August 13, 2007
Western Addition NOPA in the Gray Old Lady
Awesome last name recipient and New York Times contributor Nicole Spiridakis covered NOPA (AKA, "North of the Panhandle" -- of course) in this past weekend's travel section of the NYT, "Colonizing an Urban Frontier".
Spiridakis tells us that "an influx of attention-getting restaurants and boutiques in the last decade has made it one of the city's cooler destinations, even as it struggles to maintain its gritty individuality." Though we must disagree with the claim that it's "one of the city's cooler destinations" -- that title would go to Rincon Hill and its resevoir-tip highrises, hands down -- she's got a decent list of some of the area's hip-ish eating places and venues. (Even some love for the bullet magnet, Lilly's BBQ!)
Since neither BART nor MUNI trains go there, we never travel to said NYT-worthy destination. Unless it's to escape the sun, that is. But we hear that the neighborhood is just darling. Yet gritty. But mainly darling.
Also, are there any other neighborhoods out there rebranding themselves via adorable acronyming? Weren't SoMiss-Po and BBB (Bail Bond Boulevard) supposed to take off? But didn't?
Smurfy image: Jorge Colombo
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"THE NOPA district of San Francisco — the name stands for “north of the Panhandle,” that sliver of green jutting east from Golden Gate Park — was once known mostly for low-income housing and random shootings."
....Luckily, now we have high-rent housing and random shootings. I feel so hip.
Dopa = Dolores Park
NoGGPa = North of Golden Gate Park (Richmond)
SoGGPa = South of Golden Gate Park (Sunset)
TriNoMa = Triangle North of Market Street (Duboce)
DUBBO = Down Under Bay Bridge Overpass (South Beach)
Yes, I have a lot of time on my hands...
Take the Hayes 21 .... surely, you have the need to visit The Independent once in a blue moon. Heck, the Go-Go's are coming soon!
As a resident of that-neighborhood-which-I-refuse-to-call-NOPA (I sometimes call it the Western Addition, or Lower Divisadero - or if I want to be super-esoteric about my street corner, McBaker), the New York Times article really amused me.
They did mention a lot of fabulous restaurants and bars that have been in the area for years (the Fly, Tsunami, Little Star, the Independent), but they failed to mention Club Waziema - a true institution.
And I resent them harping on NOPA -- which has only been in the neighborhood for a year, and which I and all my neighbors actively resist going to because it is a blatant sign of the uber-gentrification of our precious community.
I think this article would have been great if it was written four years ago. Ha. And no one calls it Nopa.
My favorite part is where she says that it's a bridge connecting "hippie Haight street" to the culture of the city beyond. HAHAHAHAHA. We "hippies" living in the uber-expensive Haight look forward to "Nopa" rents catching up. And where was that "culture" beyond, exactly? Was that in Pac Heights? ROTFL.
It's pretty sad that the author of a blog purpotedly about everything San Francisco only goes to neighborhoods accessible by BART and Muni trains. This great neighborhood (the western Western Addition, NOPA, Alamo Sqaure, or whatever you want to call it) is one you should check out.
Memo to the New York Times:
From: San Francisco
Re: "Gritty"
What's with us and the word "gritty"?
"Perched at the edge of the gritty Tenderloin neighborhood"
"This stretch of the city south of Market Street, long known for its ... gritty bars ..."
And now "gritty individuality" of NOPA? We concede there are many, many areas where New York City is superior. But aesthetic appeal is not one of them. Last I checked there was some grit in Queens, no?
Crack a thesaurus now and then.
when I first moved back to SF in 2004 from LA, I was able to swing a great house-sitting job for 6 weeks in that area while I was looking for an apartment.
it really was an odd mix of expensive, well crafted homes lovingly restored and a "fort apache the bronx" feel....one night I heard a noise on the newly rebuilt stairs and it was some guy barfing his guts out all over the place.
another time I came home and found some well heeled hipsters from The Independent doing the same (it looked like they had a toxic mix of Popeye's and redbull/vodka combos or something).
but the best part is the comics store, Comix Experience, it rocks...
PS: brock you can take the N Judah and cut across Duboce Park to said area ;-)
Missing NOPA (the restaurant) is Paul's loss. I live in the hood as well and often get down on my knees and praise Jesus that this place opened up. Cool mix of people there (*not* Marina-esque), out-of-this world cocktails, great food, open til 1am. What's not to like?
oh yeah- it's so popular, i have to book it 2 weeks in advance.
did i say the cocktails are OUT OF THIS WORLD?
That's the problem with Nopa the restaurant, too big for its britches. Tsunami is open until 1 am too, and you can usuallly get a seat at the sushi bar, particularly late.
Pretty short article there, I guess it's just one of those 'while you're there you might want to...' articles which are actually fairly enlightening. The article itself doesn't mention it, but in general this article brings up a good point. San Francisco is a city of neighborhoods. Like them or not, most have a character which is worth writing a page like this about.
As for NOPA-the restaurant...having lived here about 7 years, I'd have to say that this is probably the biggest shot in the arm, along with Little Star, that this neighborhood has gotten (although, isn't that part of the Alamo Square sub-neighborhood?). And I think it did give (or at least make more common) the neighborhood the silly acronym. Before it opened, I never heard anyone say anything but North of the Panhandle.
And Paul...I'm sorry that putting in an excellent, attractive, destination-type restaurant (instead of a blockbusters, who got petitioned out of the spot in the late 90's, early 00's) is ruining your neighborhood. It's only made mine better.
The WePo! (West Portal.) I've been waiting for a chance to broadcast this.
i like WEPO and DUBBO.
oddly obsessed with that strange area and staircase under the Bay Bridge.
J--
I didn't know that spot (NOPA the restaurant) was almost a Blockbusters (Gag!). Thank you and your neighbors for saving that spot (i'm a new resident here in NOPA/West Add.).
T
"Unless it's to escape the sun, that is. But we hear that the neighborhood is just darling. Yet gritty. But mainly darling."
First of all, it's a sunny neighborhood. It doesn't really get foggy until you go further west because we're mostly east of the hills that divide us from the Sunset.
Second of all, "darling"? With how many daylight shootings lately? Try "dangerous."
And I can't believe the NYT is going to shunt people to Lilly's. Our former-cop apartment manager, who regularly get his 'cue from Oakland while "packing," refuses to go to Lilly's. Let alone allow us non-gun-toting civvies to venture there. Like, why go to Lilly's for ribs and a side of bullet holes when Minnie's is far superior 'cue?
"... because it is a blatant sign of the uber-gentrification of our precious community."
Guns are precious? You've got to be kidding me.
Our neighbor has lived here since the mid '90s, and he assures us this place has been "up-and-coming" for over ten years. Gentrification's not coming, rest assured.
And even if it is, a little gentrification never hurt anyone. Stray bullets do.
If you call the Western Addition, NOPA, you deserve the stabbing or shooting your stupid white ass will get.
Well, that makes perfect sense to me, #17.
Was I being a bit harsh, Brock? In retrospect, probably. Sorry.
I'll sit in Washington Square park and call Telegraph Hill 'TelHi' for an hour, as way of penance.
"you deserve the stabbing or shooting your stupid white ass will get."
Yeah, racism is AWESOME!
Seriously? MURDER IS AWESOME!
NO WAI! Hyperbole is AWESOMER!
Oh yeah... Little Star PIzza is reason enough to go to whatever you want to call that strip.
Um, #22?? It's more like sarcasm. Look it up. And if you want to criticize hyperbole, come down on #17.
Oh, okay. Go you.
I moved from the top of Pacific Heights (Fillmore and Pacific) to an apt. building right on Alamo Square, 4 months ago. Here's my experience...
+ side
-The Independent. It rocks. I'm 3 blocks away.
-Bean Bag Cafe. Cool people. Good food. Cheap beer. I'm smitten.
-Popeye's Fried Chicken. Across the street from that fancy Nopa place. Don't tell me you don't want some good fried chicken once in awhile...
-Alamo Square Park. Beautiful park. Friendly dogs. I love the park.
-Gritty. Yeah, gritty. Every night at like 4AM I hear the guy with the shopping cart full of cans/bottles pass by... Reminds me of how close I am to that gig, so I remain kind to those who are not so fortunate as myself. The projects I pass by on my way to the freeway? I notice the number of plants in the windows.
-People actually say, "Hey. How ya doing?" to me when they walk past me. Never happened on Fillmore street. Big, black men concerned about my welfare. Acknowledging my presence. I say, "Thank you."
- side
8 shootings, a block a way in either direction, during daylight hours, over a span of just a few days...
Does this mean that we're now going to see a clipping of that article in a laminated display in the front window of Lilly's? Makes me want to start shooting out that window myself. SO not worthy!
Paper of Record, my freaking ass.
8 shootings? I thought it was just 3 in 6 weeks...
Speaking of shootings...there's a peace march tonight for the boy that was shot 1 year ago today. He lived next to the preschool and was texted[?] to meet someone on divis and gunned down in front of the laundrymat less than a block from his house. By most accounts, he was a decent kid. His name was Aubrey. Still nobody arrested, as far as I know. The march will start at 5:30, I think, at the Boys and Girls club on Page and Stanyan, and will wind up at Grove and Baker around 6:30. Show your strength...Stop the Shootings!
What this neighborhood needs is a little MORE gentrification. Like a good coat of new pavement on Divisadero - quite possibly THE most poorly paved big street in the city right now! I've lived along Divis for the last 5 years - the neglect is staggering.
hi paul! long time no see :)
also as a neighborhood local, i have to say that we are definitely NOT trying to maintain the gritty. the gritty is getting kind of old. the neighborhood doesn't have to scrap its identity and trade it in for total gentrification, either, it just needs a few merchants who care enough to clean up every once in a while. my block is already taking a positive step in that direction, we'll see what happens by the end of the year.
Calling the Divis NOPA really doesn't make sense as the Panhandle is several blocks east. And I've heard use of that term for years, long before the restaurant of same name opened last year.
Only worthwhile part of this article was mentioning my favorite new addition to the neighborhood, Mojo is fantastic and deserves all the praise they can get.
Peace marches are nice and all. Actually finding and prosecuting the killers would be nicer.
Where are the cops? Where is the DA? Where are the eyewitnesses to the shooting of a child? If this were happening in Pac Heights we would have cops on every corner.
aj - you mean the vacant parked squad car at Grove and Divis doesn't solve anything? But SFPD worked so hard thinking that of that one.
Snarkiness aside, I have noticed that the cops are buying more take-out from Lilly's. Maybe their strategy is to send so many guys there on lunch runs that a cop will be there at all times.
The neighborhood has been up and coming ever since a friend of mine from high school moved to Broderick St somewhere between Fell and Tur in the early 80s. It was my first visit to SF, ever, the flight got in late, and when we pulled up the cabbie asked me "are you SURE this is the right place?"
My first SF memory!
It doesn't matter what people want to call this neighborhood, I love it because it's diverse and eclectic - slightly gentrifying, but still showcasing a mix of businesses:
In the midst of less expensive nail salons and higher-end salons, we've got:
*For dinner, we've got Little Star, NOPA, Club Wazima, Ziryab, Herbivore, Tsunami, and now Metro Kathmandu next to the Le Metro Hotel
*For breakfast or lunch cafes, we've got Bean Bag, Cafe Abir (opening again soon), Mojo Cafe, Cafe Neon, and Central Cafe
*For bicycle tune-up, we've got Mojo Bicycle Shop
*For dessert treats, you can get truffles at Five Star or stop by Delessio Market & Bakery
*Excellent cheese selection at the Country Cheese Store
*For nightlife, we've got Fly Bar, Madrone Lounge, Club Wazima, Tsunami, Bar 821
*The Independent rocks!
*Move further off of Lower Divisadero heading west, you'll hit Poleng Lounge and Papalote towards Masonic
And it's practically the physical center of the city so we can get to anywhere in the city fairly easily, including Golden Gate Park via the Panhandle.
It's one of the few neighborhoods where I can still see a mix of races in a city increasingly self-segregating for various reasons.
It's a neighborhood in transition. But I see more positives than negatives.
dear "brock" --
stop "writing" about me.
thank you,
"darling" district 5
Eddy's, at Divis and Fulton, has the best smoked turkey sausage in the city! Plus, you might actually get to talk to a black person there. (It used to be a primarily African American area, much like Fillmore was.)
I wish they would do something with the blighted Harding Theatre, though.
ive lived here for over 3 years in the "western addition" neighborhood. exactly one block from where NOPA was built. to me, the NOPA restaurant seems out of place (across the street from popeyes) and is far from defining the neigborhood. i think most of the people that do eat at nopa aren't even from the neigborhood. the honest truth is that the location has become sort of a tourist attraction nowadays. i choose not to support the restaurant or the overpriced grocery store/deli that sprouted around the same time behind bank of america along with generic apt complex. the north of the panhandle/western addition area is just becoming another elitist dining location. i think we people that live in the neigborhood and see this gentrification as unhealthy need to show our concern and stop suporting places like NOPA.