Blogs from North Beach, San Francisco, California, United States, North America

For those of you who have never visited the famous Buena Vista Cafe in North Beach/Fisherman's Wharf, this story ought to entertain you. Maybe San Francisco didn’t invent Irish coffee, per se, but the city by the Bay sure popularized this cozy, whipped-creamy, whiskey-spiked coffee drink. The story goes: one November evening in 1952, Pulitzer-Prize-winning travel writer Stanton Delaplane was sitting at the bar of the Buena Vista Café on Hyde Street when the café’s owner, Jack Koeppler, challenged Delaplane to help duplicate the original, which the writer had tasted at Ireland’s Shannon Airport. They tried one concoction after the next, not quite getting it right. Finally, Koeppler returned to Shannon to ask the original inventor, Chef Joe Sheridan, for advice. Eventually, the recipe was perfected. Turns out there are two secrets: The cream needs to ... read more

You have often heard of an almost universal description of San Francisco as "The City." The Golden State Warriors even had a uniform emblazoned with "The City" rather than San Francisco or Bay Area, or even Golden State. But my City is dying due to many reasons. Yes, things were peachy during the heights of high tech and biotech growth in the downtown, and SOMA areas. But things are much different now, post pandemic. This AP article almost perfectly describes the demise of the great downtown area: After a three-year exile, the pandemic now fading from view, the expected crowds and electric ambience of downtown have not returned. Empty storefronts dot the streets. Large “going out of business” signs hang in windows. Uniqlo, Nordstrom Rack and Anthropologie are gone. Last month, the owner of Westfield San ... read more

This might be one of the most famous bookstores in the world!!! I wrote this back in 2013. I am reposting (2020), in the hopes that you might donate to City Lights Bookstore, as they struggle through the quarantine in San Francisco. It is by far, the most historic, and unusual bookstore I have ever visited. They have been running a successful "Go Fund Me" page. ​From 2013: Today is a special day for someone very dear. This lady grew up in San Francisco, in the Mission to be exact. But she has never been to the famous City Lights Bookstore. Today is the day! We also had dim sum at City View in Chinatown, and topped it off with some Blue Bottle Coffee at the Ferry Building. This is from a previous email written a ... read more

How many of you have walked across the Golden Gate Bridge? Better yet, how many of you have bicycled across the bridge? I have done both, on numerous occasions. It is a great thrill every time, as the conditions are always different. The weather can range from typical San Francisco fog, or a pristine clear and sunny day (and everything in between). The bride opened in 1937. The cost was $35 million or $523 million in today's dollars. My first time, crossing the bridge by car, was in the 50s. Our bridge toll was 50 cents. Today, the cost is $9.05. Forty million cars cross the bridge each year. It translates to $145 million in revenue, to pay for employees, maintenance and paint. The bridge is not golden, but rather international orange, creating the illusion that ... read more

I wrote this back in 2013. I am reposting, in the hopes that you might donate to City Lights Bookstore, as they struggle through the quarantine in San Francisco. It is by far, the most historic, and unusual bookstore I have ever visited. They have been running a successful "Go Fund Me" page. ​From 2013: Today is a special day for someone very dear. This lady grew up in San Francisco, in the Mission to be exact. But she has never been to the famous City Lights Bookstore. Today is the day! We also had dim sum at City View in Chinatown, and topped it off with some Blue Bottle Coffee at the Ferry Building.This is from a previous email written a few years ago. I probably stepped into City ... read more