“I notice the texture of a block — who's been here thirty years, who just moved in.”
The Ocean-Themed Car Wash on the Peninsula Is the Best Government-Free Public Experience Around
PublishedSometimes the best things in the Bay Area aren't the ones your city government spent $4.7 million on a feasibility…
The AIDS Memorial Grove: Golden Gate Park's Quietest, Most Powerful Acre
PublishedGolden Gate Park has no shortage of destinations fighting for your attention — the de Young, the Conservatory of…
Jerry Garcia's Guitars Hit the Auction Block — Your Rent Money Just Got a New Rival
PublishedSan Francisco is many things — tech hub, fog capital, sourdough mecca — but before all of that, it was the birthplace…
Your Toddler Doesn't Need a Bucket List — They Need a Puddle
PublishedThere's a post making the rounds from a Sunset stay-at-home parent with an 18-month-old, asking for help building a…
Shipyard Open Studios Is Back — With Free Parking, Beer, and Art That Doesn't Require a Grant Application to Enjoy
PublishedThis weekend, the Hunters Point Shipyard throws open its studio doors for Shipyard Open Studios, and if you haven't…
Sometimes This City Just Stops You in Your Tracks
PublishedLook, we spend a lot of time around here talking about what's broken in San Francisco — the budget overruns, the…
Free Film Screening at YBCA: A Rare Case of Getting What You Pay For (In a Good Way)
PublishedHere's something you don't hear often in San Francisco: free and worth your time in the same sentence.
SF Opera Goes Al Fresco at Filoli — And It Won't Cost You a Dime
PublishedHere's something you don't hear every day in a city where a decent burrito runs you $16: world-class entertainment…
YBCA Opens Its Doors for Free — Here's Why You Should Actually Go
PublishedYerba Buena Center for the Arts is offering free admission, and before you scroll past this like it's another flyer on…
Your Alcatraz Tour Got Cancelled? Good. Here's What to Do Instead.
PublishedLook, Alcatraz is great. It's a crumbling federal prison on a rock in the middle of the Bay, and somehow we've turned…
West Portal Stays Winning: Why This Quiet Neighborhood Keeps Drawing People In
PublishedThere's something about West Portal that just works.
The Brett Carson Quartet Is Bringing Live Jazz Back to SF — And We're Here For It
PublishedIn a city that seems to spend more time debating bike lanes and supervisorial turf wars than celebrating its own…
Toronado Saved by a Regular — Exactly How It Should Be
PublishedIn a city where beloved institutions get swallowed by corporate landlords and replaced with something involving açaí…
Smuin Ballet's Future Forward Reminds Us Why SF's Arts Scene Still Matters
PublishedSmuin Ballet is bringing its Future Forward program to the Bay Area, and if you haven't been paying attention to one of…
Philz Caved on the Flags. Nobody's Clapping.
PublishedSo the Philz Coffee pride flag saga has reached its predictable conclusion: the new corporate ownership tried to strip…
Want to Actually Build Community? Pick Up a Paintbrush.
PublishedIn a city that spends millions on "community engagement" consultants and bureaucratic outreach programs that produce…
Sean Dorsey Keeps Showing Up — And That's the Point
PublishedSean Dorsey has been a fixture in San Francisco's dance community for years, and his philosophy is pretty…
Your Mom Deserves Flowers, Not Another Overpriced Candle
PublishedMother's Day is this Sunday, and if your current plan involves a last-minute Walgreens card and a vague promise to "do…
Japantown's Karaoke Scene Loses Another Venue — And It's Not By Choice
PublishedAnother small business in San Francisco is getting shown the door — not because it failed, but because the building…
The Tenderloin: San Francisco's Most Misunderstood Neighborhood
PublishedLove it or hate it, the Tenderloin is one of the most fascinating, complicated, and honestly exhausting neighborhoods…
Oklou Turned the Warfield Into a Cathedral — And We're Converts
PublishedThere's a moment at certain shows where the room shifts — where an artist stops being someone you've heard about and…
A Tourist's SF Itinerary Goes Viral for Being Absolutely Unhinged — And We Respect the Hustle
PublishedThere's a certain breed of traveler who treats vacation like a military operation.
Sunrise at the Rusty Porthole: SF's Most Accidentally Poetic Photo Op
PublishedSometimes San Francisco doesn't need a policy debate or a budget scandal to remind you why people put up with the rent…
Rise Over Run Proves SF Still Has Room for Small Makers Who Actually Make Things
PublishedIn a city where "maker culture" has mostly devolved into people selling AI-generated sticker packs on Etsy, it's…
An Alameda Brewery Wants You to Drink Carbon Capture Beer. We Have Questions.
PublishedThere's a brewery in Alameda offering tours where you can taste what they claim is the world's first beer made with…
The Bay Area's Loneliness Problem Isn't a Bug — It's a Feature of How We Built This Place
PublishedHere's a question that shouldn't be hard but somehow is: How do you make friends in the Bay Area?
Your Brain Is Fried. Here Are SF's Best Free Reset Buttons.
PublishedHere's something that costs the city zero dollars, requires no ballot measure, and actually improves quality of life…
Reminder: You Live in One of the Most Beautiful Cities on Earth
PublishedSometimes you need to stop doomscrolling the budget deficit, the latest SFMTA fare hike, or whatever fresh bureaucratic…
Bernal Heights Has a Friendliness Problem — But It's Not Just Bernal
PublishedA newcomer to Bernal Heights recently raised a question that a lot of San Franciscans have quietly asked themselves…
Why Is It So Hard to Find a Decent Gym in San Francisco?
PublishedHere's a fun exercise — no pun intended — in San Francisco economics: Pay more, get less.