Randy's Guide CCCXXXIV (334)

Music

While home in New York was champagne
And disco tapes from L.A. / San Francisco

But actually Oakland and not Alameda

Your girl in Berkeley with her Communist reader.

 -- "Step" by Vampire Weekend (0.9 million views, published 3/18/13)

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); Higher (Matt Nathanson); Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second (STRFKR); So Many Details (Toro Y Moi); Ho Hey (Lumineers); Winter Winds (Mumford & Sons); Wanted (Hunter Hayes); Levels (Avicii); The A Team (Ed Sheeran); Hold On (Alabama Shakes); Don't You Worry Child (Swedish House Mafia); Lonely Boy (The Black Keys); It's a War (Blackbird, Blackbird); Man on Fire (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros); Big Girl (Mika).

Current Event

Issue: Approval of new Gehry-designed Facebook building in Menlo Park, Calif.

"Congratulations. Where's the 'like' button?"

 - Peter Ohtaki, Mayor of Menlo Park

"Frank (Gehry) was quite willing to tone down some of the expression of architecture in the building.... Our intent is that it almost becomes like a hillside, with the landscape really taking the forefront."

 - Craig Webb, creative partner of architect Frank Gehry

Food

Hard Knox Cafe

2526 3rd St. (at 22nd St.)

San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 678-3770
Yelp - Dogpatch
or

2448 Clement St. (at 26th Ave.)
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 752-3770
Yelp - Richmond

Excellent fried chicken, collard greens, mac 'n' cheese, cornbread, and spicy cabbage. There's even a house-only pale ale on draft! Though smaller, I believe the Dogpatch original location is a tad better than the one in the Avenues. 1348 reviews - 4 stars (Dogpatch); 1012 reviews - 3-1/2 stars (Richmond)

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; Zero Zero; Zazie; Shalimar; Swan Oyster Depot; Dottie's True Blue Cafe; La Taqueria; Chez Maman; Radio Habana Social Club; Tony's Pizza Napoletana.

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/Roseville); Bakesale Betty (Oakland); Zachary's Pizza (Oakland/Berkeley/San Ramon); Gregoire (Berkeley/Oakland); Val's Burgers (Hayward); Homeroom (Oakland); Jong Ga House (Oakland); Cheese Board Pizza (Berkeley); Vik's Chaat (Berkeley); Wat Mongkoratanaram (Berkeley); Phnom Penh House (Oakland); Luka's Taproom & Lounge (Oakland).

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); Buckeye Roadhouse (Mill Valley).

Previous Other picks: Shoki Ramen House (Sacramento); Built to Grill (Portland); Freshies (South Lake Tahoe).

Nightlife

Thee Parkside

1600 17th St. (at Wisconsin St.)San Francisco, CA 94107

Around the bend from Dogpatch is Potrero Hill, and Thee Parkside manages to pack in crowds for its free Twang Sundays and rockin' shows. I loved the large patio, with the added option to order tater tots from an outside window. 4 stars - 256 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; Magnolia Pub & Brewery; Whiskey Thieves; Bourbon & Branch; The Monk's Kettle; Amsterdam Cafe; Aunt Charlie's Lounge; Latin American Club; Two Sisters Bar and Books; Doc's Clock; 15 Romolo.

Previous Peninsula/South Bay picks: Antonio's Nut House (Palo Alto); The Oasis Beer Garden (Menlo Park); Rose and Crown (Palo Alto).

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); Make Westing (Oakland).

Previous North Bay picks: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma); Bear Republic Brewing Co. (Healdsburg); Tourist Club (Mill Valley).

Previous Other pick: New Deal Distillery (Portland); Stateline Brewery (South Lake Tahoe).

History

Minnie Ward
(1935-2005)

The Louisiana-born neighborhood activist moved to San Francisco during WWII, graduated from Mission High, and worked as a nurse at UCSF. She lived in the OMI (Oceanview - Merced Heights - Ingleside), where crime, gangs, and drugs ran rampant during the 1980s. She and her longtime husband co-founded the OMI Action Group, which pressured City Hall to organize police patrols and rebuild the local library and school.  The area has since improved. The Minnie & Lovie Ward Recreational Center, in the OMI district, is named after her.

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; William D.M. Howard; Edwin Bryant; George Davidson; William Alvord; George Moscone; Jack Early; Thomas Starr King.

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; Joseph Grant; Henry Naglee; Anson Burlingame; William Ralston.

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; Robert Crown; Samuel Merritt

Previous North Bay history: Cotati; Charles Fairfax; Luther Burbank; William Richardson; Oscar and James Shafter; George Guerne; Frank Doyle; Samuel Taylor; Harrison Standley; Helen Putnam

Previous Other history: Francis Pettygrove (Portland).

Charity

Urban Tilth

401 1st Street

Suite 215

Richmond, CA 94801

(510) 778-5886

Such a cool idea. For seven years, Urban Tilth has worked to bring agriculture to urban areas of Richmond and San Pablo. The program has partnered with schools, nonprofits, corporations, and government and now coordinates 12 small farms and three churches. The Greenway Community Garden, in the heart of the Iron Triangle, and the Kennedy High Farm and Garden are two great examples. Earlier this month, Richmond High hosted a student-run salad bar for lunch by using harvested lettuce and lemons, and student-made salad dressings.

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; Duboce/Valencia Fire Relief; and The Coming Home Project.

Weekend Weather

Much like I suspected, the winter rains have been pushed into spring. It was the driest first three months in San Francisco since record keeping began in 1850.  Soggy hunky Jesuses and Easter bonnets.  :(

~ Thursday-Friday ~

Coast: upper-50s
SF: mid-60s

Bay: upper-60s

South Bay: low-70s

Inland East Bay: low-70s

North Bay: mid-70s

~ Saturday-Sunday ~

Coast: mid-50s
SF: low-60s

Bay: mid-60s

North Bay: upper-60s

South Bay: upper-60s

Inland East Bay: upper-60s

 

Free Activities

1. Happy Easter!

- Easter Concert: Friday, 5pm

- Easter Egg Hunt: Saturday, 1-4pm

- Union Street Easter Parade: Sunday, 10am-5pm

- Hunky Jesus: Sunday, 11am-4pm

The annual Good Friday concert at Stanford's Memorial Church features music from Hayden interwoven with scripture readings. Face painting, live music, free lunch and basket, and the Easter Egg Hunt for different age groups greet families at Oakland's Mosswood Park. Union Street hosts its 22nd annual festival, bonnet contest, and parade. Or, join the Sisters in Dolores Park - weather permitting - for an afternoon of drag queens, rock bands, hunky Jesuses, and Easter bonnets.

2. Bawdy Circus Theater
Friday-Sunday, 7:30pm

The Circus Center, near the revitalized Panhandle, opens its doors three nights for acrobatics, comedy, and bright costumes. RSVP online for tickets.

3. Opening Day Giants Viewing Event
Monday, noon

Watch the opening game between the L.A. Dodgers and your beloved Giants simulcast at AT&T Park. Arrive early to check out the World Series trophies, and get your free hot dogs and foam fists. Fans will be permitted to sit in the stands or on any dirt portion of the field.

Free Concert
Check out The English Beat next Thursday (April 4) at the MINI store, 799 Van Ness Ave. (at Eddy St.). RSVP at http://sfmini.eventbrite.com to get on the guest list. Appetizers and drinks are inclusive too.