San Francisco

Take Me Out to the Ballgame (for $10)

I took myself out to a ballgame on Memorial Day and what a treat it was. With bay breezes, garlic fries, and the coca-cola superslide, AT&T park in San Francisco is a super venue to take in some baseball. At $10 for the upper deck seats you could afford to bring along everyone you know--just make sure to bring sunscreen and some layers (it's San Francisco after all). Sadly with all the steroid hysteria, Barry Bonds is no longer the one hitting balls out to the kayakers, but, the day I went, the Giants had a very commendable offensive game. With well over thirty home games left this season, make sure to put it on your list!

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Landmarks • Mission Beach

Jerk Spasmodically for Jerk

Despite all the vertical development in and around SOMA’s China Basin—and the vertical tilt of the neighborhood’s nose since the end of the 20th century—the sun still shines brightly on the spacious patio of Primo Patio Café, a neighborhood gem. You might walk past Primo Patio a thousand times amid the mobs clad in orange and black, but you’d never know that behind it’s low key storefront lurks one of the better eateries in all of San Francisco. All the seating is outside, in the aforementioned and quite colorful (primo) patio. The menu is expansive: Caribbean, typically seasonally fresh, and you’ll not find a dish over $15 upon it. Think jerks, ceviches, red fries, plantains, beans, rice, etc. The “Primo Sauce” is highly addictive, and it goes with everything; wise repeat visitors typically ask for extra. Sometimes the takeout line gets a bit long, but fear not- like any good doctor Primo provides a wide range of contemporary magazines in its tiny waiting room.

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Restaurants • Mission Beach

Philz Coffee at Mission Bay

If that name doesn’t send shivers through your caffeine veins then get stepping to SoMa right now. Phil Jaber has been preparing his secret blends in the original Mission location (24th and Folsom) for 33 years. This is Phil’s first foray into the area and should be a welcome newcomer to J-train and Caltrain commuters. The new location is housed inside of the Mission Creek Senior Center, and if there’s one demographic that truly deserves early-morning access to jolting coffee, it’s the elderly. But really all brewheads are welcome to help themselves to the “one cup at a time” style that put Philz on the coffee map. The menu is daunting and will look unorthodox to those of you expecting a menu filled with frappucinos. Here you can get a small or large cup of any of Phil’s master blends, or order a pound of the dry goods to go. Give the Tesora blend a try–it took seven years for Phil and his son Jacob to perfectly tweak the stuff–highly recommended for neophytes. The only problem with a new Philz is that the amiable man himself, Phil, doesn’t work there. You’ll have to go to the Mission to meet him.

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Coffee • Mission Beach