Randy's Guide 3-4-1

Music

Shake it off, shake it off
C'mon there's no time to waste now.

 -- "Dumb Disco Ideas," by Holy Ghost! (27K views, May '13 upload)

** May 22, The Independen


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); Celestica (Crystal Castles); Angels (The xx); Out of My League (Fitz & the Tantrums); If I Know You (The Presets).

Current Event

News: Scientists have determined that the African claw frog is the source of a deadly fungus toward Bay Area frogs.

"It confirms our suspicions that this is one means of spread of the fungus into the environment, through frogs that were not native."

 -- Sherril Green, professor and chairwoman of comparative medicine at Stanford University

"It's amazing that more than a half-century after being brought to California, these frogs are still here, and they still carry this highly infectious disease."

 -- Vance Vredenburg, associate professor of biology at San Francisco State

Food

Just for You Cafe

732 22nd St. (at 3rd St.)
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 647-3033
Yelp

Eighteen seats. That's all the first incarnation in Potrero Hill could fit for twelve years. The owners decided to move to a desolate stretch of Dogpatch in 2002, and it remains a hit. My recommendations are the beignets, housemade turkey-apple sausage, and grits. It's only open until 3pm for brunch. 4 stars - 876 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; Morty's Delicatessen; Hawaiian Drive Inn #28

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); First Street Ale House (Livermore).

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); Mon Ami Gabi (Las Vegas).

Nightlife

Azucar Lounge

299 9th St. (at Folsom St.)
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 255-2982
Yelp

Resting a few blocks from work sits a cozy Latin-themed lounge with excellent margaritas and surprisingly good beer on tap. Inexpensive happy hour appetizers (2 wings for a buck) are quite tasty too. 4-1/2 stars - 133 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; Rye; Bloodhound.

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); Altamont Beer Works (Livermore).

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); The Garage (Las Vegas).

History

Phillip Burton(1926-1983)

The Ohio-born politician transferred to Washington High, and later attended USC for his B.A. and Golden Gate University for law school. He served in the US Air Force and four terms in the California State Assembly. He then won a special election - and ten terms thereafter - for the U.S. representative of San Francisco. Mr. Burton is often credited with the start of the federal lobbying system and with significant early funding for AIDS research in the Bay Area. After his death, his wife held the position for the next four years, then Nancy Pelosi has been our elected leader ever since. Philip & Sala Burton High School, in Visitacion Valley, and the Philip Burton Federal Building, in Civic Center, are both 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; William D.M. Howard; Edwin Bryant; George Davidson; William Alvord; George Moscone; Jack Early; Thomas Starr King; Minnie Ward; Rosalie Stern; Carlton Goodlett.

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; Robert Livermore.

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); Betty Willis (Las Vegas); Esteban Munras (Monterey).

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

Spotty showers will lead to a breezy Friday, then increasing sunshine through Monday. It'll be a pleasant Bay to Breakers!

~ Thursday-Friday ~

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

Bay: mid-60s

South Bay: upper-60s

North Bay: low-70s

Inland East Bay: low-70s

~ Saturday ~

Coast: low-60s

SF: mid-60s

Bay: low-70s

South Bay: mid-70s

North Bay: upper-70s

Inland East Bay: upper-70s

~ Sunday ~

Coast: mid-60s

SF: low-70s

Bay: upper-70s

South Bay: low-80s

North Bay: mid-80s

Inland East Bay: mid-80s

 

 

Free Activities

1. The Perfect Storm (Sunday)
- Bay to Breakers: Friday 11am-7pm; Saturday 9am-6pm; Sunday 7am-noon
- Tour of California: Friday-Saturday 10am-4:30pm; Sunday 8:30am-12:30pm

- Alcatraz Swim: Sunday 7:50-9am

It's another trifecta of large events in San Francisco, this time all related to fitness. Bay to Breakers will have ten official bands along the route, as well as the finish line costume contest and pre-race fitness expo at the Concourse Exhibition Center. The Tour of California makes stops in San Jose, Livermore/Mt. Diablo, and San Francisco/Santa Rosa. And the 21st annual Alcatraz Sharkfest kicks off from Alcatraz to Marina Green. Cheer your hearts out!


2. Food Revolution Day (Friday)

- Breakfast potluck at Alamo Square (SF): 8-9am

- Dinner potluck at Dolores Park (SF): 5-8pm

- Dinner potluck at McKinley Square (SF): 6-8pm

- Cooking demo at Whole Foods San Mateo: 4-6pm

- Gardening workshop at Whole Foods Campbell: 6-8pm

It's a celebration of good cooking and food. This marks the second year for this event.


3. Oakland Greek Festival

Friday-Saturday 10am-11pm; Sunday 11am-9pm

The free hours are on Friday 10am-4pm and Sunday 5-9pm. Greek music, dance, and food for all. Opa!