Oh, how we love Sister Spit — that incubator of radical feminist artists and punk-lit creators, host for two decades of some the best Bay Area spoken word performances. But the performance series (birthed by Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson back in 1994, and then again in 2006) may well hold more significance to those outside of the Bay. After all, when Sister starting touring in the late ’90s, packing its erudite rabble-rousers into a series of ramshackle vans, towns like Detroit and Tucson got a very special dose of San Francisco’s “talented, tattooed, and purple pigtailed” poets, writers, sexual outlaws, and more. Cultural ambassadors, we deem them all. The series continues to go on the road — with writers like Ali Liebgott, Eileen Myles, Robin Akimbo, and many more — and grow. Earlier this year publisher City Lights debuted its new Sister Spit imprint with a glorious anthology of pieces performed at past events, Sister Spit: Writing, Rants and Reminiscence from the Road.
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Best of the Bay 2013: BEST YEARLY WIDDERSHINS
How long does it take to make a tradition? Surely a longevity spanning four decades denotes a yearly gathering that has taken hold of a group’s psyche. If this is indeed the case, consider the pagan faction Bay Area Reclaiming’s Spiral Dance a full-blown, locally born folkway. The rite takes place each year during the Halloween season, or Samhain, as the pagan holiday of death and regeneration is best known. During the gathering — which also serves as Reclaiming Bay Area’s biggest fundraiser of the year — dance, acrobatics, elaborate altars, and song mark a program largely geared around the spiral dance itself, in which group members move in a whorl (widdershins, as the counterclockwise movement is known in faiths from Wicca to Judaism) that invokes rebirth as the cold season approaches. It’s a gorgeous, all-inclusive sight, regardless of the number or character of the deities to which you pay homage. (You’re invited too, atheist babes.)
Best of the Bay 2013: BEST GAY LEATHER BIKER ROCK AND ROLL RESURRECTION
When it was announced in 2011 that legendary Soma gay leather biker bar the Eagle Tavern was closing, much of the queer population was stunned. Sure, although charitable Sunday afternoon beer busts and renowned Thursday Night Live local rock showcases were packed, the large bar and patio were not exactly swarmed the rest of the time — and the owners had recently sunk much of their money into the revamped Hole in the Wall Saloon. But the Eagle’s closure became a flashpoint for what many saw as the homogenization of SF’s gay population and the gentrification of traditional queer spaces. A determined activist coalition rallied the city’s political forces and helped find new gay buyers — Alex Montiel and Mike Leon — who vowed to keep the spot’s rough-and-tumble, rock and roll gay vibe while revamping the interior and programming to appeal to a new generation of sexy, bearded, kinky men and friends. The SF Eagle flew again in 2013, and has been by all accounts a success: still down and dirty, but the coolest “new” gay hangout in the city.
398 12th St, SF. www.sf-eagle.com
Best of the Bay 2013: BEST BEAUX-ARTS REVIVAL
After 33 years of provoking thought and conversation about contemporary ideas and letters, City Arts and Lectures has a brand-new venue for hosting its famed series of onstage chats with boldfaced names (recent roll-call: Margaret Atwood, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Guest, Zadie Smith, Jaron Lanier, Marc Maron, Jhumpa Lahiri). But the Nourse Theater isn’t actually new at all — it was built in 1927, which makes it nearly as old as the Castro Theatre. The late Beaux-Arts beauty, once used as the High School of Commerce theater, sat neglected and closed for over 30 years. Now spiffily refurbished (think plush new seats and top-of-the-line sound and lighting) under the guidance of City Arts & Lectures founder Sydney Goldstein, with fabulously Rococo-like architectural details preserved, the hulking building on Hayes is fully revived and ready for heady artistic musings and bleeding-edge pronouncements.
275 Hayes, SF. www.cityarts.net/nourse
Best of the Bay 2013: BEST DEFENDER OF INDIE AISLES
Along with closely-affiliated nonprofit San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, CinemaSF has stepped up to keep a pair of historic theaters located in non-trendy neighborhoods — the Vogue and the Balboa — alive and thriving, especially after a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year raised dough to ease the Balboa’s digital-upgrade costs. (The Vogue, thankfully, was already 21st century-ready.) It would be an easy moneymaker to simply screen the latest Hollywood releases, and while both theaters do show first-run stuff, they also offer exclusive and special-interest programming on the side, such as the Balboa’s “Popcorn Palace” kiddie series, and the Vogue’s hosting of San Francisco Film Society events like November’s “Taiwan Film Days.” Have we mentioned how awesome it is not to always watch a movie on your laptop alone in your tiny room, or be bombarded by sense-numbing multiplex gimmickry? Here’s to many more years of great indie flicks shared in great spaces with friendly film fans.
Best of the Bay 2013: BEST CYBER-GLADIATORIAL WARFARE
Humans beware. The great robot revolution is nigh, and builders of combat robots have done us no favors by creating machines whose sole function is to destroy. Way to go, guys. But, on second thought, maybe it’s for the best that these “combots” exist, and are still obeying their owners by fighting battles — exclusively with each other — inside a giant, bulletproof pen at the annual International RoboGames. This gives us an opportunity now to study their moves — before they launch their surprise attack on the human race. Combots have advantages such as brute force, whirling blades, super-sumo skills, and general imperviousness to pain. There are even androids that perform kung fu (shudder). But by observing them in action now, we can start formulating our defense strategy ahead of time. Thanks, RoboGames, for giving us this opportunity for the past decade.
Best of the Bay 2013 Editors Picks: City Living
CITY LIVING
EDITORS PICKS
Editors picks are chosen by Guardian editors for special recognition for brightening the Bay Area experience.
BEST RENEGADE RECITAL
And then one day in June, a piano appeared. Not a tiny Schroeder model, but a full-size, stand-up set of ivories, plopped on top of Bernal Hill with an open invitation attached for giggly renditions of “Chopsticks” and gorgeous, soul-stirring Chopin scores alike. Bernal Heights being the magical neighborhood it is, a full-on recital was planned and performed for a grinning crowd of over 200 very lucky folks. The Bernal Heights piano lineup of skilled musicians sent sassy jazz numbers and symphonic pleasures into the breeze and charmed the perching crowd, as the sun set over the city below. The piano may not be a permanent fixture on the Bernal bedrock — indeed, the instrument used for the recital was a replacement, hastily lugged up by the same start-up workers who donated the first, after it disappeared. (“One does not simply get rid of a piano,” one of the gifters wrote in a blog post. “[We] concocted a plan to bring it to a public place so that it could be enjoyed by many.”) All the more reason to hike to the top and play sweet, sweet songs for the city you love.
BEST BART STRIKE BENEFIT
We all got a four-day taste of Bay Area life without BART during the labor strike in early July (with another one coming in October, or so it seems at press time) — and it was hardly a transit flavor we savored. But amid all the bitter, there was a sweet worth noting, for anyone who used the opportunity to finally try commuting by San Francisco Bay Ferry. What a way to go! For instance, did you know we actually live on a bay, with water and everything? It’s true! With the ferry, you’re out on that very water, viewing the Bay’s waterfront cities from new vantage points, traveling in comfort, usually right on schedule — with access to an on-board bar serving reasonably priced beer and cocktails, no less. Plus, the ferries travel to Marin County, that land considered so inaccessible for adherents of non-aquatic public transportation. It’s almost enough to avoid the underground for good. Almost.
BEST SUPERGENIUS BAR
Look, we’ve all done it: accidentally spilled a tall glass of vodka on our laptop keyboard, but kept watching our Breaking Bad marathon anyway. Sure, a few of the keys have stopped working, but we’re far too engrossed in the saga of Walter White to shut down, wipe down, and store that sucker in a bag of rice for a couple days until it dries out. Uh oh, though — the next morning it won’t turn on at all, or the morning after that. No need to hover around the Apple Store’s genius bar in dismay, hoping for a shot at paying $750 for a basic diagnostic — and who knows how much to actually repair the thing. The superfriendly, incredibly attentive folks of Keane Mac Repair can save the day quickly, professionally, and far more cheaply. (Recently they charged us $150 for an out-of-warranty diagnostic.) Full-service, fully licensed, and located somewhat incongruously in the gorgeous historic Flood Building — no wonder were keen on Keane.
870 Market, SF. (415) 835-9800, www.keanesf.com
BEST COMMUNITY CENTERING
As San Francisco’s Mission District undergoes rapid rent increases and neighborhood demographic change, spaces like the Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics become fewer and farther between. We need spaces like this, where artists and activists come together to share stories of their fights for economic and social justice, or deliver stirring performance through music, poetry, art, and dance. Named for beloved Mission dweller and Guatemalan activist Eric Quezada, who lost his battle with cancer in 2011, the space seeks to be a cultural gathering spot that is both affordable and accessible — just blocks from 16th Street BART, and in the middle of a stretch of Valencia more known for spendy restaurants and hipster bars than progressive candidate forums and multicultural celebrations. An apt setting for those seeking to retain their sanity in a shifting SF.
518 Valencia, SF. www.518valencia.org
BEST LADY-LOVING BIKE GANG
Roll up hot and cruise in the cool company of other bike-loving women who make up Fixed With Out Dix—a nonexclusive weekly ride for female-identified folks and their two-wheeled BFFs. The crew meets every Wednesday at the Lake Merritt BART station and pedals around parks, crushes hills, and rolls through town with the wind in its grinning faces. Whether you straddle a flashy fixie, speedy road bike, rusty cruiser, or your aunt’s muddy mountain ride, FWOD welcomes your wheels and the company. Share a snack, make new friends, and discover fresh trails for adventure. They’re pumped to empower women and encourage cycling, and these badass biker babes want others to feel good, be safe, and revel in camaraderie on the move.
Weekly rides meet Wednesdays, 6:30pm, free. Lake Merritt BART station, Oakl. fwodoakland.tumblr.com
BEST REPAIR GRAND CENTRAL
Should you need a custom cabinet, a staircase rehab, perhaps a new cupola on your clock tower, you can turn to Clipper Construction’s Mathieu Palmer. But 501 Waller, the storefront Palmer owned and used as storage space — as he told local blog Haighteration — wasn’t the best use of a neighborhood-facing corner shop. Enter Palmer’s friend Dan Daniel, who created Clipper Repair from this clutter, a friendly place for fixing up, designing, or refurbishing anything you could imagine: lamps, cabinets, antique furniture, electrical things. The interior is a gorgeously organized wonderland of screws, nails, tools, gears, and random curiosities. And then! Garret Peters turned Clipper’s back storage room into a bike shop called Wiggle Bikes, conveniently located off the Wiggle, our crosstown thoroughfare for the two-wheeled. Could there be a more useful stop-off for lovers of sustainable transportation and reuse than the Clipper Repair-Wiggle Bikes complex?
501 Waller, SF. (415) 621-4733, www.clipper-construction.com
BEST ROLLING TWEETS
This is the Bay Area — of course our most ubiquitous meteorological feature has a Twitter, and that Twitter belongs to Karl the Fog. Also of course: Karl trains CrossFit, Karl writes poetry about Folsom Street Fair, Karl creeps the “young, new, and pretty” eastern span of the Bay Bridge (although he’s gentlemanly enough to shout out the “babe” western span as well). Oh, and as befits a major part of our cultural landscape, Karl gets political, too. “The Tea Party and I have a lot in common: we’re great at obstruction, we’re really dense, and we’re almost entirely white,” Karl quips. And yet, like a silver-skinned Barry White, this smooth mover rolls a comforting blanket of seduction over all our areas, high and low, uniting and reminding us that there’s no place like home.
BEST EXCUSE TO ORGANIZE
Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission adopted Plan Bay Area, a regional recipe for funneling an influx of new residents into San Francisco and the Bay’s other urban cores. It calls for San Francisco to somehow absorb 280,000 new souls, who will live in 92,000 new housing units and drive 73,000 more cars, by the year 2040 (see “Planning for displacement,” 5/28/2013), while doing little to preserve the homes of current residents, expand public transit, or discourage driving. In other words, it’s a free pass for developers, masquerading as environmentalism. Though the plan been challenged in court, activism is our best hope at mitigating the worst parts of it. To get involved, visit sfbay.sierraclub.org, www.cbecal.org, www.earthjustice.org, and the websites of other good activist organizations — and keep reading the Guardian.
BEST ANTI-GENTRIFICATION ELECTRO-PUNK SINGLE
It certainly touched a nerve. “Hey gurl, where you moving to? Moving to the East Bay, living life the broke way. SF keep your money. FUCK YOUR MONEY!” Esta Noche drag star Persia and local electro duo Daddies Plastik’s “Google Google Apps Apps” single came bouncing through the Web early this summer and ricocheted off hyperlocal blogs, paradoxically gaining speed through the power of social media. A bouncy yet sardonic party track that seriously skewers the tech industry and its effects on the San Francisco cost of living, the song (and wacky-genius video featuring the whole freak posse) successfully captured the rage of a city caught up in a tragic transition. It was an anger Persia herself felt when Esta Nocha, the Mission’s Latino gay bar, was in danger of closing. But she took that rage and turned it into summer anthem gold. Hey girl, could you tag me in that pic?
BEST TIP-TOP SPIFF UP
It has been remarked that West Portal is quite the happy village in the middle of this teeming city. We concur. Tucked into the side of a hill topped by a Twin Peak, slung happily along a leafy central promenade, the neighborhood is not the worst model for Main Street, USA. Tip and Top Vacuum & Shoe Service, particularly seen in this light, is an all-American gem. Bring in your dirt sucker for a fix-me-up and the capable staff will get it back to dirt bunny-busting in two shakes of a dusty rug. And like any good member of a small community, Tip and Top is a multitasker, as evident from the boots in the window. The shop also repairs shoes, and will even custom-cobble you a boot or slipper. To recap: Tip and Top fixes vacuums and shoes, it’s cute as a button, and you kind of need to check it out.
173 W Portal, SF. (415) 664-9320
BEST LITERARY BYWAY
Though the neighborhood can fascinate in a historic sense, sensory overload is a constant threat among the chain stores, tour buses, and souvenir sweatshirts of Fisherman’s Wharf. One can always head to Richard Henry Dana Place for a brief respite, however. Incongruously tacked onto the waterfront edge of Leavenworth Street, the quiet dead end — placid in a sea of tourist turbulence — was renamed in 1988 as part of a City Lights Bookstore proposal to name a dozen streets after local artists and authors. Richard Henry Dana Jr.’s renowned contribution to our canon, Two Years Before the Mast, contains some of the first accurate descriptions of the West Coast from aboard a merchant vessel. (Melville famously wrote of it, “But if you want the best idea of Cape Horn, get my friend Dana’s unmatchable Two Years Before the Mast. But you can read, and so you must have read it. His chapters describing Cape Horn must have been written with an icicle.”) Dana’s namesake street therefore manages to combine both literary and sea-faring history in one charmingly ramshackle locale.
Leavenworth and Jefferson, SF.
BEST TWERK QUAKE
Long before Miley irrevocably shifted the national conversation in the direction of feverishly jiggling glutei, there were the Twerking Girls. This unabashedly trio of bootylicious women joyfully — but with hilariously straight faces — rapidly oscillated that which their mothers gifted unto them up and down the city. They shimmied through the Apple Store and all around Union Square. They headstood on cable cars and cafeteria tables, invaded laundromats and tiny GoCARS, stunned ’em on BART and at Macy’s. In the sight of God and 2Chainz, they twerked their way right down the veggie aisle at the Safeway. The hypnotically undulating hijinks of Cherry Red, Dollface, and Tastee were captured this summer in a viral video, “Twerking in San Francisco Prank” by the Simple Pickup crew (a trio of dudes made infamous by filming themselves aggressively hitting on unsuspecting women; this celebratory video proved there is a spark of good in everyone). At first watch, you can’t stop laughing at the befuddled, bewildered, or frozen faces of some of the people shocked by the Twerking Girls’ hypnotic undulations. But then a larger, deeper point takes over: damn, San Francisco’s gotten mighty uptight. Thank you, Twerking Girls and friends, for shaking some soul in the city’s face.
BEST PLACE TO PADDLE AND WADDLE
The de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences have the giant advertising budgets and thus get all the press, but Golden Gate Park’s hidden gem lies just down JFK from those twin attractions: the Stow Lake Boathouse, perched alongside the built-in-1893 lake. The historic, recently renovated boathouse (it was getting a little creaky) contains a café stocked with handmade piroshkis and serves as the launch spot for Stow Lake’s fleet of boats, including the iconic paddleboats so beloved by tourists — and locals who aren’t too cool to admit it. If hanging out on the water’s not for you, stroll around the lake, dodging rapidly waddling geese and ducks on the paved path. More ambitious hikers can cruise to Strawberry Hill atop Stow Lake’s tiny, wooded island. On days when the fog lifts, the view there is well worth the huffing and puffing.
50 Stow Lake Dr. E., Golden Gate Park, SF. www.stowlakeboathouse.com
BEST PUBLIC ART-CHITECTS
When the Exploratorium reopened at Pier 15 earlier this year, tech wizards Obscura Digital transformed the historic waterfront building’s façade with an ultra-high definition light projection show, dazzling nighttime gazers who flocked there with an array of spectacular, nature-themed dreamscapes. Enormous blooming crystals, fast-forward budding plants, time lapse microorganism interactions were all brought to life, precisely projected in a way that contained them within the lines of the building’s architecture — yet totally screwed with viewers’ perception. It wasn’t the first time this 13-year-old design studio has treated San Francisco audiences to surreal sound-and-light shows in public spaces. Its “Corazon Under the Dome” exhibit at downtown’s Westfield Centre dazzled shoppers with convex architectural mapping, and Obscura’s “Digital Arts Panorama” at the new San Francisco Public Utilities Commission building offers visitors a dynamic virtual tour of the regional watershed.
BEST HOME RUN
If you’re a local baseball fan and you haven’t yet run the Giant Race, you’re missing out, and not just because race entry includes a bobblehead (this year: sparkle-eyed Sergio Romo decked out in running gear) and a shiny medal (also this year: an homage to the World Series ring … with glitter, because WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS). The late summer race, which benefits Project Open Hand and offers nearly pancake-flat 5K, 10K, and half-marathon distances, begins just outside AT&T Park but ends on the field. Sure, certain parts of the sacred grass are roped off, but the bulk of the diamond is open for post-race stretching, hydration, and field-of-dreams fantasies galore. Die-hards take special note: There are companion Giant Races in San Jose and Scottsdale, too. No AT&T Park finish, obviously, but think of the superfan bragging rights!
BEST SCHOOL OF THRASH
Between competing coffee shops and obscured by the whirl of growing foot traffic on Divisadero Street sits an old Victorian, surrounded by a fence, upon which hangs a hand-painted sign. The SF Skate Club‘s mission says it all: “[The club] strives to provide a safe, positive, and fun environment for youth of diverse backgrounds to pursue their passion to skateboard.” Skate Club creators, skateboarder Shawn Connolly and educator Thuy Nguyen, are on their grind to use skateboarding as a medium of youth empowerment and community building, and their school is a hub of fast friendship and solid ollies. Summer, weekend, and after-school programs for kids of most ages are offered which teach the basics and tricks. The school also organizes mobile outings, and hosts drop-in visits from professionals. If its pupils’ enthusiasm is any indication, after just a few months it’s already on a roll.
635 Divisadero, SF. (415) 572-2065, www.sfskateclub.com
BEST EYE ON THE OCEAN
Perched above Sutro Baths near Ocean Beach, on a cliff whose face always seems to be exploding with colorful blooms, the exceedingly graceful 4,050 sq. ft. National Park Service visitor center at Point Lobos known as Lands End Lookout is one of our new favorite places in the world. (Although it’s closed as of this writing due to the government shutdown, boo.) Opened earlier this year, it contains a smart little cafe, oodles of info on the area’s environmental features, wildlife, and historical hot spots, and a nature-loving staff. Most people will come here at a starting point of an energizing down to the or through the surrounding hills. But the low and angular yet surprisingly capacious design of the Lookout itself, by EHDD, fits so perfectly into its Point Lobos surroundings (and puts further to shame the industrial barn-like Cliff House next door) that you may find yourself lingering beyond a cappuccino to enjoy the light and light-filled space, waves frothing on the rocks far below.
BEST BAR FOR A SECOND DATE
Fancy foodie joints, indie movies, trendy pop-ups, and all that jazz: all great ways to unwind the weirdness of date No. 2, but when it’s a Tuesday, you worked all day, and exhausted yourself in yoga, let’s be real: you’re hangry and horny. This evening out requires two things immediately: food and liquor. Forget trying to be impressive, go with our proven routine. We call up the Little Chihuahua on Divisadero, order something to go, and walk your awkward and excited date next door to The Page — one of the few chill, homey spots left on the rapidly developing (and stressing out) “Divisadero Corridor” — where one can snag a bar stool, drink some whiskey, and feast on your delicious assortment of salsas and burrito fare. This neighborhood staple is cool with your takeout as long as you promise to clean up your foils and spills — and generously tipping your bartender never hurts. Your date will be well fed, your confidence levels will be on the up, and the night is young. It’s time to turn the page on this.
298 Divisadero, SF. (415) 255-6101, www.thepagebar.com
BEST NEW DRONE HIVE (WITH BUZZ)
Face it: cafes do not want an all-day camper leeching off their wi-fi (and scaring away their customers), and people working on their laptops want a place to work where they don’t have to keep buying single espressos just to get that last report done. Now we out-of-office worker bees can bow to our caffeine-overlords guilt-free: The Workshop Cafe is a spot where laptop use is not only condoned, its encouraged. In fact, calling it a cafe may be a misnomer — it’s really a hip and sleek public office space that a cafe snuck into and never left. (And it’s already looking to expand to a location near you.) Each table is equipped with rows of outlets to charge your gear, and there’s a smartphone app to order coffee without moving your rump. Cubbies deep inside the FiDi coffee joint-cum-workspace come equipped with white boards and markers for impromptu meetings, and widescreen monitors await your PowerPoint-laden laptops. Workshop even offers scanning and printing services: no need to head to FedEx or Kinko’s or whatever the heck they call themselves these days. Pro tip: there are free portable batteries to plug your laptops into if you want to toil at the tables outside. For only two bucks an hour, you can work as long as you like, minus snide looks from annoyed baristas. Now we can work forever! Free time, what’s that?
180 Montgomery, SF. (415) 322-1048, www.workshopcafe.com
BEST SUPER-WELLNESS INSURANCE
Clamber up to the Queen Anne Victorian home on a quiet Richmond corner to find some of the best free health care in the city. For 20 years, the SF Free Clinic has tended to the uninsured and underinsured, doing the work that our great federal government is only just now starting to get to. Started in 1993 by Tricia and Richard Gibbs, two general practitioners who wanted to make the connection between low-income San Franciscans and the city’s high quality health resources, the facilities offer preventative health screenings, vaccines, and non-emergency care. Services like free diabetes screenings are aided by health facilities and pros from across the city who lend a hand at the California Street location. Example: renowned yoga instructor Betty Roi offers a regular healthful yoga class. The SF Free Clinic has seen more than 70,000 patient visits since it opened its doors, a staggering number that shows how valuable the clinic is to the city’s health and wellness.
4900 California, SF. (415) 750-9894, www.sffc.org
BEST MEMOS FROM HELL
“I’m so disappointed in Tartine. They can’t make a real croissant. They’re too heavy!” “I’ve had a really hard weekend, I’m exhausted. All I’ve done is go to music festivals.” “You know him, he’s a serial entrepreneur. We are going to have him give a talk!” Nothing could be more indicative of the tragically funny contemporary state of San Francisco than the exclamations posted to the Dispatches from Entitlementistan Facebook page. As the page’s anonymous proprietor explains “I overhear the most asinine snippets of conversation outside of our window. Here is a handcrafted, artisanal, seasonal, locally-sourced, curated selection of comments from the heart of the Mission.” Links to cringe-worthy tech exposes, snaps of “only in privileged SF” moments, and even some nuanced critiques of the state of this rapidly changing city are posted almost daily. Dispatches is no mere anti-tech hate fest, however. It showed some serious viral power when it posted a Bud Light “Party on the Playa” Costco banner at Burning Man time, and a now-iconic pic, shot by Meredith Perry and picked up by Valleywag, of a Google Glass-sporting nerd with a bicycle at Dolores Park selfie-ing while two leather clad unicorns frolicked in the background. The caption? “Perfection.”
www.facebook.com/entitlementistan
BEST GUIDE FOR A CHALLENGING FUTURE
The organization has offered lectures and panel talks on key policy issues to Bay Area audiences for years, but the Commonwealth Club of California’s Climate One series deserves a shout-out for bringing the most pressing environmental issues of our time to the fore. Climate One was founded by Commonwealth Club Vice President Greg Dalton in 2007 after he visited the arctic circle in a Russian icebreaker boat and saw firsthand the effects of climate change on life in that part of the world. So far, the series has brought together public officials, academic experts, key business players, and advocates for serious, in-depth conversations on everything from fracking and the implications of rising sea levels to “Corn, Cows, and Cars.” The result: scary stuff, but with a reach toward actual solutions. Educate thyself with a Climate One talk at the Club’s San Francisco headquarters or download a podcast from a recent event.
BEST SAIL FROM SOBRIETY (ON WAVES OF NOTORIETY)
The cocktail menu at Virgil’s Sea Room pays homage to our city’s unfathomably quirky, endlessly entertaining heroes: fashionista twins Marian and Vivian Brown, departed philanthropist and devoted banjo player Warren Hellman, drag queen Empress I Jose Sarria, perennial 12 Galaxies sign-hoister Frank Chu. But when speaking of our burg’s best loved, mustn’t we also mention progenitors of accommodating neighborhood watering holes? If indeed we must, hoist a glass to the triple-threat owners of one of Bernal Heights’ new favorite hangouts. Lexington Club owner Lila Thirkield, DJ-promoter-political dervish Tom Temprano, and former Nickie’s drink slinger Gillian Fitzgerald opened their watering hole early this summer in the space that once housed karaoke dive-a-rama Nap’s III. They’ve slapped on some nautical accents, spruced up a surprisingly roomy patio, and nurtured a relaxed, quirky ambience that raises a welcoming flag to buoy local spirits — while saluting San Francisco’s rambunctious past.
3152 Mission, SF. (415) 829-2233, www.virgilssf.com
Best of the Bay 2013: BEST MIDWEEK THROWDOWN
For fans of great house music, packed dance floors, cute crowds, and sweating out the workweek, Wednesdays are the new Fridays, thanks to the stellar Housepitality party crew. Promoters and DJs Mikey Tello and Miguel Solari, along with about a dozen fantastic resident local DJs, bring in international underground superstars every week to get us over hump day (and play havoc with our Thursday mornings). But the Housepitalers go beyond merely roping in midweek talent — they’ve built a devoted community of new and old school dance mavens, crossing generational divides through the spirit of darned good music and a loving vibe. Now in their third year, they also dig deep to introduce the Bay to fresh talent and obscure legends: not too many parties on Earth can boast bringing in “DJ’s DJ” (and an inventor of Detroit techno) D. Wynn one week and then contemporary Bulgarian live acid house act Kink the next. Who needs sleep, anyway?
Wednesdays, 10pm-2am at F8, 1192 Folsom, SF. www.housepitalitysf.com
BEST PEACH OF A PLAYWRIGHT
We’re declaring 2012-2013 the theatre season of Lauren Gunderson, y’all. Ever since this prolific Georgia native’s Exit, Pursued by a Bear debuted at Crowded Fire Theater in 2011, Gunderson’s scripts are smart, sassy, and fueled by revenge and science. “I think I write about scientists more than I write about science,” she told Creative Loafing Atlanta. “You could say that science is the landscape and ether of the plays, but the hearts and dreams of the scientists are what we’re really watching.” That empathetic approach to science may help explain why her plays have the taken tech-nerdy Bay Area by storm. This season alone saw the Bay Area-based productions of no fewer than five of her scripts: Emilie La Marquise du Chatalet Defends Her Life Tonight by the Symmetry Theatre Company in Berkeley, Toil and Trouble at Impact Theatre, By and By with the Shotgun Players, The Taming with Crowded Fire Theater, plus I and You at the Marin Theatre Company. Love a rising star? There’s still time to bolster your “I saw her back when” cred when both TheatreWorks and SF Playhouse produce her works in early 2014.
BEST THREE-POINT SWISH
At first, the idea of opening a successful gay sports bar in the Castro might have struck some as either a shameful back-in-the-closet move (only manly men allowed, no swishing!) or another apocalyptic omen of gay assimilation (we’ve become the jocks who beat us up!). But then you watch the diverse crowds — including, yes, the swishy — pack into Hi Tops to cheer on our major championship teams and our lesser-recognized sports organizations and heroes. You see the Sports Illustrated picture of two male 49ers fans enthusiastically kissing — the first such photo to appear in that magazine. You check out the super-spiffy design of the place, which repurposes vintage bleachers, b-ball court floors, lockers, and cage lights. You sample the playful drink menu, which features an actual cocktail made with Muscle Milk, and a bar menu that twists standard game day food in a slightly gourmet direction. Finally, you see how owners Jesse Woodward, Dana Gleim, and Matt Kajiwara have created a community of like-minded queer sports fans who can finally express their mutual admiration openly, proudly, and loudly. Holy crap, is that a ball in your hand?
2247 Market, SF. (415) 551-2500, www.hitopssf.com
BEST JAZZ FLIGHT
The home base for SFJazz was decades in the making, but the popular nonprofit jazz organization finally got its own permanent home this year — and the SFJazz Center‘s sparkling new glass building is a marvel of modern sound. The $63 million, state-of-the-art facility includes balconies, perches, a fancy restaurant, and a smaller performing space for up-and-comers. But the main bowl-shaped auditorium deep inside the venue is where all that jazzy action comes alive, a circular space with platforms that can accordion and retract to make room for different kinds of setup. Resident artistic directors like Jason Moran have made good use of that unique space; during his stay, Moran opened up the bottom level for an actual skateboarder’s half-pipe with live skating demos, and also widened it up for a Fats Waller dance party. And of course a diverse roster of jazz greats — McCoy Tyner, Eddie Palmieri, Esperanza Spaulding, Hugh Masekela, Bill Frissell — have reached the new rafters with their flights of sound.
201 Franklin, SF. (866) 920-5299, www.sfjazz.org
BEST HIP-HOP NAMECHECK
Jaunty East Bay rapper-producer IamSu! has released a barrage of clever mixtapes and collaborated with the likes of big-timers like 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, Juvenile, E-40, and Roach Gigz — but his career can be traced back to Youth Radio, a nonprofit media center based in Oakland. Like so many others before and since, the talented 23-year-old MC got his start there at age 15 and learned all about the art of beat making. Fast-forward a decade and IAmSu! (born Sudan Ahmeer Williams) is getting some serious love for attention-grabbing lyrics, bold beats, and his casual return to hyphy, not to mention team efforts with his crew HBK (Heart Break Kids) Gang. He still reps his hometown even while sending it up in hits like “Goin’ Up” feat. Khalifa, nonchalantly tossing out rhymes like “Ask around I got hell of love in the Bay/Get money give a fuck what a hater say” over a wobbly beat in a video directed by Kreayshawn and featuring cameos by locals like Gigz. He may be bursting outside the bounds of the Bay, but his output remains a family affair.
BEST SECRET VERSE
Tired of hum-drum literary events involving lecterns, monotones, and rumpled suit jackets? Has Janey Smith got the antidote for you. One part poetry reading, one part beer bust, and one part urban exploration escapade, literary gatherings at the Squat turn the pedestrian concept of a reading into a situational ritual. After assembling in Smith’s lower Haight apartment for mingling and judicious imbibing, the crowd is ushered silently to a secret location: an abandoned flat lit by dozens of tea candles with a small pile of rubble on the floor serving as a podium for the invited poets. The echo of empty rooms, the brave flickers of candlelight, and the rapt attention of the crowd makes poetry at the Squat resonate that much more, attracting a stalwart crew of hardcore wordsmiths and armchair literati alike.
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Best of the Bay 2013 Editors Picks: Food and Drink
FOOD AND DRINK
EDITORS PICKS
Editors picks are chosen by Guardian editors for special recognition for brightening the Bay Area experience.
BEST ALL-NATURAL SWEETIE
Juice may be the perky cheerleader in a made-for-tweens drama, but smoothies are the quiet girl that the plot eventually turns on — you know, the one with deeper substance, a touch of shy sweetness, perhaps a few creamy curves. Maybe smoothies aren’t hip to the cleansing trend, and maybe they don’t come packaged in a collectible glass bottle, but nobody puts them in the corner. The ingredient list for Morning Brew Cafe’s Happiness smoothie is deliciously minimal — avocado and whole milk — but your satisfaction will reach maximal heights. The silky combination of rich, ripe avo and thick dairy makes for a delicious sip and a full belly of healthy fat and vitamins. It’s a real meal, great as breakfast or post-workout replenishment. If you’re not a fan of the animal products, request almond milk and reap the additional protein benefits.
401 Sansome, SF. (415) 986-4206, www.morningbrew.com
BEST BUN NOODLIN’
Yes, you will do it in part for the Instagram. However, the hypebeasts were right on this one: Nombe’s ramenburger is something any self-respecting gourmand in this town has to try. (Curious folks waited over an hour to try one at the SF Street Food Festival, and no one laughed at them.) The burger of Wagyu beef and pork belly tucked between two ramen noodle buns is a culinary voyage, sometimes accompanied by miso, shiitake, and blue cheese if you’re looking for a true umami blast-off. Pro tip: come to Japanese-style izakaya Nombe on half-off wine bottle Wednesday and please, sort out the appropriate photo filter after you eat the thing. This is one burger that is best devoured straight from the kitchen, before the hype (or noodle) has had a chance to cool.
2491 Mission, SF. (415) 681-7150, www.nombesf.com
BEST “MADE” PIZZA
If San Francisco’s classier pizza joints ever threw down in some kind of mozzarella-fueled turf war, the smart money would be on Capo’s — the year-old North Beach joint that’s just as versed in Prohibition Era gangster culture as it is in tasty pizza. Chef Tony Gemignani clearly knows what he’s doing with his award-winning, Chicago-style pies (four choices of crust, from deep dish to “cracker thin”), but the man also has a flair for décor: hand-painted tin ceiling, a 1930s phone booth that actually functions, a bar that pays homage to the Golden Gate Bridge, and snappy red leather booths themed around gangsters of note — with memorabilia to match. Where else can you enjoy Quattro Forni (a pie specialty made using four ovens!) while admiring poker chips once owned by Al Capone? Nowhere else, wise guy. Capisce?
641 Vallejo, SF. (415) 986-8998, www.sfcapos.com
BEST BORSCHT IN BERNAL
Even if you don’t much care for piroshkis (although if that’s the case, we feel only sorrow in our hearts for you), the borscht will keep you coming back to Anda Piroshki. Tucked away in the local mini-mall of the Marketplace on Cortland, the counter’s proprietor Anna Tvelova keeps things simple by offering only a handful of menu options. The signature Anda Piroshki borscht is one of the tastiest we’ve ever encountered — no mushy puree, this savory-sweet beet soup is a chunky, earthy stew of slow-cooked veggies and copious dill simmered in a broth and sold in six-dollar pints so flavorful it’s hard to believe that they’re vegan. But they are.
The Marketplace, 331 Cortland, SF. (415) 821-9905, www.andapiroshki.com
BEST ZAP IN A GLASS
One of the most amazing recent dishes to smack the local foodie scene upside the head: Mission Chinese Food’s Chongqing chicken wings, the little crispy limbs buried in so many “explosive” chili peppers that one bite actually numbs your entire mouth. It’s the weirdest, most viscerally addictive experience on our menus. But what if we told you it was also available in cocktail form? Wow and ouch! The Alembic’s Nine Volt leapt onto the ever-innovative Haight Street bar’s summer cocktail menu this year (crafted by bar manager Danny Louie) and zapped us to attention. Served with white Szechuan peppers — yep, sourced from Mission Chinese — but gorgeously balanced with Aviation gin, green tea, and grape juice, this baby gives out a recharging tongue-in-the-socket thrill without any battery-acid stomach repercussions. Here’s hoping the Nine Volt sticks around through winter: we could use the heat.
1725 Haight, SF. (415) 666-0822, www.alembicbar.com
BEST BARLEYWINE BLAST
Although it’s been absorbed to an extent by SF Beer Week, Toronado’s annual Barleywine Festival has been around much longer (20 years as of last February), and it eschews the exuberant trappings of most of its festival kin to focus strictly on what’s most essential — the booze. As strong as wine but brewed as a beer, barleywines fall beyond stouts, doppelbocks, and tripels on the strong beer spectrum, and are best savored slowly and with a degree of reverence, which Toronado facilitates with generous, inexpensive sample pours of over 50 varieties from around the world. And, dear hearts, the festival always falls on the weekend closest to Valentine’s Day, making it the perfect destination (or distraction) for the lovers and loners alike.
547 Haight, SF, (415) 863-2276, www.toronado.com
BEST BURMESE BRUNCH BRUSSELS SPROUTS
The wait line to get into excellent Inner Richmond Burmese restaurant Burma Superstar is legendary — so legendary that most of us stopped considering it as a dinner option. So when, a few years ago, the owners announced they would be opening a “little sister” down the block named B Star Bar, we rejoiced. B Star Bar kept some of Burma Superstar’s favorites, like the lauded tea leaf salad, but it specialized in innovative Asian comfort food twists. Among the surprises: one of the best brunch menus in the city, including a delectable duck hash quesadilla, succulent tocino (bacon-like Asian jerk pork) with garlic rice, and a full selection of jooks (rice porridge) with all the fixings. But the real brunch superstar here is B Star Bar’s brunch “B Sprouts” — perfectly roasted Brussels sprouts tossed with furikake (rice seasoning), fish sauce, Parmesan, and popped rice that adds a cheery wake-up crunch. The diverse flavors combine so well, we could brunch on these little green gems forever (with mimosas, of course).
127 Clement, SF. (415) 933-9900, www.bstarbar.com
BEST SURPRISE SANDWICHES
“Pastries for lunch?” Your friends might scoff, but oh, what a surprise they’re in for upon entering this hidden gem tucked between office buildings and business folks. “Banh mi!,” they will exclaim, and although there will not be streamers or confetti to complement their shocked expressions, these little sandwiches will do the delighting in both taste and value. Muffins Muffins, tucked innocuously off Second Street, serves up delicious, made-to-order banh mi for as little as five bucks. The vegetarian option features some tasty faux meat with a tangy finish, topped with jalapeños and hugged by a soft bun. Carry your lunch to nearby Yerba Buena Gardens for a Financial District adventure that doesn’t require a suit or a fatty wallet.
123 Second St, SF. (415) 342-7588
BEST WORMWOOD WARLOCKS
There aren’t many in the craft-spirit making movement who can boast of having a US Navy nuclear engineer as a master distiller. The story goes: Lance Winters came to St. George Spirits and presented founder Jörg Rupf with a homemade batch of whiskey in lieu of resume. He got the job, and under his watch, St. George churned out its single malt whiskey and a line of gins. In 2007, it became the first in the nation to legally release a wormwood liqueur, and continues to be well known for its excellent Absinthe Verte. In a retrofitted Alameda naval hanger turned HQ, test stills are charmed into producing oddball booze flavors including oysters, Dungeness crab, or even the company Christmas tree. “If we’re not pushing the limits of our creativity,” they explain, “our spirits aren’t going to be any different or better than stuff that’s already out there.”
2601 Monarch, Ala. (510) 769-1601, www.stgeorgespirits.com
BEST CELEB BREAD
Oh, you thought Food Network personality Tyler Florence was the celebrity most likely to appear at the elegant American bistro he owns in the Financial District? Nope. Before you even order off the classy-comfort-food menu, you’ll have your brush with fame. Instead of a bread basket (boring!), at your table will appear Wayfare Tavern’s popovers — crisp, golden brown, egg-battered treats so delicious you’ll be tempted to spoil your meal with multiple servings. (And so legendary that several staff members sport popover tattoos.) In August, Florence tapped a new executive chef in Joey Elenterio and word on the street is new menu items will follow, so this might be a grand time to make a reservation. Just keep those popovers coming, please!
558 Sacramento, SF. (415) 772-9060, www.wayfaretavern.com
BEST POPPED-UP BOTTLES
You know what this place could use? Some no-frills, open-to-all wine tasting. Enter Mugsy Wine Bar, a pop-up most often spotted at El Rio that knows how to class up a place without bringing down the mood, aided by sips from local vintners. The Mugsy tasting notes: “a wine bar with an emphasis on women, urban, and people of color winemakers” with a mouth-feel of “all-around enjoyment.” And this pop-up is pop-cultured. Witness, theme nights: “Mugsy is the New Black” (a play on Netflix smash-hit prison drama series, “Orange is the New Black”) for which the team brought out lesbian-owned Oakland winery Fraina Blanco. Then there was “Popping up for Pride” night, when bottles were uncorked from Alameda’s Rock Wall Wines and Urban Legend Cellars of Oakland. Hooray for local vino pride.
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BEST PALETA CLEANSER
So you’ve just gobbled down an incredible meal at Nopalito that began with a heaping bowl of melted-cheese-covered tortilla chips, followed by carnitas and several bites of your tablemate’s chicken mole. You sipped multiple mezcal-laced cocktails (try the Killer Bee). You are officially stuffed. But when the server comes around asking if you want dessert, there’s only one answer: yes, yes you want in on Nopalito’s housemade popsicles. These paletas hechas en casa may be the only dessert option at either of the restaurant’s two locations, but they’re a thick, rich cut above anything you’ll find in the corner store freezer. There’s a choice of flavors: seasonal fruit or chocolate-cinnamon — the latter like eating a big, ice-cold hunk of Mexican chocolate.
306 Broderick, SF. (415) 437-0303; 1224 Ninth Ave., SF. (415) 233-9966, www.nopalitosf.com
BEST LUNCH PARTY IN THE USA
Perish all lunchtime thoughts of those tea-sipping, watercress sandwich-prone Windsors across the pond — in America, our royalty slurps down such delights as fried peanut butter and banana sandos. But, if you’re the worldly sort and prefer a slightly more elegant take on Elvis-inspired cuisine, point your pink Cadillac toward the Lunchpad. At this daytime sandwich pop-up inside new Hayes Valley wine bar Noir Lounge, one can king oneself with an “Almost Elvis,” Nutella and banana on pain de mie (with an add-bacon option, natch). Savory Lunchpad hits include twists on the classics (roast turkey with habañero candied bacon!) and specials (fried chicken sandwich). Oh, and fans of Hollywood royalty take note: A recent lox-and-eggs concoction paid tribute to Leonardo DiCaprio.
581 Hayes, SF. (415) 552-6647, www.thelunchpadsf.com
BEST CULTURED CACAO
Born of owner Arcelia Gallardo and co-owner Amelia Gonzalez’ passion for Latin America’s rich pre-Colombian heritage, Casa de Chocolates offers spicy, artisanal iterations of the divine sweet, expertly accented by the flavors of Mesoamerica’s traditional food staples. The women’s dual interests in the culinary and cultural make for an exciting, informed menu — one can pick up a box of mole, passionfruit, guayaba, and tamarind-filled handmade bon-bons, or leave the realm of cacao entire for a silky pumpkin flan or a chipotle caramel. There is such a thing as a tequila-filled chocolate butterfly! Though many items, like a foot-wide dark chocolate rendering of the revered Aztec calendar, are available in the shop’s online store, you’ll have to make an in-person appearance for some specialties including a piquant glass of frozen Mexican chocolate, or standout tres leches cupcakes.
2629 Ashby, Berk. (510) 859-7221, www.casadechocolates.com
BEST RETRO EGG CREAM
Did you think egg creams were something you’d only ever experience onscreen in a teens-of-the-1950s movie? Then welcome the sweet, bustling counter here — named for its owner’s great-grandmother — which is doing its part to bring retro sippin’ to the FiDi lunch masses. While you’re there, it’s well worth sampling one of the Jewish-style deli’s delicious, rye-bread sandwiches or bagel concoctions, but Shorty Goldsteins’ egg creams (made with syrup, milk, and seltzer) are a cult classic in the making, with flavors that usually include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and salted caramel. And if you’d prefer not to drink your dessert … Shorty’s thick, decadent cheesecake just might put your head on swivel instead.
126 Sutter, SF. (415) 986-2676, www.shortygoldsteins.com
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER BAR
A cozy bar with unbeatable drink deals, a genre-spanning variety of DJ nights (soul! Classic country! Brazilian! 1950s mod!), undiscovered by the mouth-breathing masses, yet conveniently located just a few meatball-lengths away from the Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack? What is this magical establishment? Look no further than the spot so friendly it’s named El Amigo — offering late-night drink specials and stocking 40 kinds of tequila. Hi! The joint is owned by the same team behind the ever-popular Emmy’s, providing a great perch for drinking away your wait for a table. And join us there for a cheap beer and a shot at midnight, you might become our BFF.
3355 Mission, SF. Facebook: El Amigo Bar
BEST ESCAPE EN ESPAÑOL
Hayes Valley is a neighborhood in constant flux — witness the condo complex that’s rising where the Hayes Valley Farm’s beehives and veggie rows once stood. Just across Fell Street from this construction is year-old specialty market Nosa Ria (speaking of change, the space was previously a hair salon), selling what its sandwich-board sign dubs “quintessential Spanish foods” — and we dub indubitably delicious. Its list of unique, hard-to-find imports includes grocery staples (cured meats, cheese, olive oils, etc.), wines and sherry, and treats (chocolate! Chupa Chups!). Oh yes, there is that ever-elusive jamon serrano in the house, as well as squid in ink, thick and sweety turron, and all the paella fixings you need, including tha pans. That trip to Galicia and/or Andalusia may be still in the planning stages, but you can start refining your palate ahora.
500 Laguna, SF. (415) 529-1506, www.nosaria.com
BEST PASTRY ERUPTION
Certainly, you can visit this Marina bakeshop without ordering Le Marais Bakery’s Volcan, but this is foolhardy. On your last island getaway did you dither about in the airport gift shop, fretting over gaudy short-sleeve button-downs and plastic leis, tempting as they may be? Of course not, you went straight to the top of Kilauea and delighted in its heart-racing flows and crispy geological crusts. And so you will, bold one, at Le Marais. You’ll save that baguette for later and dive straight into a Volcan, one of the shop’s deep dishes of light and flakey crust, molten ricotta, and some kind of something — Llano Seco pork perhaps, or a smattering of sharp Parmesan. But be warned: any tummy rumblings after this first taste of paradise may signal another trip to Chestnut Street for a buttery, savory baked eruption.
2066 Chestnut, SF. (415) 359-9801, www.lemaraisbakery.com
BEST REASON FOR VEGANS TO BRAVE THE FOG
Ramen is a staple of many an SF diet — especially in the chilly summer months laced with our trademark fog. But the dish almost always includes meat, or at the very least those so-called vegetarian noodles and veggies are floating in warm fish broth. It can seem particularly rude to dissect each element of the noodle bowl at a traditional spot, causing headaches for servers and hungry vegans alike. Enter Ken Ken Ramen, a popular Mission brick-and-mortar location that started as a pop-up. It proudly serves both the traditional stuff, unique nightly specials, and the noodle bowl of vegan dreams. No guessing, it’s labeled clearly on the menu: “Miso Vegan Ramen.” Ah, such a relief filling your belly with warm, tender noodles. And that sizzling bowl includes vegan broth, vegan noodles, and “veggies galore.” Vegans rejoice!
3378 18th St., SF. (415) 967-2636, www.eatkenkenramen.com
BEST PATCHED-UP WATERING HOLE
Perhaps it is, as the official line of the newly renovated Dogpatch Saloon goes, high time for a 100-year-old bar to undergo a facelift. The bar’s new ownership headed by Christopher Barry, the mind behind downtown’s 83 Proof, seemed like it had its heart in the right place, but the neighborhood bar’s clientele had a right to be worried about the integrity of its comfy watering hole in a rapidly evolving area. Lo and behold: the change was good. Fresh new cocktails lubricate a complete (but not drastic) rehash of the age-old interior, and the characters assembled around the bar continue to convey the scruffy ragtagliness of the dockside ‘hood. We like it when well-loved institutions move smoothly with the times, especially when that motion involves a cocktail shaker.
2496 Third St., SF. (415) 643-8592, www.dogpatchsaloon.com
BEST OUT-THERE GROCERIES
Houses in the Sunset may be built on dunes, but make no mistake, the neighborhood is no food desert. The flagship of the snacktastic stretch of outer Judah Street (see also: locavore haven Outerlands, beloved Mexican resto Celia’s by the Beach) is without a doubt grocery co-op Other Avenues, about to round the bend on year 40 in the western neighborhood. This is world-class healthy food: happy-making bulk bins, raw milk, vivacious produce, with a thoughtful wine selection and holistic med shelves so complete you’ll never have to trek into neighborhoods that look down on wearing sandals to re-up on herbs and tonics. Plus it’s cute, friendly, and neatly crammed into a smallish storefront, you’ll never lose the gist of your shopping list after giving your neighborhood a hearty “howdy.”
3930 Judah, SF. (415) 661-7475, www.otheravenues.coop
BEST COMMUTER CRUSTS
The Mexican-Italian house of Juan Gutierrez opened The Sandwich Place in 1979 when Gutierrez was only 14 years old. A tiny shop that just fits its refrigerator cases full of bevs and counter, the shop sits a stone’s throw from the 16th Street BART station in a bustling milieu of commuters, street preachers, and the occasional demonstration or spoken word open mic. In such a space, one would expect strict utilitarianism. But Gutierrez would scoff at such assumptions — quickly, in his exuberantly bilingual manner. One look at the Place’s vast menu reveals everything from chicken milanesas and bacon-wrapped hot dogs to a superb Portobello-and-balsamic sando from an impressive veggie section, all served on his fresh homemade breads in standard and gluten-free varieties. Better than the chain stores? By a million miles. And chances are, you won’t have to travel even one to find out.
2029 Mission, SF. (415) 431-3811
BEST GROWTH IN THE YARD
Back in 1992, inmate counselor Catherine Sneed started pioneering programs for former offenders that eventually led to the implementation of the San Francisco Jail’s Garden Project. This in-jail option gives inmates the time and space to plant and tend their own organically grown food gardens at the Jail’s San Bruno complex as a healthy add-in to their rehabilitation. The program has recently been expanded under Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who pushed for and won a new food service contract to ensure more of this yummy nutrition ends up on the plates of inmates who have traditionally had to endure less than wholesome fare. Soon, if the program catches on, jails might have more shared garden space than San Francisco itself.
BEST CHILL TREAT
“Rich and creamy, baked with love, and served chilled for the California heat” — did Schulzies Bread Pudding sound intriguing until that “chilled” part? Open your mind, bread pudding snob: Sarah Schulz’s Venice Beach-born, super-moist dessert sensation, which added a Hayes Valley location last year, is too delicious to deny (and the shop has warm options to balance out the cold, FYI). Who needs a cupcake or a cronut when you can spoon up fresh-made flavors such as Maple Bacon Lovers (tasty with optional add-ins like whiskey sauce and chocolate chips), Blissed Out Blueberry, or Salted Caramel Charisma? Seriously — who needs to eat any other type of food, ever again?
364 Hayes, SF. (415) 565-7336, www.schulziesbreadpudding.com
BEST NORTH BEACH FRY BOMB
Oh, the end of a long night in North Beach. There you are, mercifully relieved of your singles after oh-so-lovely times watching the ladies of the Penthouse Club clack their mega-heels all up and down the two-story stripper poles. You’re satiated in the “make it rain” department … but damn, are you hungry. Enter Taqueria Zorro’s Zorro burrito, there to stuff your belly and slash “satisfied” across your chest. What’s in the Zorro, you ask? Well, all the same things you’ve come to expect from a burrito, except instead of using traditional rice and beans they stuff the burrito with French fries. This so-called “California burrito” version, supposedly hailing from San Diego in the ’80s is all the carb-filled rage these days — GQ even claimed last month that it would soon replace the ramenburger (see above) in hip factor. And yeah, you can spot it soaking through menus across the Mission. But Zorro got there first and left its greasy, irresistible mark.
308 Columbus, SF. (415) 392-1299, www.taqueriazorro.com
BEST POP SCENE
You’re welcome to play it safe tastewise in Willy Wonka-like soda paradise The Fizzary. Pop a familiar bottle of orange into the joint’s charming quick chill device, crack, and glug. But even amid that flavor’s designated shelf of sodas you’ll find intriguing variations — a bottle flown in from the Phillipines, a blood orange variation innocuously lounging, a five-gallon jug of your childhood favorite fizz to take your sugar highs to new altitudes. Venture out of the known soda universe — that seems to be what local bubble bottlers Taylor’s Tonics wanted when they opened up this quirky shop selling theirs and other carbonated treats — plus retro and hard-to-find candies — in the Mission. A quick listing of the other flavors you may encounter on the shelves and your tastebuds quiver. Chocolate, lavender, clove, bacon, spruce, amaretto, and cucumber from manufacturers the world over.
2949 Mission, SF. (877) 368-4608, www.thefizzary.com
BEST CURRY QUEUE
Light fare it is not, but are we ever glad to have come around to the gravy-like consistency and rich, complex flavors of Japanese curry. Nothing seems more homey or satisfying than when the comforting heft of a curry-laden lunch plate — chicken or pork katsu, tender cubed beef, steaming veggie, etc. versions available — is directed toward your waiting mouth, a feat made possible at the Financial District’s Muracci’s (a joint that now has a sister location in Los Altos.) Venture here for some of the best Japanese curry that we’ve found in town, served up in a small, no-frills space with less than a dozen seats. Plus: sides of pickles! Be not afraid of the line, an apt indicator of the number of J-curry fans in this town — thanks to Muracci’s efficient express plates, the queue moves fast enough to satisfy even our most ravenous lunchtime cravings.
307 Kearny, SF. (415) 773-1101, www.muraccis.com
BEST SURROUND SOUND DINING
When the sound system at your restaurant outstrips the food when it comes to rave reviews, you might have a problem. But the folks at Berkeleys’s elegant, spare, and forward-thinking Comal are confident enough in their menu to take us to the next level of sensual experience. The haute-Mexican cuisine, emphasizing deep flavors and grilled textures, speaks for itself. But the sound of the place speaks volumes. In order to better control the sonic ambiance of the place — and perhaps to diffuse the persnicketiness of SF’s most prominent food critic, whose aversion to dining room noise is legendary — Comal’s owner John Paluska installed a new, state-of-the-art Libra acoustic image system and complementary Constellation active acoustic system from Meyer Sound. Through a series of unobstrusive iPad-controlled speakers and acoustic absorption tiles, managers can control the “buzz” levels of the place, “washing” and basically “whitening” the noise as needed to quiet things down. The can even turn up the buzz around the bar — although with several flights of tequila on the menu, there’s probably enough buzz already.
2020 Shattuck, SF. (510) 926.6300, www.comalberkeley.com
BEST FREEKEH-BEET TO FREAK ABOUT
It is with good reason that Hella Vegan Eats’ doughnut burger was the runaway star of the San Francisco Street Food Festival this year. No false modesty here: the Bay Guardian had already been praising that sticky delicious beet burger for months, even giving it top billing in our “Vegan Junk Food” feature. But no matter who broke the story; the real scoop here is that special dish, lovingly crafted by couple-founders Tiffany and Sylvee Esquivel, and showing up regularly at places like Dear Mom, Timeless Coffee in Oakland, and Dolores Park through La Cocina. Dig its moist-yet-crunchy patty fashioned from freekah (an ancient cereal) and beets and plopped between two (vegan) sugar donuts, piled high with pickled veggies, and laced with a tangy secret sauce. So wrong that it’s right.
BEST NOLA WEST
Appropriately, the Chapel opened last year with a string of concerts by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a group named for its origin point at NOLA’s Preservation Hall jazz venue. That’s the spot Valencia Street’s new place for music worship (officially known as Preservation Hall West at the Chapel) is modeled after, and endlessly inspired by, be it in in the form of design, live music, or eats. This year, the well-crafted, multilevel, many-roomed Chapel has expanded its musical offerings, dabbling in folk, rock’n’roll, and indie bands like La Sera, Magic Trick, and Weekend, along with more traditional jazz acts, and what-the-hell randomly awesome offerings like Sparks or actor-musician John C. Reilly with Lavender Diamond. It also opened the attached Vestry Restaurant, which offers a full menu leaning more on the SF gourmet side, with items like the duck confit flatbread or seared scallops with beet risotto. During shows, patrons can peep live acts from the open upstairs balcony, from the dramatic main room down below, or perched on a bar stool in the shiny wooded lounge with closed-circuit flat screens, high-end cocktails like the Old Overholt rye-based Ward Eight, and yummy bar bites like shrimp po’ boys that subtly wink at NOLA pride.
777 Valencia, SF. (415) 551-5157, www.thechapelsf.com
BEST POW WOW PUNK CHEF
You may see Rocky Yazzie at the best live venues around town doing one of two things. Either he’s rocking coveralls and slinging authentic Native American fry bread, or banging it out with his self-described “pow wow punk” band, Sweat Lodge. Either way, you’ll be glad to have stumbled into his special Rocky bubble. A few words on his Rocky’s Fry Bread snacks, perhaps the better known of the two projects. The New Mexico native and member of the Diné tribe makes deliciously deep-fried taco-like handheld meals, stuffed with beans and fresh veggies (there are non-veg versions as well), behind his own pop-up stand. There’s something about that fry bread that just perfectly soaks up all the boozing without landing like a log in your tummy. As the friendly slinger once explained it to Scoutmob, “I love life and it shows in the food.”
www.twitter.com/RockysFrybread
BEST POT LUCK
An invention that seems perfect for the busy-yet-locavore-obsessed Bay Area (though test markets are popping up in Brooklyn, New Orleans, and LA) sustainable ready-to-eat delivery service Good Eggs seems to have it all. But for our money — and yes, it’s not exactly cheap — there is one among Eggs’ many intriguing, locally produced offerings that intrigues the most: caterer Max Pouvreau’s Petit Pot. Did you know that everything tastes better in a Weck jar? This is the height of Bay food trendiness on the go: Try jarred lamb shoulder and spring onion tagine with prunes and roasted almonds, followed by a jarred dark chocolate buttermilk cake with coffee whipped cream and cocoa nibs. All delivered to your door! Bonus: $3 deposits on your round glass meal carriers means return customers get a sweet (savory?) discount.
BEST LATE NIGHT HOT POCKETS
Spurn the crowds across the street at ever-popular Taqueria Cancun’s Bernal-side outpost. You, a seasoned Missionite, have had your fill of what one of our dear ones likes to call “the Mexican death log.” Burrito fiend you are not — which is why in your wisdom your tummy’s late night call has led you to a late-night Salvadorean restaurant, sounding thusly: “pupusa…” They’re no baby-sized gut bomb, the pupusas at El Zocalo. These traditional steaming pocket-like snacks come stuffed with cheese (of course), but also zucchini, loroco, feta even for those sick of stringy quesos. And lucky you, the family joint stays open until three in the morning, so it’s ready for whenever you graduate to the next level with San Francisco snacking.
3230 Mission, SF. (415) 282-2572
BEST WORLD SOUND BITES
Watch live flamenco and Arabian fusion music while you dance with a side of papas bravas and plantains. Take in the All-Star Latin Band on weekly Cuban and world music nights while munching Andean fresh corn tamales and yuca frita with cashew cream. Yes, North Beach’s intimate cultural center and restaurant Peña Pachamama (“on a little side street in San Francisco’s old Latin Quarter somewhere between Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf, and endless Italian late-night cafes”) offers up such startlingly refreshing culinary-auditory pairings, nearly every night of the week. The friendly South American restaurant and performance venue offers an exceptional range of cultural treats for your tummy and mind, and begs this simple question: why is it so damn hard to find vegan, gluten free, and/or deliciously organic cuisine at other music venues in veg-friendly San Francisco? No matter — Peña Pachamama has already delivered the goods, and they are spicy.
1630 Powell, SF. (415) 646-0018, pachamamacenter.org
BEST NEW GOLD RUSH
Friends, we have eaten gold leaf. That’s what they’re serving these days at the new digs of the most lauded restaurant in SF, Saison: a voluptuous dish of sea urchin over grilled root custard in a handmade Japanese ceramic bowl, topped with a generous skin of melted gold. (Let’s settle one question right away: no, our toilet wasn’t gilded the next morning. Nor did we use the leaf to fake a grill.) It’s part of the $248 tasting menu, $396 with insane wine pairing, at this two-star Michelin hotspot. Don’t worry, there’s a bar menu featuring reserve caviar dolloped over corn pudding and grilled Australian black truffle stew, both at $88, cough. Look, we have to hand it to renegade chef Joshua Skenes and sommelier and co-owner Mark Bright — if you ever can/want to shell out $400 for a meal (ours was a press comp), this is the absolutely perfect one. Fourteen courses of the best the world has to offer, served in jaw-dropping ways. Yet it was the metaphorical combination of the dish mentioned above — gold smothering an urchin — that rang particularly true of this moment in San Francisco history. The delicious, flashy rush. And then what lies beneath it, left behind.
178 Townsend, SF. (415) 828-7990, www.saisonsf.com
BEST BAWDY BOWIE WORSHIP
It takes a lot to stand out in this town. Bands and entertainers are a dime a dozen, and quality cover or innovative, hilarious “tribute” acts fill venue lineups year-round. The First Church of the Sacred Silversexual, however, is a glittery entity all its own. Raucous and roiling with glam-rock glee, it’s an orgasmic sensation of all things David Bowie wrapped in tinfoil and pumped full of sparkly gospel soul. The boisterous crew of theatrical musicians and singers packs onto stages and blows the Bowie horn: All ye who enter here, know the Thin White Duke’s (or Ziggy Stardust’s, or Alladin Sane’s) name. The oft-adoring crowd, with lyrics sheets in hand, responds in time. It’s a Suffragette City spectacle that “tap dances on the lines between religion and revelry, beatitude and blasphemy, rock show and revival.” Wham, bam, thank you ma’am!
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Robert Trujillo
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Robert Trujillo is a visual artist and father who employs the use of illustration, storytelling, and public art to tell tales. These tales manifest in a variety of forms and they reflect the artist’s cultural background, dreams, and political and personal beliefs. “My motivation to do what I do is to be a positive and nurturing influence on my son,” he says. “It is to honor my ancestors and my family by passing on our visual art traditions, to give, to learn, to challenge the educational system both public and private, and to make sure more artwork that fuses ethnic studies, political commentary, personal history, and dynamic visual styles using a variety of media is prominent, loud, unapologetic — and just what some of us need.”
Best of the Bay 2013 Readers Poll: Shopping
BEST OF THE BAY 2013: READERS POLL
SHOPPING
BEST OVERALL BOOKSTORE
GREEN APPLE BOOKS
506 Clement, SF
BEST USED BOOK STORE
AARDVARK BOOKS
227 Church, SF
(415) 552-6733
BEST COMIC BOOK STORE
ISOTOPE COMICS
326 Fell, SF
BEST MAGAZINE SELECTION
ISSUES
20 Glen, Oakl
BEST RECORD STORE
AMOEBA MUSIC
Multiple locations
BEST VIDEO STORE
LOST WEEKEND VIDEO
1034 Valencia, SF
BEST GROCERY STORE
RAINBOW GROCERY
1745 Folsom, SF
BEST FRESH PRODUCE
GOLDEN PRODUCE
172 Church, SF
BEST CLOTHING STORE (WOMEN)
AMBIANCE
BEST CLOTHING STORE (MEN) (TIE)
SUI GENERIS CONSIGNMENT
2231 Market, SF
UNIONMADE
493 Sanchez, SF
BEST CLOTHING STORE (KIDS)
CHLOE’S CLOSET
Multiple locations
BEST SHOP FOR PARENTS-TO-BE
NATURAL RESOURCES
1367 Valencia, SF
BEST VINTAGE CLOTHING STORE
RELIC VINTAGE
1605 Haight, SF
BEST LOCAL DESIGNER
COLLEEN MAUER
BEST FLEA MARKET
ALAMEDA POINT ANTIQUES FAIRE
2900 Navy Way, Ala.
www.alamedapointantiquesfaire.com
BEST THRIFT STORE
THRIFT TOWN
2101 Mission, SF
BEST SHOE STORE
SHOE BIZ
Multiple locations
BEST FURNITURE STORE
COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE
623 Valencia, SF
BEST HARDWARE STORE
COLE HARDWARE
Multiple locations
BEST TOY STORE
THE ARK
Multiple locations
BEST BIKE SHOP
VALENCIA CYCLERY
1077 Valencia, SF
BEST PET SHOP (TIE)
BERNAL BEAST
509 Cortland, SF
PAWTRERO
Multiple locations
BEST GIFT SHOP
HEARTFELT
436 Cortland, SF
BEST PLACE TO BUY EYEWEAR
VEO OPTICS
Multiple locations
BEST CANNABIS DISPENSARY
THE GREEN CROSS
4218 Mission, SF
BEST STORE STAFF
CHOCOLATE COVERED
4069 24th St, SF
BEST QUIRKY SPECIALTY STORE
PAXTON GATE
824 Valencia, SF
BEST SPORTING GOODS STORE
SPORTS BASEMENT
Multiple locations
BEST FLOWER SHOP
NOB HILL FLORIST
1396 California, SF
BEST PLACE TO BUY LINGERIE
PINK BUNNY
1772 Union, SF
BEST PLACE TO BUY SEX TOYS
GOOD VIBRATIONS
Multiple locations
BEST PLACE TO BUY FETISH GEAR
MR. S LEATHER
385 8th St, SF
Illustration by Robert Trujillo
Best of the Bay 2013 Readers Poll: Arts and Entertainment
BEST OF THE BAY 2013: READERS POLL
Arts and Entertainment
BEST MOVIE THEATER
CASTRO THEATRE
429 Castro, SF
BEST REP FILM HOUSE
ROXIE
3117 16th St, SF
BEST THEATER COMPANY
BATS IMPROV
Fort Mason Center B350, SF
BEST DANCE COMPANY
ODC
3153 17th St, SF
BEST PERFORMANCE SPACE
COUNTERPULSE
1310 Mission, SF
BEST FILM OR ARTS FESTIVAL (TIE)
FRAMELINE
LITQUAKE
BEST MUSEUM
DEYOUNG MUSEUM
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., Golden Gate Park, SF
BEST ART GALLERY
SECESSION ART & DESIGN
3361 Mission, SF
BEST ARTIST OR COLLECTIVE
CREATIVITY EXPLORED
3245 16th St, SF
BEST AUTHOR
DAVE EGGERS
BEST ZINE
MISSION MINI COMIX
BEST PUBLISHING HOUSE
LAST GASP
BEST ARTS OR MUSIC WEBSITE
THE BAY BRIDGED
BEST RECORD LABEL
TRICYCLE RECORDS
BEST BAND
MAD NOISE
BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER
SAM CHASE
www.facebook.com/thesamchasemusic
BEST DJ
ULTRAVIOLET
www.facebook.com/ultravioletdj
BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL
OUTSIDE LANDS
BEST OVERALL PARTY VENUE
PUBLIC WORKS
161 Erie, SF
BEST OVERALL DANCE PARTY
BOOTIE SF
BEST ROCK CLUB
BOTTOM OF THE HILL
1233 17th St, SF
BEST REGGAE CLUB
DUB MISSION
BEST HIP-HOP CLUB
DOUBLE DUTCH
3192 16th St, SF
BEST JAZZ CLUB
YOSHI’S
Multiple locations
BEST SALSA CLUB
CAFÉ COCOMO
650 Indiana, SF.
BEST HOUSE/TECHNO CLUB
MIGHTY
119 Utah, SF.
BEST AFTER-HOURS CLUB
THE ENDUP
401 6th St, SF.
BEST TRIVIA NIGHT
FANBOY AT LONE STAR SALOON
fanboysf.tumblr.com
BEST JUKEBOX
MOLOTOV’S
582 Haight, SF
BEST KARAOKE BAR
THE MINT
1942 Market, SF.
BEST OVERALL QUEER PARTY
HARD FRENCH
BEST GAY BAR
TRUCK
1900 Folsom, SF
BEST LESBIAN BAR
THE LEXINGTON CLUB
3464 19th St, SF
BEST CLUB FOR TRANSPEOPLE
DIVAS
1081 Post, SF
BEST DRAG SHOW
TRANNYSHACK
BEST DRAG KING OR QUEEN
HEKLINA
BEST BURLESQUE ACT
HUBBA HUBBA REVUE
BEST COMEDY SHOW
COBB’S COMEDY CLUB
915 Columbus, SF
BEST COMEDIAN
DHAYA LAKSHMINARAYANAN
BEST MAGICIAN
CHRISTIAN CAGIGAL
BEST OPEN MIC NIGHT
HOTEL UTAH SALOON
500 4th St, SF
BEST LITERARY NIGHT
BAWDY STORYTELLING
BEST STRIP CLUB
LUSTY LADY
BEST SEX CLUB
EROS
2051 Market, SF
Best of the Bay 2013 Readers Poll: Food and Drink
BEST OF THE BAY 2013: READERS POLL
Food and Drink
BEST OVERALL RESTAURANT
NOPA
560 Divisadero, SF
BEST NEW RESTAURANT
COQUETA
The Embarcadero
Pier 5, SF
BEST BUDGET RESTAURANT
TU LAN
8 6th St, SF
BEST SPLURGE RESTAURANT
GARY DANKO
800 N Point, SF
BEST LATE NIGHT RESTAURANT
GRUBSTAKE
1525 Pine, SF
BEST ROMANTIC RESTAURANT
FOREIGN CINEMA
2534 Mission, SF
BEST FOOD/DRINK FESTIVAL (TIE)
EAT REAL
SF STREET FOOD
BEST FOOD CART
THE CHAIRMAN TRUCK
BEST FARMERS MARKET
FERRY PLAZA
1 Ferry Bldg, SF
BEST PIZZA
LITTLE STAR
Multiple locations
BEST SANDWICHES
IKE’S PLACE
Multiple locations
BEST BURRITOS
TAQUERIA CANCUN
2288 Mission; 3211 Mission St; 1003 Market St, SF
BEST SMALL PLATES
CHA CHA CHA
Multiple locations
BEST BURGER AND FRIES
SUPER DUPER
Multiple locations
BEST BARBECUE
MEMPHIS MINNIE’S
576 Haight, SF
BEST SUSHI
ICHI SUSHI
3369 Mission, SF
BEST BOWL OF NOODLES
KATANA-YA
430 Geary, SF
BEST SALADS
BLUE BARN
Multiple locations
BEST SEAFOOD
BAR CRUDO
655 Divisadero, SF
BEST SOUL FOOD
BRENDA’S
652 Polk, SF
BEST ITALIAN
PALIO D’ASTI
640 Sacramento, SF
BEST MIDDLE EASTERN
LA MEDITERRANEE
Multiple locations
BEST INDIAN
DOSA
Multiple locations
BEST MEXICAN (TIE)
PUERTO ALEGRE
546 Valencia, SF
NOPALITO
BEST CHINESE
MISSION CHINESE
2234 Mission, SF
BEST THAI
LERS ROS
Multiple locations
BEST VEGETARIAN
GREENS
Fort Mason, Bldg A, SF
BEST VEGAN
MILLENNIUM
580 Geary, SF
BEST BREAKFAST
DOTTIE’S TRUE BLUE CAFÉ
28 6th St, SF
BEST BRUNCH
MISSION BEACH CAFÉ
198 Guerrero, SF
BEST LUNCH
MARKET & RYE
Multiple locations
BEST APPETIZERS
SAUCE
Multiple locations
BEST DESSERT
HEY, COOKIE!
BEST SERVICE
GARY DANKO
800 N Point St, SF
BEST FOOD/DRINKS WEBSITE
TABLEHOPPER
BEST CAFÉ
ATLAS CAFÉ
3049 20th St, SF
BEST CUP OF COFFEE
SIGHTGLASS
270 7th St, SF
BEST CUP OF TEA
SAMOVAR
Multiple locations
BEST OVERALL BAR
MONARCH
101 6th St, SF
BEST NEW BAR
VIRGILS SEA ROOM
3152 Mission, SF
BEST DIVE BAR
EL RIO
3158 Mission, SF
BEST SWANKY BAR
REDWOOD ROOM
495 Geary Street, SF
BEST SINGLES BAR
MADRONE ART BAR
500 Divisadero, SF
BEST SPORTS BAR
HI-TOPS
2247 Market, SF
BEST HAPPY HOUR
GREEN’S SPORTS BAR
2239 Polk, SF
BEST WINERY (TIE)
V. SATTUI WINERY
1111 White Lane, St. Helena
BLUXOME STREET WINERY
53 Bluxome St, SF
BEST WINE BAR
NOETECA
1551 Dolores, SF
BEST BREWERY
ANCHOR BREWING
1705 Mariposa, SF
BEST SELECTION OF BEERS
TORONADO
547 Haight, SF
BEST CREATIVE COCKTAILS
TRICK DOG
3010 20th St, SF
BEST BLOODY MARY
ZEITGEIST
199 Valencia St, SF
BEST BAR STAFF
DNA LOUNGE
375 11th St, SF
BEST CANNABIS EDIBLES
THE GREEN CROSS
4218 Mission St, SF
BEST BAKERY
ARIZMENDI
Multiple locations
BEST BUTCHER SHOP
AVEDANO’S
235 Cortland, SF
BEST CHEESE SHOP
COW GIRL CREAMERY
1 Ferry Bldg, SF
BEST CHOCOLATIER
FOG CITY NEWS
455 Market St, SF
Best of the Bay 2013 Readers Poll: City Living
BEST OF THE BAY 2013: READERS POLL
CITY LIVING
BEST STREET FAIR
FOLSOM STREET FAIR
BEST HOTEL
PHOENIX HOTEL
601 Eddy, SF
BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
BEST TOUR
WILD SF WALKING
wildsftours.wordpress.com
BEST SPOT FOR KIDS
EXPLORATORIUM
Pier 15, SF
BEST OVERALL BLOG
THE BOLD ITALIC
BEST OVERALL WEBSITE
FUNCHEAP SF
sf.funcheap.com
BEST STARTUP COMPANY
GOOD EGGS
BEST NEWS BLOG OR WEBSITE
HAIGHTERATION
BEST STYLE WEBSITE
BROWNTOURAGE
BEST SEX BLOG
TINY NIBBLES
BEST POLITICIAN
JOHN AVALOS
BEST POLITICIAN YOU LOVE TO HATE
ED LEE
BEST NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
PROJECT OPEN HAND
BEST ADULT EDUCATION
CCSF
BEST TV NEWSCASTER
FRANK SOMERVILLE
BEST LOCALLY PRODUCED TV SHOW
CHECK, PLEASE! BAY AREA
Blogs.kqed.org/checkplease
BEST RADIO STATION
KQED
BEST RADIO DJ
CHUY GOMEZ
BEST RADIO SHOW
LEGION IS ON THE AIR
Facebook.com/legionisontheair
BEST TATTOO PARLOR
SACRED ROSE TATTOO
BEST TATTOO ARTIST
TANYA WISCHERATH, MODERN ELECTRIC STUDIO
BEST LOCAL ANIMAL RESCUE
ROCKET DOG RESCUE
BEST DOG-WALKING SERVICE
DOGSTAR
BEST PET GROOMER
KOSITA’S PET GROOMING
98 Bennington, SF
BEST VETERINARIAN
MISSION PET HOSPITAL
720 Valencia, SF
BEST DENTIST
DR. JARED POOL
1719 Powell, SF
BEST DOCTOR (TIE)
DR. SHAWN K. HASSLER
ONE MEDICAL GROUP
BEST PLUMBER
ACE PLUMBING & ROOTER
945 Taraval, SF
BEST ELECTRICIAN
PAURIC ELECTRIC
541 Scott, SF
BEST MOVING SERVICE
DELANCEY STREET MOVING & TRUCKING
600 Embarcadero, SF
www.delanceystreetfoundation.org
BEST ALTERNATIVE HEALING (TIE)
DOUBLE HAPPINESS HEALTH
1501 Mariposa, SF
DRIFTWOOD ACUPUNCTURE AND WELLNESS
3727 Buchanan, SF
BEST THERAPIST
DEBORAH COOPER
3896 24th St, SF
BEST CAR REPAIR
PAT’S GARAGE
1090 26th St, SF
BEST MOTORCYCLE REPAIR
MOTO JAVA
498 9th St, SF
BEST BICYCLE REPAIR
MIKE’S BIKES
BEST SHOE REPAIR
HAIGHT STREET SHOE REPAIR
1614 Haight, SF
BEST TAILOR
AL’S ATTIRE
1300 Grant, SF
BEST LAUNDROMAT
BRAINWASH CAFÉ & LAUNDROMAT
1122 Folsom, SF
BEST SALON
CARMICHAEL SALON
166 Geary, SF
BEST HAIRSTYLIST
REBEKAH NUMMER
BEST MASSAGE
PROJECT ZEN
BEST DAY SPA
KABUKI SPRINGS & SPA
1750 Geary, SF
BEST GYM (TIE)
FITNESS SF
1001 Brannan, SF
WHEELHOUSE SF
1 Embarcadero, SF
BEST PERSONAL TRAINER
ACE MORGAN
BEST YOGA STUDIO
MONKEY YOGA SHALA
3215 Lakeshore, Oakl.
BEST YOGA INSTRUCTOR
SUSANNAH BRUDER
1501 Mariposa, SF
BEST AMATEUR SPORTS TEAM
BAY AREA DERBY GIRLS
BEST PUBLIC SPORTS FACILITY
KEZAR STADIUM
755 Stanyan, SF
BEST BEACH
BAKER BEACH
BEST PUBLIC PARK
GOLDEN GATE PARK
BEST NATURE SPOT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
MUIR WOODS
BEST CAMPGROUND
KIRBY COVE
BEST CAMP FOR KIDS
TREE FROG TREKS
2112 Hayes, SF
BEST PARK FOR DOGS
FORT FUNSTON
BEST SKATE SPOT
POTRERO DEL SOL PARK
San Bruno Ave & 25th St, SF
BEST SURF SPOT
LINDA MAR BEACH
5100 Cabrillo, Pacfica
BEST PLACE TO WATCH THE SUNSET
LANDS END
Seal Rock Dr & El Camino Del Mar, SF
BEST OF THE BAY 2013
SONGS OF THE CITY
By Marke B.
marke@sfbg.com
Visitors flock to the Bay Area for its enchanting sights, of course. But if you’ve lived here for a while, you know the actual sounds of San Francisco and its neighbors weave the true spell that binds us. Cable car clang and fog horn blast, “ding-ding” of bike bells and cries of wild parrots. The wave organ and the Audium, the BART station busker and the underground dance floor, the protest and the crackdown, the echoes of the Beats and the roar of the stadium crowd.
Jazz and hip-hop floating through the Fillmore. Paleta carts and acoustic guitars ringing in Dolores Park. Pretty French tourists asking directions downtown. (Or maybe they’re Croatian?) “Woo!” girls partying in the Marina. Robyn pumping from Castro cars.
Free bluegrass, fine reggae, geeky ringtones, player pianos, new operas, earnest indie, sick bass. “I Left My Heart…,” “San Francisco, Open Your…,” “If You’re Going To….” Paul McCartney leading 50,000 people in a “Hey, Jude” singalong at Outside Lands. Everybody make some noise!
(Outside your window, just before dawn, a couple argues halfheartedly, and a nearby walk sign chirps.)
Even that golden moment every late sunny afternoon when, no matter what’s going on, a lovely hush falls across the city, as if in preparation for the soon-incoming fog.
This is the local wall of sound we honor in this edition of Best of the Bay, our 39th annual celebration of the people, places, and things that make living here such a great experience.
More than 15,000 of our readers voted in our Best of the Bay Readers Poll this year for their local, independent favorites in more than 200 categories like Best Burrito, Best Band, Best Strip Club, Best Shoe Store, Best Place to Watch the Sunset, Best Drag Queen, and beyond. You’ll find the results inside — as well as 150 Best of the Bay Editors Picks highlighting some Guardian favorites, old and new, that we think deserve some special recognition for brightening our lives this year. Rest assured, there’s a whole lot to love in the Bay.
In 1974, Esquire magazine asked us for ideas for its Best of the USA issue, which led us to publish the original Best of the Bay. Thirty-nine years later — and 47 years after we opened our doors — we’re still going strong, powered by our readers and the idea that the strength of our community can make the world a better place.
Editing this year’s issue was a hoot. I shower grateful smooches on all my fabulous collaborators, especially creative ace Brooke Ginnard; the awesome Guardian editorial, sales, and production staff; and the ever-supportive Hunky Beau, my own personal Best of the Bay.
But most of all we thank you, dear reader, for your generous participation, for making the Bay Area such an astounding place to live, and for turning us on to great new things this year. Enjoy the celebration on the pages that follow. But first close your eyes for a minute, and listen to this audaciously beautiful place we call home.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Robert Trujillo is a visual artist and father who employs the use of illustration, storytelling, and public art to tell tales. These tales manifest in a variety of forms and they reflect the artist’s cultural background, dreams, and political and personal beliefs. “My motivation to do what I do is to be a positive and nurturing influence on my son,” he says. “It is to honor my ancestors and my family by passing on our visual art traditions, to give, to learn, to challenge the educational system both public and private, and to make sure more artwork that fuses ethnic studies, political commentary, personal history, and dynamic visual styles using a variety of media is prominent, loud, unapologetic — and just what some of us need.”
BEST OF THE BAY STAFF
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
BROOKE GINNARD
EDITOR
MARKE B.
ILLUSTRATOR
ROBERT TRUJILLO
COPY EDITOR
STEWART APPLIN
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
REBECCA BOWE, CAITLIN DONOHUE, CHERYL EDDY, NICOLE GLUCKSTERN, STEVE JONES, JOE FITZGERALD RODRIGUEZ,, EMILY SAVAGE, AMBER SCHADEWALD, DAVID SCHNUR
PHOTOGRAPHER
EVAN DUCHARME
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
MOSHEN CHAN, SHAWN CONNOLLY, MOLLY DECOUDREAUX, MARIA DEL RIO, TYLER DRISCOLL, NICOLE GLUCKSTERN, TIM GRIFFITHS, BETH LABERGE, AMANDA RHOADES, WES ROWE, TABLEHOPPER
Best of the Bay 2012: BEST ROBOT DUNGEON
From the outside, it’s an unassuming Mission District storefront, infrequently open to the public. But inside, Area 2881 reveals a rare glimpse into the private lives of robots. Perched on miniature foot-lit pedestals, two robot slaves dance for roving audiences, their slightly jerky motions belying the complexity of their 41 meticulously designed joints. The slaves appear both vulnerable yet indestructible, humanoid yet alien, and the weird spectacle of their forced entertaining is both unsettling and strangely affecting. The rest of the room is a whirring, spinning, buzzing paroxysm of light and kinetic sculpture, ushered into this world from a parallel plane by the human hands of mild-mannered applications engineer by day, mad scientist by night, Carl Pisaturo.
2881 23rd St., SF. www.carlpisaturo.com
Best of the Bay 2012: BEST BAR TO TATTOO ON YOUR BICEP
Some may have seen the deserted stretch of Harrison Street as a business liability, but Jay Beaman and Oliver Piazza of Thieves Tavern and Dirty Thieves didn’t let the low walk-up potential dissuade them from opening Dear Mom. We’re glad. Because if they had, we’d be bereft of their expansive boozery (once the salsa club El Rincon) flush with affordable booze, a photobooth, beckoning seating areas, and a kitchen that hosts pop-up eateries hawking sushi, fried green tomato hamburgers, and everything in between. The one thing Mom needs to be an SF standard is cheapo local icon Broke Ass Stuart hawking picklebacks (whiskey shots with pickle juice chaser, duh) on Wednesday nights in his never-ending quest to pay rent. Oh wait, that actually happens.
2700 16th St., SF. (415) 625-3362
Best of the Bay 2012: BEST ARTS HIGH NOTE
Whether it’s the free yoga classes, creative summer art camp, or Saturday afternoon alfresco concerts, the Bayview Opera House‘s offerings are as vibrant and active as they were when the building was built in 1888 (maybe more so? The Guardian wasn’t around back then). The historic landmark community center supports the still-diverse neighborhood of Bayview-Hunters Point, hosting awesome fundraisers like Black Men Can Cook and Mendell Plaza Presents, a 12-week concert series that transforms a little triangle of pavement into a full-on dance floor featuring local neighborhood musicians — not to mention domino tables and BBQ — alongside a community garden filled with vibrant veggies. Kids from the 100% College Prep Club make up much of the musical talent. Here’s to 125 more amazing years.
4705 Third St., SF. (415) 824-0386, www.bvoh.org