San Francisco and what to do in it

but they were separated 4 years ago and there is no comparison at this point

I think people should subscribe to their local newspapers, otherwise they won't survive. I also think people should be active with opera, symphony, ballet, art museums, etc in their communities

i also agree sfgate is trash now, but I also think these things are trash and if SFFD hates them then all the better

it's such an absurdly different set of standards re safety/planning compared to housing ... which is something SF needs.

coming to SF to do a reading at booksmith and staying just one night at the Metro Hotel, in/near the Haight... If I can only eat/drink one thing in the neighbourhood, any tips for specific dishes or locations?

I think I'll have just one afternoon and morning to myself; was thinking of wandering around in (pick one) Japantown/Valencia St/City Lights zone... I've been to SF only once before, explored the Castro/Dolores Park and had a burrito in the Mission

if you've already been in the mission no big reason to hit valencia st again though there is good food there. as someone who considers myself 'old school' re: SF I'm always going to say hit City Lights and Vesuvio/Specs (bars), though the interesting things in north beach have diminished over the years. 101 Records is still up there though (just the 'store' part, not the insane basement with 100000s of records piled in a heap for $1).

also congrats on that reading. I have to drive my kid to a job interview in the evening so I don't think I can make it, otherwise I definitely would.

coming to SF to do a reading at booksmith and staying just one night at the Metro Hotel, in/near the Haight... If I can only eat/drink one thing in the neighbourhood, any tips for specific dishes or locations?

Friends just opened a new spot a few blocks from where you're staying, it's fantastic:

https://sfist.com/2023/09/01/new-cocktail-bar-with-food-from-nopalito-vets-stoa-debuts-in-lower-haight/

If that doesn't look tempting there's a solid low-key/no-name sushi spot across the street (pretty hard to get into but lmk and I can get you in), great pizza just next door to your hotel (Ragazza), great Italian a few blocks north (Che Fico).

xpost Oh just saw this is tomorrow night! Sorry I won't be able to make it either, already double booked that evening, but the Booksmith is a great place for an event and hey, Amoeba's just a block or two over.

Japantown is underwhelming, if the weather is nice I'd aim for North Beach for City Lights and general tourism otherwise Valencia corridor is a great option in terms of energy and vibrance.

There are some lowkey gems near Booksmith as well, e.g. The Alembic next door.

I just looked up your event and I've got a commitment. Sorry sean.

if my kid finishes that interview quickly, i'll head over

Dang I'm very close to this location! But out of the country atm.

NOPA is my food rec for the area, get the pork chop!

Hope Stoa works out, but feel like that spot down there is cursed lol. Enjoy your stay!

It would (have) be(en) great to meet you, but thank you for all these tips!

Anyone planning on Hardly Strictly this weekend? Going Saturday afternoon for the Third Mind (Dave Alvin's instrumental semi-freakout project) and the Church, though I may swing by earlier for Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

i’ll prob watch online if available again this year

Can't make it, unfortunately.

Yep gonna see Aaron Dilloway/Victoria Shen, Kevin Drumm, Olivia Blocke & Daniel Menche at the sheer hellish miasma stage.

Ha yes, was reviewing that -- delighted to see Recombinant back.

if you go i highly recommend Leyla McCalla - we saw her open for Neko Case last year & she was excellent, and her band is tremendous

Today is the last day you can use a paper BART ticket :-(

I remember finding one on the ground that still had $60 on it!

https://cvhsolympian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bartticket2-e1433773892822.jpg

Nice find!

wow the stacks of these with like ten cents on them that I used to have to take to Powell St. to get combined together into one brand new BART ticket worth $3....

There are quite a few stuck in my old books, I used to use them for bookmarks all the time

We arrived in SF yesterday on the last leg of our trip up the coast. Lunch was in Pescadero at Duarte’s Tavern and dinner was at Tadich Grill. Classic restaurants, both. Slept like a baby after 1.75 martinis from Tadich. Cioppino was delicious.

Damn I remember occasional work parties Tadich being the high point of the shitty job I had downtown in the 90s!

i've gone to Tadich each time i've visited the city this year (3). which is more than i went when i lived there. Had sazeracs the last couple times, which were as good as the martinis are.

glad to hear it hasn't closed like everything else downtown

What did you get at Duarte's? Half & half soup and olallieberry pie?

I should have mentioned there's a bakery across the street from Duarte's that bakes my favorite loaf on the planet (roasted garlic/artichoke heart/herb rustic loaf)...

I had fried smelts and a garden salad; my wife had artichoke soup and a grilled cheese, but we shared everything. That artichoke soup was so good.

We’ve had just the best trip and there feels like there are a million more beaches to stop and see, especially north of Monterey.

Oh, and we shared the olallieberry pie with vanilla ice cream. Excellent. I started reading about olallieberries while there. I didn’t realize they are a type of blackberry.

Please come back to Santa Barbara when I am not across the Pacific on my own vacation!

We will be coming back for sure!

Glad you've had a good time for sure!

Thanks!

We went to Toronado (beer bar) on the lower Haight last night. My wife said, “I never thought I would be in a bar again that smelled like [our dive bar in law school]”.

oh cool! I thought for sure Toronado had closed sometime in the past

Beer selection was insane and the vibes were great once I got the hang of it (don’t ask questions).

Rosamunde recently closed but yeah Toronado is still kicking along.

guy at door: you know this is cash only

rosamunde can go to hell (at least the original owner known as "Smiley")

I think rosamunde is reopening?

(it reopened yesterday)

Yeah I heard some rumor about that. Like the workers took it over?

Feel like I'm the only SF resident on here sometimes... Rosamunde (Haight) never closed it was sold to Rosamunde employee #1 who rebranded it as Berliner Berliner. She also makes her own sausages unlike Rosamunde that buys their product from a major big box retailer.

Toronado also never closed but the two bars that paid a hefty sum to license the name (SD and Seattle) both closed in the past 5 years. Toronado just celebrated their 36th anniversary, still employee owned and operated. They own the whole building so they are approaching legacy status. I wish PBKR would have let me know as I have a sizeable tab there that I could have hosted a round or two.

Hurrah for clarity! Anyway drinks on Steve er wait

Have not met any ilxors in real life. Maybe next trip!

Steve, thanks for putting Duarte's on the map for us and to all the other CA folks who offered advice.

We're back home feeling very lucky and recharged.

Oh I wouldn't have met you guys, just sent a round lol.

I ate at John’s Grill last night

Oh I wouldn't have met you guys, just sent a round lol.

:(

I would have loved to have met up but didn't want to impose on plans -- also it's been a bit of a holiday whirl for me on various fronts!

Thanks, Ned. Would love to meet up on another trip some time.

Just a quick note that I'll be at the Laetitia Sadier show at the Chapel tonight! My birthday treat to myself, and why not?