| Slug
Fest |
|
 By
Joe Smith
Misty
met the latest love of her life when she pulled onto the shoulder
of the highway to let the screaming fire trucks pass and her
car stalled. She was touching up her mascara in the rear-view
mirror to kill time while giving the engine the breather it would
need before starting up again when there was a tap at the shotgun
side window. The face peering in at her in the light of a failing
dusk was rugged yet somehow boyish, topped with a shock of unruly
blonde hair littered with bits of leaf, brambles, seeds, a few
twigs.... |
| Stardust,
Applejack & Our Town |
 By
Louis Martin It's
always Christmas when you hear Eric Shifrin play the piano
at the Laurel Court in the Fairmount Hotel on Nob Hill. He
doesn't wear a red Santa Claus outfit and have a long white
beard but he does have magic in his fingers. When he plays
he casts a spell. The Laurel Court was designed by Julia Morgan
at the turn of the last century but it was not until Eric started
playing there that the design was really complete. "What
is the trick?" I asked Eric. "Not too loud," he
said. That is being humble. The trick is a magical medley of
songs that grabs the heart ... |
| Miles,
Coffee, Saron Hey Yo |
|
 By
Louis Martin
I seem to
be OD'ing on two things lately: dim sum and art. Also I am seeking
warmth in a cup of coffee. But not your usual cup. I go for the "fortified" stuff.
Must be the weather. It's getting cold. On the art front I have
learned something. Trumpeter Miles Davis also drew and painted.
I was surprised when I stopped by Gallery 580 the other day and
Elizabeth told me they had the works of Miles Davis coming in.
Was he "bad" with a brush? Was he a real "motherfucker"?
(Miles, I'm sure you know, had a mouth.) Well, maybe not "real
bad" but not bad either.... |
| Yank
Sing Has the Details Down |
 By
Louis Martin Judy Chan
is one of the driving forces behind the Yank Sing restaurants
in the financial district of San Francisco. But she didn't start
out in the restaurant business. Like a lot of us, she journeyed
her way to a profession. "I went to UC Berkeley, got a degree
in chemistry, then during my last year of college I met my husband,
whose family was in the restaurant business." She was thinking
of going to medical school but decided on pharmacy school to
have more time for family life. She graduated but then when her
mother-in-law died she found herself in the restaurant business
helping her husband.... |
| Sweet
Heat, Vicki Burns & Violet Hour |
|
 By
Louis Martin
"Sweet
Heat" is not the name of one of those massage places down
on O'Farrell or Geary. It is the name of a cocktail invented
by Dave Nepove, aka Mr. Mojito, master mixologist of
Enrico's. If you're a late riser like me, it is a great way to
kick-start the day. There's no messing around after one of these
drinks. The inspiration for the drink was a pepper infused tequila. "I
wanted to try it with fresh peppers," says Dave. Freshness
is one of the major themes of the bar at Enrico's in North Beach.
Fresh fruit, fresh herbs, and muddling.... |
| Velella
Velella |
 By
Joe Smith One curiously
balmy day in spring, the beach along the old log-hauling road
north of Fort Bragg is littered with condoms, Prussian blue condoms,
almost phosphorescent, each equipped with a crinkly, translucent
reservoir tip. They’re ankle-deep along some stretches
of sand. The gelatinous masses glistening in the sun aren’t
really, of course, remnants from some underwater safe-sex orgy
of mermaids and other sea creatures. They’re Velella velella
... |
|
