Extinct manzanita saved in the Presidio

A rare Franciscan manzanita long thought to be extinct was transplanted to a protected location in the Presidio this week after it was discovered along the Doyle Drive rebuilding project by a biologist who happened to be driving by. “It’s an incredible find, like Christmas morning when you’re five,” says Mark Frey, an ecologist with [...]

The one that got away

Check out these stunning images of an upscale soul food restaurant called Mississippi Blues designed for the Fillmore Jazz District by hot-shot architect Stanley Saitowitz. “Like the river, a single table meanders through the space — here everyone sits around and eats as a family,” reports Arch Daily. Unfortunately, it’s old news, says Eater SF: [...]

Local emergency teams join forces

A new group called 4 SF Heights combines emergency response teams from Pacific Heights, Lower Pacific Heights, Laurel Heights and Presidio Heights. In the wake of the disaster in Haiti, the group has scheduled monthly practice sessions. “Our goal is to revitalize all four teams and build the critical mass required to respond more confidently [...]

At Vivande’s auction, timeless treasures

At 9 this morning, Vivande opened its doors to the public for the first time in three weeks. At 11, an auctioneer began selling the furnishings and equipment. Most of the two dozen people milling around seemed to be dealers in used restaurant supplies, although there were a few neighbors, too. Back in the kitchen [...]

To Haiti on a medical mission

Neighborhood physician Dr. Eduardo P. Dolhun is with a team of doctors in Haiti treating earthquake victims. Here is a portion of his first dispatch from the front: “Within a matter of minutes we were presented with a wide assortment of severe illnesses, all of them traumatic and now nearly six days old. “The first [...]

A master in our midst

A local gallery is presenting “Theophilus Brown: Nudes,” spotlighting one of the pioneers of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, which helped change the course of art history in the 1950s. Brown, now 90, moved to the neighborhood in 2001. He still works daily in his nearby studio and recently joined a new drawing group. “I [...]

Opening night at Via Veneto

FIRST PERSON | Andre Bolaffi It was a Friday night in January 1990, exactly 20 years ago. We had been in our new home on Bush Street for five years. My wife Janice suggested we walk up Fillmore to the Clay Theatre to see a French film, “Claudine-Claudel,” about Rodin, his work and his mistress. [...]

The stealth candidate

By Chris Barnett It was opening night at Uptown Joe’s, the new neighborhood clubhouse at the Majestic Hotel, and into the gold-and-white dining room strode assistant U.S. attorney Abraham Simmons. Heads turned, and not only because he had four massive briefing books under his arms. “I’m going for it,” he announced to his dinner companion. [...]

Brooks Brothers spinoff approved

They hoped to be welcoming holiday shoppers to their new store on Fillmore Street, but instead staffers from Black Fleece—a new brand from Brooks Brothers—were at City Hall December 17 seeking permission to proceed. Because it is part of the Brooks Brothers chain, the opening was delayed by the city’s formula retail ordinance, which requires [...]

At Vivande, the last supper

Suddenly, although perhaps not for them, the owners of Vivande decided at the end of the year to close the restaurant. After 29 years at 2125 Fillmore, Vivande served its final meal at dinner on New Year’s Eve. “The decision to close Vivande is based on several factors,” said co-owner Lisa Middione, “but the chief [...]