All my life
There you go
Oh please stay
Just this once
Anyway.
Bay Area Quote
"Having sex in the library is just not that controversial.... In the context of Berkeley, this is not one of the craziest things. It's just like everyone is so worried about what's on Facebook or what's on Google, and I'm just not really that concerned. I think it's generational."
- The Daily Cal and Huffington Post sex columnist Nadia Cho
Bay Area Food Pick
1911 Russell St. (at Martin Luther King Jr. Way)
Berkeley, CA 94703
(510) 849-3419
Every Sunday morning, the Buddhist temple offers up traditional food and beverages like pad thai, mango sticky rice, and Thai iced tea. You offer up cash and receive dollar tokens, which are then used as donations at the various stalls. I noted more than one person bringing Tupperware. Arrive early, or else face a shortage of seats and sold-out items. 4 stars - 522 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.
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
Whiskey Thieves
839 Geary St. (at Larkin St.)
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 506-8331
Enormous whiskey-scotch-bourbon selection on the chalkboard. Knowledgeable bartenders. Decent beer on tap, for those wanting to go lighter. Close to Union Square and BART, as well as tasty Tenderloin dives on Jones or Larkin. And Santacon-friendly. 4 stars - 328 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.
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
Joseph D. Grant
(1858-1942)
San Francisco-born Joseph Grant managed his father's dry goods business and founded the Columbia Steam Company. Eventually, he owned mansions in San Francisco, Burlingame, and Pebble Beach. He served as president of the Save-the-Redwoods League for 21 years, and was a life trustee of Stanford University. His estate ranch between San Jose and Mount Hamilton hosted guests such as Leland Stanford and Herbert Hoover. The land was purchased by Santa Clara County in 1975 and named Joseph D. Grant County Park.
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.
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
Get ready for several inches of rain starting tonight and lasting through Sunday. Christmas should be dry, but rain is forecast to return Wednesday.
Expect mid-50s everywhere.
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
Enough of Christmas!
1. Contemporary Jewish Museum: Tuesday, 11am-4pm
Create Ezra Keats-inspired book bags, listen to Octopretzel, and tour the Keats or NY Photo League exhibits.
2. Kwanzaa: Wednesday, 7pm
To kick off San Francisco's 7th annual Kwanzaa celebration, the first night will feature blues entertainment from Bernard Anderson & the Old School Band at the Westbay Conference Center in the Western Addition.
3. Winter Solstice: Thursday 3:30pm; Friday 6:40am
It's already started. Meet on Ocean Beach near Taraval St. Bring firewood, refreshments to share, musical drums, and a towel for a cool plunge into the ocean. Rise early for the sunrise of Solstice morning at Inspiration Point of Oakland's Tilden Park. Bring an umbrella or slicker in case light rain strikes. Heavy rain cancels the event.
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
Peet's Coffee
Bay Area locations
Consider making a donation to the store's chosen local nonprofit organization in exchange for complimentary coffee and tea on Christmas Eve (Monday).
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).
