clad Hefner distilled the zeitgeist of Sixties bachelorhood into a publishing empire, and created one of the world’s most … Read the rest
That’s A Lot Of Cioppino: Sotto Mare Gives Back September 15, 2017 In San Francisco, a city that has for many come to signify rapid change, North Beach is a neighborhood that still holds fast to its traditions. If you live here, you know that our parades, feasts and festivals are part … Read the rest
A New Dynasty in Chinatown: George Chen’s China Live September 5, 2017 The eastern stretch of San Francisco’s Broadway is one of the city’s most historic corridors. Ever since city planners dynamited the base of Telegraph Hill to make way for it, Broadway has been a vital artery, connecting the Embarcadero … Read the rest
Impossible Burger: The (Not So) Bloody Details On The New Veggie Alternative August 29, 2017 In a town that traffics in food trends, one of the biggest stories of the past year has been the rise of Impossible Foods. Using a plant-based derivative called heme, the six-year-old Redwood City company has created a … Read the rest
A Tour Of North Beach’s Real Old Paper Gallery August 25, 2017 As much as any San Francisco neighborhood, North Beach has always been associated with the arts. It’s hardly a surprise: our picturesque streets, café culture and European vibe all hold a strong appeal for creative types. As a consequence, our … Read the rest
Eggs, Milk Bottles And The Market: New Isn’t Always Better August 9, 2017 When I was a child growing up in Ft. Lauderdale, we learned a lot of nonsense about what, and what not, to eat. In my memory of that time, the two most demonized culprits were eggs and butter. The nutritionists … Read the rest
Albona’s Chef Samuel Celebrates 20th Year In North Beach July 31, 2017 California’s only Istrian restaurant, Albona Ristorante Istriano is situated on quiet, tree-lined Francisco Street on the upper end of North Beach. If you’ve never visited, it is small, elegant and timeless, and defies easy categorization. Istria is a peninsula … Read the rest
Stoking The Fires Of Tradition: Sotto Mare Ten Years On July 26, 2017 A leisurely walk through North Beach is a rare treat. Easily the most pedestrian-friendly of San Francisco’s neighborhoods, North Beach was laid out for two-legged travel, and our winding alleys and one-way streets can seem a rebuke to the very … Read the rest
The Panucho Reborn: Young Chef Serves Up The Yucatan In San Francisco July 22, 2017 When Juventino Carrillo opened the first restaurant of his own, he had already been in the restaurant game for nearly a decade. As manager of the popular Bella Trattoria on Geary, Carrillo knew every aspect of the business, and he … Read the rest
North Beach Strange: Sweaters, Static & The Joe Biden Guy July 5, 2017 North Beach is truly its own creature. As the center of our collective history in San Francisco, North Beach (or the Barbary Coast, as this patch was long known) somehow enjoys a sort of cloistered existence, even today. Travelers typically … Read the rest