News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
When in-your-face filmmaker Michael Moore walks in the door with his crew, the usual response is fear. But when he wheeled up to Fillmore’s Elite Cafe on a recent Thursday evening and alighted from a black SUV with dark-tinted windows, diners at the sidewalk tables stood and applauded. Moore had just come from the Clay…
Story and photograph by JEAN COLLIER HURLEY This is a story about kindness, determination, beauty — and an unusual bougainvillea plant. Over the years, the front yard of the little house at 1923 Webster Street had become a junkyard, its wooden fence a dilapidated eyesore. The kindly owner, who had raised her family there, was too…
By THOMAS REYNOLDS When the first Monday in October arrives and the United States Supreme Court takes the bench after its summer recess, all eyes will be on the newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor. But Lisa Middione, co-owner with chef Carlo Middione of Vivande on Fillmore Street, will be thinking instead of two justices from the…
Traditionally the housing market falls off significantly in the summer months, then picks up again from Labor Day through the beginning of the holiday season. This summer, however, the market is showing unusual signs of strength, due to three factors: increased inventory, a stabilizing economy and continued low interest rates. Ironically, the highest priced home…
By Tess Minsky Life and times have presented Kirk Webber with plenty of opportunities to test his mettle — or to turn toque and run from Cafe Kati, the restaurant he founded nearly 20 years ago. He got robbed eight times, went through some tumultuous personal periods and, most recently, survived a bout with an…
By James DeKoven Without hestitation, the Rev. Wanika King-Stephens can name her favorite John Coltrane song: “What’s New?” Then, true to form for any music obsessive, she provides additional knowledge: The song was originally on the album Ballads, released by the Impulse! label. Jazz records and churches are not usually an easy fit. But this…
Story and photographs by Carina Woudenberg Yoshimi Oune, owner of Maruya Sushi at 1904 Fillmore, never had any ambition to own the tiny take-out shop her mother opened in 1965. She says she just gradually took over as her mother got older and became less able to handle it on her own. Today, with the…
By Donna Domino “There’s a very special energy here,” says Kathy Nelsen, longtime director of the Kabuki Springs & Spa, explaining why the cultural fixture has endured for nearly 40 years. “The communal baths are really what differentiates us. We have some of the only ones in California and the U.S.” Nelsen, who has carefully…
THE BARISTA BAROMETER | Cheryl Lurie How has the economic downturn affected business in local coffee shops? According to several general managers of the neighborhood’s mocha meccas, sales may not have increased dramatically, but the customer base has. More people now have the freedom to hang out on the street, even if they don’t necessarily…
David Lawrence, executive chef and co-owner of the high-class soul food restaurant 1300 on Fillmore, is featured in a hot-off-the-press new book, Sexy Dishes: A Guide to Who’s Hot in the Kitchen. “David is tall, dark and handsome,” the guide notes, with “a British accent, a great smile and dimples.” His philosophy: “All food is…