On My Calendar

Exciting things coming up in August both in and around Rockridge and further afield:

Subculture the East Bay Express’s Best of the East Bay Party:  With something for everyone (and I mean everyone), the East Bay Express will be celebrating everything wonderful about the East Bay at the Oakland Museum this Friday, August 7 from 5pm [...]

Grizzly Bear, Fillmore 6.22.09

Pictures first, words later.

Grizzly Bear’s “Swarovskis.”  The band personally hand strung each crystal (certified Swarovski) with fishing line.  Soothe.

The complete display

For the last three or so songs of the night I went up in the backstage balcony.  I love the way the crystals are growing out of Bear’s head.  It’s like a mash-up of Encyclopedia [...]

Grizzly Bear, Fillmore 6.21.09

I’ve started writing something about Grizzly Bear in this window six or so times now.  I’m vacillating.  “Grizzly Bear played at truly great show last night.”  “I’ve seen Grizzly Bear play many, many times.”  “I couldn’t count how many times I’ve seen Grizzly Bear if I were asked.”  I’m wondering what the value is of [...]

Fanzine Publishes Parks on Strawberry

In the late summer of 2005 I met Casey McKinney, a quietly bruised character at Maxfield’s coffee house on Dolores in San Francisco.  We drove up to Muir Woods in a 1990 325i and stood in the fog and talked about my moving to the Bay Area and his potential escape to Europe and possibly [...]

Reporting Back: Syvlan Mishima Brackett of Peko Peko at Mission Street Food

Last night at Mission Street Food was great.  Sylvan did an excellent job, and as I predicted, the croquettes were a sleeper hit (neither of the two people I was dining with wanted to order them and we ended up getting a second order).  Here’s my evening in pictures:

Above is the facade of the restaurant [...]

Sylvan Mishima Brackett of Peko Peko at Mission Street Food

Post updated 10:55pm PST 6/18/09: This Saturday at MSF from the MSF blog
I first heard of Mission Street Food (a pop-up restaurant in the Mission District of San Francisco) through Chris Ying of the McSweeney’s clan.  Rimpletide had bought me a ticket to see Michael Pollan, Bonnie Azab Powell, and Harold McGee on a panel [...]

ARL <3 ARS

Au Revoir Simone at Bimbo’s, San Francisco

(from left) Under the red curtain the tiny head of Erika Forster behind the grand piano, Heather D’Angelo center stage, and Annie Hart waving her wild arm! (I may have mixed up Erika and Annie–in that case it would be Annie at the piano and Erika waving the arm–not [...]

It’s Monday Morning and I’m Excited About…

Mandela Food Cooperative’s opening this past weekend.  West Oakland has not had a full service grocer in three years.  It’s unconscionable.  The worker-owned MFC is working to set this wrong right by supplying locals with food from farms no more than 170 miles away from Oakland and offering nutritional education workshops.  In addition, the cooperative [...]

Last Night’s Mission District Menu

Improvised salad: baby romaine, radishes, and avocado with Meyer lemon vinaigrette (Meyer lemon juice, salt, pepper, sugar, good olive oil*)
Minted asparagus with red onion (the original recipe, for green beans here)
Sashimi-grade tuna steaks (what other grade would we consider?) dusted ever so lightly with wasabi powder and soy, sprinkled with black sesame seeds and seared [...]

A San Francisco Afternoon

Very uncharacteristically, I was in San Francisco for the afternoon yesterday.  I don’t love San Francisco very much, but I found a few spots that really hit the nail on the head.
1.  If you find yourself in, or are willing to travel to, an undesirable neighborhood (the Marina) you can rely on an oasis of [...]