The glory days of saloon piano players in North Beach

The other day I cleaned out a closet and found a March 1970 Holiday magazine, then a big glossy publication read by big, glossy, discerning travelers with lots of discretionary inc... Read More

North Beach Journal

Filthy McNasty, Freddie Freeloader, Magnolia Thunderpussy, Lavern Cummings … and a happy birthday to Tony Bennett

By Ernest Beyl

Tony Bennett’s birthday is Aug. 3. And where will he have his birthday party? Well, right where he left his heart last time he was in San Francisco — at Gigi’s Sotte ... Read More

North Beach Journal

The Gentleman Trencherman, the bartender, the barista, the philosopher, the photographer, the cop, and the mama

By Ernest Beyl

DAWDLING THROUGH NORTH BEACH My buddy James Melling, the Gentleman Trencherman of North Beach as I frequently call him, has a habit. Actually, it’s a good habit, and I wouldn... Read More

Reynolds Rap

Despite local politics, Lombard gets a pet store

Wolf & Lion brings boutique warehouse to the Marina

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

The reason 2460 Lombard Street in the Marina has been a vacant blight for many years rather than a Pet Food Express (PFE) replete with a $2 million renovation has nothing to do wit... Read More

North Beach Journal

Mama’s, Annie Hall, and the pornographic butterflies

By Ernest Beyl

The other day someone said she thought I was becoming the Herb Caen of North Beach. Good try on a compliment, but I could never match Herb’s wit and wisdom. Bruce Bellingham ... Read More

Back Story

Finnochio’s: What a drag

By Ernest Beyl

Recently I wrote a column called “Broadway Kaleidoscope,” the Back Story about what I called the Golden Years of Broadway in North Beach. I said that in the 1960s — m... Read More

Reynolds Rap

The vacancy preservationists: David Chiu and North Beach cartel still making it tough to do business

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

At a cafe in Mill Valley, Jordan Angle opens a large binder containing a business plan for Tryst, the high-end restaurant and lounge that he and his partners want to open at 493 Br... Read More

Back Story

A resurgence of the arts and artists in North Beach

By Ernest Beyl

From reading my monthly column, Sketches from a North Beach Journal, one might get the impression that poet, painter, and free-range radical Lawrence Ferlinghetti so dominates the ... Read More

Reynolds Rap

There’s no front desk at Airbnb

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

A couple of years ago we were visiting Los Angeles and our usual hotel was booked solid. At the last minute, we took a room at a motel on the border of ritzy Santa Monica and eclec... Read More

North Beach Journal

Movers, shakers and Broadway’s China marketplace

By Ernest Beyl

Who are the real movers and shakers in North Beach? Let’s see if we can run down a few of them for you. And I believe it’s important to realize that not all movers are ... Read More

North Beach Journal

A new square, update on a poet’s vision and Suzie Q on the hill

By Ernest Beyl

North Beach has always had an abundance of fine restaurants, at least as far back as I can remember, and I have a memory that goes back to the time when Fior d’Italia was on Broa... Read More

Bellingham by the Bay

No worries: It’s all uphill from here

By

When I find myself in trouble — those occasions are more frequent than I would like to admit — I take a long walk along the water. That’s the Marina Green to Fort Point and b... Read More

Back Story

Fatso and Frida in San Francisco

By Ernest Beyl

Diego Rivera, the internationally renowned and controversial Mexican artist, had warm associations with San Francisco. He found it to be a fascinating bohemian city and a source fo... Read More

Reynolds Rap

Missing in action: Where were the Telegraph Hill Dwellers after Broadway bombing?

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

Did you hear about the North Beach strip club worker and how a bomb he set off on Broadway led San Francisco investigators and federal agents to two much bigger fish with a huge ca... Read More

North Beach Journal

North Beach saloon culture

By Ernest Beyl

This is a column about saloons — where they are, who frequents them, and why. The philosophical question that occupies us here is this: Are the saloons that we have come to know ... Read More

Features