We're getting so upset to have to keep writing the same post over and over again -- yet another San Francisco independent bookstore is shutting its doors. This time, it's the not-so-long-ago opened Cody's SF, next to the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, who made it about a year and a half before the news today. Is that retail space cursed or what? The store's last day will be April 20, but the Cody's 4th Street Berkeley store will remain. more ›

The debate rages on about whether Bevan Dufty is right to try and cancel Halloween in the Castro, and what that all means about the future of San Francisco. How do we balance the idea of fun for the city and security for neighborhood residents? As always, you readers impress us with your articulateness, thoughtfulness, and intense dedication to our beloved burg. Thanks, MattyMatt, for bringing up the subject and giving people a place to discuss it. more ›

While the San Francisco Public Library site is up, their search is not! Far be it from us to criticize anyone for the occasional technical bobble. Get well soon, SFPL search! more ›

We've taken to leaving the house -- sometimes for hours at a time -- without a jacket, which can only mean one thing: it's Summer Book Club time. Dude, look at the stipulations: "Small incentive prizes will be awarded to enrolled children who have read for two, four and six hours during the eight weeks of Summer Reading." When we were a kid, we read six hours a day (our "honey, don't you want to go outside?" parents will attest to this). We would clean up at ther SFPL's club! Oh, to be under 13 again. more ›

We don't know if we have a library guardian angel or if our late return repeat offender status has put us in a special class, but we've started getting "courtesy notes" in our inbox when the due dates approach on our checked-out items. Of course, when we get an email from the SFPL we get all excited and assume our online reserves are in, but a reminder to get our stuff in on time is pretty nice, too. more ›

We were so happy to hear that SFist Jackson is using the first SFPL branch we ever used in San Francisco, the North Beach library. He's even reserving books! Yay, Jackson. Meanwhile, SFist Derrick uses our fine local independent bookstores to get his Reads on. That's right, there's room for all sorts here at SFist. more ›

We love those Food Network cookoff challenges! Make a birthday cake for Elvis! Decorate the best gingerbread house! Who can make the tallest ice/pastry sculpture? So we can't wait for Food Network's coverage of the mothership of food contesting -- the biennial $1,000,000 Pillsbury Bake-Off. So Pillsbury picks 100 contestants every two years, to compete in categories like "Wake Up To Breakfast," and "Brand New You" (healthful recipes), and "Dinner Made Simple," among others. The recipes must include at least two designated Pillsbury products, such as Yoplait, El Paso salsa, and Pop-Secret popcorn, among many others. One lucky winner walks away with a million dollars; and other $10,000 prizes will be awarded, including most dairy, and best Latino-influenced. The Bay Area has traditionally done pretty well in the bake-off -- the most famous bake-off winner was the Tunnel of Fudge chocolate bundt cake, made by a San Franciscan, and the first male winner of the contest was from Redwood City (with a macadamia torte). This year, the Bay Area's sending six representatives, including a very pregnant Mountain View cook (making spinach wonton crisps), a 48-year-old San Francisco male painter who's been entering the bakeoff since he was 10 (deviled crab and cheese rolls), and acclaimed food contestor Roxanne Chan from Albany, with a tomato-corn recipe. (Also, a shrimp and rice salad from Windsor, a taco steak pasta from Monterey, and bear claws from San Jose.) The bakeoff takes place from March 19-22 in Orlando, Florida. Go Bay Area cooks! And contestants, you're all just lucky SFist Derrick didn't enter this year -- he'd totally clean your kitchen-timer clocks! more ›

We're drooling after seeing what our fellow 'Fisters are reading this week. We have to admit that food-related are the only books we prefer to buy as opposed to borrow, maybe because we promise ourselves that we will get around to making the mentioned dishes. Not that we ever do. more ›

With the holiday party rush, we're falling behind on our online reserve reading, content instead to learn about ideas for "Great Hair in a Hurry" from Allure (Yes, they're all basically just ponytails, how lame!) We feel nervous, knowing that our time is almost up with some of our books, and that their coveted status prevents us from renewal. If we were smart, we'd just sack up and buy what we're reading from one of our fine local independent bookstores, because what we'll spend in fines quite possibly exceeds the cover price of our books. more ›

This came over the wire from helpful tipster Thomas, who found it on Craigslist:

Need topless model 18-30 to stomp my grapes for tastefull [sic] documentary film. Pay is negotiable. Will require about 2 hours of time. Please send pic and resume.

Looking for one attractive, busty, topless, female poker dealer for guys poker night. Pays $350. Only for 2 hours.. more ›

"I like talking about books" seems like the kind of thing you put into your personal ad, somewhere before "I'm spiritual, but not religious" and after you crop your ex out of your ad's head shot. But it's true (not the spiritual part) -- we like to talk about books, and, even more than that, we like the conversations that books inspire. We've had strangers ask us about library books we were reading, or where we got other books we owned copies of. Reading is a solitatry pursuit, but books bring people together. That's pretty nice. more ›

SFist Mary-Lynn gives us all the lowdown on Blogher, and SFist Rain gets the 'get' with Paula Kamen. more ›

Gavin considering a run for governor? The SF Call closing its doors? Frankly, for us, it's harder to believe that SFist Derrick tossed cucumber and pasta with butter for a dish. Cooking cucumber? The mind boggles. more ›

SFist interviews new contributor Derrick Schneider more ›

It's feast or famine, as we either have a huge pile of books we reserved online, or we have nothing but a Lands' End catalog to keep us occupied on the N. But we know that as soon as we break down and buy something at one of our fine local independent bookstores, a whole bunch of our awaited books will arrive. Is there a "law" (like "Murphy's") for this? more ›

Okay, guess that should read "Wine Connoisseurs," or "Oenophiles" as the Supremes did not rule that food stamps could now be used to purchase Thunderbird, Cisco or Night Train. Instead, they ruled that states like New York, Massachusetts and Michigan could not prohibit direct sales of wines from other states if they allowed such sales for local wineries. You can read coverage in the Chron, the Times, the Globe or the Freep. more ›

We felt uninspired as we shopped at Oakland's 9th Street Farmer's Market on Friday, shivering against the sheets of rain and high winds. But as we chatted with a jacketless worker from Watsonville who hopped about to stay warm, piles of green kohlrabi caught our eye. We've never cooked with this vegetable, so we decided to give it a try. more ›

It seemed like every vendor at Oakland's 9th Street Market was selling sugar snap peas last Friday, and it didn't take us long to cave in to the impulse to buy some. We always look forward to snap peas; they look like little green smiles. It's a bit tedious to remove the stems and the little strings that run down the side, but the sweet flavor and the crunch of the pod as you pop it into your mouth make up for the work. more ›

When we shop at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, we almost always swing by Achadinha's stall to taste some Capricious, the company's popular aged goat cheese. We've long been fans of the nutty, buttery taste and smooth, firm texture of this cheese, and we're not the only ones. The first time Ginger Olsen and Diane Livingston brought Capricious to the American Cheese Society's annual competition, the cheese won Best in Show and Best Aged Goat Cheese. Olsen and Livingston parted ways a couple years back, but Livingston brought the cheese's recipe—and its name—to a partnership with dairy farmers Jim and Donna Pacheco. more ›

We first tasted green garlic at the Chez Panisse Café eight years ago. Gosh, was it really that far back? We were mere toddlers, of course, but we remember the restaurant served it with fresh parsley-flecked pasta topped with black trumpet mushrooms and goat cheese. We liked the way the heady perfume and mild garlicky taste—less harsh than the older bulbs most people know—filled out the dish. We tried to replicate the recipe at the time, but these younger forms of garlic were hard to find. You still only see the purple-streaked plants during springtime farmer's markets, which gives them street cred with California cuisine aficionados. more ›

When we asked about asparagus season, the bustling woman with farmers' hands working the Zuckerman's stand gave us a quick answer, "We're three weeks in with 12 to go." The thin, long wands are still just at one or two stalls in the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, but we're sure they'll be everywhere soon enough. That's fine with us; we love the distinctive green stalks with their grassy taste, and we're happy to pretend that spring's come a little early by cooking this vernal icon. Chop them up, blanch them, and serve them in an omelette, or leave them whole and take advantage of the visual flair they add to any dish. We'll happily eat them, no matter what the ramifications. more ›

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