Posts Tagged ‘pine’

OMG, the Famous JapaCurry Food Truck Debuts NORTH of Market Street Today! See You At Pine and Sansome, 11:30AM to 1:00 PM

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Will the SoMA crowds follow the popular, award-winning JapaCurry food truck to its new location north of Market at Pine and Sansome?

Here’s the lunch rush on Mission as it was yesterday:

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Of course the struggling bricks and mortar lunchtime purveyors near the intersection of Second and Market famously banded together to chase away the younger, better-looking, more popular competition last month. (That kind of thing happens sometimes, of course.) We’ll just have to wait and see if their sales of potato chips and cigarettes can get back to normal…

Anyway, see you there!

Pacific Coast Stock Exchange Statues Look Like a Same-Sex Couple

Friday, January 21st, 2011

From this angle, anyway.

Do you think the son could have been named Bruno?

He looks like a Bruno.

Austin, Texas or Austin Alley? You Make The Call

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Is this a scene from Austin Texas or Austin Alley in San Francisco?

Of course the parking spaces out in front of this banal building have the requisite brace of yuppy imports (Subaru, BMW, Mercedes, Acura), but there’s also a couple of pick-em-ups in there too, and Texans love their pickups. Let’s look for more clues.

Mmmm, there’s a Victorian in the background next door, and all the license plates say “California” and there’s that San Francisco-looking AUSTIN sign too – that all adds up to the 415.

But whoever thought it was a good idea to build suburban-style housing/parking like this in San Francisco has clearly made a  huge mistake.

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Oh well.

“Avoid the 8″ DUI Checkpoint at Pine and Montgomery a Huge Success

Monday, December 21st, 2009

This was the scene over the weekend in the Financh where eight (or four, whatever) local police agencies teamed up for a DUI checkpoint on southbound Montgomery at Pine Street. Never seen one of these before – let’s take a look.

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Not all the traffic coming down from North Beach to SoMA last Friday night had to stop – lots of cars were directed straight on through. But those that weren’t had to pull over to the right for a brief convo with a peace officer of some stripe.

Like the driver of this Mercedes E350, for example. Don’t think she was a drunkie, but she had some sort of registration hassle it appeared (and that’s not all that uncommon in this age of shut-down, furloughed DMVs.) Stop sign holder graciously provided by PG&E:

Oh well. But let’s say you fail your field sobriety test on Montgomery Street.  This is what’s in store for you – a trip into the huge mobile command post  parked on the same block. No waiting:

Meet your breathalyzer, the Intoxilyzer 5000 infrared spectrometry breath alcohol measurement tool. (This is important, cause if your shyster is going to get you off, well, however that ends up being, it will most likely have something to do with attacking the procedures used to record the .15 BAC score you blew. Again.) Speaking of mouthpieces, you’ll get your own 28-cent plastic disposable mouthpiece to blow on. (Always wondered how that worked.)

Most people didn’t seem to mind, and the way that Montgomery is set up with three-way lights (to let the throngs of imagined evening-hour financial district peds scramble across Montgomery any which way they want) being picked to be a part of the checkpoint might not actually have slowed the journeys to the nearest freeway onramp:

Check out Friday’s tally of arrests and tows from CBS5. And here’s the scorecard from a another recent checkpoint at Geary and Steiner, and here’s another from Monterey near San Jose.

So, hurray. There’s not a lot to object to here, unless you’re a mouthpiece for the American Beverage Institute that is.

Look for more checkpoints in the coming weeks…

Menus of Baker and Banker, the New New American Place at Octavia and Bush

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Get up to speed first.  

Now, here are the debut menus for Baker & Banker. Click to expand: 

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The neighbors, like Ashley H., seemed pleased, anyway:

“I live right around the block from Baker & Banker, and when I saw that a new restaurant was opening I was so excited to try it out, so I went for opening night, and it was great!

The inside decor is pretty nice and simple with low lighting and mirrors on the walls. To start I had a salad with goat cheese, pomegranate, persimmon, and I think pear, which was super delicious. It was a nice light way to start out the meal. For my main course, I had the scallop dish with brussel sprout leaves and sun choke puree, and it was superb! For desert I had the cheese cake apple crisp, and as a cheesecake expert, it was a great mixture of a traditional cheesecake with apple in the middle – I totally recommend it!

For me this place is a really cute neighborhood restaurant, and I definitely plan on going back. I also think it’s definitely worth a trip even if you aren’t in the neighborhood – it’s great!”

“Market-Driven New American Cuisine” – Baker & Banker Set to Open This Week in Pac Heights

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Combining our twin obsessions of food and money, it’s Baker & Banker! And they’re all set to serve up steak, cast-iron potatoes and more starting this week (probably tomorrow, December 1, 2009) at 1701 Octavia betwixt Bush and Pine.

Will our Quince replacement get along well with its NIMBY-ish neighbors in this residential hood? We Can Only Hope. 

As it looked a few weeks back:

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Eater SF has the deets:

“As you’ll recall, Jeff Banker (of Home fame) and his wife Lori Baker are opening a new American, “welcoming neighborhood restaurant” there, and lo and behold, it’s coming along quite nicely. Notable designer Michael Brennan has spruced up the cozy interior with some dark leather banquettes and a dark wood bar…”

Why don’t you drop by sometime and see the results of the efforts of this cute couple? It’s already(!) rated five stars on Yelp, so that’s a good(?) sign.

The aforementioned Baker and Banker:

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More details, after the jump.

Bon courage, B&B!

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San Francisco’s Unsinkable Tadich Grill – Set to Open for Lunch after Yesterday’s Fire

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

This was the scene in the Financial District yesterday as a woodburning stove at the historic Tadich Grill went all haywire and started a smoky fire at 11:00 AM. (Mas o menos, you know it was about a minute either way from 11:00 AM when people started calling 911, certainly not “11:21 AM,” but oh well.)

Check it at news outlet SFist. But, what’s this? The Tadich is re-opening today at 11:00 AM? Well toute le monde will probably show up for lunch based upon the free advertising the fire provided. (Just like at the R&G Lounge after St. Anthony Bourdain’s recent visit. It pays to get free advertising, non?)

It was hard to tell at first how big this fire would get:

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Here’s a close-up through some tinted windows showing the flue fire looking more like a smokeless Olympic Flame:

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And here the interior après le feu. Not bad, huh?

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After a brief closure…

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…the Tadich should be open for business again soon.

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Good luck Tadich Grill!

Come Have Lunch Tomorrow with “Sweet Melissa” Griffin at The City Club

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

You already know all about famous San Francisco Examiner City Hall Examiner Sweet Melissa Griffin, of course, but what know ye of the Yelp-rated City Club of San Francisco at 155 Sansome betwixt Bush and Pine Streets? See if you can get in tomorrow at 12:00 noon for lunch.

It looks nice up there, anyway, so check it out when you can. Nonmembers welcome.

MG from earlier this year.

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Here are the deets:

Jamison Roundtable Luncheon featuring Melissa Griffin

Please join us for a special roundtable luncheon at the City Club, on Thursday, July 9th for Melissa Griffin, Political Columnist for the SF Examiner. Melissa has been covering the good, the bad, and the ugly of San Francisco Politics for the last couple of years. An excerpt from one of her recent columns underlines the problem ( and humor) of dealing with the San Francisco political and bureaucratic system:

Make your reservation ($35 for City Club members – $45 for other guests), today, by calling 415-362-2480. This will be a small group to allow for questions and discussion, seating is limited. Or, E-mail your reservation to

City Club, Thursday, July 9th , 155 Sansome Street, 9th Floor, Noon to 1:30 pm.

Contact: Larissa Lorian
Email: reservations@cityclubsf.com
Phone: 415.362.2480

 

The City Club of San Francisco
155 Sansome Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco CA 94104
Thursday, July 9, 2009

Start Time: 12:00 pm   End Time: 1:30 pm

San Francisco’s Fillmore Jazz Festival 2009 a Huge Success

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

There was a swarming mass of humanity on Fillmore betwixt Eddy and Jackson enjoying the Yelp-rated Fillmore Jazz Festival today.

Click to expand these photos.

Crab garlic fries. Yes, crab garlic fries:

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Swinging on the Geary Bridge. Beginners welcome:

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Today’s swing sched:

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Pony rides, as one might expect to see so near to bucolic Post Street.

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Tired doggies resting on Fillmore Street:

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Ordinary people doing the extraordinary – the San Francisco Police Department. Starting salary at over $72,000. They’re hiring!

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The biggest bank of Honda generators I’ve ever seen. Well, at least they don’t call it an “Eco-Urban” festival, the way they do with the Union Street Fair.

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The Fillmore Jazz Fest continues tomorrow.

See you there!

FESTIVAL DESCRIPTION:

Every summer on July 4th weekend in San Francisco, Fillmore Street is home to the largest free jazz festival on the West Coast: The Fillmore Jazz Festival.

 

The festival annually attracts more than 90,000 people from all over the City, the Bay Area, and beyond.  Visitors gather to celebrate and enjoy a musical tradition of live jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel as well as local culture and fine cuisine in the heart of the city by the bay.

 

This year the Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary by once again blending art and soul from sunup to sundown, from Jackson to Eddy, presenting the music of old favorites as well as new ‘up and comers’ on multiple stages. You can also browse 8 blocks of fine arts and crafts, enjoy gourmet food and beverages, and participate in cooking demos by the Fillmore’s finest chefs.

 

More deets after the jump. 

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Homicide Victim Allen Bow: San Francisco Offers $50K Reward for ILTAP

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

The Office of  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has authorized a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect(s) responsible  for the murder of Allen Bow, killed near Frank Norris Alley around Polk and Bush on September 17, 2007.

Not sure when this reward was offered, but signs like these have just been put up. Details below, click to expand:

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Homicide Victim Allen Bow

The Office of the Mayor has authorized a $50,000.00 rewardfor information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect(s) responsible  for the murder of Allen Bow.

On November 17, 2007 at 1:20 AM, Allen Bow was shot and killed on Polk & Frank Norris Alley.  He was walking down Polk Street when he became involved in a struggle with two suspects and he was subsequently shot.

 Inspector Robert Lynch or Kevin Jones 
 SFPD Homicide Detail:  415-553-1145
 SFPD Operations Center: (after hours)  415-553-1071
 SFPD Anonymous Tip Line:  415-575-4444
  
 SFPD CASE #  071 178 430