News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
JOSH MIELE can often be spotted on Fillmore Street, taking a lunch break or coming and going from his work as a scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute at 2318 Fillmore. In a powerful story published today, The New York Times tells how a neighbor’s attack with sulfuric acid blinded and disfigured him when…
By MICHELE MANDELL Its unassuming storefront and the all-lowercase spelling of the new b. patisserie at 2821 California Street, near Divisadero, might convey a self-effacing vibe, but there is nothing small about Belinda Leong’s tres chic pastry shop, which opened just before Valentine’s Day. Leong’s impressive pedigree includes stints with Michelin-starred heavyweights Manresa and Gary…
A MINI-TREND to establish individual Little Free Libraries, begun in the Midwest in 2009, has led to the creation of thousands of libraries throughout the United States and in at least 17 other countries. And now there’s a Little Free Library in the Fillmore. Bibliophiles who pass by 2223 Sutter Street, near Scott, will find…
SUPERCHEF CHARLES PHAN “doesn’t have to go far to raid his restaurant pantry for ingredients,” The New York Times reports, since the family lives in an apartment above his Out the Door restaurant on Bush Street.
By Donna Gillespie FILLMORE STREET will soon lose a landmark, a warm and friendly neighborhood destination that still offers meticulous, old-fashioned mailing services — a place that’s so much more than just somewhere to mail a box. After 22 years, Jet Mail is moving. The good news is that it’s not going very far. January…
STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS by Carina Woudenberg He’s been a San Francisco resident for more than 30 years, but Jiro Nakamura still makes a yearly trek home to Japan to search for treasures for his shop on Fillmore Street. The treasures include dolls — crafted hundreds of years earlier in many cases — and puppets, tea…
Q & A | Film critic David Thomson By Mark Mitchell David Thomson’s The New Biographical Dictionary of Film is considered a must-have reference by almost all serious movie buffs. But Thomson is more than just a film critic, more even than a film historian. His works include a biography of novelist Laurence Sterne, an…
By Christine Lunde WORKING ITS WAY into the local fabric, Attention to Detail Barber Gallery on Sutter Street may soon rival sports bars as the hippest place for men to fraternize. Flat screen TVs broadcasting sports and news, generous servings of beer and champagne — and, of course, stylish cuts and shaves — make the…
By MARKOS KOUNALAKIS BUDAPEST, Hungary — Many of my Saturdays used to start out with a saunter down Fillmore Street for an early morning cup of coffee while the rest of my family was still in bed. Budapest is also a coffeehouse city, but more famed for the conversations and art that grew out of…
By Marjorie Leet Ford THE SHOP’S carved wooden front door — both rough-hewn and fancy — quietly announces a portal to another time, when the ancient art of piano building was still going strong, and the world was as full of pianos as it now is of cars. The piano was the heart of the…