sfbg Archives — Page 16 of 59 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

The fabulous Ms. Bernhard!

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October 12, 2009

By Louis Peitzman

Outspoken, controversial, and riotously funny: Sandra Bernhard is, in a word, loud. For her fans, that’s never been a problem. Now we can enjoy Whatever It Takes, her latest album, and see her live at the Rrazz Room in an intimate new show. I spoke to Sandra about the Bay Area, her politics, and — well — what it takes.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: What brings you back to San Francisco?

Sandra Bernhard: A gig and money. (laughs) And the fact that somebody actually wants me to come back to San Francisco. How could I ever say no to San Francisco?

SFBG: Well, what’s different about performing in San Francisco as opposed to New York?

SB: You know, I can never really quite figure out what San Francisco is at this point. It’s kind of a weird hybrid of the old hippie, you know, Castro Street life, and post-Silicon Valley, you know, the money that was made off the Internet and all that. It’s sort of a weird combination of people with a lot of money and people with absolutely no money at all. But that said, I don’t know. San Francisco’s just a mellower New York, and although I get great response there, people are just not quite as harried, or on the run like they are in New York City.

Don’t Ask, Just Drag

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October 12, 2009

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By Caitlin Donohue

Where is Cindy Sheehan these days? The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee/mom was all up in the news a few years ago what with the campouts in Bush’s front yard and all. Inside scoop: this Halloween she’ll be kicking up her heels right here in the city on behalf of a dragged-up peaceful protest to remember.

Spend your Halloween advocating for more choppers with pink bows in their propellers

Yes, the Peace Mom herself will be tramping about on stage as George W. Bush himself, in Comfort & Joy’s “Make Drag Not War” benefit drag revue, hosted by Artist Malcom Drake. The event is a benefit for Dialouges Against Militarism, a group sending a delegation to Israel and Palestine to meet with peaceniks on all sides of the Gaza Strip conflict.

Stephen Frank of Iraq Veterans Against the War organized the event, which features a debut drag performance by 12 of his gung-ho veterans. Stephen says the boys are excited to rock the stage, if understandably a little nervous. “The performance will be based on stories from the military perspective. These are significant issues, and instead of sitting in a circle and talking about them, we’ll be reenacting them in a way that’s more entertaining.”

SF Boylesque: Using their good looks to noble ends

Bravo, boys. Our troops will be sharing the stage (provided without charge to the event planners by Mission Dance Theater) with Raya Light, Suppositori Spelling and all male burlesque beauties SF Boylesque. A few of our intrepid performers leave for the Middle East tour early Sunday morning. Shall we send them off with a bad hangover and good memories?

Sat/31 7:30 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.), $15-$20
Dance Mission Theater
3316 24th St., SF
http://www.againstmilitarism.org/buytickets

Farewell, Mister Marcus: leather tear

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October 9, 2009

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By Marke B.

Mr. Marcus, RIP. Photo from ebar.com

This isn’t about music per se — let’s not even go there with this one — but it IS about nightlife. Mister Marcus, who for decades tirelessly covered the international, national, local, spiritual, and intergalactic leather scenes has passed away at the age of 77. He had been hospitalized for some time for diabetes and arteriosclerosis.

Marcus wrote for the Bay Area Reporter, and I pretty much grew up on his weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) dispatches. Seriously, he knew EVERYTHING about the leather scene, documenting all the sash winners and losers, the hopefuls and string-pullers, and, yes, sassy sassy gossip. (Here’s one of his recent columns, that he wrote when he was 75, that shows off his breadth of knowledge.) Being a bit cantankerous on occasion, he also didn’t hesitate to cry foul or use his position to push for transparency and change on the leather circuit. At times he was controversial — but if you know any leather queens, you know know that the freakin’ color of M&M’s in a refreshment bowl at a charitable reception can be controversial. I’m not saying they’re fussy, but ….

…. but the community is also very loving. When I was a hardcore leather boy, Mr. Marcus — who was always busy — was incredibly encouraging and always took time to talk. (Another leather legend who recently passed, Daddy Alan Selby, “Mr. S” himself, took me under his wing and was an amazing mentor.) Mr. Marcus helped bind his community with his reports and nudges, and I fear its continued atomization now.

I also fear for the future of nightlife writing in this town. There are very few of us regular nightlife commentators left, even in the Blog Age — people who get creative and critical with their takes on parties and after-hours developments, even as they can’t stop dancing or performing or bringing it. Posting pictures of your nights out to Facebook doesn’t count. I hope people continued to be inspired by Marcus’ dedication to a scene, and begin to document and foster their own through choice words.

I smell coffee and sex

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October 9, 2009

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By Juliette Tang

I do most of my writing in cafes, because any attempt to write at home generally results in watching online videos and taking naps. Given some of the things I write about, the process of writing in public often induces a distracting level of self-consciousness that borders on fear. There’s always the mild worry that what I’m working on is ‘inappropriate’ for public consumption, a worry that’s as tiresome as it is shaming. As I furtively write on my laptop, I invent implausible scenarios that almost always result in my being exposed and then humiliated in some convoluted way. What if I’m writing at a cafe and someones child, lurking near my table, sees the engorged human genitalia trumpeting like something 3-D and malevolent from the light of my Google image search? Would I be escorted out by management for being some kind of sex offender? In front of all of Ritual? Why must they sell those tiny cupcakes that attract kids in the first place???

It is not always possible to detect a child’s presence. They are small, like bacteria.

My answer came in the form of Wicked Grounds, which opened two weeks ago in SOMA (289 8th St, at Folsom) — as luck would have it, literally in my backyard. Situated barely a block away from kink havens Madame S, Stormy Leather, and the Citadel, this new, 18+ kinky coffee shop fits into the neighborhood foliage and is, bewilderingly, the only ‘adult’ cafe in our city.

The quaint and welcoming Wicked Grounds serves pastries, Ritual Coffee, and Red Blossom Tea in a quiet space that is, like many cafes in our city, long, skinny, and adorned with the work of local artists. However, unlike every other cafe in our city, all the artwork in the cafe features naked people. Finally, a place where I can work in peace!

On Catherine Breillat’s “Anatomy of Hell”

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October 9, 2009

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By Juliette Tang

I watched Catherine Breillat’s Anatomy of Hell (2004) for the first time tonight, initially out of boredom because it was on my “Watch Instantly” Netflix queue, and because I remembered, off-handedly, a remark the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek made about Breillat at an Authors@Google lecture that I happened to catch on YouTube last year, in which he discussed Violence, his latest book at the time.

The section of the lecture in which Zizek discussed Breillat was, more specifically, on the topic of censorship (at around 34 minutes into the video) and the ways in which censorship relates to what Zizek termed our “rules of discretion”. According to Zizek, what we term our “inner life” — i.e. our sense of personal narrative or interior gospel — is really just a “zero level ideology”, or the misinterpretation of our interiority (a mere discursive formation) as a kind of real, external reality (for those who are interested, Zizek delves into this in much more detail in his latest book First as Tragedy, Then As Farce). Amazingly, to illustrate his point, he chose the metaphor of pornography.

In order to operate in the ways that it intends, porn is absolutely obliged to participate in self-censorship of this “inner life,” or a censoring of any real or implied emotional discourse or narrative. Porn censors itself emotionally, or narratively so that it can be free to act explicitly, physically, in ways that narrative would hinder. A trade-off, in the crudest sense, of the emotional world for the sensual world.

As Zizek puts it, with hardcore porn, “You cannot have it both ways. You can see it all but the price you pay is to sabotage emotional involvement. In the sense of having an engaging story and so on so on… In gonzo sex you see a camera man, and the camera man tells to the actors, ‘move like that,’ and a woman who is being screwed slides to the camera and asks ‘am I ok like this’ and they make fun… I think this is the high point of censorship. They are afraid of even a minimum of narrative.”

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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October 9, 2009

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

Today’s Look: Anneyumang, Judson and Gennessee

Tell us about your look: “This jacket is from Forever 21.”

Blank walls beware: Estria’s Graffiti Battle Invitational brings the bombers

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October 8, 2009

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By Caitlin Donohue

Too legit: Street artist Estria (second from right) and the Together With Style crew in 1987

Where would we be without graffiti? The debate over vandalism and aesthetics rages ad infinitum in the larger world but let’s be real- street art has made urban living what it is today. No doubt, its creators should be celebrated- not harassed by law enforcement art critics. We’ve got a unique opportunity to do just that (celebrate, not harass) coming up with the Third Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle, part of the “Life Is Living” park day of the Oakland literary celebration, Living Word Festival. The battle’s creator, Estria Miyashiro, is a cause for celebration in his own right. The former street bomber has been making walls beautiful in the Bay Area for decades, and now teaches graffiti and mural classes around the country… in addition to running his own silk screening operation in San Leandro. The man is busy. Luckily, we manage to snag him for a few questions on the upcoming Invitational, women in graf and walking that tricky line between staying real and getting paid.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: You started throwing pieces up in the 80s and created some epic works before being arrested in 1994 for vandalism. Did the arrest change your mindset on “illegal” pieces?
Estria: The arrest in ’92 didn’t change my mindset on graffiti, but it made me understand and appreciate other people’s views on it. Of course I miss the thrill of bombing, but I am grateful to not be spending my days in jail. Were I a bomber now, I would not hit private property or places of worship. At this point I am interested in the creation side of graffiti, rather than the destruction. Getting up is exciting and I still love seeing it. [But] my time for that has passed and now I have found other ways for me to contribute to graffiti culture.

“Samurai Girl” (2008) mural by Estria and Bounce, two time champion of Estria’s graffiti battles

SFBG: I’ve seen graffiti and other street art described in academic texts as a “reverse colonization”; the act by the underprivileged in our society of taking back the institutions that try to dominate them. Do you see any truth in that idea?
E: There is an aspect of graffiti that is reverse colonization. I look at it as the people’s media. The average person cannot afford a billboard or a commercial, but we can put words on walls. It is the first and last form of free speech. For me it is critical to paint the people and cultures I see in my communities, because I do not see them much on TV or in movies. I use my murals to culturally level the media playing field.

Live Shots: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, 10/2-10/4

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October 8, 2009

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Text and photos by Ariel Soto

Continuing with the constant flow of summer concerts, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival constructed five stages in Golden Gate Park and brought three days of music for one of the most popular events of the summer. The stages, with quirky names like the Rooster and Banjo, hosted musicians whose tunes ranged from hometown bluegrass to music that could have backed a Ford truck commercial. The crowds were rather overwhelming, with huge human traffic jams of people
trying to get from one stage to the next. But despite the throngs of fans, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, soaking up the last bits of Indian summer sunshine and throwing back more than a couple bottles of beers.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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October 8, 2009

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

Today’s Look: Kay, Judson and Forester

Tell us about your look: “I also work at Crossroads, but the shoes are from Jeremy’s.”

Writers Issue: Trip the Light Fantastic

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October 7, 2009

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By Arisa White

I’m the lady in the joint without a g-string and waxed chocha.
Winter dressed and the money in my pocket afforded me a Heineken.
I have no ones to offer to thighs that can headlock Washington.
Coins work best for parking meters and wishes.

When the next dancer arrives to stage, she brings a blanket.
The basket and wine are missing. She wipes the pole
with a moist napkin — the abracadabra is gone.
Gestures to the wall to press start, positions her gingham
so it doesn’t abandon her when she scripts her alphabet.

She takes an interest in me — this is not ego —
she sees the wardrobe of long sleeves and pants in how I stare.
Weeks ago, I saw her forefinger in some butch’s belt loop,
coupled like his and hers towels. Maybe she noticed me then.

She comes to my earring and requests, slap my ass.
Shakes it like wind went through her leaves.
My hands are on pause. She laughs
then brings her undulations to a man in woodsman flannel.

She returns her legs, fans the sweet of green
apples ripe in my nose. In doggy style, demonstrates.
Her spank is the utter of unbreakable dishware.
Again — thud. No shatter.

She encourages me, recognizes this is my first time on a two-wheeler.
I grab the Heineken to cool the singing in my palm.
I’m ordered to give it to her, and like the kid in band
who plays cymbals, counting to cue, I make her bottom ring like Saturn.
She wanes from stage with a fête of smiles in her strut.

Writers Issue: The men behind Peter

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October 7, 2009

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By Johnny Ray Huston

This week’s Writers Issue includes a page devoted to the visual side of books and magazines, with contributions by comic book artist Eric Haven and comedy routine and joke book specialists Kasper Hauser. You’ll notice some compelling ads on the page — after admiring them, contemplate the fact that they are from Peter, a local men’s magazine co-created by David Enos and Tag Savage with a little help from their friends. So, what exactly is Peter? I recently met Enos in the smoking section. When I asked him for some background, I got some priceless rugged poetry for my troubles. Man oh man. Ooh la la!

SFBG How did Peter come to be?
David Enos Well, last year Tag (Savage) found a copy of a ’60s-era tabloid for men, a poverty-row Esquire or Argosy, called Man. This was from the Magazine, a great used bookstore in the Tenderloin that also sells found photographs. The voice of Man was that of a tough guy who doesn’t mince words, like a Kirk Douglas, but who also has a thirst for some very questionable, morbid information. In the way that Kirk Douglas wouldn’t think it odd to go into a book shop and ask the girl behind the counter for a book on Roman entertainment practices; to him it’s just part of having a healthy curiosity and he should catch up on the details.
The cover was a grid of boxes, and each one was a tease for an article: “KKK On My Skin” was a headline I remember. We both independently made take-offs after reading it. It was hard to shake. Around the same time, we had been talking about recreating the covers of board games like Mastermind as a photography exercise. Peter was a result of mushing these projects together. Also borne of this was Scumbag, a crasser counterpart to Peter.

SFBG Who is the target or ideal Peter reader?
DE I was never sure who would end up seeing it. Peter is for the reader who enjoys the finer things in life. Scumbag is for a different audience, maybe in jail. I think it was more of a success. It gets right to the point.

SFBG Unlike with so many magazines, Peter‘s advertisements often have an appeal that matches the editorial content. What advertisers are drawn to you, what do you like about their style or their products, and what advertisers would you like to court in issues to come?
DE Peter is 80 percent ads.
I saw an ad in an issue of Popular Mechanics. They send you the black widow eggs and you build wooden homes for them. You receive blueprints of cubbies for them to get into and build webs.

Writers Issue: Eric Haven

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October 7, 2009

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By Johnny Ray Huston

Lots to enjoy about Eric Haven’s The Aviatrix (Buenaventura Press, 32 pages, $4.95): killer anteaters, male masochism, surveillance run amok, a tiny but buxom beauty named Protona, a large monster named Melgor, noxious human odors that might even make George Kuchar blush, and a truly imaginative mind taking advantage of the kind of hilarious and radical shifts in perspective that can only happen in the frames of a comic strip. In conjunction with the appearance of a Haven comic in this week’s Writers Issue, I recently asked the Bay Area resident about his characters, his interesting day job, and his past connection to this rag.

SFBG You have a long-ago connection to the Guardian. Can you tell me the details?
Eric Haven Almost exactly 20 years ago, I entered the Guardian‘s annual cartoon contest. I won first place in the “best comic strip parody” category, and was quoted in the accompanying article as saying, “I hope to be a professional comic book artist by the time I’m 24!” or some such nonsense. I was incredibly naive and thought I could make money with my comics. Ha!

SFBG What books and artists did you like growing up, and today? What are your favorite B-movies?
EH In terms of comics, I was a Marvel zombie growing up. I would pick ’em
up for 10 cents each at a used bookstore in town. Their covers were torn off but I didn’t care… I could go in with a couple bucks and come out with a stack of comics.
Nowadays I tend to read stuff by single creators… not produced by a system which divides the chores among writers, pencilers, letterers, and colorists. I’ve recently enjoyed reading Prison Pit by Johnny Ryan, the “Sulk” series by Jeffrey Brown, and The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book by Joe Daly.
My favorite B-movies are ones where you can see budget constraints. Attack of the Crab Monsters, It Conquered the World, The Colossus of New York, etc. If it looks like the creature was cobbled together in someone’s garage, out of spare parts and supplies found in the attic, and then shot in someone’s back yard, I love it.

SFBG Tales to Demolish seems to cover any range of time and place, from prehistoric eras to present-day Oakland. Are there particular settings or periods you prefer rendering or are you drawn to drawing all manner of realms?
EH I enjoy rendering weird topographies, whether it’s ice-strewn glacial sheets or ancient dinosaur-infested forests or the wilds of my own kitchen. I’ve recently become obsessed with the history of Upstate New York, and have begun work on a comic which has many pages devoted purely to its geography and geology.

SFBG If the Aviatrix came across and read The Aviatrix, what would she think and have to say? How about Protona — what would her view of the book be?
EH The Aviatrix is well aware what’s going on, as I feel her looking over my shoulder when I draw. Who knows what she thinks? She’s inscrutable, unknowable. Protona would wonder why I drew her so tiny.
She’s actually not that small… close, though.

Writers Issue: Steve Rotman

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October 6, 2009

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By Johnny Ray Huston

The cover image of this week’s Writers Issue and some of the photos accompanying the writing itself come courtesy of Steve Rotman, whose dedication to photographing work by local painters is evident in his amazingly vast and comprehensive Flickr contributions under the name funkandjazz. It’s also on display in a pair of recent books, Bay Area Graffiti (Mark Batty, 208 pages, $29.95) and San Francisco Street Art (Prestel Publishing, 91 pages, $14.95). I recently threw some questions Rotman’s way, and his answers were characteristically generous. Read up, then scope out his work.

SFBG What got you started taking graffiti and street art pics?
Steve Rotman In early 2004, I was spending a lot of time roaming around the city with my camera. At some point, I got inspired to shoot photos of all the incredible murals spread around San Francisco just because I really liked the art. I also enjoyed the process of searching for the murals — it became a fun new way to explore the city. Eventually, I came across some stunning murals created by graffiti artists, and they blew me away. I got curious about graffiti and began to look for it more and more and I also started to research the subculture and its history. Pretty quickly I got hooked! I’ve been photographing graffiti and street art ever since. I totally dig the art and to me it’s especially compelling because of its outlaw nature.

SFBG How did the funkandjazz moniker come about?
SR Years before Flickr, I was active on another photo-sharing site and needed a moniker. I spur-of-the-moment picked funkandjazz just because at that time I was listening to a lot of classic funk music and I’ve always been heavily into jazz — I was a jazz dj for years. No deeper meaning to it than that. When I joined Flickr, I kept the name and for some reason — inertia I suppose — I’ve stuck with it.

SFBG How would you say SF street art varies from street art in other cities featured within the series?
SR I don’t notice huge differences. Graffiti and street art today are worldwide forms of expression and styles are less regional than they used to be. San Francisco attracts artists from all over the world, so there’s a lot of variety and experimentation here. That melting-pot quality keeps the scene fresh. There does seem to be a little more playfulness or weirdness here, and that’s especially reflected in the city’s rich tradition of character-based graffiti.

SFBG Within the graffiti documentation realm, who do you have a kinship with or admire?
SR There are so many fantastic graffiti photographers out there. I’m a huge fan of the groundbreaking work of Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Steve Grody does inspiring work covering the scene in Los Angeles. Jim and Karla Murray‘s documentation of New York and Miami is outstanding. And there are many others. Honestly, before I began to shoot graffiti, I was mainly into landscape photography, and I think my style and approach often reflects that, for better or worse. Many of my favorite photographers are landscape people. I tend to be influenced a lot by criticism and advice from friends and the other photographers I shoot with.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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October 6, 2009

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

Today’s Look: Mijo, City College, Ocean Campus

Tell us about your look: “I got this shift from a thrift shop in the Mission.”

Who’s afraid of the angry nativists?

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October 6, 2009

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Text and photos by Sarah Phelan

Is this man the true face of those who want immigrant kids deported without a chance to prove their innocence?

Yesterday, hundreds showed up to support Sup. David Campos proposal that the city’s sanctuary policy be amended so that only immigrant youth who have actually committed a felony be referred to the feds for deportation. And during the four-hour hearing that ensued, only two people showed up to oppose the Campos amendment.

One of these two opponents is pictured above (forgive the ochre hue, but lighting in the Board chambers is tricky) and he seemed to be slurring his words.

The other described himself as an “openly gay person” and asserted that his sexual orientation is “not a choice.”

“But coming here is in violation of federal law,” this gentleman continued. “As a tax paying resident, I resent my tax dollars being used to settle a claim of the Bologna family, because the city failed to deport Edwin Ramos.”

Kudos to this gentleman, who didn’t share his name, for laying out the nativist argument against giving immigrant kids a chance to prove their innocence. (Especially since no one from the Mayor’s Office showed up to defend Newsom’s policy, which he implemented last July without any public input or notice.)

But as Campos politely pointed out to this gay, tax-paying resident, if the amendment which Campos is proposing was already in place, Ramos would have been deported while he was a youth.

And as others pointed out during yesterday’s hearing, some youth come here to escape persecution for their sexual orientation, others come because their parents brought them when they were very young, others come to send money to their cash-strapped families, and others were born here to undocumented parents and have never set foot in Latin America, even though some folks assume they are undocumented just because they are brown.

But let’s face it, those on the right who oppose the Campos amendment aren’t going to be swayed by reason, not when it comes to banging the drum for a good ol’ wedge issue like immigration, just before the 2010 elections.

Campos’ civil rights legislation heads to Board

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October 5, 2009

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Text and photos by Sarah Phelan

Sup. David Campos’ proposal to amend the city’s sanctuary ordinance so that it extends due process to youth inched one step closer to becoming law, today.

During the Oct. 5 meeting of the Board’s Public Safety Committee, Board President David Chiu and Sup. Ross Mirkarimi recommended that the Campos proposal be sent to the full Board for consideration later this month.

Sup. Michela Alioto-Pier, who said she wanted the Campos proposal to be first heard in a closed session of the Board, voted against Chiu and Mirkarimi’s recommendation.

But as Campos noted, the legal implications of his proposal have already been publicly aired, thanks to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s decision to leak a confidential City Attorney memo to the Chronicle—a memo now posted at the Mayor’s website.

“I know a lot has been said about this piece of civil rights legislation,” Campos said at today’s hearing “And this is a piece of civil rights legislation that deals with the specifics of the city’s sanctuary ordinance and more precisely a very narrow and measured amendment to that legislation.”

“And I understand the very important role that the supervisors play in a number of issues involving civil rights,” added Campos, noting that he was sitting in the seat once occupied by Sup. Harvey Milk, the now legendary gay rights activist.

Campos also thanked the dozens of civil and human rights organizations that support his legislation, including several LGBTQ groups, and his seven co-sponsors on the Board—Board President David Chiu and Sups. John Avalos, Bevan Dufty, Eric Mar, Sophie Maxwell, Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly.

Together, these colleagues have given Campos a veto-proof majority in face of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s ongoing opposition towards Campos’ proposed changes.

That opposition crystallized in August, when Newsom leaked a confidential memo to the Chronicle, in an apparent effort to deal the Campos legislation a preemptive strike.

Boozehounds: Drink a pint with your pet

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October 5, 2009

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By Kristen Haney

Usually the sentence “this bar is full of dogs” is a bad omen. Dive bars lend themselves famously for hiding the less-than-fortunate looking in their dim lighting, and I’m sure that more than one unlucky gentleman or woman’s been accused of “dog catching” in the wee hours of the morning.

But there are a few places that celebrate their willingness to let in dogs – that is, of the canine variety. Infinitely better than the dog park, since you can imbibe without reproach, your only worry when bringing your pooch into these drinking establishments is making sure your canine companion can lead you home as you shuffle drunkenly behind. (Side note: Does this make them service dogs?).

Here are our some of our favorite places to down a Fernet with Fido:

Stray Bar
As you may have picked up from the name, dogs are not just tolerated but welcomed. In fact, the décor of the whole place is dog-themed, with Boston terrier-adorned signs and treats available. Aside from the fact that your puppy pal is welcome, Stray Bar has other draws: The crowd is usually attractive, which
means you no longer have to solely rely on your dog for scoring a date (although a cute canine never hurts), and patrons represent all sides of the sexuality spectrum.
309 Cortland Ave, SF. (415) 821-9263

Bender’s Bar & Grill
Bender’s allows four-legged pals as long as they’re leashed, and it’s rare to not see at least one mellow pup kicking it with the regulars. Bender’s also has dog treats behind the bar, so even your pet can enjoy some relief after a long day of chasing tail. The staff just asks that you use common sense when deciding the best times to bring in your furry friend.
806 S. Van Ness, SF. (415) 824-1800

Appetite: Major wine and whiskey brouhahas

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October 5, 2009

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

10/14 Wine & Spirits Top 100 Event at SF Design Center
Six years strong, I’ve heard that Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting, honoring their pick of the Top 100 Wineries of the Year from around the globe, is one of the better wine events of the year, full of tastings, food, and merriment. Yes, you can meet the winemakers while sampling their award-winning wines. Just a few wineries at this year’s event include Krug, Louis Roederer, Diamond Creek, Henschke, Shafer, Williams Selyem. Never fear, foodies, the food is equally a draw. They’ve assembled a line-up of eats from the classic (Cliff House) to the latest and greatest, like Flour+Water, RN74, Gitane, Il Cane Rosso and Showdogs. There’s even signature specialties from the likes of 4505 Meats, Candybar, Barefoot Coffee, Brix and Hog Island. Sounds way better than happy hour.
6:30-8:30pm (VIP 6pm)
General admission $95, VIP $125
The Galleria at SF Design Center
101 Henry Adams Street
www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com/top100

10/16 SF WhiskeyFest at the Marriott
Call me a lush, but knowing there will be some of the world’s finest whiskeys (and whiskies – yes, there is a difference) all under the roof of the San Francisco Marriott for Whiskeyfest makes me a bit giddy. It’s three hours of tasting bourbons, scotches, and ryes from around the globe. Distillers and experts will be pouring themselves, so you can ask questions, dialogue, and find new favorites. A charity whisky table features ultra-rare bottles (donations for tasting go to Meals on Wheels San Francisco), and bartenders, like the Bourbon & Branch crew, will be mixing special cocktails at their booths. There’s also seminars, a food buffet, and with the price of admission, a Scottish crystal glass, and a one-year subscription to Malt Advocate. If you still want more (you greedy aficianado, you), $150 VIP passes secure access one hour before everyone else arrives, plus an additional number of rare pours.
6:30-9:30pm
Regular $110, VIP $150
San Francisco Marriott
55 4th Street
800-610-MALT
www.maltadvocate.com/docs/whiskyfest/san_francisco

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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October 5, 2009

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

Today’s Look: Clarissa, City College, Ocean Campus

Tell us about your look: “My shoes match my shirt.”

The dining mash-up

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October 2, 2009

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By Paula Connelly

One Monday night a month from 5p.m.-10:30p.m., Tommy Halvorson (executive chef of the Phoenix Supper Club) and 111 Minna team up to offer enthusiastic adventure diners a mash-up cultural experience called EAT. The idea? Order from a menu consisting of small plates (all at $10 or under), then enjoy your food and drinks at cocktail tables while surrounded by art and listening to a DJ’s digestivo tunes.

As an art gallery and lounge in SoMa, 111 Minna is no stranger to the nightlife mashup that has been gaining popularity in San Francisco. These days, most SF museums even host weekly nightlife events that cater to the 21+ crowd by combining later hours, DJs, live music, lectures, and makeshift bars to help the culture go down all the more smoothly. Maybe it’s the bad economy that’s given us a hunger (and thirst) for an inexpensive, DIY cultural experience; it has certainly prompted us to host more dinner and cocktail parties at home. Or maybe it’s because the Internet’s social networking overload has rewired our brains so that we need real life aggregators too. (Stay tuned for Google Wave. ) Whatever the reason, when San Franciscans go out to see and be seen, we want a destination that appeals to our many facets, and we want to get the most bang for our buck .

Satisfying your sense of adventure, thrift, and quality all at once, Mission Street Food has been a pioneer in this category. MSF takes over a hole- in-the-wall restaurant in the Mission on Thursdays and Saturdays and has rotating local chefs design inexpensive, gourmet weekly menus to benefit charity. The brief cocktail menu even has an ode to the musical mash-up genre called the Grey Album, a 32-ounce mix of Old English and Boddington’s, whose name nods to Danger Mouse’s combination of the Beatles’ White album with Jay-Z’s Black album. Yum.

NY Fashion Week: Meet the students

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October 2, 2009

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Fashion writer Laura Palmer learns more about the Bay Area students who showed in New York. Read her account of the fashion show here.

The seven fashion design students who showed at Bryant Park this season seem to reflect the Bay Area’s diverse cultural quilt. Here we unfurl the designs of all seven students, shake out their insights and inspiration, and uncover the daily lives of our budding local designers.

Amanda Cleary

A native Californian, Amanda Cleary’s designs were inspired by packages. No, no, not that kind of package. Actual boxes. Her vinyly angular shifts have multiple armholes, square shoulders, and a dimension that does, in fact, suggest duct tape and cardboard. Interesting, surely, but as far as form meets function is concerned, the designs would perhaps better suited to a Martian runway, so all four armholes could be filled. If any of the aesthetic from Elie Tahari’s line rubs off on Cleary (since she recently interned with Tahairi), Cleary’s next fashion week jaunt may be more cohesive.

When she’s not busy with bonding (one fabric to another, that is), Cleary is watching flicks at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.

Sawanya Jomthepmala

The geometric, origami designs that Sawanya Jomthepmala created were inspired by the stained glass in Thai Buddhist temples and the boats fashioned out of banana leaves during the Krathong Festival. (The boats are floated out to sea to bring good fortunes to those that release them.)

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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October 2, 2009

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

Today’s Look: Erica, City College, Ocean Campus

Tell us about your look: “I’m sad that it’s foggy.”

Diva’s Celebrates 25 years of avant garde sexiness

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October 1, 2009

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By D. Scot Miller

(L to R) Jessica, Tracy, Carmen, and Diva’s owner Steve Berky.

Our amazingly prescient editor Marke B. wrote, “my continual intuition [is] that totally hot trans porn people are the apex of the now”, and his powers of observation are on point, as always, because totally hot trans porn people (THTPP) are indeed, THE hotness.

The phenomenal element of this is that it has taken so long for the mainstream to catch on. I’ve officially made it my mission to shed some light, and possibly, some clothes, on the true front lines of sex and gender. Onward, I say, onward!

Relegated to Maury Povich and Jerry Springer, I suspect that THTPP have been overlooked because, as Dan Savage has said, “this is a totally straight male pursuit,” and you know how straight males can get, especially when it comes to cock. You won’t find these guys — or their dollars — at the next drag show at your local cabaret. No, my friend, they hang out at Diva’s, famous for the best and most beautiful in the world of “Female Illusion.” And owner Steve Berky is their best friend.

Kylie Minogue at the Fox Theater

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October 1, 2009

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By Ariel Soto

“Kylie, Kylie, Kylie!” shrieked the ecstatic crowd on September 30 as Kylie Minogue, riding a gigantic gold skull, descended to the stage to start the what was the beginning of her very first US tour. From the stunning laser show to her edgy geometric costume, Kylie awed her fans with her energy and hot dance moves. The audience, which was largely dominated by beautiful boys and their beautiful boyfriends, were obvious devotees of the pop diva, and many were decked out in feathers, sequins and glitter. She must have known she would find hella love in the Bay Area and therefore honored us with the first show on her US tour. It’s inspiring to see someone in her 40s be so sexy and confident on stage. You go, Kylie! Take on the US — you’ll have no problem winning over every last one of us!