Save Our Bookstores!

Recently, I've been dismayed by the demise of so many businesses around the Bay Area, in particular independent bookstores. So when I passed by Black Oak Books' flagship location in Berkeley and saw an empty shop, I assumed that it had become yet another victim of the recession and feared that there was just no longer a place for its kind in a world dominated by Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Turns out that Black Oak Books only lost its lease, and has thus is in the process of forging a new identity. It promises to remain in business even without a retail outlet, temporarily moving online and continuing to purchase books for cash. For customers looking for the old-fashioned bookstore experience, a weekend retail location will soon open. Of all the local used bookstores, I'd say that this one has the best chance of survival.

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Shopping • Extended Coverage Area

FF: Size Doesn't Matter

This tiny studio sized gallery proves once again that size doesn't matter. FF Gallery is the physical counterpart to the culture and art community website fecalface.com. Open Wednesday through Saturday, this art space boasts monthly and during some summer months, weekly installations from artists who are inspired from the more underground, urban, skateboard, and graffiti counterculture. On reception nights the gallery explodes onto the street with people who've come by to see what new art FF has to showcase. You can often find folk, comic, and graffiti art, photography and mixed media pieces. The cozy space enhances the opportunity to mingle with guests and featured artist. So it's time to stop judging the gallery name and head over to what is easily one of the most vibrant art spaces in the city.

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Art Galleries • Hayes Valley / The Mission

Fancy and Fine

In my continued quest to find the Bay Area's best cupcakes, I stopped into Citizen Cake's bakery to sample its mini cakes, though I was also tempted by its delicious-looking sandwich cookies. The cupcake selection is small and inventive, with each cake exquisitely decorated, especially the rocky road and the signature cupcake of devil's food cake filled with whipped cream topped with chocolate ganache. I went with the chocolate chip cupcake, garnished with a soft mini chocolate chip cookie. The cake was good, but at $3.50, a bit pricey for something that was not overly spectacular. If I'm paying more than average, I should get something that would rival Sprinkles. I'll probably end up coming back to sample another cake, although the cookies may be the better option.

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Restaurants • Extended Coverage Area

Breakfast of Champion Hikers

After a 3-hour hike in the Muir Woods, my family and I drove into Sausalito in search of a late lunch. We crept into the Lighthouse Cafe half an hour before closing, and pored over the extensive menu of egg and pancake breakfasts, sandwiches, and burgers, in need of a refuel. Several items caught my eye, including the Norwegian Salmon Omelette and the raspberry pancakes large enough to cover an entire plate. Not wanting to choose between pancakes and eggs, I selected the Ultimate Breakfast, which included eggs, bacon, a fruit pancake, home fries and toast. As soon as my food arrived, I dug in, drenching my eggs and homefries in hot sauce and savoring my not-too-thick but delicious pancake and crisp and juicy bacon strips. It was the perfect way to cap off a day among the redwoods.

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Restaurants • Extended Coverage Area

A Day in the Park

If it's one of those rare hot days in SF, be warned that it might be difficult to find a quiet place in Dolores Park. Locals love this spot. The park and its people can be divided by sections. On the lower side (by 18th and Dolores) there are more bicycles than people. This is Hipster Hill. Here you'll see the latest and tightest skinny jeans worn by impossibly hip twenty-somethings who walked right out of an American Apparel ad. On the same side towards the top of the park you'll find hoola hoopers and the family friendly portion near the children's playground. At the very top you'll find a majestic view of the city. And last but not least, on the upper terrace you'll find Speedos and muscles. The six packs here are different from the six packs on Hipster Hill. Welcome to the Manshelf. Gays come prepared with their bubbly and tanning lotion ready to soak up the sun. If you want to cruise bulging biceps and washboard abs, this is your place. If you stroll through Dolores Park, you can find a bit of everything, stay long enough and you might have trouble finding your way home.

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Landmarks • Castro / Lower Haight