Black lace, kimonos, and colorful wigs ruled the day this weekend in Japantown at the J-Pop Summit Festival Aug. 25-26. Also popular this year, for those of you trend-spotting, were sweetly wobbling attenae, which announced the presence of the head attached as they weaved through the booths, stopping here and there to check out the Vocaloid dance contest, an Evangelion fan’s robotic get-up, or the Sunday performance by 18-year singer Kylee. Although there was music, food, and things to buy, it was really all about the clothes. Whether they were dressing up to be a favorite anime character or simply sporting super-sweet tights or an awesome leather jacket, those on the street were working it in some pretty amazing threads.
Ariel Soto-Suver
This weekend will be filled with relationship drama — and you’re going to love it
The push and pull of relationships is a great basis for a dance piece. Not only are relationships intimate, beautiful, and at times frustrating, but they also create magnetic moments, and sometimes pain. This weekend, two dance companies, Detour Dance and the Caitlin Elliott Dance Collective, have collaborated (see? Relationships) to present Along the Way, a production that includes all the basics: love, lust, plain old allure. I stopped by the final rehearsal to check out the romance and have come to the conclusion that it’s ready to seduce all comers.
Along the Way
Fri/24-Sun/26 8pm, $30-20 general admission, $15 artist or student admission
Dance Mission Theater
3316 24th St., SF
(415) 826-4441
Patchwork plants: A visit to Alemany Farm
All photos by Bowerbird Photography
Jenny was visiting from Portland and Sam Love and I decided to take her on a field trip to the Alemany Farm. Portland is well known for their community and sidewalk veggie gardens, so we were excited to show her what SF had to offer in the realm of urban farming. [Ed. note: while they still can! Check out this week’s story in the print edition about the impending death of many of the city’s agriculture spaces.]
But first we got kind of lost and ended up making a rather huge loop through the neighborhood. Then we saw it, four-and-a-half acres of soil covered in vibrant veggies, trees dripping with stone fruit, and gigantic, golden sunflowers. There was a group of high school students helping with weeding, a volunteer tending to some baby greens and even a windmill. And it just keeps going and going. You start walking up the hill and end up finding loquat trees, huge chard bunches, artichokes. It’s all growing next to each other — a zucchini vine here, an apple tree here — a random quilt of edibles.
The only downside is the proximity to the freeway, which adds a background humm to the farm. (Just pretend like it’s bees.) The garden is volunteer-run and has work days on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It hosts a u-pick program on Wednesday evenings for folks in the neighborhood. Get down there and get your paws dirty!
Alemany Farm
700 Alemany Boulevard, SF
(415) 624-9934
Good evening, good eating: Shots from the Street Food Festival Night Market
Photos by Bowerbird Photography
It wasn’t too long ago that shopping locally meant hitting up your neighborhood Safeway. But seemingly overnight (in retrospect), farmers markets sprung up like healthy tomato plants. A weekend doesn’t go by during which I don’t see someone toting their re-usable canvas bag down the street to fill up with fresh produce from local growers.
This is just one sign of a big revolution that is happening in the food world. Having visited night markets across the globe, from Taiwan to Morocco, I’ve always wondered when the States would figure out their own version of these late-night-snack shindigs. Lo and behold, this weekend night markets hit our soil. The Street Food Festival hosted its first night market to eager eaters on Friday the 17th at the Alemany Farmers’ Market. The happily matched location housed live music, dancers, hot toddies (a useful weapon for battling the chilly evening fog) and of course, delicious street food. Night markets often highlight grilled meats and one-bite-wonders for foodies who want a little taste of it all. This night was no different, with a food-filled dream of delicious dumplings, tiny tacos, and pork sandwiches sprinkled with chicharones. The greasier, the better, thank you very much!
Live Shots: SF Street Food Festival 2012 preview
The SF Street Food Festival has become such a delight in the summertime. (This year’s takes place on Saturday, August 18.) A chance to sample wonderful treats from the around the world (many developed in the test kitchens of entrepeneurial incubator La Cocina), transporting your taste buds to the far reaches of yumminess. The festival can get crazy crowded, so to help you out, here’s a list of some fave vendors to make a beeline for:
Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas – It’s partially that you’ll fall in love with Alicia, who will call you “mi cariño,” but it’s also that her delectable homemade tamales are out of this world, stuffed with pork, chicken or cheese and slathered in fresh salsa verde. You can’t go wrong with this corny bundles of love.
Minnie Bells’ Soul Movement – Think fried chicken and mac and cheese. Really good soul food, simple and delicious. Never tasted such flavorful gumbo!
Chiefo’s Kitchen – Chiefo cooks wonderful West African cuisine, that’s spicy and filled with exotic flavors. Try her mini moi-moi, a savory cake made with blended black eyed peas and topped with a crispy piece of meat.
Global Soul – Here’s the deal. I was handed a piece of meat on a toothpick, dripping in fat and it was the best thing ever. You know you want that too.
Azalina’s – “I love deep frying things!” declared Azalina. And she’s not joking! But what I love about her snacks is that yes, they are perfectly fried and golden, but then layered with roasted meats, fresh veggies and topped with a hot pink raspberry. So unique and beautiful!
Neo Cocoa – Save room for dessert! Christine from Neo Cocoa will be serving up chocolate truffle brownies, layered with such decadent fillings as almond butter.
Werk It Out! dances under the disco ball
Add a disco ball to any situation and you will not decrease its likelihood of becoming a party. When I stopped by ODC Theater earlier this week to snap some photos of the Alyce Finwall Dance Theater‘s rehearsals for the upcoming three-day dance festival Werk It Out!, it appeared that the dancers were in a festive mood. Werk It Out! features performances by six up-and-coming Bay Area choreographers, including Alyce Finwall, Minna Harri, Tanya Bello, Christine Bonansea, Michelle Fletcher, and Malinda LaVelle.
The pieces incorporate music ranging from the Beach Boys to Biosphere and themes revolve around a variety of topics — relationships and sexuality are there in spades, just like at any good party. Some pieces request audience participation, so make sure you’re wearing dancing shoes. From the preview I was able to see this week, this dance showcase is not to be missed, and not only because over it all spins that fabulous, glittering disco ball.
Werk It Out!
Fri/20, 8pm; Sat/21, 3pm and 8pm; Sun/22 3pm, one performance $25, festival pass $50-$60
ODC Theater
3153 17th St., SF
Getting into a pickle: Canning beans and beets at La Cocina
I’m a sucker for pickled things, probably because I grew up in a house where my dad always had a pot of kimchee fermenting on the counter or a bottle of homemade pineapple vinegar, getting perfectly bubbly on top of the fridge. Preserving food also feels very nostalgic for the times when our great-grandparents would can the summer’s bounty so we could eat peaches and tomatoes through the winter. So you can imagine how excited I was to take my dad with me to La Cocina for a pickling party with Emiliana Puyane of Jarred SF Brine, to brush up on our fermentation implementation.
There were three pickles on the to-do list for the evening: garlic-and-dill pickled green beans, oven-roasted golden beets and shallots, and the one that I was most excited to try (and still am — we have to wait a week or more before we can pop the lids), cinnamon-and-thyme pickled peaches. Emiliana led us through the process, from the sanitation of the jars to making a perfectly-balanced brine. There was a lot of peeling, chopping, and de-stemming to be done. Everyone helped, including my dad, who helped blanch peaches over a steaming pot.
After two hours we jarred our creations and indulged in the most delicious Nepalese dinner, prepared by Bini’s Kitchen. Crazy-good rice, wonderful eggplant, everything made with spices that Bini herself mixes, a homemade touch which yielded bright and fresh flavor in her dishes.
I’d also just like to say how much I love La Cocina. I’ve been to a couple of their cooking classes and they are such great events, bringing together a lovely group of people for a night of cooking. La Cocina’s director Caleb Zigas always gives the warmest welcome. As an entrepreneur myself, I know how much work goes into starting a business, and I think it’s wonderful that La Cocina gives blossoming chefs the tools, space and skills they need to get their business up and running. If you want to try some of these amazing eats, don’t miss the SF Street Food Festival, which starts August 18.
Telegenic Band Check: Mr. Kind
Mr. Kind’s Brian Bergeron and Kyle Kelly-Yahner rocked out on a perfect summer afternoon in an apartment somewhere in the Mission. Catch their EP release at Hotel Utah on July 27.
Tasting the rainbow at CUESA’s Stone Fruit Tour
Photos by Bowerbird Photography
As a child, my mom remembers driving with her father to a cherry farm to check out the farmer’s crop. My grandfather was a wholesale produce man whose job was to visit farms and buy whole harvests for the season. The farmer would give her huge cherries bigger than her hand and allowed her to gorge on the juicy fruit. My grandfather died when my mom was five years old, and so this memory is special to her. This story is important to me as well, since I never met my grandfather, and have always been curious about California’s orchards.
CUESA, which organizes the farmers’ market at the Ferry Building, also hosts farm tours. I signed up for the Stone Fruit Tour, and boarded a bus on Fri/15 which left the Ferry Building and took us to the Central Valley, first stopping at Bella Viva orchards in Denair, about two hours east of the city.
The sun was hot and the orchard smelled like warm fruit. We meandered through white nectarines, yellow peaches, eating (and eating!) as we went, sticky nectar dripping down our shirts. Bella Viva is a family business, run by the Martinos family. Victor Martinos gave us a tour, along with one his daughters (he has two, Belle and Vivian, hence Bella Viva, which means “beautiful long life” in Italian). We learned about his organic farming practices. He strings pheromone paper strips in the trees to confuse pests and scatters the property with homemade owl homes to hunt gophers that enjoy munching on cherry roots.
The Martinos also own another orchard that is non-organic, or conventional, and compared his practices. I was surprised to hear that some of the organic sprays (like lime sulfate, which has a skull and cross bones on the label) are more toxic than the conventional alternatives, especially when it comes to preventing the dreaded bloom rot. In fact, he is prohibited by law from using the same sprays he uses at his organic orchard at his conventional one because of its proximity to a school. I got the impression that Martinos takes safety seriously, holding frequent meetings with his workers, and requiring them to wear protective suits and masks when applying hazardous sprays.
We were allowed to carry back as much fruit as we could hold in our two bare hands. My strategy was to eat as much as I could off the trees, then and there. Talk about fresh! High on fructose, we made our way to an open field to check out the orchard’s impressive drying operations. As far as the eye could see, red cherries dried in the sun. Pretty stunning!
After a delicious lunch made from farmers’ market produce, that CUESA whipped up, we headed out to our second stop, CandyCot Fruit Company apricot orchard in Waterford. These are no ordinary apricots. John Driver, the owner, is like a mad-scientist seeking to breed the perfect apricot. He spent years in Central Asia, the fruit’s origin, searching for the perfect specimens. It took him a whole fifteen years to create his crop, which is fit for California weather and was approved (after two year in quarantine) by the USDA. He plans on selling them this week at the Ferry Building farmers’ market. They are unlike any apricot you’ve ever tasted, sweet and complex. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bi-Rite creates a gourmet ice cream flavor for it.
On the bus ride home, as Sam Love dozed off in the evening sun, I looked out the window at the passing trees, dripping with summer wonderfulness, feeling, perhaps not unlike how my mom felt as a little kid on her way back to the city after a day spent at the orchards.
Street Threads: Look of the Day
Today’s look: Zea, Mission Sunday Streets
Tell us about your look: “My fashion is inspired by the people of Santa Cruz.”
Street Threads: Look of the Day
Ariel Soto-Suver was strolling Sunday Streets in the Mission — its home every first Sunday this summer, did you hear? — when she happened across some perfect examples of SF summer weekend chic.
Today’s look: Crystal and Libby, 24th Street and Dolores
Tell us about your look: Says Crystal, “I like color, preppy and simple.” Libby followed with: “My style is unique, artistic and locally made.”
Street Threads: Look of the Day
Ariel Soto-Suver was strolling Sunday Streets in the Mission — its home every first Sunday this summer, did you hear? — when she happened across some perfect examples of SF summer weekend chic.
Today’s look: Ed, Mission Sunday Streets
Tell us about your look: “This is my costume for a flash mob I did this morning with my yoga studio.”
Street Threads: Look of the Day
Ariel Soto-Suver was strolling Sunday Streets in the Mission — its home every first Sunday this summer, did you hear? — when she happened across some perfect examples of SF summer weekend chic.
Today’s look: Farnoosh, Mission Sunday Streets
Tell us about your look: “I got this dress in NYC with a gift certificate from my boyfriend’s mom.”
Street Threads, doggie style at The Whole Enchihuahua
As a street fashion photographer responsible for capturing the Bay’s best looks in the Guardian’s Street Threads feature (and photo book), I’m always on the lookout for well-dressed San Franciscans. Imagine my delight when Sam Love and I stopped by the SFSPCA’s Whole Enchihuahua at Dolores Park on June 2 and encountered a mega-litter of fashion-forward pooches. It was Street Threads, doggie style!
There was flair from Paris, tie-dyed hippie outfits, a pup in a piñata, and even some quirky balloon ensembles. Although the event was dubbed a chihuahua affair in true SF spirit all variety of dogs, from poodles to bulldogs, were included. In turn, all the canines seemed equally accommodating, patiently putting up with their owners’ ridiculous costume fetishes. For what it’s worth, they looked adorable, converting this cat lover into a dog fanatic (for the day.)
Street Threads: Look of the Day
Guardian street fashion photog Ariel Soto-Suver was on the scene at Bayview Opera House’s Saturday summer concert series. The al fresco community fete was packed with rows of organic kale and college prep tutors — but also fashion. Read on for braided Renee’s style philosophy — and check out Soto-Suver’s shots of Elwood from earlier this week.
Today’s look: Renee, Third Street and Palou
Tell us about your look: “I love to dress and I love designer clothes.”
Street Threads: Look of the Day
SFBG street fashion photog Ariel Soto-Suver was on the scene at Bayview Opera House’s Saturday summer concert series. The al fresco community fete was packed with rows of organic kale and college prep tutors — but also fashion. Read on for fresh ‘fits.
Look of the day: Elwood, Third Street and Palou
Tell us about your look: “I’m 62. I dress like this everyday.”
Telegenic Band Check: Elly Milder
For this edition of Telegenic Band Check, local jazz vocalist Elly Milder, accompanied by Rick Zuzow on guitar, sang her heart out in a tiny living room in Noe Valley.
Live Shots: Livening up Mendell Plaza
Every Saturday, as part of a 12-week free concert series, the Bayview Opera House transforms Mendell Plaza into a music-filled oasis. (I visited on May 12 and fell in love with the sounds and sights of this Bayview spot.)
While listening to soulful live tunes, you can join in on a game of dominoes, stroll through the organic community garden to check out some vivacious kale fronds, or head over to the 100% College Prep Club table.
The Club is an inspiring organization that offers youth in the Bayview-Hunters Point after-school tutoring, with the ultimate goal of getting them into college. The Club also takes its students on college tours to help motivate them and explore learning opportunities outside of San Francisco. These kids are an amazing and multi-talented bunch! All the musicians who performed were either former graduates of the program or soon off to college. Pretty impressive.
Thanks to the beautiful weather, there was a large turnout from the Bayview-Hunters Point community. Even the pup guarding the bbq stand gave a howl of appreciation for such a fun and vibrant event.
Live Shots: ‘Uncertain Weather’ at ODC
The ODC Youth and Teen Program staged its first full performance in a fantastic collection of dances inspired by the seasons on Fri/11. Dancers twirled through the “rain” with colorful umbrellas, an ice cream hawker tapped on a sunny beach, and sweaty passengers swayed in a sardine-packed Mission bus ride.
Each piece was unique and imaginative. A shoe-free tap dance number was done in miniature sand boxes, creating a pleasing and rhythmic sound under quick moving feet. Four adorable munchkins called “The Quartet” (they were the youngest dancers in the performance) added their own spunky moves and sunglass-clad cool looks to many of the routines.
But best of all was the eerie fan dance, in which three dancers, with long, luscious locks leaned over industrial fans and danced with the wind. It was beautiful and creepy, and one of the most sophisticated and mature dance pieces I’ve seen performed by such a young group of dancers. Kudos for pushing the envelope on that piece and for all the great young talents that danced their hearts out this weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnw2id6_Zuo
Live Shots: Avital tours Mission District food hotspots
Photos by: Bowerbird Photography
It was 11:30am on a Saturday morning, and we were tipping back salty oysters and chasing them down with sweet pink rhubarb cocktail, and then, just because pig meat tastes so good, ate some wonderfully cured, sliced Southern ham. The day was off to a great start and just kept getting tastier as our little posse made its way through the Mission, led by our knowledgeable and ebullient guide, Avital of Avital Tours.
She described her name as sounding like “Advil” and “Tylenol” mixed together, perhaps also hinting of the hangover and pharmaceutical cure we might need unless we paced ourselves on the drinks. Avital organizes food and wine tours in San Francisco, and specializes in discovering special local eateries that may be off an SF local’s radar.
There was a little of everything on the tour: local cuisine, history, talks by the chefs or restaurant owners, and even a little hands-on cooking stuffing mini meat pastries. Avital is an expert at pairing foods and balancing the tasting options. A super-energizing coffee sampling came at a perfect time, providing a needed lift after the morning cocktail and a delicious beer and cheese adventure.
As we meandered through the streets, Avital narrated our journey with interesting anecdotes about the history of the neighborhoods and murals that decorate the Mission, giving even me, a native San Franciscan, some insight into the neighborhood. The tour ended with ice cream sandwiches on the steps of Mission High, looking out over the Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Dolores Park.
We climbed to the top of those steps after our three-hour culinary adventure, and felt a sense of accomplishment not unlike how hikers feel after reaching the summit of a mountain. Eating and drinking ourselves silly takes work, and we felt perfectly contented to just sit there, loosen our belts, and soak in the sunbeams. What a nommy day!
Street Threads: Sunday Streets Edition
Valencia Street launched its monthly Sunday Streets pilot program this past weekend — several blocks of the street will be blocked off on the first Sunday of the month for the next four months, in order to see if similar programs might work across the city. Photographer Ariel Soto-Suver of Street Threads photo (and book!) fame was on the scene to snap the looks. We’ll be presenting her selections here all week.
Today’s Look: Jonieann, Mission Sunday Streets
Tell us about your look: “I wear whatever is cheap at thrift stores.”
Little City Gardens in bloom
Photos by Bowerbird Photography
“This is a secret magic place in the city,” said Bonnie, a volunteer at Little City Gardens. She crouched over a bed of orange and yellow marigolds, lovingly forming them into golden bouquets.
After tromping around the one acre farm, made up of several city lots and surrounded by family homes, Sam Love and I could tell that, yes, this was a magic place. There were watchful birds, gigantic bees, plump artichokes, and baby chives growing under tents shaped by old bike tire frames.
I got the owners of the garden, Brooke and Caitlyn, to stop in front of their adorable handcrafted greenhouse for a portrait together before they hurried off to continue snipping salad greens. It was a busy day at the garden because they had to finish harvesting in time for that evening’s farmers’ market in the Mission. Can’t get fresher than that!
In addition to selling produce at the market, the Little City Garden distributes CSA boxes and supplies local restaurants with incredibly local greens. Brooke and Caitlyn describe what they’re doing as an agriculture experiment to see if it’s possible for two people to eke a living off a little farm in the big city. Transforming a vacant lot into a thriving vegetable garden takes time, ingenuity and lots of hard work (not to mention a green thumb), but when the result is the thriving and vibrant Little City Gardens, it seems well worth the effort. Imagine if every city block had its own urban garden and all your neighbors could get their salad greens from just around the corner. A beautiful dream that Little City Gardens will hopefully make just a little more possible for all of us.
Live Shots: Lulacruza at Red Poppy Art House
After Latin American duo Lulacruza finished playing their opening piece last Saturday, the entire, sardine-packed Red Poppy Art House fell totally silent. It wasn’t that the audience didn’t like the music, it was that everyone was in a trance. Seriously, in some sort of hypnotized bliss.
That’s what happens when you hear Lulacruza live, as they mixes traditional South American instruments, electro-beats, and nature sounds, in songs that sometimes last more than six minutes, to create mesmerizing music.
The musicians, Alejandra and Luis, also made the space sacred before they performed, “washing” themselves clean in burning sage and dangling feathers from their microphones. Their ability to combine electronic drum machines and the Colombian cuatro is enchanting — and downright sexy.