News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
BELOVED BROWSER BOOKS will say goodbye this week to Hana Metzger’s brief and shining five months as manager. Metzger took over in the spring after working closely for the past six years with the usually smiling Jordan Pearson. Pearson stepped down after ensuring Browser’s future by guiding its transition into the Green Apple Books empire.…
The upgraded tennis courts will be dedicated on Sunday, September 20, with a neighborhood celebration from 10 a.m. to noon. Light refreshments will be served and there will be tennis instruction and games. All manner of city leaders will join the Friends of Alta Plaza to unveil a commemorative plaque honoring tennis legend Helen Wills…
STREET TALK | CYNTHIA TRAINA Restaurateur Kevin Chen keeps renting more neighborhood storefronts. His latest is Yuzu, on Sutter Street near Fillmore, painted, appropriately enough, bright citrus yellow. It’s part takeout counter, part grocery and — in the evening, behind a refrigerator door — a “speakeasy omakase” serving a 12-course tasting menu for $65 at…
By FRAN MORELAND JOHNS Dona Kahn has no plans to quit practicing law. “Why should I?” she says. She’s still full of energy and still enjoys the work at age 93. Kahn moved into a retirement apartment at The Carlisle earlier this year, coming from the east coast to be near her son Andrew. She’ll…
By THOMAS REYNOLDS The first hint that something special was about to happen came during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in 2018. Sayat and Laura Ozyilmaz catered a private party in a nearby home after the first day of the festival that introduced them and their special brand of hospitality to their new neighbors. Already they…
LOCAL DISH | SHELLEY HANDLER I’m not finicky, never have been. As a kid I loved everything from tongue to Brussel sprouts and was game to try just about anything. Barracuda in a light tomato sauce? Bring it on. Sweetbreads in brown butter, you betcha. Lobster Cantonese? Yes, please! That said, there is one thing…
A half-century of fellowship and bridge at Calvary By FRAN MORELAND JOHNS Four players, 52 cards — the game of bridge builds loyal followers. A few of them gathered in Judith and Fred Heuser’s home in San Francisco’s Ingleside Terraces neighborhood one night in 1971 for dinner, socializing and to talk about starting a bridge…
TAGGERS THIS MONTH gained access to the roof of the historic Art Deco apartment building at 1940 Vallejo Street and graffitied the east-facing wall, according to a police report filed on August 6. Nearly two weeks later, the graffiti remains on the building. “The graffiti went up in the middle of the night,” said one…
FLASHBACK | First published in February 2014 By LAURA WERLIN When they created the Cowgirl Creamery in 1997, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith sold their cheeses exclusively at farmers markets and out of their barn in Point Reyes Station. But their focus at the time on making fresh cheeses with inherently short shelf lives —…
STREET TALK | CYNTHIA TRAINA There’s nothing like going away for a few weeks to get fresh eyes on Fillmore — and there’s suddenly a lot to see. Super Duper has opened, new restaurants are on the way, a long-vacant building has been sold and a longtime presence on the street has gone away. Fall…