Carrie's SF Picks

Downtown:

- winter: ice skate at Union Square (& get hot cocoa at Starbucks across the street at Macy’s 4^th floor and watch the Zamboni!)

- cable car ride up to Fairmont; Tonga Room (excellent tiki bar; used to be the health club. Carrie was married on the boat in the middle of the pool!)

- Breakfast at Sears (only breakfast, not known for other meals – get the Swedish pancakes)

- John's Grill (see the Maltese Falcon – or ignore it and just eat steak. Yum)

- Tadich Grill (Carrie’s Dad’s fave – oldest SF restaurant)

- Starlight Room (there may be a drag show, there may be a cover – the view is AMAZEBALLS)

- China Town: Far East Café, shopping on Grant Ave, dim sum galore

- Cafe de la Presse (get newspapers from anywhere!)

- Cafe Claude (get the citron presse – tart and yummy!)

- FLLW building at 140 Maiden Lane (1949)

- Stookey’s Club Moderne 895 Bush (Carrie’s friend’s new deco bar)

- Whitechapel 600 Polk at Turk – another of Carrie’s friends created this gin bar for time travel – a MUST!

- Uncle Vito’s Pizza on Bush and Powell (owned by Carrie’s ex-husband. Actually very good pizza!)

Market Street:

- street car to Castro Theatre (January = Noir City film fest! first: Twin Peaks bar)

- Zuni Cafe (famous for oysters, hamburgers)

- Chow at 14th/Church (organic food, always good)

- Twin Peaks for view (see photo above!)

Haight Street: 

- Deluxe (where the 40s crowd used to go when there was one)

- Amoeba, Rasputins (record stores!!) 

- Relic Vintage (ask for Oran, Carrie’s friend)

- Big Legs = Piedmont Boutique (for fishnets, wigs, cheap earrings, gloves, costumes)

Mission: 

- Tartine (best croissants outside of France)

- Rosamunde sausage (Mindy often DJs reggae on Sundays)

- Mission Pie (everything is good; the pie is excellent)

- tacos at La Taqueria (Zagat rated!)

- Thrift Town & Mission Thrift

- fresh fruit markets

- 1972 BART station (Brutal)

- Mission Dolores (get your history on)

- Makeout Room for live music (Thursday nights)

- de angelis (best vintage furniture, on Valencia)

- Casanova (dive bar with great collection of black velvet nudes)

- Arinell's pizza (NY style; the best!)

- St. Mary's Pub (just past 30^th, tiny place with great DJs)

- Front Porch / Rock Bar (best fried chicken; fab soul food which you can eat in the restaurant or in the bar across the street)

North Beach: 

- Cafe Trieste (coffee!!!)

- Caffee Greco (coffee, pastries and gelato – lovely place to sit and look out the window)

- Vesuvio (since 1948 and still looks the same inside. Stained glass, random chairs, Victoriana. Love)

- City Lights books (books, check their event schedule for readings & book-signings)

- Victoria Bakery (not safe if you are on a diet!)

Embarcadero: 

- walk along water

- Red's Java House (cheap marginal burgers, excellent view and you can sit right on the water)

- Pier 23 (for live music)

- Fancy food at Ferry Building (all local, none cheap)

- Take ferry to Sausalito for lunch at The Trident (MUST SEE INSIDE! Amazing 60s/70s history)

- Hyatt and Embarcadero Shopping Center (70s chic)

Levi's Plaza: 

- Levi's museum (rotating display at Levi’s HQ, also employee cafeteria is excellent and open to public)

- brutalist fountain (walk in it and get your feet wet!)

- Filbert Steps up to Coit Tower (just under 400 steps up; see the famed 30s murals inside the tower)

Fisherman's Wharf: 

- Crab season (= Nov to May) Scoma's is GOOD but $$$, get fresh on the water and ask them to steam it for you!

- Sour Dough Bread Bowl (addicting, nothing like it!)

- Fisherman's Grotto #9 (get spaghetti; crab cakes are good – otherwise this is not the BEST food but the atmosphere is vintage fantastic – since 1935)

- penny arcade / musee mechanic (old and sometimes freaky mechanical amusements. Carrie hates Laughing Sal)

Ft. Mason: 

- Green's (best veggie restaurant in the US)

- old tile benches on the water (if you can find them – walk along the right side of the Festival Pavilion)

Presidio (1776):

- Bowling

- Presidio Social Club (GREAT FOOD and cocktails, can sit outside, parking)

- walk from Crissy Field to Fort Point (see seals and surfers)

Golden Gate Park: 

- Conservatory of Flowers (fab on a rainy day; built from a kit in 1878)

- Japanese Tea Garden (ogle the koi and stay for tea after you walk around the gardens)

- De Young (amazing art exhibits; TOWER has stunning 360 view of SF; go for free Friday night events)

- Archery range at 47th ave (lessons are offered on Saturday mornings)

- 70s Parcourse at Polo Field (there is also a modern parcourse at Crissy Field)

Palace of Fine Arts (1915 Maybeck):

- nice for picnic (feed the ducks and pretend to be a Victorian)

- A16 on Chestnut (ask for Shelley, Carrie’s cousin)

Great Highway:

- beautiful drive along the ocean (occasionally closed for sand)

- Cliff House (fancy place to eat brunch)

- Louis’ diner at top of hill (same great view, no attitude)

- Hike around the ruins of the Sutro Baths (feel like you are at the edge of the world)

SOMA / Potrero Hill / Bayshore:

- Tour Anchor Brewery (best lunch but need to reserve in advance)

- Vega 1246 Folsom Street (M-F only – get the Macau Iced Coffee)

- Twisty street (Vermont)

- Farley's coffee (and the used bookstore across the way)

- The Ramp (oysters, burgers, beer, dogs OK since 1950)

- The Old Clam House (every meal begins with a shot of hot clam juice. Which is delicious, really!)

- Silvercrest donuts (greasy spoon with pool table and pin ball, started life as a dry goods store 1870s)

- Alemany Market (Sat = Farmer's, Sun = flea mkt)

Stay tuned for more to come in Carrie’s Bay Area picks!

You can also see this post on my LinkedIn page

Press Releases are not Rocket Science

In my consulting practice, one of the most frustrating tasks is getting sign offs on press releases. Clients lose sleep over this one document and let it sit for months because it’s not “perfect”. Whether you write your own or pay to have them written for you, here are 5 tips to speed up the process while at the same time ensuring you get a quality release out into the world. Read these and then… JUST DO IT!

1.       Make it Timely

The number one piece of advice I can share is that if you have something to announce, do it now, because there’s nothing worse than missed opportunity or yesterday’s news. Getting it out on time is more important than agonizing for 40 years over the exact wording. This isn’t a college application or the great American novel, it is a tool for sharing information.

2.       Make it Simple

The press release is a vehicle for getting information out into the world, not a one of a kind wood carving or couture gown. It does not require flowery language or poetic rhymes. It simply needs to give people information and the best way to do that is to make it organized, logical and succinct. Write simply, as if you were composing a recipe or directions for putting together a folding dog crate. Keep it to one page and your chances of actually having it read skyrocket.

3.       Share Information

Make sure that the release contains all pertinent information: contact person / phone / email / location / date / basic data, etc. Don’t focus so much on the story that you forget to put a link to your website, for example. Make sure all the contact info is at the top, so that an editor who does a quick scan doesn’t get frustrated and toss the whole thing. Remember that the purpose is to get information into the right hands and to make sure they know where to go further details or to have Oprah’s staff call you to set up a TV appearance!

4.       Include a Photo

Reading is a lost art. Busy editors might see hundreds of releases each week – make yours stand out! Are you promoting a book / retail shop / new exercise gadget / politician? You’ll need photos / headshots no matter what, so get them done early and use them everywhere, especially on the release – right under the header. A picture is worth… well, you know.

5.       Nobody’s Perfect

Revise and edit for accuracy and simplicity, and then have another pair of eyes do the same. It may not be perfect, but when it is good enough, go. Get the information all in one place, run it by someone you trust, and then put it into the universe and let the magic happen. 

You may also find this post on my LinkedIn profile