If you’re looking for the perfect place to have your Bar or Bat Mitzah, wedding, or other religious service, Montgomery Chapel is the cool place to have it. Located in San Anselmo, about 30 minutes north of San Francisco, it’s a non-denominational chapel adjacent to the San Francisco Theological Seminary. And it’s also a beautiful…
Since 1978, four-course Early Bird Dinners (5-6pm) for just $15.95 and four-course Prix Fixe meals for only $23.00 have helped Christophe Restaurant Francais carve out a nice niche for itself as a country bistro amid a landscape of Italian, Japanese, Thai, Mexican and other ethnic restaurants. I dined here often 15 years ago when I…
With “Poseidon” playing on movie screens across the US, audiences are again intrigued by cruise ship disasters. But the grandmother of them all remains the “H.M.S. Titanic,” which sunk after hitting an iceberg 453 miles southeast of Newfoundland on April 15, 1912. If you want to see a piece of undersea history, visit “Titanic: The…
For several years, I made my own beer at a storefront in my little suburban town. Every other month, I’d get together with my buddies, AKA the “Brews Brothers,” and create a few batches from scratch. I was in heaven. Now, you can have the same experience with wine at Crushpad. Here, you can choose…
The 94th annual Bay to Breakers Race is this Sunday, May 21, starting at 8 am downtown. This 7.8-mile trek begins a few blocks from San Francisco Bay near the Ferry Building, goes up Howard Street, cuts across 9th, crosses Market, then climbs up the Horrendous Hayes Street Hill (where I once saw a man…
Tourism is San Francisco’s biggest money maker. After all, my home town has bridges, hills, cable cars, great weather, terrific hotels, wonderful restaurants, a cosmopolitan atmosphere, scores of high end stores for world class shopping, and two convention halls. In fact, for the 13th straight year and 17th in the past 18, a poll in…
Another SF hotel has changed names and owners. The Park Hyatt at 333 Battery Street adjacent to Embarcadero Center just become Le Meridien Hotel, a well-known luxury brand in France since 1972, throughout Europe and New York. This is the view from the hotel towards the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge. With 24 stories, 360…
You go to a fancy restaurant. The sommelier comes to your table and starts chatting. You don’t know squat about wine and can’t tell the dif between a Cab Sauv, a Merlot or a Sirah. What do you do to look intelligent without revealing your ignorance? This intriguing story in yesterday’s SF Chronicle interviews four…
I might bring my dog Panda to this event. W Hotels in San Francisco and Bark Magazine have invited our four-legged friends to a Pooch Party that will benefit several non-profit organizations. The dogs will enjoy plenty of treats, fresh air and room to stretch their legs. Owners can win lots of great prizes. Plus,…
For years, a restaurant called Bizou occupied the prime SOMA space at 4th & Brannan, a few blocks from the SF Giants’ ball park. Now, it’s been reinvented as COCO5OO, Loretta Keller’s new hotspot offering a warm, modern vibe and bold, stimulating flavors. Chocolate and caramel aren’t just on the menu. They’re on the toned…
Starting June 29, Frontier Airlines will fly the popular LAX-SFO corridor within California with same- day round-trip fares of $138.59. Naturally, its competitors, American and Unitied Airlines are lowering their fares from $488.59. Frontier’s lowest announced fare for this trip with a 21-day advance purchase is $59 each way, with 24 free DirecTV channels, 33…
The secretive, anonymous food critic at the San Francisco Chronicle is immersed in food day and night. Because he only writes a few weekly restaurant reviews about local cuisine, he’s now pleased to be able to share all the other stuff rattling around in his well-seasoned brain — including eateries in New York and other…