Got off the boat, they stayed a while
Then scattered across the coast
Once a year I'll see them for a week or so at most
I took a walk.
Bay Area Food Pick
1833 Irving St. (at 19th Ave.)
San Francisco, CA 94122
With spartan decor, this Vietnamese dive has quietly amassed a following. I started coming here over a decade ago, curing the ills associated with living in the Sunset District. Top-notch BBQ pork rice places, various pho options, and the plump spring rolls - how can you go wrong?? 4 stars - 704 reviews
Previous San Francisco picks: Radius; Limon Rotisserie; Art's Cafe; Little Star Pizza; Yamo; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Humphry Slocombe; Tu Lan; Foreign Cinema; Zanze's Cheesecake; San Tung; Katana-Ya; A La Turca; Boxing Room; Frances; Saigon Sandwich; Brenda's French Soul Food; Park Tavern; Broken Record; Rosamunde Sausage Grill; Curry Up Now; Yasukochi's Sweet Stop; Lime Tree Southeast Asian Kitchen; Firefly; Red Door Cafe; L'Ardoise Bistro; Pluto's; My Tofu House; Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous; Walzwerk; Good Luck Dim Sum; Amber India; Sotto Mare; Sweet Maple; Shanghai Dumpling King; Super Duper; Kokkari Estiatorio; Olea; Bodega Bistro; The Chairman Truck; Molinari Delicatessen; Wayfare Tavern; Wexler's; Thorough Bread & Pastry; Lers Ros Thai; Helmand Palace; HRD Coffee Shop; Fat Angel; Aperto.
Previous Peninsula/South Bay picks: Curry Up Now (San Mateo); Little Lucca Sandwich Shop & Deli (Burlingame/South SF); Falafel's Drive In (San Jose); Sunny Bowl (Mountain View); Back A Yard Caribbean Grill (Menlo Park); Pluto's (Palo Alto/San Jose); Ramen Dojo/Ramen Parlor (San Mateo); Amber India (Mountain View/San Jose/Palo Alto); Nini's Coffee Shop (San Mateo); Kabab and Curry's (Santa Clara); Fiddler's Green (Millbrae); Alana's Cafe (Burlingame); Sushi Sam's Edomata (San Mateo).
Previous East Bay picks: Little Star Pizza (Albany); Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen (Berkeley); Asmara (Oakland); Keanu's Island Kine Food (Vacaville); Tara's Organic Ice Cream (Berkeley/Oakland); Pluto's (Chico/Davis/Sacramento/
Previous North Bay picks: Bouchon Bakery (Yountville); Della Fattoria Bakery (Petaluma); Sol Food (San Rafael); Stumptown Brewery (Guerneville); Moustache Baked Goods (Healdsburg); Super Duper (Mill Valley); The Pelican Inn (Muir Beach); Garden Grill (Guerneville).
Previous Other picks: Shoki Ramen House (Sacramento); Built to Grill (Portland).
A few steps from my favorite pho shop is an Irish pub. Gotta love San Francisco! A decent-sized back patio is sheltered from wind, and if you get hungry, you're encouraged to bring your own food. Trivia night is Mondays, and karaoke night is Tuesdays. If you're a sports fan, check out one of the 13 televisions. 4 stars - 89 reviews
Previous San Francisco picks: Blackbird; El Rio; Rickhouse; Southern Pacific Brewing; The Hidden Vine; Vesuvio; The Pig & Whistle; Biergarten; Martuni's; Tosca Cafe; Toronado; The Alembic; Trad'r Sam; Sugar Lounge; Speakeasy Ales & Lagers; Lucky 13; Hotel Biron; Bottom of the Hill.
Previous Peninsula/South Bay picks: Antonio's Nut House (Palo Alto); The Oasis Beer Garden (Menlo Park).
Previous East Bay picks: The Trappist (Oakland); Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon (Oakland); The Turf Club (Hayward); Jupiter (Berkeley); St. George Spirits (Alameda); Drake's Barrel House (San Leandro); JC Cellars (Oakland); Dashe Cellars (Oakland); Room 389 (Oakland).
Previous North Bay picks: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma); Bear Republic Brewing Co. (Healdsburg).
Previous Other pick: New Deal Distillery (Portland).
Bay Area History
Harrison Standley
(1814-1886)
Mr. Standley grew up in Tennessee and Missouri, but eventually moved to California in 1850. After brief stints in Sacramento and Petaluma, he moved his family to Ukiah in 1858. He built Ukiah's first hotel and served as its first postmaster. Standley Ave. is an east-west road that runs through Ukiah today.
Previous San Francisco history: John Geary; Samuel Brannan; Michael O'Shaughnessy; Jasper O'Farrell; Frank McCoppin; Thomas Hayes; Francisco de Haro; Jose Bernal; David Broderick; Henry Haight; John Townsend; Cyril Magnin; Jose Arguello; Keiko Fukuda; John Le Conte; Eugene Schmitz; Theodore Judah; Herb Caen; James Phelan; Lawrence Ferlinghetti; Angelo Rossi; Charles Brenham; Warren Hellman; John McLaren; Dogpatch; Thomas Larkin; Nancy Pelosi; Levi Strauss; John Sloat.
Previous Peninsula/South Bay history: Millbrae; Tanforan Racetrack; T. Jack Foster; Leland Stanford; Milpitas; Donald Tresidder; Josiah Belden; Hiram Morgan Hill; Simon Mezes; James Forbes; Henry Coe, Jr.
Previous East Bay history: Charles Tilden; William Hayward; John Fremont; Mariano Vallejo; Ygnacio Martinez; Henry Kaiser; Anthony Chabot; Thomas Caldecott; Laurentine Hamilton; Joel Clayton; Edson Adams.
Previous North Bay history: Cotati; Charles Fairfax; Luther Burbank; William Richardson; Oscar and James Shafter; George Guerne; Frank Doyle; Samuel Taylor.
Previous Other history: Francis Pettygrove (Portland).
Bay Area Charity
Based in San Francisco since 2006, this organization provides emotional and psychological support to Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, service members, and their families. Estimates are that one out of six troops returning from the wars will have psychological trauma.
Previous organizations Randy's Guide has spotlighted and donated: Common Ground Relief, LYRIC, Aldea Inc., Glide Memorial, City CarShare, Maitri, Loaves and Fishes, Friends of the Urban Forest, Farm Sanctuary, Bay Area Community Services, Blue Energy, My New Red Shoes, College Track, Foundation for the People of Burma, Vital Life Services, Little Angel Fund, San Francisco Health Services Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Bay Localize, San Francisco Women Against Rape, Sustainable Conservation, Ashoka, Old Skool Cafe, Darfur Sister Schools, Rebuilding Together San Francisco, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Urban Solutions, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Shanti, Curry Without Worry, SF Neighborhood Theater Foundation, La Cocina, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California, The Bike Kitchen, First Graduate, Lazarex Cancer Foundation (Amy C), KQED (88.5 FM), FabMo Creativity Center; and now Duboce/Valencia Fire Relief.
Bay Area Quote
"Americans can vote with their feet.... If a person wants to live in a San Francisco lifestyle, they can go there. If they want to live a Kansas lifestyle, they can come here."
- Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach
Bay Area Weekend Highs
Rain should swoop in later today and persist through Saturday night. Conditions look relatively dry the next few days thereafter.
Coast: upper-50s
SF: low-60s
Bay: mid-60s
Inland East Bay: mid-60s
North Bay: mid-60s
South Bay: mid-60s
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
1. Holidays unfold.
- Embarcadero Center: Friday, 4-7pm
- Macy's Union Square: Friday, 5-6pm
- Hyatt Regency: Friday, 7-8pm
- Pier 39: Sunday, noon-6:30pm
- Westin St. Francis: Wednesday, 9am
Ready or not, it's that time of year again. Things kick off Friday with three separate events: fireworks and Disney on Ice at the Embarcadero Center lighting; former Mayor Willie Brown and the Macy's holiday adoption windows; and indoor snowfall with the Gay Men's Chorus and Smuin Ballet at the Hyatt Regency event. On Sunday, youth choruses join Disneyland characters to celebrate the Pier 39 lighting ceremony. Then, Wednesday brings the unveiling of the 12-foot sugar castle in the lobby of the Westin St. Francis.
2. Castro remembers.
- Under One Roof: Thursday, 6-9pm
- Transgender Remembrance: Monday, 5:30-7pm; Tuesday, 5-8:30pm
Under One Roof celebrates its final community holiday party at 518A Castro St. tonight starting at 6pm. Alcohol, food from neighborhood eateries, and the requisite speeches will be complimentary. Proceeds, as usual, benefit local AIDS organizations. In memory of transgenders, a march will take place on Monday from City Hall to Castro Plaza starting at 5:30pm. A second rally and march will be on Tuesday from City Hall to City of Refuge in SoMa.
3. Music soothes.
- Toro Y Moi Art Show: Friday, 7-9pm; Saturday, 6-9pm
- Chamber Music: Sunday, noon-7pm
Toro Y Moi unveils his latest album unconventionally by offering two preview nights at Public Works that pair his original drawings with the 13 new tracks. If you want to see him live, pony up $5 on Sunday evening. Twenty-four ensembles will perform on two outdoor stages in Yerba Buena Gardens, nine filmmaker-composer collaborations will be shown in the screening room, and six youth groups will be presented in the artist lounge.
Bay Area Freebie of the Week
Schemendrick's is giving away its award-winning Brooklyn-style bagels on Friday morning from 8-9:30am at the ING Direct Cafe in San Francisco's Financial District.
Previous songs: Down to the River to Pray (Alison Krauss); Three Rounds and a Sound (Blind Pilot); Chicken Fried (Zac Brown Band); The Story (Brandi Carlile); Lucky One (Pure Bathing Culture); Easy Way Out (Gotye); Hell or High Water (William Elliott Whitmore); Hymn #101 (Joe Pug); Midnight City (M83); So American (Portugal. The Man); Carry On (Fun.); Remembrance (Balmorhea); Miss Atomic Bomb (The Killers).
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