Whiz Burger The above photo is my ham-fisted attempt to juxtapose two distinct types of iconography: one surrounding retro burger joints and the other, Catholic churches.  I wouldn’t blame you if it didn’t elicit the observation that the almighty American hamburger is something of a golden calf, an object of

Dona Tere’s Market Dona Tere’s Market has existed on the northeast corner of 21st and Florida for a little over a decade, a respectable age for any restaurant, but it feels ancient and worn beyond its years, like an old bristlecone pine tree bearing silent witness to San Francisco springing

Yamo What is it about Burmese food and long waits? Burma Superstar in the Inner Richmond is legendary for the starving throngs that gather like cicadas at the entrance, killing over an hour in the hope of obtaining a table. Yamo isn’t nearly as popular, but it’s a fifth the size,

Remember all that crazy shit that went down with Adobe Books? Well they’ve moved and are having a party to prove it. I’m really cracked out from staring at this computer all day so I”m just gonna copy and paste stuff, but in the meantime, go over and RSVP on

                Velvet Cantina   Its title and appearance conjures Barbary Coast-era decadence.  The Velvet Cantina is only about seven years old, but it feels thoroughly dyed-in-the-wool, a seemingly eternal fixture on its corner, 23rd and Bartlett Streets in the Mission District, a residential spot just

Pig & Pie  Last week I wrote up La Palma as being a paragon of a Mission District 24th Street that is fast being drowned out by higher-end cafes and eateries that cater not to the longtime residents, but to the recent influx of wealthy tech boomers.  This week, I

              La Palma Mexicatessen     There isn’t a neighborhood of any city in our union that is completely static, no urban zone where the prevailing skin tone will forever be reminiscent of elephant tusk, obsidian, or mole poblano, or where every household will

Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit — probably not.