La Mission at La Metreon

First, the Metreon mall was recently purchased by Westfield, the brains behind the San Francisco Shopping Centre and all the joy that brings. It seems like they are making some much-needed updates and changes to the Metreon and I'm hopeful that it will rise above the state of empty store fronts, $5 arcades, strange although interesting exhibits, where the best thing it has to offer is a movie theatre and a Chronicle Books. When it first opened, it was the talk of the town, had unique and interesting stores for all ages, and restaurants that inspired. Here's hoping Westfield can turn it around.

Second, La Mission was a bit disappointing. Benjamin Bratt was (of course) quite good and kind of carried the movie. Erika Alexander, who played the female lead, started off strong and then went flat and was unable to carry out the sometimes awkward dialogue in a believable way. I was happy with the Mission's role in the film and feel they did a great job capturing the beauty and diversity of the neighborhood. Some of the stereotypes were heavy handed and the filmmakers fluctuated between hitting viewers over the head and not going into enough detail. And, it was really long for the story, some scenes were drawn out when they could have been paced differently but other scenes were cut too short. Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 star rating on Netflix.

Super Mall Find

This evening, I met up with a very good friend from the East Bay who is leaving town soon. We tend to meet in the middle which often puts us at the San Francisco Centre at the food court. Last time we met up, we tried out Out the Door, one of the Slanted Door family of restaurants, which (of course) was delicious and an undeniable treat. This time, we made our way to "the Restaurants Under the Dome," and found the gem that is The Straits.

I won't lie, I'm not a fan of fine dining in any kind of mall setting. I'm not really a fan of malls in general... so many people, so many bright lights, so many things I can't afford to buy... But, I must admit that San Francisco Centre has worked it out! Even though most of their dining establishments are small chains, they offer good food and ambiance that doesn't make me think I'm sitting in a mall. No Elephant Bar here, friends!

Out the Door probably doesn't need to even be described. They've got contemporary Vietnamese cuisine down. It's probably a pretty sure thing that whatever is ordered will tantalize the taste buds. My friend and I started our meal there with the Imperial rolls, fried rolled goodness shoved with exotic mushrooms, shrimp and pork. I decided on the Chicken Clay Pot that smacked of ginger and cilantro and had a mild kick to it and a fruit bubble drink. My friend ordered the spicy Lemongrass Chicken which was equally delightful. I like Out the Door doubly because they use organic and sustainable products when possible.

Tonight, we walked up to the fourth floor and peeked our heads into The Straits, a Singaporean restaurant and lounge. They told us about their super-fabulous happy hour which boasted $4.95 small plates and $3.00 beers, in the bar. The bar is nicely set up with small low tables for as many as four people (squeezed tight). We ordered up some Singapore Soda and Kirin, and roti prata (yummy flat bread), samosas, and calamari. The best part was the variety of sauces: yellow curry, chili-garlic, and kafir lime aioli. We sat under a likeness of Buddha and dipped to our hearts content.

Green Gulch Farm

Sunset magazine recently featured the Green Gulch Farm, in Mill Valley, calling locals to join the Green Gulch Zen Center for breakfast and a leisurely stroll through its beautiful farm, where they raise vegetables used by the wonderful Greens restaurant, at Fort Mason. Some friends and I went for a lovely day hike to Muir Beach and ended up at the farm, where we enjoyed a leisurely walk through the fields and garden. This is one of those places to come back to.

Goldman Prize

This is one of my favorite Spring activities, in San Francisco! The Goldman Environmental Prize has been an inspiring part of my life for the past few years and this year's celebration and ceremony were as brilliant as ever!

A friend and I clapped and cheered on the winners, sharing in their joy and enthusiasm as they spoke in front of the audience of thousands, in the War Memorial Opera House. We were excited to enjoy the musical talent of Baaba Maal.

My favorite winners were: Humberto Rios Labrada from Cuba who is fighting for food sovereignty in a country whose food supply has been critically impacted by the Communist regime; and Randall Arauz from Costa Rica who is working to ensure that the sharks in his country are protected from the brutal removal of their precious fins for shark fin soup. It was also advantageous that I was able to meet these two stars in the meet and greet line, post ceremony at City Hall. So inspiring!

Anniversary Day

My parents came to San Francisco today for their 44th anniversary. After staying in the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental they will go to Tiburon and hit up Angel Island for the rest of the weekend. As a gift, I bought them tickets to the A.C.T. production of Vigil starring Olympia Dukakis and Marco Barricelli, a well known Bay Area actor.

Vigil was fairly enjoyable. The story line took us from irritated to laughing to practically in tears. Dukakis said one sentence in the entire first half which was surprising and a bit disappointing and Barricelli's character was grating. But, despite his character's constant kvetching, the second half brought things together and surprised me at several turns. Even though our seats were pretty high up, we had our "opera glasses" which allowed us to see Dukakis' face up close and personal. It was a pleasure to be able to see such a well known actress performing theatre right here in San Francisco.

Since my parents were in the Mark Hopkins and our dinner reservations weren't until later, we went up to the Top of the Mark for appetizers and cocktails. We enjoyed the red, white and blue tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole and sour creme. I learned that when my mom was a girl, her father took her and her siblings to the Top of the Mark. So, it was only the first time for my dad and me. Check out that view!

After enjoying the apps, we headed to Belden Place, a cute and picturesque alley also known as the "French Quarter" of San Francisco. It definitely reminds me of Europe and I love to take visitors here for a unique cosmopolitan San Francisco experience. We ate at Belden Taverna, the Mediterranean option on the lane. They bring out a super delicious hummus to dip the bread in instead of the standard olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Dad had fish and chips, mom enjoyed grilled Salmon and I got a delicious plate of pork chop over garlic mashed potatoes. I ate the entire platter and we ordered dessert; sorbet for me and chocolate melty cake for my parents. Molto buona!

New Moon in San Francisco

Here is a brief list of strange things that occurred in the past three hours that I attribute to the new moon, in mostly chronological order:
1) An older man yelled "shut the fuck up!" at a cooing baby, in the Borders in Westfield Shopping Centre downtown
2) Another man defended the baby and caused the same older man to yell, "what are you gonna do? Do you have a gun!? Go ahead, pull out your gun!"
3) A friend and I may have stumbled upon teenagers in a weird underpopulated hallway in the mall playing, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" or something...
4) A taco truck decided to drive down a very narrow lane near where I live, got stuck on the turn and may have messed up his engine (I thought perhaps I was happening upon a secret neighborhood taco truck that came out on Friday nights to my mostly residential enclave)

Sheep in San Francisco

The Cow Palace is where I saw Van Halen perform in the nineties. Off of Geneva, in a neighborhood I never go, its marquee stands tall amid a back drop of trees and low-slung fifties style homes. This weekend, it was the home for hundreds of livestock and farm animals. Who knew?

My niece is involved with 4-H in Stanislaus County a mere two and a half hours from the Cow Palace's dome. She and hundreds of other kids showed their lambs, goats, steer, pigs and other livestock, in barns smelling of hay and excrement, right next to where I screamed my lungs out to Sammy Hagar singing "When it's Love."

This is the juxtaposition that happens in San Francisco... A city with a diverse and varied history pulls so many happenings into its orbit. Down the street from one of the most multi-cultural, urban neighborhoods in San Francisco a homogeneous population may come together for an activity that is utterly rural.

Good Time to Shower

In my apartment, there are good times to shower. It obviously varies by day but, often there is a window before 7:00am that is usually pretty safe. Any other time, it is highly likely that someone in one of the other five units in my building will either be: washing their hands, washing dishes, also using the shower, flushing the toilet, and/or doing laundry. And, all of these things impact the temperature of the water.

Of course there are things you get used to when apartment living in any city. Noises, neighbors, birds and other animals (mostly cats). But, I must say, it's hard to get used to the shower turning freezing cold right in the middle of my mid-morning routine... Ah, city living!

Planetary Urban Hike

After a lovely, sunny day in the Presidio, I met up with a friend and went for a late day urban hike around Mount Olympus, Upper Terrace and the Saturn and Vulcan stairways. I was prompted by a book called Stairway Walks in San Francisco and enjoyed the commentary that was provided for this beautiful foray into some uncharted territories in my neighborhood.

Saturn Stairway

Steps from Upper Terrace

Magnolia's Brunch

After moving out of the Haight Ashbury neighborhood, after living there for 7 years, I finally went to Magnolia's Gastropub for brunch. When I moved to the neighborhood, Magnolia's had hand painted hippie murals and good beer. A few years ago they upgraded their establishment and painted over the murals with gold paint. Now, they are a gastropub with a community eating table and unique menu offerings.

For brunch, those unique offerings include some amazing dishes which a friend and I partook in, last weekend. I ordered the beignets over a creamy apple pudding with a side of ... get this ... bacon brittle. Yes, this brunch was a bit sugar-y but, all the same, delicious! The bacon brittle was kind of amazing. To tame it a bit, I also ordered scrambled eggs. My friend ordered a quinoa hash topped with two over medium style eggs that was very tasty. I've attempted a version of my own. Who knew that quinoa would make a delicious savory breakfast hash?