Interview: Mister SF

Name
Hank Donat

Introduce yourself in one sentence
I am a San Francisco-based journalist also known as Mister SF, San Francisco's online ambassador.

Age and Occupation
Late 30s; writer. My column, "Heart of the City," appears in the SF Independent newspaper and online at MisterSF.com.

Home Town
San Francisco. I'm originally from Boston, but I shed that skin a long time ago.

How much time have you spent in the Bay Area?
I've been in the City of San Francisco since the early '80s, minus some time away for travel and folly. I've been working as a journalist/newspaper columnist, comedian and presenter, and as an advertising consultant. It's all been about communicating with joy and imagination.

Favorite website
MisterSF.com, of course.

Favorite local business
Caffe Roma in North Beach

What I'm currently Reading
Lonely Planet's Turkish Phrasebook.

Best Deal in San Francisco
One Half offers half-priced boutique gifts on Polk Street near Washington. There are many boutique liquidators around, but these guys have a terrific
eye for decor and design.

Favorite mode of transportation
BMW: BART, Muni, walking.

Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
The Space Lady

Favorite local hangout
My new house. It is included in the book, "The Great Houses of San Francisco" and has quickly become a great place for warm times and salon-style gatherings.

SF has the BEST:
Views.

You've never lived in SF until:
You've been picketed by demonstrators.

Favorite Bay area politician of past or present:
Harvey Milk.

Now that Gavin Newsom is single, who are you going to set him up with?
Lea DeLaria.

You can tell someone is a local here IF:
They have great calves and terrible knees.

SF would be soooo much better if only:
BART went to Firenze, Italia.

Best Burrito:
Los Hermanos, 2026 Union Street.

Best Restaurant:
Q, 225 Clement Street.

Best movie filmed in or about SF:
"Woman on the Run" is a 1950s film noir story starring Ann Sheridan. I've been helping to revive interest in it. Everyone who loves San Francisco should see this movie. A woman finds her missing husband, who barely appears in the film, by rediscovering their life together as reflected in the City. You'll feel it.

Best thing to do in the city in the summer:
Stay warm, make love.

Favorite artist to come out of the bay area:
Renato Martinez is a Cubist painter who lives in Noe Valley. His "El Guerrero," a portrait of a peaceful warrior, hangs in my office.

Favorite author to come out of the bay area:
Herb Caen.

Place you always tell visitors to check out:
The Wave Organ, Presidio Pet Cemetery; loads of others.

Favorite Bridge in the area:
Golden Gate

You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
Start at Union Square. Squint hard enough in a pale light and you might see Old San Francisco. Grab a coffee to go and get on a 45 Union bus through Chinatown, North Beach, and Russian Hill. Get off at Baker Street then climb the Lyon Street stairs. Behold the view for the entire second hour. Take in the scents of jasmine and rosemary. Keep the remaining $12.75 in your pocket; the best things in life are indeed free.

I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist:
Nothing, but I guess you could say I found a friend, craigslist founder Craig Newmark.

I want all the SFists out there to know:
You should thank your lucky stars that you live in this City. Don't be a fool and ever think the grass is greener in some rectangular state. You'll be back and you'll be sorry.

Tell us a San Francisco Story:
I had a dream that San Francisco deserved a web site that would put the City that's in our hearts on display for the world. It would reflect the beauty, the enchantment, the layers of history, even the madness of our town. I worked really hard and my dream true.

Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview:
Got milk?