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Movies
Spielberg revives a dying genre with respect and power.
he greatest thing about Saving Private Ryan is not that its release signifies a shift in popular action genre in Hollywood, although the idea certainly makes fabulous cocktail party conversation. The best thing about this film is that its worth extends far past the eight dollars and two hours you will spend in order to see it. Having expected the same big-budget, tear-jerking Hollywood schlock one has come to expect from the American filmmaking business, I emerged from the theater shocked, and in fact elated, by the film's reverence toward its genre and to the horrific reality of foot-soldiery. More
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Movies
Of all the little boys talking to dead people, this one has the hippest parents
The Stir of Echoes Web site comes complete with a section of mind-opening exercises. Do you think that Kevin Bacon read a few books on mind expansion before shooting this scary, albeit mediocre plot twister? No ma'am. What he did do was pump a lot of iron, slap on a few tattoos, acquire Hollywood's cracked-out skinny aesthetic, and pull out his old wifebeaters from his Footloose rehearsal days. Yes, you do catch a glimpse of Kevin Bacon sitting on the corner of his bed playing guitar. Love your record deal, dude. The pain of watching him ratchet his head backward to pop Excedrin is just short of having your chest waxed. More
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Restaurants
An overly ambitious menu of global small plates and a luxe, modern interior barely make up for spotty service. On a recent dinner visit we sat in the 1/3 full restaurant without menus, drinks, or even a glance from our waiter for a full fifteen minutes (we timed it). Although a comped flight of champagne softened the blow, we were never presented with a full wine list, and some of the wild boar satay was raw in the middle. While Letterman Digital Arts employees munching Kobe beef bacon cheeseburgers will keep this 2007 newcomer afloat, true foodies may want to bump this one down a few notches on the must-visit list. More
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Restaurants
As a longtime fan of the amazing Vietnamese BBQ pork sandwiches at Little Paris on Clement (R.I.P.) and on Stockton Street (it's still around, and still delicious), I sampled many so-called greats looking for an equal that was a little more central. Finally, I can say without hesitation that Latte Express on 5th at Market blows them all away. The secret? A steaming crockpot keeps the pork dripping with savory meat juice all day. Then you just ask for #4 and a nice little lady lavishes a mini baguette (or, by request, a croissant) with strips of BBQ pork, daikon, carrots, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and mayo. For only $3.80! More
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Restaurants
An Argentine Steakhouse in North Beach
For anyone who's enjoyed grilled meats prepared in the Argentine fashion, a trip to an Argentine steakhouse is rife with anticipation. Will they have the gargantuan, grilled cross-cut short ribs that seem to be attainable only in South American restaurants? How are the empanadas, sweetbreads, blood sausages and chorizo? The chimichurri sauce? Is the wine list rife with excellent Malbecs? According to some connoisseurs, San Francisco's El Raigon has slipped from its place of high regard in the handful of years since its opening. More
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Restaurants
Better than its SF Sister
This downtown Oakland restaurant finds success with Fork alum Saman Javid's menu of refined, flavorful soups ($8), robust (if not quite adequately crisp-crusted) artisan pizzas ($13-15), and entrees like last Spring's wild halibut with melted spring onion & green garlic, salsify, hazelnuts, mache & frisee salad, and vanilla ($21). More
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Restaurants
SF Station's Best of
Another tremendous year for San Francisco restaurants, 2007 saw a huge upsurge in artisanal pizza and boutique Italian (Nua, Chiaroscuro, Gialina, Ducca, Perbacco, Bar Bambino, E' Tutto Qua) as well as hot restaurant spinoffs (S.P.Q.R., Serpentine) and sustainable cuisine (Fish and Farm, Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant, Conduit, Weird Fish). Upscale Asian seems to be hitting a new stride (Namu, Unicorn, Metro Kathmandu, Sudachi, Umami, Sebo), and fancy burgers are more available than ever (NOPA, Spruce, Two, Horizon, and the disappointingly sterile Custom Burger/Lounge). More
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Restaurants
Only for the Light of Heart
I’ve been curious about supperclub since the San Francisco branch of this Dutch enterprise opened in 2005. Prix-fixe dining in bed, with performance art, in an all-white SOMA loft? Gimmicky, yes, but it still sounded like fun. However, the 4-star price tag, the hyper-clubby SOMA-meets-Miami techno scene, and an artistic mish-mash of Cirque du Soleil and Burning Man kept me and most of my friends at bay. More
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Hotels
Browsing Shops, Hiking Bluffs, and Cozying up by the Fire
The Bay Area is full of good days. One of the mellowest and most rewarding is to be found 1.5 hours north, in the small towns that ring Tomales Bay, the shallow, cigar-shaped body of water that peacefully straddles the San Andreas Fault just east of Point Reyes National Seashore. More
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Parks & Open Spaces
Browsing Shops, Hiking Bluffs, and Cozying up by the Fire
The Bay Area is full of good days. One of the mellowest and most rewarding is to be found 1.5 hours north, in the small towns that ring Tomales Bay, the shallow, cigar-shaped body of water that peacefully straddles the San Andreas Fault just east of Point Reyes National Seashore. More
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