SFist

Day Around the Bay: Blue Bottle Makes Golden Gate Salt

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-25T17:05:24-08:00

In the last roundup before a holiday weekend, Blue Bottle goes out of their way to make commemorative salt, creeps in vans, Zynga's hazing rituals, worthless food critics and more. [ more › ]

Eat Here Tonight: Crispy Sweetbreads at Maverick

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-25T16:10:11-08:00

After forbidding you a proper meal last night, SFist will now allow you to eat this evening. You're welcome. And on tonight's menu we offer unto thee... pancreas. Delicious pancreas. Or, as know in upper-crustease, sweetbreads — crispy sweetbreads, that is. You can find these rich and savory shreds of delight — replete with charred Padron pepper, corn mousseline and buttermilk — at Maverick, located in the sometimes charming Mission District. And if you don't care much for sweetbreads, they have a nifty menu that's ripe for the tasting. [ more › ]

Thanks to This Week's Advertisers

Sponsor — 2012-05-25T16:00:00-08:00

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on SFist. [ more › ]

SFist Drinks: The Mezcal Mule At West Of Pecos

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-25T15:50:22-08:00

The newest restaurant in the restaurant ghetto of Valencia Street is West of Pecos, and it's a southwestern affair from the family that owns Woodhouse Fish Co., the MacNivens — including Tyler MacNiven, who's best known to Amazing Race fans for showing up as one of the winning "hippie" team in Season 9. The bar is doing a small selection of tequila and mezcal concoctions, including today's drink of the week, the Mezcal Mule. [ more › ]

Major Coit Tower Restoration Announced

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-25T15:15:39-08:00

All the of drama surrounding Coit Tower, as well as June election's Prop B, are over after Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor David Chiu announced a $1.7 million fund to repair Coit Tower and, more importantly, renovate the tower's historic murals. "I have directed the Recreation and Park Department and the Arts Commission to work with the Board of Supervisors to find ways to restore historic Coit Tower," said Mayor Lee. "Together, we are building the momentum to further protect a treasured San Francisco landmark." [ more › ]

Your 2012 Film Night In The Park Schedule, With Beverage Pairings

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-25T14:44:43-08:00

It's that time of year again, when the rest of the country decides it's summer and the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation sets up their outdoor projection screens for the entertainment and delight of picnicking, schnapps-nipping film buffs across town. Because we can't wait to bundle up with you under a blanket in Dolores Park in the middle of July, here is your 2012 Film Night in the Park Schedule presented with film-appropriate drink pairings, of course: [ more › ]

Holiday Weekend Palate Cleanser: Famous Faces In Their Screen Debuts

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-25T14:20:36-08:00

We love a good montage! Here's one showing 36 Hollywood actors in their very first film roles, including a young Jack Nicholson in 1960s Little Shop of Horrors (the original Roger Corman film that inspired the musical), and a nubile young Johnny Depp in 1983's A Nightmare on Elm Street. [ more › ]

SFist Tonight, 5/25: Offside Jazz Festival

Leanne Maxwell — 2012-05-25T13:50:29-08:00

Tonight, enjoy some jazz with a contemporary edge at the Offside Festival, let Tracy Morgan lift your spirits at Cobb's, or experience the work of some nationally known comedians and musicians at the intimate Snob Theater. [ more › ]

Zuckerberg Wedding Was 'Cheap,' Says Tacky Newspaper

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-25T13:35:24-08:00

While we throughly enjoyed gushing over Priscilla Chan's lovely Claire Pettibone wedding number, the Zuckerberg nuptials apparently did not fit the expectations of online wedding crashers who would rather see a big budget reality TV extravaganza. The New York Post, a paper not exactly known for being subtle, reveals their disappointment in Zuckerberg's ring selection today by comparing Chan's "itty-bitty" ruby to fake-married Kim Kardashian's $2 million chunk of carbon atoms: [ more › ]

[Sponsored]

2012-05-25T13:35:24-08:00

Planning Commission Says Yes to Tall Buildings!!

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-25T13:15:06-08:00

We've made no secret here at SFist of our support for actual tall buildings in our fair city, where some dumb ordinance from the 80s created by people scared of shadows has kept all our office buildings as uniform boxes all the exact same height. Well, thankfully, the Planning Commission yesterday approved the environmental-impact report for the Transbay Tower and the adjacent buildings that will go with it, clearing the way for San Francisco to get a new tallest building. [ more › ]

Video: San Francisco Is Backwards

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-25T12:47:07-08:00

Via Bold Italic, Ryan Jay and Alexander Shahmiri's short flick looks at the downtown and the Financial District in reverse. Yes, it was filmed two years ago, but we're just getting around to it now. And thank God we did. It's a soothing piece. While the Bold Italic isn't a fan of the FiDi, we kinda are. It always seems like an oddly calm place (from afar, of course, since we don't work there) since it lacks the pretension and self-consciousness of other S.F. arrondissements like the Mission or the Castro. Anyway, enjoy this backwards moment. [ more › ]

Here Are Five Videos Of Marina Dudes Stripping [NSFW]

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-25T12:10:54-08:00

Now that we have had a day to process the overwhelming machismo present at the inaugural Mr. Marina Competition, we'd like to present this brief and entertaining follow-up in the form of our top five highlights from the swimwear-and-pickup-lines portion of the evening. Observe: [ more › ]

Photo Du Jour: Maker Faire's Giraffe

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-25T11:29:07-08:00

"Giraffe Head" by Erik Wilson. [ more › ]

YouTube To Launch Very Porky Food Channel

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-25T11:00:42-08:00

Gone are the days when one could enliven their Sunday mornings by watching Julia Child and Jacques Pepin affectionately debate the proper way to scramble eggs or divulge their secrets to whole chicken perfection. Enter Hungry, YouTube's new food channel that, it seems, signals a shift away from network food television by offering viewers "culinary competitions, food pranks, and unique gastronomic dining experiences" (e.g., high caloric freak show food items.) [ more › ]

SFist This Weekend: Carnaval, Golden Gate Bridge 75th, Treasure Island Flea, And More!

Leanne Maxwell — 2012-05-25T10:35:54-08:00

The Great Shutdown be damned. Let's get this Memorial Day weekend started with Carnaval in the Mission, the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th Anniversary celebration in the Marina, Yo-Yo Championships in Golden Gate Park, photo walks in the Mission and Castro, Treasure Island Flea, and free music in Yerba Buena Gardens and Golden Gate Park. [ more › ]

New Golden Gate Bridge Visitor's Center Kinda Sucks, Says John King

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-25T09:55:03-08:00

The big celebration this weekend also marks the unveiling of the new Golden Gate Bridge entry plaza and Bridge Pavilion, a red-painted visitor's center that's part of $6 million in improvements completed in time for the anniversary. Chron architecture critic John King is less than thrilled with the thing, saying "it's maddening" when a building project like this is "only good" when it could have been great. [ more › ]

Friday Morning Constitutional: Your Holiday Weekend DUI Checkpoints

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-25T09:30:24-08:00

In Friday's brief morning links: DUI checkpoints, squatting at AOL's Palo Alto campus, underwear lost on Muni, neighbors dislike Google buses, and the Coit tower to get a facelift. [ more › ]

Fireworks To Close Golden Gate Bridge For An Hour Sunday Night

Leanne Maxwell — 2012-05-25T08:55:26-08:00

As if the Long Shutdown weren't enough, don't expect to make it across the Golden Gate Bridge between 9 and 10 p.m. on Sunday night. The bridge will be closed during that hour for an epic fireworks display showcasing the bridge, the bay, and the surrounding national parklands, as part of the Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary happening in the Marina on Sunday. [ more › ]

Day Around The Bay: Price Of Garbage To Go Up

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-24T17:15:13-08:00

In Thursday's evening roundup: Ross Mirkarimi for openness, Recology rates, tech gurus on the lam, Dita Von Teese sightings and where to charge your iPhone in Dolores Park. [ more › ]

Oyster-Obsessed Northen California Man Finds Record Breaking Mollusk

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-24T16:55:27-08:00

Richard Mesce, a Northen California man with a passion for extremely large filter-feeding shellfish, has discovered an 80-year-old, 13-inch long oyster in the muddy Humboldt Bay. Mesce, a retired pilot, has spent the past six years patrolling in his kayak, searching for an oyster that would shatter the current Guinness World Record. [ more › ]

Snorting Drugs on the Streets of Sausalito Will Get You Arrested

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-24T16:35:29-08:00

A 22-year-old San Rafael man thought that he could claim he was snorting Ajax and get off the hook after cops found him on the street in Sausalito with a bunch of blue powder all over his face. Turns out he was crushing up and snorting some blue oxycontin tablets, 'cause that's how he rolls. [ more › ]

[Sponsored]

2012-05-24T16:35:29-08:00

Afternoon Palate Cleanser: Watch Pretty Celebs Turn Into Ogres

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-24T16:15:03-08:00

Here's a little optical illusion thing that might make you crosseyed by should be amusing. You're supposed to stare at the cross in the center as these unaltered photos of celebrities flip by. You'll see. It's weird. [ more › ]

Should Castro Bars Ban Bachelorette Parties Too?

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-24T16:00:28-08:00

Take note, gay bars, The Abbey in West Hollywood has taken a stand against the scourge of bachelorette parties, as reported over at LAist. The bar has decided enough is enough, and despite being an enormous venue with room to spare most evenings for gays and straights alike, they're putting the kibosh on bachelorette fetes until marriage equality is gained across the country, and they're calling on other gay-owned establishment to take similar stands. [ more › ]

Mr. Marina Competition: Aggressive Alcoholism In The Name Of Charity

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-24T15:20:50-08:00

Last night in SOMA, fourteen of the Marina District's finest 20- and 30-something male specimens took the stage at Mezzanine to sing, drink, and charm their way to the title of the district's most stereotypical dude in the inaugural Mr. Marina competition. Depending on your opinion of this particular breed of San Franciscan, the event (which raised over $80,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) was either an entertaining pageant of neighborhood in-jokes and exaggerated bro-isms, or a couple hours of dick wagging and aggressive onstage alcohol consumption. [ more › ]

Look At These Adorable Ostrich Chicks Right Now!

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-24T15:01:40-08:00

These baby ostriches are part of the California Academy of Sciences new Ostrich program. CAS notes: "Join us at the live ostrich chick enclosure within the Academy's new Earthquake exhibit to trace their fascinating evolutionary history and learn how they have adapted to life in Africa. You might be surprised by the connection between plate tectonics and the world's largest flightless bird." Ineed. [ more › ]

Eat Drink Here Tonight: Golden Gate's 75th Celebrated With Booze

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-24T13:55:32-08:00

Eat Drink Here Tonight: Golden Gate's 75th Celebrated With Booze"/> Food is dead. Yes huh. Why? Because food in San Francisco has become so self-consciously and painstakingly humorless as of late — one would think that, what with dressed-down loftiness plaguing the foodie scene, some chefs (as well as their brood of flying monkeys) were curing cancer — so we have declared food dead. At least just for tonight. So, shovel a fistful of Pringles down your mouth, and call it a night because the fine folks at the St. Regis and Michael Mina will pour cocktails that pair with the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. [ more › ]

SFist Tonight, 5/24: Word For Word Performs Woody Allen

Leanne Maxwell — 2012-05-24T13:00:52-08:00

Tonight, Word for Word and City Arts & Lectures present a theatrical performance of Woody Allen's The Kugelmass Episode, Religious Girls play at Sub-Mission Art Space, and Oddball Films and guest curator Christine Kwon present a series of films that explore just how perplexing love can be. [ more › ]

Berkeley Police Chief Will Have 10 Cops Look For Your Lost iPhone!

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-24T12:25:56-08:00

In January, Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan's son lost his iPhone. We've all been there, down that harrowing and unimaginably terrifying rabbit hole. So, like any nobel law enforcement official, Meehan had a 10 cops (some on overtime) look for his son's missing smartphone. Which, of course, is perfectly reasonable. So much so, in fact, that the "embattled" chief held a press conference yesterday defending his actions, saying that it was not "some kind of preferential treatment," but something his department "would do for anybody in the city." [ more › ]

Over 100 Stolen Bicycles Recovered In Oakland [Updated]

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-24T12:00:39-08:00

See yours? No? Well, there's a whole downloadable doc here at the Mission Police Station site where you can scan through to see if your bike is in there. Ingleside Station officers were responsible for the recovery of this cache of stolen bicycles, over 100 in all, found in Oakland. We're awaiting further information from the investigator on this ring of rampant bicycle thieves and we're unclear if they've been arrested or if this was connected to the Craigslist bust back in February. [ more › ]

Shortly After Instagram Buy, Facebook Launches New Camera App

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-24T11:30:00-08:00

Facebook launched its fourth iPhone app today, the Facebook camera. The app is solely focused on pictures, and will allow users to upload a bunch of pics at the same time as well as edit and format. "When you launch the app, you'll see a feed of just great photos from the people you care about. You can swipe to see more of any album or tap to enlarge an individual photo," notes Facebook. [ more › ]

Photo Du Jour: Patterns

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-24T10:58:02-08:00

Untitled shot by Brandon Doran. [ more › ]

Girl About Town: I Break Horses, The Cult, Questlove, Tycho

Leanne Maxwell — 2012-05-24T10:35:17-08:00

(Veronica de la Mora) Memorial Day approaches! And with that, we have a healthy stew of shows waiting in the wings just before summer strikes. Morrissey, the Cult, Questlove, and Kurt Vile are just a few shows you shouldn't miss. [ more › ]

Fidel Castro's Niece Arrives In S.F., Republicans Balk

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-24T10:06:29-08:00

Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban president Raul Castro and niece of Fidel Castro, was granted a visa by the U.S. government this week, causing a stir among Republicans who want to paint Obama as a commie or something. Castro, 50, is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana and has has been a vociferous advocate for LGBT rights in Cuba. She came with a contingent of Cuban academics, and her first stop was in San Francisco on Wednesday where she spoke at a panel at SF General Hospital on health care for transgender patients. [ more › ]

[Sponsored]

2012-05-24T10:06:29-08:00

LSD-Fueled Bay To Breakers Runner Rips Woman's Hair Out, Spits At Officer

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-24T09:38:17-08:00

Oh, brother. Daniel Frank, 21, of Santa Clara (surprise!) faces big-time adult charges after allegedly going on a brutal rampage during last weekend's Bay to Breakers race. While reportedly tripping on LSD, police claim that, among other things, Frank ripped out a female participant's hair, attacked other participants during the race, threw a woman to the ground and assaulted good Samaritan's trying to intervene, spat at a cop, and tore off a police officer’s badge while resisting arrest. [ more › ]

Thursday Morning Roundup: Landlords Are Evil

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-24T09:00:53-08:00

In Thursday's morning roundup: a ridiculous Mission District rental process, SFPD reacts to Valencia St. Vandalism video, how slow is FasTrak, and more. [ more › ]

Day Around The Bay: StrEat Food Park

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-23T17:10:15-08:00

Today in Day Around the Bay: Newsom's new show on Current recapped, Auga Vista Park, Colin Powell loves the gays, cats on cash, and more. [ more › ]

Los Angeles Anarchist Group Posts YouTube Video Of Valencia Vandalism

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-23T16:35:40-08:00

A feminist, anarchist group from Los Angeles has posted a YouTube video titled "Scenes from a Black Bloc documenting protesters during the pre-May Day demonstrations that left the neighborhood trashed on April 30th. It's unclear whether this video was intended as editorial or to take credit for the actions of the black-masked demonstrators at its focus, but it does nothing to condemn the aggressive actions taken against local businesses that caused over $150,000 in damages. [ more › ]

Two Women Shot In Afternoon Tenderloin Drive-By

Andrew Dalton — 2012-05-23T16:10:46-08:00

At least two women, and possibly a third, were shot in front of a taqueria during an apparent drive-by shooting in the Tenderloin aroudn 1 p.m. this afternoon. According to a witness, a white or gray van sped up Leavenworth towards Ellis when he heard gunshots and saw the van speeding away. The two victims we both shot in the lower parts of their bodies and were taken to S.F. General to be treated for their injuries which were not considered life threatening. [ more › ]

Flowchart: When It's Okay To Say 'Gay'

Brock Keeling — 2012-05-23T15:36:09-08:00

The wonderful folks at Laughing Squid bring our attention to this handy flowchart created by comic Sam Killermann (of It's Pronounced Metrosexual) that lets you know when it's appropriate to use "gay." He notes, "Gay isn’t a bad word, folks. But it gets used that way so often people feel uncomfortable using it correctly. As much as it’d be wonderful to say that homophobia is an issue of the past, it’s not. Let’s continue reteaching our society what it means to be gay." [ more › ]

Afternoon Palate Cleanser: A Facebook IPO Parody Rap

Jay Barmann — 2012-05-23T14:50:07-08:00

In the vein of Funny or Die, this new video from American Hipster is only kinda funny. But it features a fake Zuckerberg getting a piggy back ride from a fake Sean Parker, who also does an auto-tune chorus that rhymes "IPO" with "ice my bro." [ more › ]