News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
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…
First published in the February 2014 print edition 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…
By TAM PUTNAM Time takes on an elastic quality at Smith Clock Co. A calm ticking fills the shop, while grandfather clocks chime random hours. For clock restorer David Smith, time has several speeds: There’s the stately historical time of the old clocks themselves, some from the 17th century; the efficient speed of his work as timepiece diagnostician; and the…
WHEN POLICE STOPPED the S.F. Mime Troupe’s performance in Lafayette Park on August 7, 1965, they sparked several revolutions — in free speech and artistic expression, certainly, but also in the enduring history of the Mime Troupe and the career of promoter Bill Graham, who would go on to become the legendary impresario of the…
LOCAL DISH | SHELLEY HANDLER Somewhere over a hill and around a corner in Fort Mason is a virtual wall of blackberries growing a good 10 feet high. In summers past I used to cruise by there and casually pick a container full — then try not to eat them on the way home. My…
By THOMAS REYNOLDS Fillmore Street investor Dr. Anthony Fauci — perhaps better known as the face of public health in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic — is back on Capitol Hill today. A Republican senator over the weekend released portions of Dr. Fauci’s private diary, amplifying earlier claims that Fauci made the pandemic…
MUST LIKE FOG | CLAUDINE ZAP The frenzy for multi-million-dollar listings in San Francisco has caused feverish bidding wars. In June, 44 homes sold for $1 million or more over the asking price. While that’s a small slice of the overall market, my colleague Erik Gunther notes that it shows “there’s a small, concentrated group…