Randy's Guide 337

Music

Follow me into nowhere
Woven with the utmost care
Have they cleansed you with chloride
And scrubbed behind the knees
Has your body been hollowed by the breeze

 -- "Celestica," by Crystal Castles (2.6 million views, July '10 upload)

* Fox Theater, April 27
* Shoreline Amphitheater, September 26 (support for Depeche Mode)

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); Step (Vampire Weekend); All of Me (Tanlines); King and Lionheart (Of Monsters and Men).

Current Event

Issue: Recent suicide by a teenage girl allegedly sexually abused and photographed by three teenage boys

"School districts cannot suspend or expel someone from school solely on alleged behavior."

 -- Bob Mistele, Los Gatos-Saratoga Union HS District Superintendent

"The school district was obligated to investigate and take action against these young men. The Pott family, in fact, participated in several meetings with school administrators to demand that the young men be expelled or removed from campus."

 -- Robert Allard, Attorney for the Pott family

"I have a reputation for a night I don't even remember.... My life is over."

 -- Audrie Pott, 15-year-old student

Food

Mon Ami Gabi

3655 S Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 944-4224
Yelp

I'm willing to guess that this location out of five nationwide options is the best overall. Simply look across the street from the open-air patio at the Bellagio Fountains. I highly recommend its affordable bistro prices, ranging from mussels to filet mignon. Arrive before 6:30pm for a shorter wait time! 4 stars - 2555 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; Zero Zero; Zazie; Shalimar; Swan Oyster Depot; Dottie's True Blue Cafe; La Taqueria; Chez Maman; Radio Habana Social Club; Tony's Pizza Napoletana; Hard Knox Cafe; Shabusen; Ragazza.

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

The Garage

1487 E Flamingo Rd.

Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 440-6333
Yelp

Just a stone's throw from the Strip is this clean, affordable, non-smelly nightspot. Actually, it's open 24 hours, like most drinking establishments in town. The theme is decidedly NASCAR - uniformed bartenders, memorabilia, drink names... and I managed to teach my friends how to play shuffleboard. Score! 4-1/2 stars - 47 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; Thee Parkside; The Social Study; The Page.

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

Betty Willis

(1923 - present)

Now retired, the daughter of the first assessor of Clark County struck fame with her design of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. It's perched about a mile south of the airport and Mandalay Bay resort. She also designed the Stardust Casino sign.

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; Minnie Ward; Rosalie Stern.

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; Joaquin Miller.

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

Charity: Re-volv. Quite simple, really. Individual donors contribute to a solar funding pool. The pool then helps build solar energy projects at community centers. The community centers lease the solar equipment, with the payments reinvested into the solar funding pool.

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; The Coming Home Project; Urban Tilth; Queer Lifespace.

Weekend Weather

Mild sunshine and afternoon winds for the next week, with record heat possible for Monday and Tuesday.

~ Thursday ~ 
Coast: upper-50s

mid-70s everywhere else

~ Friday-Saturday ~
Coast: low-60s

SF: upper-60s

Bay: mid-70s

North Bay: low-80s

South Bay: low-80s

Inland East Bay: low-80s

~ Sunday ~
Coast: mid-60s
SF: low-70s
Bay: low-80s

South Bay: mid-80s

North Bay: upper-80s 

Inland East Bay: upper-80s

Free Activities

1. Cherry Blossom Festival 
Saturday-Sunday, 10am-5pm

Since 1967, Japantown has hosted this spring-time festival. Stop by exhibits on origami, bonsai, tea ceremony, taiko, and calligraphy. Local organizations set up booths to sell food, crafts, and memberships. Plus, free sake!

2. Celebrate the Earth 
- BART Blue Sky Festival (SF): Friday, 11am-2pm
- Wildcat Creek Cleanup (Richmond): Saturday, 9am-12:30pm
- Earth Day Oakland: Saturday, 9am-noon
- Earth Day Festival (SF): Saturday, 10am-6pm
- Earth Day on the Bay (Redwood City): Saturday, 10am-5pm

Clean up beaches, check out the latest eco-friendly businesses, pick up a free $6 BART pass, and learn about tide-pool animals. A clean Earth is a happy one.

3. Cal Day 
Saturday, 9am-6pm

Robot car races, lectures on Medieval Islam or stem cells, Brooklyn-based The Antlers, and admission to the Berkeley Art Museum. Enjoy Cal campus!