You turn me over and over
'Til I can't control myself
Make me a liar
One big disaster
You make my heart beat faster.
Bay Area Quote
"We used to joke that if you wanted to point to what was wrong with the country, you could point to San Francisco. And if God was going to send an earthquake, he'd probably send it there. Now maybe he has to send it to Seattle."
- Pastor Joe Fuiten of Bothell, Wash.
Bay Area Food Pick
826 Folsom St. (at 4th St.)
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 348-8800
So good, it's my work team's selection for our holiday luncheon. The name derives from the powder-fine flour used for its Neapolitan-style pizzas, which leads to a delectable crisp. And don't forget to leave room for the tailored-to-your-taste ice cream sundaes! 4 stars - 1399 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; Pho Huynh Hiep 2; Ted's Deli.
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).
Bay Area Nightlife Pick
1398 Haight St. (at Masonic Ave.)
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 864-7468
It's handy I can walk here from home. I have yet to be wowed by the food, which has been dramatically upgraded over the past decade. Now it's a gastropub. Anyhow, the beer remains a top draw, especially on Tuesdays when the $7 Imperial pints (20 ounces) are a mere $4. You'll typically find ten in-house brews on tap, plus a guest, plus several more on cask (my preference). Arrive early, or be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder. 3-1/2 stars - 1194 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; Blackthorn; Local Edition.
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); Beer Revolution (Oakland).
Previous North Bay picks: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma); Bear Republic Brewing Co. (Healdsburg).
Previous Other pick: New Deal Distillery (Portland).
Bay Area History
William Davis Merry Howard
(1818-1856)
He sailed to San Francisco from Boston as a 20-year-old cabin boy. After gaining experience in the trade business, he would co-purchase a Hudson's Bay Co. property in San Francisco in 1846, and turn it into a profitable company. Mr. Howard also served on San Francisco's first city council and helped craft a code of laws and police force. His second wife, Agnes, survived Mr. Howard and proceeded to marry his brother. Howard Street, in the South of Market district, is named after him.
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; Jose Sarria.
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.; John Gilroy.
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; Harrison Standley.
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 Weekend Highs
Slight chance of showers on Friday morning and Saturday afternoon. Inland East Bay wind chills are expected to dip into the low-20s tonight from 2-8 a.m. Heavier rain looks ready to strike Monday and Wednesday next week.
* low-to-mid-50s everywhere
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
1. Volunteer
- Glide: Wednesday, 6am-1pm
- Salvation Army: through Dec. 20, 8:30am-4pm
As a former Gap Inc. employee, I can attest that this volunteer opportunity is a lot of manual labor, but the rewards are immense. Bags will be filled with groceries and given to 5,500 folks lined up around the block of the famed church. The Salvation Army also seeks volunteers to sort toys and fill food bags.
2. Christmas for Adults
- SantaCon: Saturday, noon start
- Boombox Christmas Parade: Saturday, 7pm
- Santa Skivvies Run: Sunday, 1pm
Don your Santa outfit, and get your drink on. The crawl starts at Union Square Park (for now), but follow the blog for updates. For a more modest celebratory atmosphere, bring your boombox or iPad to create a parade of sound. Lastly, ogle the red-underwear-clad runners making a loop through Castro, starting at Lookout Bar. If you choose to do the charity run, the registration fee is $35.
3. Christmas for Families
- Holiday Lights Parade: Friday, 6pm start
- Snow Park: Saturday-Sunday, 10am-6pm
More than 100 holiday boats will parade from Pier 39 to the St. Francis Yacht Club. Arrive early for best viewing spots along Jefferson St. For the third year, 75 tons of snow will be dumped onto Civic Center Plaza. City Hall will also have an open house from 11am-3pm on Sunday, where you can meet Mayor Ed Lee and other civic leaders.
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); Take a Walk (Passion Pit); Closer (Tegan and Sara); It's Time (Imagine Dragons).
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