Church Street Flowers
Neighborhood: Castro

212 Church St
San Francisco, CA 94114

Ed to the M. writes: I was hanging out with a friend the other week, and she had to drop something off at her older brother's place in Orinda.  We get to his house and she's talking to him, I'm poking around looking at their stuff.  There was a vase of dried flowers…

Yelp
Neighborhood: SOMA

706 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Darin I. writes: Why am I reviewing yelp for my hundredth review?  Because I'm PROFOUNDLY ORIGINAL.

I basically *heart* yelp because it allows me to be a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man.  YAY!  We're on a whole new level of parodic mimesis on this…

The Fillmore
Neighborhood: Japantown, Western Addition/NOPA

1805 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94115

jordano k. writes: since there are 91 reviews on fillmore, i won't bore you with a useful review. instead i will present the following story.

so i hear that the one and only ll cool j is coming to the venerable fillmore next week. this brings back one of my fondest…

Alcheme Salon
Neighborhood: Union Square, Nob Hill

310 Sutter Street
4th floor
San Francisco, CA 94108

matt m. writes: I am not the type of guy who gets a haircut every 6 weeks (see my photos). You'll find me scrambling to get a haircut on about 4 occasions throughout any given year.

What can I say? The ladies (and some guys) like the long curly hair. Unfortunately,…

Amoeba Music
Neighborhood: Haight-Ashbury

1855 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117

Darin I. writes: I'm going to put my insider's tip for Amoeba right here, at the top of this review:

AMOEBA DOES NOT BUY USED PORN.

You can thank me by clicking on Useful (o).  Do it!  Left click, bitches!

I know you're all rich fucks who shop at Needless Markup and…

Rosamunde Sausage Grill
Neighborhood: Lower Haight

545 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117

stephy s. writes: This place should really be called The Happy Place because once you step in here and catch a meaty whiff of those tasty sausages, the grilling onions and the hot yummy buns, oh my, you are most definitely transported to happyville.

I certainly was…

William Stout Architectural Books
Neighborhood: Financial District

804 Montgomery St
San Francisco, CA 94133

Art O. writes: Torture, sweet torture!

That's what I think to myself whenever I step in to this gem of a bookstore. I flip through all the modern architectural books and envision the house I'd build in SF when my numbers finally come up for the state lotto.

Alas,…

XOX Truffles
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill

754 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133

Suzanne B. writes: Forgive me father for I have sinned.  

You see, it all started with a simple wish to fit back into those really cute jeans I bought back in September.  You remember them...okay, maybe not --- but they are adorable and they make me look and feel great.…

San Francisco Art Institute
Neighborhood: Russian Hill

800 Chestnut St
San Francisco, CA 94133

miika m. writes: Deep Listening

It does not take a lot of coaxing to get me out of the house on a Wednesday evening with not a lot to do since the man needs space to study and I've been missing out on a lot of lectures/art/performances due to my inability to set…

Oakland Athletics Baseball Club
Neighborhood: East Oakland

7000 Coliseum Way
Ste 3
Oakland, CA 94621

maria d. writes: Oh man. I love me some scrappy, energetic under paid team of misfits (have you seen these guys? Jason Kendall, Jay Payton, Mark Kotsay, Milton Bradley - all freaks. and all great players in their own rights) who go out there and actually have fun.…

Upper Playground
Neighborhood: Lower Haight, Hayes Valley

220 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94117

BILL M. writes: I think it's hard for a guy is to go shopping during the holidays. You get dragged into a mall with ; screaming kids, rude pedestrians, and 22 year old retail employees showing you things that make you look like "old dude in the club". Top that off…

Cheese Plus
Neighborhood: Nob Hill

2001 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109

gwynnie p. writes: I am not a sandwich eating person typically, but after grabbing a "Happy Thanksgiving" (turkey, cranberry, arugula and brie) sandwich from Cheese Plus today I understand why - most places don't put the care into making sure the ingredients and the…

Mod Lang

6328 Fairmount Ave
El Cerrito, CA 94530

Mingus R. writes: Update: They've moved so the set up is most likely different.

Attention all scensters and wanna-be scensters outfitted in your favorite tight trousers and A-symmetrical hair cuts...This tiny, English style shop (i.e. shloads of obscure singles) is…

Swensen's Ice Cream
Neighborhood: Russian Hill

1999 Hyde St
San Francisco, CA 94109

Lainie L. writes: Three words. . .

Sticky Chewy Chocolate

'nuff said.  

(I am making an effort to write shorter reviews)

Okay, three more words:   Caramel Turtle Fudge.

Two more words:  Bittersweet Chocolate

One more:  sherbets.

Ah, screw it, who am I kidding.…

SFMOMA Museum Store
Neighborhood: SOMA

151 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

jessica t. writes: (Excuse the length.  Also note - if you want to skip past the length , just move right on down to the bottom portion of this review)

At the end of sixth grade I was part of an invention convention. We had a month. A whole month to complete an…

Schauplatz
Neighborhood: Mission

791 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110

jessica t. writes: Schauplatz has so much character.

The owner has an acute eye for quality beautiful clothes, carrying an exciting array of dresses, pantsuits, vests, and more from all eras.

Whenever I pass by, I have to go inside. I am usually lured in by some…

Cody's Books
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area, Telegraph Ave

2454 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704

laura b. writes: i attended a david sedaris reading here in 2000.  there were like 10 people there and i thought he would never have more than a collegiate gay cult following.  so say, people like me.  obviously, i was wrong because this fool now has the mass appeal…

City Lights Bookstore
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill, Nob Hill

261 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133

Darin I. writes: YELP

for Patrick M

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by ignorance,
    hunting oversexed blind,
Driving past St. Regis or The Clift in a Mini looking for Mr. Goodbar &
    his massive chequebook,
Mullet-headed hipsters spinning tales of…

Coit Liquor
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill

585 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133

Audrey T. writes: The name Coit Liquor does not even begin to describe everything that this place is.  And while I'm going to try to do it justice in this review, I can't promise I'll be able to - just promise me you'll go in and check it out.

So, I walked in Sunday…

Lucca Ravioli Company
Neighborhood: Mission

1100 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110

Kristina R. writes: The girl who fed me Lucca Ravioli's one night was a lil' retro Bettie Page worshiper who looked like her bangs were cut with a salad bowl and a pair of pinking shears, and that she'd just raided her Aunt Selma's clothes closet.  She was trying to…

Tartare
Neighborhood: Financial District

550 Washington Street
San Francisco, CA 94111

Philip M. writes: Tartare has closed - George Morrone, oh how we'll miss you. I'll be heading to Novato to try your new steakhouse, Boca.

Mitchell's Ice Cream
Neighborhood: Noe Valley

688 San Jose Ave
San Francisco, CA 94110

laura b. writes: My parents had their first date here and I'm pretty sure a pint of Macapuno has saved their marriage from crumbling on multiple occasions.  Do I blame the Macapuno for keeping together a couple that probably should have broken up after the 3rd date?…

Next Eyewear
Neighborhood: North Oakland

5417 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94618

Ben P. writes: Right down the street from Phoenix Eyewear, Next Eyewear's alternate reality bizarro antithesis, this place is everything that an eye wear store should be. The selection isn't enormous, but every pair of frames is a jewel. The prices, for this kind…

Boulangerie
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights

2325 Pine Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

Kristina R. writes: In Korean culture, the hundredth day after a baby is born, you give a Paek Il shin dig, AKA: GLAD YOUR BABY DIDN'T DIE party.  

In modern times, the hundredth day has been replaced by the less morbid Chut Dol or Tol, which is like a first birthday…

Balboa Theater
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond

3630 Balboa St
San Francisco, CA 94121

megan w. writes: I'm a dreamer. I spend most of my life in the gutter looking at the stars, so to speak. I also trip and fall a lot. But many of my dreams are quite beautiful: transit villages in Wilmington, Delaware; art nouveau bank buildings adaptively reused into…

Andreas Gorges Tailoring
Neighborhood: Financial District

110 Sutter St
Ste 207
San Francisco, CA 94104

natasha s. writes: Bridesmaid Alert!  Andreas Gorges can take your shapeless sack of Yellow, uh, excuse me, BUTTERCUP, Strapless Tea-length  Bridesmaid dress with Antique Lace Overlay and make.  you.  look. GOOD.  So good in fact your BF h-e-a-v-i-l-y suggests you get…

Bottom of the Hill
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill

1233 17th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

KayJay .. writes: Ohhhh, I get it now.  Bottom of the Hill... cuz it's at the bottom of Potrero Hill.  That's cute.

I can come up with a better name, though.  A few actually:

Middle of Fucking Nowhere

Someone Call My Ass a Cab

It's Hella Dark Out Here and You Very Well…

Trader Joe's

225 El Cerrito Plaza
El Cerrito, CA 94530

catherine b. writes: What's the number one reason we like Trader Joes, girls?  It's the cut flowers, right? Right?? Don't you remember what we talked about? Just keep saying that and stick to it. *sheesh*

They used to have stargazer lilies for $4.99. It bums me out how…

Fog City News
Neighborhood: Financial District

455 Market St
Ste 125
San Francisco, CA 94105

margot b. writes: What a delightfully old school place this is. Warm and inviting, with astounding customer service. Went in the other day to pick up a magazine for a friend. They directed me straight to it, and pointed out a couple others in the same category.…

Bimbo's 365 Club
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill

1025 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133

laura b. writes: have you even been on a date but you didn't know it was a date you just thought you were hanging out with a friend and then they try to stick their tongue down your throat at the end of your WE ARE ONLY FRIENDS conversation?  well, i went on a date…

Gioia Pizzeria
Neighborhood: North Berkeley

1586 Hopkins St
Berkeley, CA 94707

gwynnie p. writes: Excellent pizza. Seriously. Almost worth the trip to Berkeley from SF just for a slice. Throw in a visit to Monterey Market a few feet away to stock up on everything from rambutan to yellow onions, and definitely worth the journey.

Beware this is not…

RAG - Residents Apparel Gallery
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley

541 Octavia Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Ed to the M. writes: RAG is now I believe certified with the SF Green Business Program, which requires that businesses comply with certain regulations, conserve water, energy, and in general be an environmentally responsible business, which is something that I fully and…

Masse's Pastries
Neighborhood: Gourmet Ghetto, North Berkeley

1469 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709

vivian c. writes: Dear Masse's,

Screw you for foiling my plans to be a skinny bitch.  SCREW YOU!

V.

P.S.  See you  next Saturday.  Save the Carmelia for me.

Toto's Pizzeria

1690 El Camino Real
San Bruno, CA 94066

Priscilla L. writes: The pizza was wonderful--thin crust, just enough tomato sauce, just enough cheese.  The meatball slider, on the other hand, was different.  I wished they had warned us that it was four little burger-shaped sandwiches for each meatball.  They were OK.…

Guerra Quality Meats
Neighborhood: Parkside

490 Taraval St
San Francisco, CA 94116

rommy g. writes: I truly thought the day of the local, neighborhood butcher shop had passed.  Guerra brought it all back in a blinding flash.

I love that it's out of the way, over in Parkside, where the trendy, capitalist snobs can't get at it.  Fortunately they are…

It's Yoga
Neighborhood: SOMA

848 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94107

Sam P. writes: It's official, people.  I am a yogi.

So desperate was I for a vinyasa fix that even in the madness of CM Week (our crazy quarterly meeting of Community Management insanity) I actually got my lazy ass out of bed at 7am so I could fit in a class here…

San Francisco SPCA
Neighborhood: Mission

2500 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Starla D. writes: I adopted a kitten yesterday.  I did this because I hate cats.
I really wanted to take all the kittens out of their comfortable glass rooms with their cat beds and their goldfish DVD's and their carpeted cat tree houses and keep them in my shitty…

D & M Wine & Liquor Company
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights

2200 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94115

The Artful Dodger S. writes: Hi, my name is Jess and I've had the worst day ever.  BOO!  I have no whiskey, double boo!  I'm not an alcoholic because I decided that I needed a drink after such an awful, awful day right before poopey valentines day....

Anyway, so I bought some…

Rolling Pin Donuts

429 San Bruno Ave W
San Bruno, CA 94066

Jared W. writes: There are those places you always remember from your childhood, this is one of them.  The best donuts ever come from here.  The plain glazed has reached its pinnacle of perfection on the fryers on San Bruno Ave.  They are light, but still just dense…