Our ship, The Harbor Emperor, had just passed the “Welcome Home” mural on the end of Pier 31 when we got our first glimpse of it. In the distance, there was the San Francisco fire boat perfectly hidden by the great spouts of water it was sending off, and beyond

The Butler & the Chef, a French bistro and long-time fixture of SOMA’s South Park, will be shutting its doors in the new year. The restaurant, which offers breakfast and lunch, will be open until December 31st, 2017, but will not reopen in 2018. Owner and chef Joel Martin made

I’ve got some awesome news! We received a grant from the Civic Joy Fund to put out a literary magazine celebrating SF and acting to counter the stupid “Doom Loop” narrative. It’s a gift to the people of San Francisco. And after months of working on this project it’s now available

Growing up, my mom collected nutcracker dolls. She had a couple that looked like Santas, some that looked like toy soldiers, one commemorating the 1988 winter Olympics, and two that were truly special. They were large. At four feet, they were about as tall as I was as a kid.

San Francisco is a cramped and expensive city, so you know you’ve got something special when you find a place to live that actually has its own outdoor space (be it backyard, balcony, or rooftop). These gardens are rare, but are they cherished? It’s one of the weird ironies of

Dolores Park is something special. Truly. It’s located at the perfect nexus of the Mission, the Castro, and Noe Valley in one of the warmest microclimates this city had to offer. The relaxed and welcoming vibe of a house party is unmatched anywhere else. So as much as I’d like

Photo Credit: Matier & Ross, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Photo Nothing was weird about the Pasha Hawaii freighter docked at Pier 30 as far as I could tell. Nothing, except that it stayed there for months, and that seemed odd. This isn’t the kind of thing you notice right away.

The first time I went to a Tiki Bar, I didn’t expect to love it, but I did. I loved it A LOT. I tend to like experiences and things that aren’t about taking yourself seriously, that are just about having a good time: this is Tiki Bars in a nutshell. Tiki Bars combine elements of old school kitsch, immersive escapism, and unapologetic tackiness in a way that I just find really mood-lifting (and until people start opening ghost bars in San Francisco, they’re your best bet for an immersive alcoholic experience).

“My coworker says there’s no such thing as ‘the North Bay’.” I remember when my friend Stephanie told me about this weird argument she’d had and being absolutely galled because, at the time, I was living in San Rafael. (Plus, the North Bay is Craigslist official). But here’s the thing…