The Big To-Do SF: 250 Things to Do Before You Die

A few months back I posted a list of 100 things to eat in San Francisco before you die, courtesy of 7x7 Magazine. 7x7 is at it again, this time with a list of the 250 things to do in SF before you die. The list contains a neighborhood by neighborhood overview of the activities that make San Francisco, well... San Francisco. Below is the top 100 from the list. So far, I've done 19, 20, 39, 40, 44, 51, 56, 59, and 90 (only the de Young - I desperately want to go to the California Academy of Sciences). The full list contains things to do in many other neighborhoods, like Russian Hill, Bernal Heights, NoPa, and others. (Also check out the Google map of the list.)

1. Listen to your friends’ first gig at Hotel Utah. (SoMa)

2. Walk under the waterfall at Yerba Buena Gardens. (SoMa)

3. Shop for urban menswear at Rolo. (SoMa)

4. Be a woman among men and go dancing at theStud. (SoMa)

5. Feather your nest at 411 Vermont Street (Obsolete, Blackman Cruz, Therien & Co.). (SoMa).

6. Have some watermelon wheat beer at 21st Amendment. (SoMa)

7. Rush the sales at Jeremys. (SoMa)

8. Meet your match over a glass of wine atDistrict. (SoMa)

9. Soak in the art and some Blue Bottle on the new SFMOMA rooftop. (SoMa)

10. Have a quiet moment in the Contemporary Jewish Museum plaza. (SoMa)

11.Pick up some Italian roast at Graffeo Coffee. (Northbeach)

12. Remind yourself that Tommaso’s old-school pizzas are still some of the best. (Northbeach)

13. Attend a reading at City Lights. (Northbeach)

14. Grab the perfect gift for your girlfriend atEden & Eden. (Northbeach)

15. Light a candle in memory of someone special at Sts. Peter and Paul Church. (Northbeach)

16. Have pumpkin ravioli at L’Osteria. (Northbeach)

17. Catch a show at Bimbo’s. (Northbeach)

18. Take a seat at the counter for a meatball sandwich at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store. (Northbeach)

19. Climb the Filbert Street and Greenwich Street steps. (Northbeach)

20. Don’t miss the Coit Tower murals. (Northbeach)

21. Use the general password (“books”) to drop into the library at Bourbon & Branch. (Tenderloin)

22. Do dinner and view a show from the balcony at the Great American Music Hall. (Tenderloin)

23. See what’s on display at the Shooting Gallery. (Tenderloin)

24. Hang out in the smokers’ cage at Rye. (Tenderloin)

25. Grab a Vietnamese sandwich from Saigon Sandwiches. (Tenderloin)

26. Sing and clap on Sunday morning at Glide Memorial. (Tenderloin)

27. Get a lap dance at Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre. (Tenderloin)

28.Shop for cool kicks at Huf Shoes. (Tenderloin)

29. Then cross the street and have dinner at tinyCanteen. (Tenderloin)

30. Watch naan being pulled straight from the tandoor at Shalimar. (Tenderloin)

31. Do dinner at A16 and a movie at the Presidio Theatre. (Marina)

32. Load up a Let’s Be Frank grass-fed dog with devil sauce. (Marina)

33. Fly a kite at Crissy Field. (Marina)

34. Be a lady who lunches at Balboa Café (but get the burger). (Marina)

35. Get hit on at the MatrixFillmore. (Marina)

36. Find a deal at My Rommate’s Closet. (Marina)

37. Make friends with someone that owns a sailboat. (Marina)

38. Conduct an ethereally quiet wee-hours grocery run to Marina Safeway. (Marina)

39. Have a beer on the back patio of the Tipsy Pig. (Marina)

40. Follow up a run through the Presidio with a hearty brunch at Rose’s Café.

41. Reserve a private karaoke room at Doremi Music Studio (and cross your fingers for “Sweet Caroline”). (Pac Heights)

42. Find a drop-dead, Aussie-designed dress atElizabeth Charles. (Pac Heights)

43. Check out the southern view from the top ofAlta Plaza Park. (Pac Heights)

44. Get a taste of the Mission at Pizzeria Delfina. (Pac Heights)

45. Grab a free poster after a show at theFillmore. (Pac Heights)

46. Take your laptop to the Grove and pretend to work. (Pac Heights)

47. Get naked at Kabuki Springs & Spa. (Pac Heights)

48. Indulge in an almond croissant from the original Boulangerie Bay Bread. (Pac Heights)

49. Check out the adorable puppies and kitties up for adoption at Pets Unlimited. (Pac Heights)

50. See how many times you can jog the Lyon Street Steps. (Pac Heights)

51. Choose from the 50 selections on tap at Toronado and pair it with a beer sausage from Rosamunde. (Haight)

52.Time yourself at Kezar Stadium’s track. (Haight)

53. Play fetch with the dog at Buena Vista Park. (Haight)

54. Order an old-fashioned at the Alembic. (Haight)

55. Get a T-shirt designed by local artist Sam Flores at Upper Playground. (Haight)

56. Have barbecue and sake at Memphis Minnie’s. (Haight)

57. Catch an indie flick at the Red Vic. (Haight)

58. Take advantage of happy hour at Uva Enoteca. (Haight)

59. Shop for quality vintage wear at Held Over. (Haight)

60. Be a tourist and snap a pic of yourself at the convergence of Haight and Ashbury streets. (Haight)

61. Find love over fixed gears and coffee atRitual Roasters. (Mission)

62. Drink rosé at Dolores Park. (Mission)

63. Buy a heap of cheap avocados at Casa Lucas. (Mission)

64. Shop for emerging artists on a minigallery hop at Creativity Explored, Needles + Pens,Adobe Books, Michael Rosenthal and Jack Hanley. (Mission)

65. Drink a cheap, 16-ounce margarita at the Latin American Club. (Mission)

66. Wake up to a bowl of bread pudding atTartine Bakery. (Mission)

67. Ogle the midcentury chandeliers at Monument. (Mission)

68. Have a breakfast of huevos rancheros at Los Jarritos. (Mission)

69. Buy something beautiful at the Bell Jar. (Mission)

70. People-watch on a warm afternoon at theRevolution Café. (Mission)

71. Check out a gay-fabulous flick at Castro Theatre. (Castro)

72. Wait in line for a Superman sandwich with dirty sauce at Ike’s Place. Follow with Tums. (Castro)

73. Sit at the piano and sing along with the boys at Martuni’s (yes, this is technically next door in the Mission, but only geographically). (Castro)

74. Spend Sunday trying to keep count of the all-you-can-drink-for-$6 mimosas at Lime. (Castro)

75. Shop for feather boas and tool belts at Cliff’s Variety. (Castro)

76. Strike a pose at Friday’s happy-hour dance party at Badlands. (Castro)

77. Catch a concert at Café Du Nord (or a little acoustic at the adjacent Swedish American Hall). (Castro)

78. Have a 3 a.m. post-clubbing breakfast at Bagdad Café. (Castro)

79. Pick up some social criticism at A Different Light Bookstore. (Castro)

80. Hook up over coffee at Café Flore. (Castro)

81. Watch the surfers at Kelly’s Cove. (Richmond)

82. Browse the art books at Park Life. (Richmond)

83. See a double feature at the 4 Star Theatre. (Richmond)

84. Be thankful for Green Apple Books, the ultimate independent bookstore. (Richmond)

85. Pick out a fish from the tank for dinner at New May Wah market. (Richmond)

86. Have a bowl of ramen and listen to the Shitones at Halu. (Richmond)

87. Jockey for position at Pizzetta 211. (Richmond)

88. Drop in on a seisiún (a kind of Irish open jam session) at the Plough & Stars. (Richmond)

89. Bike the length of Golden Gate Park on Sunday when JFK Drive is closed to cars. (Richmond)

90. Check out the natural wonders at the California Academy of Sciences, or the latest exhibit at the de Young. (Richmond)

91. Rent an obscure European film from Le Video before video stores are extinct. (Sunset)

92. Order a Rotten Robby at The Pizza Place on Noriega. (Sunset)

93. Build a fire at Ocean Beach. (Sunset)

94. Read the Sunday Times and have blueberry pancakes at Park Chow. (Sunset)

95. Go with a big group for dumplings and beer at San Tung. (Sunset)

96. Buy a custom silk-screened T-shirt atMollusk Surf Shop. (Sunset)

97. Snack on Nick’s fried fish tacos atUnderdogs. (Sunset)

98.Get freshly roasted coffee at Henry’s House of Coffee. (Sunset)

99.Pick up some magic tricks at Misdirections. (Sunset)

100. Take a couple of kids to the SF Zoo. (Sunset)

Mission Street Food

I know I have mentioned this before, but one of the best things about living in San Francisco is the abundant supply of excellent food. But even more exciting than the good food is the truly innovative atmosphere for making, serving, and eating food. On Saturday, I experienced one such innovation that I have a hard time imagining in any other city than San Francisco. 

A few months back, a line cook at Bar Tartine in the Mission decided he wanted to use his one night off to experiment in a new kind of restauranting. He noticed that a food cart was going unused on Thursday nights. So, he set out to rent the cart for the night and serve gourmet food at rock bottom prices to anyone who wanted it. He expected a small group of people, but was surprised to sell out of food long before the customers ran out. This continued to happen every week, until he decided he needed to expand. He found a Chinese restaurant in the Mission willing to let him use the restaurant and part of the kitchen to prepare the food. It is such an interesting story and a unique experience in eating.

I found out about Mission Street Food through the Eater SF blog and immediately wanted to see this for myself. On Saturday I finally got the chance to go and took my visiting Mom and Aunt to experience something only found in San Francisco. To put it simply, it was an amazing experience.

We showed up at 5:40 PM to get in line and there were already about 20-25 people in front of us. We were fortunate to get seated in the first wave of diners, so we ate early, but didn't have to wait long (wait times can be measured in hours if you're not in the first wave, which I recommend you trying to do). 

The food was spectacular. We had a snap pea salad, king trumpet mushrooms, and a ham and cheese sandwich, all spectacular. On came shrimp and grits with homemade sausage, which tasted so good, if I had been standing, my knees would have buckled. Next was a grass fed steak. And finally for dessert, we had butter-fried cornbread with whipped creme fraiche and blackberries and seriously, it was so freakin good that I wanted to lick the plate. I recommend bring a bottle of wine with you (only a $5 corkage fee). All of this was less than $60 for three people - such a deal! And to top it all off, the profits go to charity. 

For more background on Mission Street Food, read this article from the Chronicle. And to check the menu for each Thursday and Saturday night dinner, check out the Mission Street Food blog. And of course, reviews on Yelp.

Gavin Nuisance

I'm not one to rant about politics (see my friend Tom for good political rants), but over the past two weeks, I have now received two emails from Gavin Newsom, the presiding mayor of SF. The first, and much more clever, was an email masquerading as a "SF economic stimulus" information letter. But, if you read the fine print (as I did when I was so stunned to have received such an email), the email was paid for by Newsom's California Exploratory Committee. It's no secret that Newsom is running for California Governor, but seriously, does it seem a little fishy to anyone else that he is tricking people into supporting his run for governor by getting in the door with what seems like routine SF business?

The second email arrived just moments ago, this one much more blunt.

I am mystified as to how they got my email address and what gives them any indication that I am remotely interested in supporting Newsom. I am one of the roughly 7 registered Republicans in SF and Newsom is basically the last person I want as governor of a state that already spends with reckless abandon and will continue to raise taxes and issue bonds to finance it all.

End of political rant. Oh, and don't vote for Newsom, he's fishy.

25 random things...

So, if you're not on Facebook, maybe you don't know the current trend. But, people have been creating lists of 25 random facts about themselves and posting for all to read. You're supposed to tag people in the note and then they have to make the 25 random facts list. It's the modern day chain letter.

Anyway, I finally created my list and thought this would also make a great blog post, so here goes:

1. I never anticipated that I would ever live in San Francisco. But, I'm proud of the way I have embraced my new city. In less than 10 months, I've become a member of a great church, joined a community group there, explored many parts of the city, settled into a new job, set up an apartment, volunteered my time at several local organizations, and made a bunch of new friends.

2. After growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, I have lived in three of the biggest cities in the country - Washington DC, Boston, and San Francisco. A big part of me wants to live in New York someday, just because it feels like the epicenter of everything, but I'm not sure I ever will. I also would love to live in London or Paris for a year or so.

3. I desperately want to be in an earthquake. I don't want anybody to get hurt or there to be major damage, but the geologist in me can't wait to feel the earth shake under my feet. I'm told that I live in a city that promises to make this wish come true.

4. My greatest athletic achievement will always be the time I pulled a 5 iron out of my golf bag and hit a golf ball 175 yards for a hole-in-one. I hope my golf game didn't peak that day, because it was ten years ago.

5. I have a oval shaped birthmark directly in the center of my stomach. With my two nipples as eyes, and belly button as mouth, the birthmark serves as the nose on my "stomach face." Don't even bother to ask me to show it to you, because I'll say no.

6. My birthday is December 27, and I've never been quite so open about this, but it sucks to have my birthday so close to Christmas. Few people ever remember it, I'm always away from friends, and I've had very few parties thrown for me. There are some positives though - I always get to spend my birthday with my family and I have never had to work or go to school on my birthday.

7. Despite my friends saying I missed the "best semester ever" at William and Mary, I will never regret spending the spring semester of my junior year in New Zealand. I saw some of the most amazingly beautiful settings in God's creation. I walked on a glacier, rafted down an underground cave, hiked miles of beautiful trails, bungee jumped, tasted amazing wine, looked at a lot of rocks, watched the sun set behind Mt. Cook, spent a night on a boat in Milford Sound, relaxed on beautiful beaches, soaked in natural hot springs, scuba dived (dove?) on the Great Barrier Reef, and toured the Sydney Opera House.

8. When I was in New Zealand, I purchased a car at auction for about $350 US dollars. It was a 1983 puke yellow Toyota Corona that I called "El Coche Corona." Despite a finicky stereo and a tendency to burn through oil, the car was a dream to drive all over the country (on the left side of the road!). I once got pulled over by a NZ policeman. When I handed him my Pennsylvania license, he made a face like he was reading something in another language. He asked if I was enjoying the country and I said "Yes, very much." His response - "well, slow down." When I left NZ, I sold "El Coche Corona" for $50 US dollars.

9. I have spent nearly 2 months of my life at sea on scientific research vessels in various locations around the world. I was on one expedition off the coast of Papua New Guinea, another that sailed from Astoria, Oregon to Panama City, Panama, and a third that sailed from Victoria, British Columbia to Acapulco, Mexico. On the third expedition, we had 18 foot swells - enough to cause my chair to move back and forth across the floor as I was sitting in it. I'm proud to say I never got seasick.

10. I firmly believe that all students must be able to communicate digitally to be successful in the 21st century workforce and I believe that with the right curriculum, technology can help create very special learning experiences that can engage students who are otherwise turned off to learning. I'm fortunate I get paid to help educators reach this goal.

11. I also believe that all people need to be scientifically literate in order to be able to make informed and wise decisions. One of my goals is to work to bring earth science to all people in a way that is applicable and interesting to the average person. I was fortunate to get to work toward this goal in my past job in DC.

12. Combining my passions in #10 and #11 into a single job would be my ideal situation. Someday, I'll figure out how to do that.

13. One of my best years was my senior year of college at William and Mary. I lived off campus with 7 other guys and we traveled to see W&M play football in Maine (via New York and Boston), rented an RV for fall break and drove to Mexico by way of New Orleans, spent Spring Break on a missions trip to an orphanage in Nicaragua, went fishing, went to the beach, drank beer on our deck, went to the Green Leafe and Pauls, watched selected scenes, laughed a lot, and generally had a great time. I studied a little bit too.

14. Because of the trip to Maine mentioned in #13, my roommates and I were named the William and Mary 2002 Fans of the Year. There was a ceremony where our names were announced and we each ran out onto the field during half time of a home football game.

15. I'm OCD about random things being straight or lined up. For example, in restaurants, the silverware always has to be lined up with each other and the napkin. Some of my friends have noticed this and purposely, but unbeknownst to me, put things askew just to watch me straighten them again.

16. In the dictionary, next to the word introverted, there's a picture of me.

17. It takes me a long time to get to know other people really well and I'm not very good at opening myself up and showing who I truly am until long after I meet people. I'm working on this...

18. I have freakishly long arms. One of my roommates in college has freakishly short arms. He is 6'3", I am 5'9" and we both can reach to the same height. Unfortunately, this means that I have never been able to find shirts that fit me right.

19. When I was very young, our regular babysitter couldn't babysit one night, so she asked her college roommate if she wouldn't mind babysitting us. She said yes. Her name: Rosie O'Donnell.

20. One of my lifelong goals is a write a book. I'd like to say it would be a novel, but I don't think I'm creative enough, so it will probably be non-fiction.

21. One of my favorite things to do is to spend part of my Sunday afternoon or evening reading the Sunday New York Times. Lately, I've become a little obsessed with trying to complete the Magazine crossword puzzle each week.

22. I published my senior thesis from college, "Millenial-scale variability in western tropical Atlantic surface ocean hydrography during the early Pliocene," in the journal Marine Micropaleontology. I am 95% sure that I am the only person that has every read this entire paper. If you're suffering from insomnia, I can send you the paper.

23. It usually takes me over an hour to fall asleep at night, cause I can't stop thinking about what happened to me that day or what's going to happen to me the next day.

24. I whistle a lot, but only when I'm alone. This is the result of me annoying my family with my whistling for so long, that I made it a habit to keep it to myself. I'm a really good whistler though - at times I've thought about entering some sort of whistling competition (there must be one out there, right?).

25. I love food and cooking. People think I am a good cook, but really I just follow directions and make reasonably simple things, which I think anyone can do.

The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die

I ran across this list today and immediately decided to make it my culinary mission for my time in San Francisco, however long or short it ends up being. The list is below. I've already accomplished #17, 21, 35, 62, and 68, but I have a long way to go. First on my list is the BBQ places - I'm a bit surprised to see BBQ on here, but if I must try, I guess I'll have to give BBQ in SF another chance.

1. Roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni

2. Coffee-rubbed pork shoulder at Range

3. Carnitas taco at La Taqueria

4. Spicy crab and grits at the Front Porch

5. Chasu ramen at Katana-Ya

6. Burger with fries at Slow Club

7. Shaking beef at the Slanted Door

8. Morning bun at Tartine Bakery

9. Tofu soup with kimchi at My Tofu House

10. Baja-style fish tacos at Nick’s Crispy Tacos

11. Pork sugo with pappardelle at Delfina

12. Salt-and-pepper squid at Yuet Lee

13. Soup dumplings at Shanghai House

14. Beef brisket at Memphis Minnie’s

15. Oysters on the half shell at Swan Oyster Depot

16. Katsu curry from Muracci’s Japanese Curry & Grill

17. Tea-leaf salad at Burma Superstar

18. Salumi misti plate at Perbacco

19. Tuna tartare at Michael Mina

20. Chicken pot pie at Liberty Café

21. Pizza margherita at Pizzeria Delfina

22. Vietnamese roasted pork sandwich at Saigon Sandwich

23. Beer sausage with sauerkraut and grilled onions at Rosamunde Sausage Grill

24. Blue Bell Bitter from the cask at Magnolia Pub

25. Loaf of bread straight out of the oven at Tartine (bonus: sliced while still warm and slathered with Brillat- Savarin cheese from Bi-Rite, down the block)

26. A classic gin martini at Bourbon & Branch

27. Papaya salad with salty crab at Sai Jai Thai

28. A Gibraltar at Blue Bottle Café

29. Spaetzle at Suppenküche

30. Laughing Buddha cocktail at Cantina

31. Pan con chocolate with sea salt and olive oil at Laïola

32. Pupusas at Balompie Café #3

33. Prime rib at House of Prime Rib

34. Yellowtail collar at Oyaji

35. Salted-caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery

36. Dry-fried chicken wings at San Tung

37. Rotisserie chicken at Limón Rotisserie

38. French fries at Hayes Street Grill

39. Pierna Enchilada torta at La Torta Gorda

40. Cheeseburger at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher

41. Pho ga at Turtle Tower

42. Fried-shrimp po’boy at Brenda’s French Soul Food

43. Mint julep at Alembic

44. Cannelé at Boulangerie Bay Bread

45. Galapagos cocktail at Absinthe

46. Chips and salsa at Papalote

47. Ceviche at La Mar Cebichería Peruana

48. Angels on horseback at Anchor & Hope

49. Ginger snaps at Miette

50. Giant pretzel with mustard at The Monk’s Kettle

51. Maccaronara with ricotta salata at A16

52. Fried brussels sprouts at SPQR

53. Garlic soup at Piperade

54. Spiced-chocolate doughnut at Dynamo Donut with a coffeeFour Barrel

55. Milk-roasted pork at L’Osteria del Forno

56. Caponatina with burrata at Beretta

57. Goat stew at Kokkari Estiatorio

58. Absinthe daiquiri at Jardinière

59. Huarache with cactus salad at El Huarache Loco

60. The Brass Monkey at Little Star Pizza

61. Crab soufflé at Café Jacqueline

62. Shrimp-and-chive dumplings at Ton Kiang

63. Meatballs with grapes at Aziza

64. Paper masala dosa at Dosa

65. Crispy eggplant at Jai Yun

66. Pig parts at Incanto

67. Sand dabs at Tadich Grill

68. Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe

69. Licorice parfait at South

70. Omakase menu at Sebo

71. A Fernet at R Bar

72. Arancini at Ducca

73. Popovers with strawberry butterat the Rotunda

74. Corned-beef sandwich with Gruyère at the Sentinel

75. Fried green beans at Coco500

76. Chicken hash at Ella’s

77. Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie

78. Chilaquiles with a fried egg at Pastores

79. Onion strings at Alfred’s Steakhouse

80. Apple fritter at Bob’s Donuts

81. Chicken curry at Punjab Kabab House

82. Fried chickpeas at Piqueo’s

83. Sweet-potato fries with banana catsup at Poleng Lounge

84. A margarita at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant

85. Pulled-pork sandwich at Roadside BBQ

86. A cheese slice at Arinell Pizza

87. Fresh spring rolls at Out the Door

88. Buckwheat crepe and a French cider at Ti Couz

89. Lamb schawerma at Truly Mediterranean

90. Slow-cooked egg at Coi

91. Albondigas soup at Mijita

92. Bacon-wrapped hot dog from a cart in the Mission (preferably when you’re drunk)

93. Seven courses of beef at Pagolac

94. Mango with chile, lemon and salt at Doña Tere’s cart

95. 3 a.m. bowl of caldo verde soup at Grubstake

96. Baby-coconut ice cream from Mitchell’s

97. Sesame balls at Yank Sing

98. Basil gimlet at Rye

99. Clam chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co.

100. Cheese course at Gary Danko

Good, Bad, and Terrible ideas for hiking in Marin

The Good: Ben, Steve, and I went hiking yesterday in the Marin Headlands near Muir Beach. It was a gorgeous day - 75 degree and sunny with great views down the coastline toward the city.

The Bad: We decided it would be nice to descend a slope down to the water and walk along the coastline toward Pirates Cove where we could meet back up with the trail.

The Terrible: After descending the slope about halfway, we realized that it was very naive to think we could get all the way to the bottom, so the only choice we had was to go back up from where we came. As I was trying to climb a steep rock face, I lost my footing and handholds and slid down the slope for 15-20 feet. Honestly, it was pretty miraculous that I didn't fall farther down the slope. And despite that fact that I was really banged up, I am lucky that I didn't injure myself even worse. Thanks to God for keeping me safe!

This is the slope that I would eventually slide down. I actually look somewhat impressive in this picture.

It's hard to see, but probably the worst injury was that I literally scraped about 5 layers of skin off three fingertips on my left hand.


As you can see, it's possible that my less than peak physical condition lead to the fall. But, my stomach is basically one big series of scrapes and cuts. I have similar injuries on my side, left thigh and both forearms and elbows. Cleaning these wounds with hot water and hydrogen peroxide was extremely painful. And I had to completely cover myself in Neosporin. I eventually made it up the slope via a different route and showed off my injuries to the other guys. This was a rough way to end a really nice weekend, but ironically, it was really nice to get out and get dirty when I spend most of my days in my little cubicle.