But your beauty's deeper than the makeup
And I wanna show you what I see tonight
When I wrap you up
When I kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted.
- Hunter Hayes, 24.7 million views
Bay Area Quote
"I brought 100,000 people to Mid-Market in the last year (who) wouldn't have come otherwise.... I have a DVD of the mayor standing on my roof (promising changes).... And what I am getting is a lot of non-help."
- Kurt Abney, owner of Dottie's True Blue Cafe, at 28 Sixth St.
"(The new Sixth Street police substation) would stop all this traffic. They won't be out on the corner. They are going to be - zoop - gone!"
- Correllas Johnson, recently evicted homeless man living on Sixth St.
"On Wednesday (01/16/2013), there was broken glass in front of the storefront where the substation is supposed to open in two weeks. The shattered window was on a Department of Public Works pickup."
- C.W. Nevius, San Francisco Chronicle columnist
Bay Area Food Pick
532 Jones St. (at Geary St.)
San Francisco, CA 94102
I've been coming to this Tenderloin location for a decade. And while the fragrantly spiced entrees, which used to hover at $5, are now up to about $7.50, the place remains a steal if you are willing to dodge panhandlers or sidewalk messes. Lamb brain and goat curry remain fixtures on the menu, but my personal favorites are the garlic naan, spinach lamb, and paneer masala. Bring your own beverages from a nearby liquor store! 4 stars - 822 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.
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); Buckeye Roadhouse (Mill Valley).
Previous Other picks: Shoki Ramen House (Sacramento); Built to Grill (Portland); Freshies (South Lake Tahoe).
Bay Area Nightlife Pick
501 Jones St. (at O'Farrell St.)
San Francisco, CA 94102
After our $15 dinner at Shalimar, we popped over to Bourbon & Branch, San Francisco's famous speakeasy. Reserve tables online, and you'll be given a password of the day for entry. Otherwise, use "books" as admission into the Library room, which has a smaller, but still potent, menu. The revolver remains my top choice here, with the flamed orange providing a great finishing zest. Drinks are not cheap (think $10-11), but then again one or two is more than enough when they're this strong. 4 stars - 2000 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.
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).
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).
Bay Area History
Robert W. Crown
(1922-1973)
Born and raised in San Francisco, Mr. Crown served in the U.S. Army during WWII, then moved into politics after he returned. He started as a reading clerk at the California State Assembly, and narrowly lost his first bid for office in 1954 (50.1% - 49.9%). He would proceed to win the next election in California's 14th Assembly District, and hold the position until 1973, when a car killed him while jogging. One of his major efforts was to preserve public parkland. Alameda Beach was renamed the Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach in his honor.
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.
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.
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
401 1st Street
Suite 215
Richmond, CA 94801
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.
Bay Area Weekend Weather
Eighth straight day of no measurable rainfall. The streak should continue at least through the weekend, with March-like conditions.
low-to-mid-60s in the Bay Area
low-50s in South Tahoe
mid-40s in North Tahoe
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
1. Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Commemorate MLK's birthday, take in President Obama's inauguration, or invest in your local community as part of a national day of service. Events range from a parade to free museum days to volunteer opportunities to viewing parties. It all takes part on Monday.
Sunday, 8am
The days of climbing over cliffs to watch the event appear to be over. There's a free live online simulcast of the event, or an official viewing party in Half Moon Bay that requires $10 tickets. Twenty-four surfers will grace the epic waves.
Thursday-Monday, 11am/noon/1pm/2pm
Aquarium of the Bay and the Marine Mammal Center have partnered for the 23rd annual Sea Lion Encounter. Hourly tours discuss sea lions, then you'll party with Salty the Sea Lion at the Fog Harbor Fish House over comped refreshments.
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 (Starfucker); So Many Details (Toro Y Moi); Ho Hey (Lumineers); Winter Winds (Mumford & Sons).
