Avoid the festive 15

The holidays can be a tempting time in terms of eating and drinking. All too often, we pay for our choices in the New Year when we step on the scale or find a favorite outfit a bit... Read More

The Best of Books

Flying off the shelves

By Compiled by Sandy Mullin

Books Inc. best-seller list The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown Dear Life: Stories, by Alice Munro Tender Bar: A Memoir, by J. R. Moehringer Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luc... Read More

A & E

Hotel Chelsea shines in photographs

By Sharon Anderson

A Larry Rivers painting, drag queens using a phone booth as a changing room, and an animated group of partygoers emerging from the lobby elevator: These are some of the memories th... Read More

The Tablehopper

The Big 4 is closing (and we don’t know if it’s forever)

By Marcia Gagliardi

Big news on Nob Hill: It looks like this will be the last holiday season we’ll be able to spend in the Big 4 (1075 California Street, 415-771-1140) as we know it. The new own... Read More

New & Notable

Home-style Mexican food with an eclectic twist

By Julie Mitchell

If the chilly winter temperatures have you craving a trip to Mexico, take heart. Now you can sample fresh tastes from south of the border right in Cow Hollow. Stop by brand-new Sab... Read More

Dining

From salad to scallops: A panoply of deliciousness

By Tony Ching

ROASTED MILK TEA AT COOL TEA BAR 728 Pacific Avenue (near Grant) in the Miriwa Center, 415-781-8312 This is really a not-to-miss drink rather than a dish, but it’s so good I ... Read More

Dining

Five classic ways to enjoy Dungeness crab

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

With Dungeness crab season kicking off last month and people looking for places to take out-of-town holiday guests to enjoy one of our great local treasures, I decided to share fiv... Read More

Finance

All that twitters isn’t gold

By Alan Silverman

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call — to his assistant in the adjoining room — uttering the immortal words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I w... Read More

The Wild Wild Web

Mr. Bubble, meet Twitter

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

The hysteria surrounding the recent IPO of today’s social media darling Twitter sent chills through my Silicon Valley born-and-bred bones. I worked at Apple through college a... Read More

Back Story

A holiday tea party and a dear john letter

By Ernest Beyl

The other day I was invited to a tea party. Now, I don’t usually go to tea parties — not my cup of tea, I am emboldened to add. As you may know, I’m more of a salooni... Read More

North Beach Journal

Italian sausage, an antique map or a marching band

By Ernest Beyl

Because the year-end holidays are approaching, I want to make a few gift suggestions from North Beach. So here is Ernesto’s Gift Guide — a sketchy compilation of esoteric, ... Read More

Northsider

Light ’em up

By John Zipperer

HOLIDAY UNION STREET TREATS In some climes, December holidays are a time for snowmen and snow forts — snow being the operative element. But in San Francisco’s Northside, we... Read More

Supervisor's Report

Looking back: the year in review

By Supervisor Mark E. Farrell

It’s difficult to believe that the New Year is almost upon us. For this month’s article, I want to provide a “Year in Review” of the major legislative actio... Read More

Police Blotter

Crime on the beat

By From the officers of Northern Station

The crimes below are a small snapshot of what the officers of Northern Station are doing. For a more comprehensive list, visit www.sf-police.org; under Compstat, there is a link to... Read More

News

A North Beach squabble boils and roils

By Ernest Beyl

I know readers of my “Sketches from a North Beach Journal” column are eager for an update of the very public squabble between that pugnacious, would-be Mother Superior ... Read More

Issue December 2013