1. Dress to dine outdoors
A lot of us have wondered about the outdoor dining options that have multiplied during the pandemic, including “parklets,” those improvised eating areas in spots that once were parking places, perfect for those not yet comfortable with eating in enclosed spaces. Have any been made permanent? In San Francisco the answer is yes.
The county Board of Supervisors voted in July 2021 to make the parklet program permanent. Of course, there are plenty of strings attached (not to mention the fluctuating anxieties of the pandemic), but this changes the dining picture dramatically. Since San Francisco began its parklet program in March 2020, more than 2,100 permits have been issued for in-street dining, sidewalk tables and similar outdoor arrangements.
Outdoor diners at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood in March 2021.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
2. There’s a new show in town
For more than four decades, San Francisco’s goofiest, most tourist-friendly live show was “Beach Blanket Babylon,” a silly, song-heavy, fancy-hat-intensive romp that reliably filled Club Fugazi in North Beach until closing in 2019.
Now comes a potential successor in the same space: “Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story,” which opened in October. It was put together by a modern circus collective known as the 7 Fingers, which calls the production “an acrobatic love letter” to the city. It dips into local history with video projections, shadow play, juggling, hoop diving, hand balancing and Korean plank (also known as teeterboard).
The co-artistic directors of the show (and the 7 Fingers) are Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider, both of whom grew up in the Bay Area. The show, about 90 minutes without intermission, is set to run through at least March 31. Seats are $35 to $99, depending on night and location.
“Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story” opened in October.
(Kevin Berne)
The show, about 90 minutes without intermission, was put together by a modern circus collective known as the 7 Fingers.
(Kevin Berne)
3. Don’t miss this free art exhibit
Doug Aiken, Ólafur Eliasson and 25 other artists are part of a For-Site Foundation immersive art exhibition called “Lands End” that will be up through March 27. The show, staged at the historic seaside Cliff House building (the restaurant is idle) at 1090 Point Lobos Ave., explores climate change and the health of the planet. Admission is free but advance, time-specific reservations are required. (Also required: proof of vaccination.) Only 49 people are allowed in the building at a time.
By the way, the National Park Service is looking for a new restaurateur to take over the Cliff House (which closed in 2020) and the cafe at the Lands End Lookout Visitor Center, raising hopes that food service (fancy at Cliff House, casual at the cafe) might return before the end of 2022.
The “Lands End” exhibit will be up through March 27.
(Doug Aitken)
The show explores climate change and the health of the planet.
(Doug Aitken)
4. Where to breakfast
In San Francisco, I’ve long relied on Café de la Presse, between Union Square and Chinatown, for a solid breakfast and pleasant people-watching. (The Chinatown gate is across the street.) But for months, Café de la Presse cut back its schedule and was serving only lunch and dinner. Now — as of Jan. 18 — breakfast is back, offered Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m.-11 a.m. There’s also brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Or consider the alternative I adopted while Cafe de la Presse was unavailable: the unfussy Roxanne Café on Powell, which has indoor and outdoor tables and does breakfast all day. Also, you’ll see cable cars rumbling past outside.
Customers dine at Cafe de la Presse earlier this month.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
5. Check before you go
Many San Francisco lodgings are still closed, including two in handy locations that I’ve used often. One of the still-closed spots is the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, half a block from Union Square. It was sold early in 2021. “The landmark will reopen soon,” its website has been saying for months. We’ll see.
The other “temporarily closed” favorite lodging of mine is the San Remo Hotel, a European-style pension (shared bathrooms down the hall) in North Beach that’s been a budget travelers’ haven for decades. One alternative with similarly low prices: the Green Tortoise Hostel, also in North Beach, which reopened in August requiring proof of vaccination for dorm guests and masks in all public areas.
The boarded entrance to the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in 2020.
(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
