San Francisco is an old, iron safe filled with gold, glory, disaster, and secrets. SFCentric History is a new column, by SF writer V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi, that digs in the vaults of local history and shares the sensational people, places, and things that rocked San Francisco. Chinese culture is an

            King of Noodle   Another King of (insert food item considered sovereign among its kind here) Restaurant?  Yes.  Does the grandiosity of its title belie its humble nature? Again, yes.  The Sunset District’s King of Noodles won’t be featured on any CNN news tickers, nor will it make

  So Noodles Almost always, one of two means are used in selecting the next spot upon which to grace my wobbly prose: either word of mouth, or spur-of-the-moment curiosity.  Working in the restaurant industry myself, I’m constantly fielding a steady stream of recommendations from cooks, bartenders, servers, etc., not to

Hakka Restaurant Most restaurants, or rather, most businesses tend to line up along urban trenches of varying size and length, barnacles barely clinging to the wave-buffeted crags of commerce. But, once in a while on a ride or walk about town you’ll come upon a singular little place wedged into

                Happy Garden Restaurant   One could argue that Chinese dim sum is the Grand Pu Bah of small plates traditions.  Because it’s Chinese.  And anything Chinese, be it pottery, noodle-making, basket-weaving or the serving of various little bits of food  to be

  The other morning I was in the Inner Richmond and stopped in for some delicious Chinese pastries at Good Luck Dim Sum on Clement. The smell of these baked, steamed and fried little dumplings was out of control. There was a super long line of locals patiently waiting for