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Goorin Brothers — SF soul on top, all over

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By Mayka Mei

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Real throwback style at the new Goorin Brothers store on Haight.

Passing on from nuts to hats. Such was the transition as the historic Morrow’s Nut House gave way to a new Goorin Brothers store. Last weekend the worldwide hat manufacturer opened two new shops in San Francisco, forming a three-store family within the city.

Friday kicked off with the grand opening at 111 Geary. San Francisco natives may know it as the Nut House, but the previous owner of the 70-year old institution has finally handed the keys over to Goorin Brothers CEO Ben Goorin. In finding the next tenant, (all nuthead puns aside) working with Goorin Brothers was absolutely intentional. “They definitely wanted somebody that was like us,” Goorin said. “[A] San Francisco-based company that’s been around with family roots here.”

Suck some heads at the SF Crawfish Boil & Ho-down

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By Victoria Nguyen

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Flickr photo by Janice Myint

In a little more than 72 hours, San Francisco’s Crissy Field will be the site of a mass massacre when 45,000 live crawfish meet their death in heavily spiced pots of boiling water.

It’s going to be chaotic. It’s going to be messy. It’s going to be absolutely friggin’ delicious.

This Saturday, a little bit of the Bayou Country comes to the Bay Area at the 6th Annual San Francisco Crawfish Boil & Ho-Down. According to event coordinators, this year’s turnout promises to be their largest to date, with expected attendance doubling from last year’s. The Crawfish Boil, which runs from 11am-7 p.m. at the western end of Crissy Field, will feature a live jazz band with approximately 3,000 pounds of spicy Louisiana crawfish and all you can drink beer.

The event began modestly in 2003, when two guys from Mobile, Alabama hosted a crawfish boil for a group of 25 in Golden Gate Park. Five years later, that group became 500. This year, they’re capping off the event at 1,000 folks.

“The great thing is we never started this with the intention of what it has turned into,” said Jonathan Wiggins, one of the co-founders of the event. “I think this crawfish boil event has the potential to be another big festival here in San Francisco.”

Film: The disturbed harmony of “Revanche”

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By Erik Morse

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Revanche was a 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee.

In the brief overture to Revanche, Austrian director Götz Spielmann includes an orchestra of chirping crickets and the mellifluous hum of a lawnmower laboring through viridescent patches of Viennese countryside. A plump housewife Susanne (Ursula Strauss), possibly with child, stares silently at this painterly expanse of beauty from the comfort of her modern kitchen. Somewhere nearby a limpid brook babbles quietly, its stunning combination of color and repose rivaling those placid marshes of Giverny. A large rock suddenly falls through the glassy surface of the pond, shattering the bucolic idyll and sending a discordant wave of water toward its banks. Something or someone has disturbed the harmony of this peaceful retreat and the resulting ripple might well threaten everyone in its path.

“in/divisible” dances past Prop 8 and beyond

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By Rita Felciano

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The fact that the state Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 probably was no surprise to Dance Ceres choreographer-dancer Brittany Brown Ceres, since the aftershock of the proposition’s passage coincided with her residency at CounterPULSE. But it probably did strengthen her faith in dance’s ability to suggest and strengthen concepts of community, self, and instigating and supporting change. The upcoming in/divisible, presented as part of this year’s National Queer Arts Festival, may also serve as an affirmation for those engaged in the ongoing struggle for equality. Though there is nothing overtly political about Brown Ceres’ choreography, her dances are forceful and affirming of female identity. At their best, they draw you in because of the complexity of the impulses that generate and control them. Still, if you look closely, you can see how they undermine conventional mores and ingrained patterns of thought. But they mostly convince because they are so beautifully and emotionally logical in the way they communicate. For in/divisible, Brown Ceres is collaborating with two soul mates. Aerial artist Sonya Smith complements her own (physically) more gravity-bound choreography. Joining them from San Diego is Sadie Weinberg with American Torch Songs, a set of short dances that look back at one of the universal high school experiences: getting dumped.

IN/DIVISIBLE Thurs/4–Sat/6, 8 p.m., $15. CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF. 1-800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Xoey, 24th Street and Harrison

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Tell us about your look: “It takes me half an hour to get my hair done in the morning.”

The Blender: What we’ve been eating

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By the munchy Guardian staff

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Delicious fry bread

(1) Geoduck and chocolate cherry tart, Moss Room, SF

(2) Indian fry bread, Tuba City, Navajo Nation

(3) Mulligatawny soup and benghan bhartha, delivered by Bombay Indian, SF

(4) Domaine Drouhin "Laurene" 2001, Aureole, Las Vegas

(5) Airport food: mediocre fare, astronomical prices (punishment for those who don’t plan ahead)

Maker Faire top 5: Best of Bazaar Bizarre

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Guardian style writer Mayka Mei chooses her favorite vendors in Maker Faire’s retail area.

1. Nouveau Motley

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While many jewelers dabbling in steampunk styles are merely gluing dusted watch gears onto rings, Nouveau Motley is setting the standard for what sophisticated steampunk jewelry should be. From the longevity of the metals to the sensitivity of the resins, Rachael Victoria Adams’ thorough understanding of her materials is evident in the craftsmanship of her wares. Design-wise, no one has ever made a mouse skull so attractive, and one look at the mystifying Kafka Clock (a Nouveau Motley exclusive) will make you consider abandoning your digital watch entirely. (Or any other fully operating clocks, for that matter.)

www.nouveaumotley.etsy.com

2. Nous Savons

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Jocelyn Nguyen claims her background in tailoring is unexciting, but the story that she picked up sewing from her mother without vested interests in making it her vocation is perhaps the most charming part about Nous Savons. Among the vintage-inspired jewelry and specially blended mulch (really), you’ll find her reconstructed clothing. Pictured above is a reconstructed vest paired with a handmade woolen scarf. Prices are extremely reasonable considering the knowledge required in detaching sleeves from blazers and reincarnating them as ruffles.

www.noussavons.com

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Abbey, Dolores Park

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Tell us about your look: “I feel kinda over dressed today. It was super cold in my neighborhood this morning so I’m wearing a lot of color to counter balance the gray sky.”

Appetite: Absinthe gimlets, fancy ‘wiches, sparkling spirits, dinner in bed, and more

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Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

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NEW OPENINGS
Grand Tavern dining room. Photo by Virginia Miller

The Grand Tavern opens in Oakland
Take a turn-of-the-century house on Grand Ave (near Camino) and turn it into The Grand Tavern, making use of each room (dining room with fireplace, lounge areas with chairs from Mission vintage shops, a dark wood bar, and patio)… add a menu cooked by Kay Eskind, aka "Mom", put the entire operation in the capable hands of her son, Temoor Noor, who has, with care and saavy, thought out each detail, from craft beer selection to beautiful artisanal cocktails (I’m ready to go back for the Absinthe Gimlet!), and you’re starting to get an idea of what kind of appealing hang out this tavern is.

With a $5-18 menu featuring rib-eye steak, Cornish hen with ginger and onions, and roasted squash with chili, onions and garlic sour cream sauce, it’s comforting gastropub fare, paired with an Affligem Blonde on tap or Devil’s Whiskers cocktail. The Kold Draft machine means they’re serious about perfect temperature and quality in their drinks, and the welcoming ease of staff and owner mean you can sip or sup in any room or move between them as you wish. They’re in soft opening phase right now but don’t let that stop you (in the first week along, I had a pretty seamless experience). Mi casa su casa.
3601 Grand Avenue, Oakland
510-444-4644
www.grandtavern.net

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EVENTS

6/1 – Supperclub 4-course Dinner with Jamie Lauren and Jennie Lorenzo
Dinner in bed? You’ll want to splurge for this one-of-a-kind night at Netherlands-based Supperclub’s one US location. Waited on hand-and-foot while lounging in Roman-style beds as you’re surrounded by opera singers, contortionists dangling from colorful fabric above you, even flaming sword-carrying belly dancers… who knows what might appear? Don’t worry, it’s not merely style sans substance. Launched in February, Supperclub’s “Uber Dinner” series started with a one-night-only dinner cooked by three Michelin-rated chefs from Europe and our own Elizabeth Falkner. Not bad, eh? Tonight it’s another rare gig… come and be surprised by an undisclosed four-course meal, paired with cocktails and wine (all included in the price). Highlighting Great Chefs of San Francisco, “Uber Dinner II”‘s guest chefs are Jennie Lorenzo, Exec Chef of Michelin-rated Fifth Floor, and Jamie Lauren, Exec Chef at Absinthe, and recently of, well, you already know… Top Chef. A night of exotic and sensuous feasting, this is one those meals engaging all your senses.
$125
7-10pm
657 Harrison Street
415-348-0900
www.supperclub.com

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Jared, Pier 14

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Tell us about your look: “I just got these pants from the Goodwill, and I’m eating chicken and rice from Chinatown.”

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Liz, Market and Montgomery

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Tell us about your look: “My boyfriend’s mom got me this dress at the thrift store in Paris.”

Appetite: Beer-battered rings, French on the fly, and a chef bacchanal

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Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

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Oh yes, there shall be chef: SF Chef. Food. Wine. period.

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EVENTS

August 6-9: SF Chefs.Food.Wine (calling food, wine and spirits lovers)
Start saving pennies, mark your calendar and buy your tickets now for an unparalleled event coming up in August I’m quite excited about, the first of its kind in our fair city. SF Chefs.Food.Wine is going to be a Pebble Beach/Aspen Food and Wine Classic- reminiscent event but right in an urban city center at a fraction of the price (though you’ll still shell out $150 for a one-day pass). Union Square will be turned into a sea of tents housing not only Bay Area food, wine, beer, and spirits vendors offering day-long tastings (beer garden, cocktail samplings, wine tasting, food), but each day offers over 20 sessions/panels/classes appealing to food, wine and spirits cognoscenti and uninitiated appreciators alike.

An example of just a few sessions over three days:
FOOD – "Haute vs. Bistro" cooking demo from Hubert Keller (Fleur de Lys) and Roland Passot (La Folie); "Heirloom Tomatoes" with Gary Danko and Joanne Weir; interviews with cooking luminaries and authors like Martin Yan, Joyce Goldstein, Georgeanne Brennan; a cooking competition between Jamie Lauren (Top Chef/Absinthe) and Chris Cosentino (Incanto/Iron Chef America).
SPIRITS/COCKTAILS – "Green Cocktails" with Scott Beattie (author of Artisanal Cocktails), H. Joseph Ehrmann (Elixir) and Thad Vogler (Bar Agricole); "Agave Academy" with Rebecca Chapa (Tannin Management) and Julio Bermejo (Tommy’s).
WINE – "Raid the Cellar" with Rajat Parr (Michael Mina restaurants) and Larry Stone MS (Rubicon Estate); "Sparkling Personality" with sparkling wine masters from Schramsberg Vineyards, Domaine Carneros and Roederer Estate.

These are just a few examples… there are sessions on chocolate, sushi, oysters, cheese, eggs, making the perfect coffee, beer brewing, trends in wine and spirits, marketing, design and service, food reviewing and everything of interest to those who love food and drink.

Carnaval eye: More samba and shimmy pics

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By Ariel Soto. Check out more Guardian Carnaval pics here.

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Carnaval is traditionally the last chance to get down and dirty before Lent, but in San Francisco it seems more like a major dance party running amok through the streets of the Mission District. This past Sunday, May 24th, 2009, the Grand Carnaval Parade boogied down Mission Street under a think, heavy and freezing blanket of fog that gave all the scantly clothed dancers serious goosebumps. I have to say, the best part of the parade were all the beautiful school kids, showing off their hip-hop moves and snazzy style. And then there were the Sunset Scavengers who danced and ran with their big metal trash cans. It was beyond goofy, but also impressive considering how heavy those bins were. In all, I loved all the feathers, the glitter and glam, and, of course, the awesome samba beats.

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Shake your Bootie, burners, and buy the book

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By Steven T. Jones
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The fabulous DJ Adrian Roberts — of Bootie SF and Piss Clear fame — will be headlining a pair of equally fabulous events tonight and tomorrow night, the latter in support of his new book: Burning Man Live: 13 year of Piss Clear, Black Rock City’s alternative newspaper.

It’s a great book, and I’m not just saying that because I contributed a few essays to it (which, like almost everything in the book, were reprinted from issues of Piss Clear). If you attend Burning Man or are curious about the event, it offers a great overview from decidedly hedonistic point-of-view. And supporting the book release party tomorrow night at Mighty will be a bevy of burner all-stars, as if they just stepped off the pages, as well as a showing of the Burning Man film Dust & Illusions.

And tonight’s gig is the Guardian’s Explore SF party at Temple party, where Adrian’s Bootie SF will be squaring off against their Popscene nemesi. See you there.

‘Nero’ sandwich

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Danny Scheie, from left, and Kasey Mahaffy appear in the world premiere of You, Nero. Photo by Henry DiRocco.

By Kimberly Chun

After its extended production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore and now You, Nero, Berkeley Rep is starting to feel like your one-stop spot for chuckle-inducing high jinks. The latest offering aims a little lower, and loftier, than Martin McDonagh’s allegorical gore fest centered on Northern Ireland’s Troubles: Pulitzer-nominated local playwright and Stanford artist-in-residence (and San Francisco Chronicle movie critic Mick LaSalle’s spouse) Amy Freed trains her focus on one of the more notorious rulers of all time, Nero, a pint-sized sociopath who occasionally threatens to overrun Berkeley Rep’s intimate Thrust Stage with his whimsical mayhem and murder.

Danny Schiele brings a crazy-eyed, strutting, tummy-first egotism to his role as Nero as theatrical patron – a perspective that brings to mind that other dictator who fancied himself an artist, Adolf Hitler. We approach the meglomaniac through the prismatic gaze of hack playwright Scribonious (Jeff McCarthy), hired by the emperor to stage a spectacle in tribute to his decadent, violent rule. The catch: politics in imperial court are hell. First Nero’s smothering mistress Poppaea (Susannah Schulman) then his lover-like mother Agrippina (Lori Larsen) must have their say, before the compromised courtiers weigh in with an agenda of their own. Gladiatorial acts of empty but deadly combat morph into an all-too-familiar form of idol worship – **American Idol** style.

Freed’s lampoon of contemporary entertainment tends toward the Borscht Belt, often coming off as broad and brassy as centurion armor, yet she succeeds in drawing cringe-edged laughs with the jokes ala Nero’s ebullient “Another ottoman from the Ottoman Empire!” It helps to have a cast as adept and likeable as this one, with players like Kasey Mahaffy standing out as the cross-dressing castrati Fabiolo.

YOU, NERO
Through June 28.
Tues., 8 p.m.; Wed., 7 p.m.; Thurs. and Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m.; $13.50-$71
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berkeley
(510) 647-2949

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s look: Adri from Costa Rica, Mission and 18th

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Tell us about your look: “I make my own clothes.”

Carnaval snaps: booty calls, capoeira falls at the annual Mission getdown

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Bump ‘n’ shine. All photos by Kimberly Chun.

By Kimberly Chun

Yeah, we were chillin’ at Carnaval Sunday, May 24 – so much so this little lady almost got a bad case of hypothermia. Overcast skies and cold winds – nothing could keep Carnaval SF’s booty-jiggling, thong-busting, synchronized-dancing, capoeira-kicking crews from taking to the streets. Props to the ladies flashing cheeks and chest against the wind blowing down Balmy alley. Judging from the crowd response, it was fun, fun, fun for all (loved the spartan float carrying six-plus synchronized vibraphonists and the perky-nippled, mincing contingent of rare Xolo hounds), but two hours in, my camera finger got a wee too frosty. I warmed it up with a roasted corn cob at the free Carnaval Festival on Harrison and 20th streets where folks were shooting hoops in the NBA compound and lining up for free stuff like San Francisco Gigantes T’s.

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Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s look: Janice, Market and O’Farrell

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Tell us about your look: “I’m a student from Macau and all these clothes came from there.”

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s look: Nikki, 24th Street Bart Station

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Tell us about your look: “I turned these overalls into a skirt and put some patches on it that my friends made.”

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s look: Maria, 24th and Castro

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Tell us about your look: “These are just some random pieces I found at thrift stores.”

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s look: Lauren, Market and Grant

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Tell us about your look:“I shop the sales racks.”

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s look: Stacey, Market and 5th

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Tell us about your look:“Wear what you feel comfortable in.”

Appetite: Bar Crudo’s new digs, Bruno’s good evening, sweetbreads, pastas, and more

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Every Monday, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

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Campy/classy Good Evening Thursdays

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EVENTS

Good Evening Thursdays at Bruno’s… a sexy, weekly, speakeasy-like supper club
Take "Pussycat" in giant, Parisian ’60’s lettering, white tablecloths and waiters in vintage suits, a Rat Pack-vibe menu (reasonably priced) of Filet Mignon with bone marrow, chop salad, martinis, and Oysters Rockefeller, throw in a leering cat from the rafters, and, yes, a gold pole in the middle of the room (hmmm…?) and you have Good Evening Thursdays (at least until another name is decided upon). Up leopard-carpeted stairs in Bruno’s intimate, 35-seat private room, you’ve got yourself about the coolest non-restaurant, meal ticket in town. The genius behind this concept? A cracker-jack chef line-up of Chris Kronner (from Serpentine), Slow Club, Chez Panisse), Danny Bowien (of Bar Tartine), Sam White and Howie Correa (both front of house at Chez Panisse), and Oliver Monday (from brand new flour+water) who create and cook the meals each week. I went on debut night, May 7, and found it worth dressing up for. Sans reservations, the downstairs ’60’s-chic lounge celebrates Thursdays, too, no res. required, with old school imbibements and killer bar food, like Let’s Be Frank dogs with kimchi and bacon mayo, or pork banh mi. Read more and see photos in my latest Perfect Spot newsletter.
7pm-1:30am
Reservations: goodeveningthursday@gmail.com
2389 Mission, SF
415-643-5200
www.brunossf.com

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