As many San Franciscans know, getting food after midnight in this town is no easy feat. We still have our share of late-night diners though, like the Grub Steak, Sparky's, Lori's and Mel's. Only one made the cut in Playboy magazine's A-list of the Top 10 Late-Night Diners in the country that "truly embody the late-night experience," and that's Orphan Andy's on 17th Street in the Castro.
ABC 7 has this report about Halloween in SF, sans bridge traffic, and it turns out business was still strong at places like Rouge on Polk (which has $500 bottle service at the booths!) and Teatro ZinZanni, which both depend heavily on their East Bay following. The turnout in the Castro -- while still festively large with many gays doing their one night of drag for the year -- was not as huge and unruly as in previous years (one reveler in the video notes the lack of "riff-raff"), and there were plenty of cops on hand telling everyone to stay on the sidewalks.
On Halloween night of the first year that the Halloween kibosh began in the Castro, 2007, KRON 4 provided this coverage from the scene. There is an amusing bit with a very drunk woman face-down in the street, as well one indignant nun who would like everyone to know (perhaps including the police) that "this is our neighborhood!" (meaning the gays'). For more on what went down in 2006, see this article here.
With the Bay Bridge out of commission "indefinitely," doesn't that mean there'll be far fewer East Bay teenagers coming to the city for Halloween and therefore fewer events of the stabbing/shooting variety? After watching the (somewhat lackluster) Halloween episode of Trauma the other night, in which the Castro is talked up as the biggest Halloween party destination in the world, we feel like maybe it's time for some impromptu planning. Sure, there's always BART... but why can't we reclaim our big, crazy holiday party in the face of such transportation adversity? All we know about right now (apart from dozens of individual parties) is this Embarcadero FlashDance, but we'll be sure and let you know if we hear of anything else.
Looking to cause mayhem and hate in the Castro this Halloween, teenagers? Look elsewhere. (SFist's official stance on Halloween in the Castro's ruination is this: scary, scary teenagers are to blame. They always are.) The Castro is, once again, not having a massive bash on Halloween night. SFGate has the police department's official press release. Ahem:
We were working on a post of images from last night's Mark Leno bash at Trigger in the Castro. But, lo and behold, Beth Spotswood beat us to it, doing an extraordinarily far better job with it than we could. Anyway, elections are on the horizon. Senator Mark Leno was in town. He talked about smart wonk stuff, he talked about smart important stuff. A lot. And in a good way.
Last night in San Francisco's notoriously gay Castro neighborhood, 2,8000 were rewarded with forgiving, soft candlelight after a power outage hit the area for about an hour or so. The cause of the outage? A Mylar balloon. According to reports, "PG&E spokesman Andrew Souvall said the outage happened around 7:50 p.m. when a Mylar balloon hit electric wires." What's more, "[t]he incident caused a manhole cover to dislodge at Market Street and Duboce Avenue." [insert manhole/Castro joke here] Power was restored to the area around 9 p.m.
NBC's somewhat anticipated fall drama series "Trauma" filmed a presumably nail-biting scene in Duboce Park yesterday, one that involved a helicopter landing (!) and Halloween decorations (!!).
In a truly sad note this morning, Doug Murphy, co-owner of Moby Dick and, most recently, Blackbird, died Friday due to complications from the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu. He was 41 years old, and was in Palm Springs at the time of his infection, and he had not been traveling abroad, according to business partner Shawn Vergara.
A one-alarm fire charred Chow for about "35 minutes" until San Francisco firefighters put it out around 6:30 a.m. this morning, according to Appeal. "Preliminary reports indicate the blaze ignited in a flue in the structure." What does this mean for you, Chow fans? It means you'll have to wait at least two weeks. Eater has word that the popular Castro restaurant "will definitely be shuttered for 'at least a couple weeks.'" If you can't wait to digest Chow's popular fare, you can also visit their Sunset location.
If you plan on taking a late-night bubble bath tonight, Castro denizens, think again. Between midnight and early Tuesday morning AM, the SFPUC will connect a water main to their distribution system. What does that mean for you? It means the water will be shutoff in certain areas of the neighborhood. Said areas are:
According to a few frantic Twitter messages this morning, a moving van plowed into the side of a building, either near Dolores Park or somewhere in the Tenderloin.
In an attempt to get in on the hyperlocal (ugh, that word) trend, glossy rag interviewed pretty people about their favorite places to go in specific San Francisco neighborhoods. Above, Mission district fans prattle on about Revolution Cafe, Beauty Bar, and a bench.
The body of an unidentified man was found inside a Castro Street apartment on Tuesday, reports the . SFPD found the week-old corpse after receiving an anonymous phone call. Creepy. Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of death and the body's ID. The BAR goes on to say, "there had been two or three people living in the residence, but [head of the homicide unit Lieutenant Mike Stasko] didn't know if the dead man was one of them. He said the residents had not been seen in 'a few days,' and no one else was in the flat." We'll update with more info as it comes to us. Update: Police have identified the body: Robert "Bobby" Christopher, 56. According to SFGate, "He was found inside what appeared to be a ransacked apartment at 98 Castro St. after someone called San Francisco police at 6:35 p.m."
Well, it's about time. The Castro district -- notorious for being "too body conscious," or whatever the technical term for it is that the spherical gays always toss about, angrily -- played host to a DEA raid on Thursday. According to Lance Williams, who snatches away the "Best Scribe Name" trophy from Jaxon Van Derbeken, the "U.S. Food and Drug Administration agents served search warrants at the Max Muscle store on 16th Street and at the Pacifica home of Maurice Sandoval, who was identified as the owner of a laboratory that markets two heavily advertised supplements called Tren Extreme and Mass Extreme." While the two products are technically legal, two beauty-hating FDA scientists claim that said products "contain two undetectable designer steroids," which prompted yesterday's raid. (Max Muscle, by the way, used to be the nicest little wine and smoke shop before the meatheads took it over, so please excuse our glee.) So sorry, boys. (Read more about it here.)
Under the misguided belief that gays are capable of digestion during Gay Pride weekend, came up with a handy guide to the top five food/drink items for next week's queer festivities. In order of gayness, they are as follows: #5, Sexy Boy sandwich ("thinly sliced ribeye steak and mozzarella sticks") at Ike's Place, 3506 - 16th Street; #4, Lesbionic maki ("white tuna rolled in tempura rice noodle over spinach") at Crazy Sushi, 3232 - 16th Street; #3, Bloody Maria Montez (tequila, chipotle and vodka) at Harvey's, 500 Castro; #2, The Tranny Chaser ("champagne and white peach puree" -- mmm) at QBar, 456 Castro; and #1... well, you'll have to check out the original post to see what gets the top spot. (Har.)
In addition to the meth cloud that hangs above Beck's Motorlodge -- we kid! sort of. but not really. -- Supervisor Bevan Dufty would like to create a pink cloud that would float over the intersection of Market and Castro streets. The idea, according to SF Chronicle, "is recycled from 2000, when artist Christian Werthmann's 'pink cloud' was one of two winning proposals for a city art piece to commemorate the late Harvey Milk, a supervisor and gay rights advocate." (Here's what it would look like.)
A black flag flies over the rainbow flag in the Castro, which was set at half-mast this morning. after the California State Supreme Court ruled to uphold prop 8, the same-sex marriage ban.
Construction on the 17th Street Pedestrian Plaza is wrapping up. So far, the newly tagged temporary public plaza includes plants, concrete benches, and (God willing) loads of sunlight. Here are some images of the plaza, which will remain open for enjoyment until July 11.
The fine folks over at Curbed came across new, new renderings of the planned Upper Market Whole Foods. And it looks a lot like something you might find in the Mission Bay/South Beach neighborhood, only a lot less intriguing. The artisan market/PNP residential-unit spore will be "broken up into three sections, shortest at 45 feet along 14th Street, and higher at Market and Dolores at 85 feet each." Also, there will be lots of private outdoor seating at Market and Dolores, a living wall (which is just another name for potential spider infestations), and rooftop vegetation to "support endangered species such as the San Bruno Elfin and Mission Blue Butterflies." Look for nearby clubs and bars to get cited for making too much noise once the unit opens. Maybe.
In a week or so, the opening of a public space in the Castro (!) will unfold. The small stretch of street where the F-line stops on 17th Street between Hartford and Castro streets will be blocked off from traffic, creating a small spot for passersby. Andrea Aiello, executive director of the Castro Benefits District (CBD), said, "I think that it will provide a place where people can congregate and have a sandwich or a cup of coffee. It will provide an outdoor destination; it's a great people-watching place. I think it will also encourage more foot traffic to the neighborhood."
Tomorrow night, the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society will host a panel discussion on the history of the Castro District at the Metropolitan Community Church at 7 p.m.
Sorry for the late notice, but we just got word: \head over to the Castro between 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. to celebrate Iowa's ruling in favor of equal rights. The official Celebration Rally in SF for Iowa Same-Sex Marriage Ruling say it'll be a seriously fun celebration honoring the Midwest. Rumor has it popcorn will be served -- which, we assume, is all they eat in Iowa -- so this could be the one day of the year many of you will get to digest carbohydrates. (Ack!)
MOM's Pharmacy will be having their grand opening tonight at their new location in the heart of the Castro (4071 18th St, at Castro). In addition to providing their signature tender-loving care to patients with HIV and AIDS, the Castro MOM's will also serve as a community resource center, thanks to a partnership with Under One Roof. The program is at 6:30 p.m. today, followed by a ribbon-cutting officiated by Bevan Dufty at 7:15 p.m. There is also an open house today until 5 p.m. (Sorry for the late notice!)
One of two things happened over at BAR.com: 1) Somebody hacked the interwebs, and posted this casual faux-resignation letter Sunday morning, or 2) news editor Cynthia Laird is peeved. Since Laird is a respected journalist in these parts, very much civic minded about her community, and too overqualified to spritz homosexuals with bronzer, we're going to assume the former.
The GayVN nominations we announced today. What are the GayVN Awards, you ask? They are the Oscars of male homosexual pornography. Up for Best Picture kudos are Ass Cruisin', Best Men Parts 1 & 2, Betrayed, Breakers, Endgame, Grind - Volume 1, Italians and Other Strangers, Paradise Found, The Porne Ultimatum, Return to Fire Island, Rio, Sex Hiker, Skin Deep, To the Last Man, and (our favorite title) Verboten 1 & 2.\
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