People & Places >>

• Best Place to Meet Beautiful Women
  Any Social Engagement With the Mayor in Attendance
  It must be a "man in power" thing, or "political prowess," that lures beautiful young women to the likes of Gary Condit, Bill Clinton, and our own Willie Brown. None of the politicians has anything sensual to offer, they all are married, and it is an absolute certainty that these women will be... More >>
• Best View for the Price of a Muni Fare
  The 33 Bus Anyone who has taken the 33 bus knows about The Turn -- that impossibly sharp switchback from Clayton onto Market Street. When the 33 makes that turn, an eerie hush falls over the passengers. They put down their books and newspapers, partly to see if the bus will make the curve, but... More >>
• Best Place to Take Your Lunch Break on a Beautiful But Chilly Day
  The Indoor Public Open Space on Mission and Second Streets
  If you're downtown at lunch hour and the sun is shining but the wind is fierce, head to the public open space at Mission and Second Street. It's a three-story, glass-enclosed indoor plaza with an assortment of benches, tables, and chairs spread across two floors of seating space. There's even... More >>
• Best San Francisco Farce
  Lombard Street's Billing as the "Crookedest Street in the World"
  There is actually another street that is more deserving, and it is also here in our fair city. Sure, it may only have six twisty turns, compared to Lombard's eight, but Vermont Street (between 20th and 22nd streets) can boast curves that are sharper, steeper, and less congested. The views may... More >>
• Best Place for Tourists to Save Their Film on the 49 Mile Drive
  The Stretch of Cesar Chavez Street From Twin Peaks to Interstate 280
  One minute you're winding gently down from Twin Peaks, cruising blissfully through Noe Valley; the next, you're speeding along a drab stretch of Cesar Chavez Street, wondering if the friendly sea gull on the blue-and-white signs has led you astray. "This is a scenic drive?" you're apt to think,... More >>
• Most Moving Garden
  The National AIDS Memorial Grove

  Golden Gate Park, Middle Drive East & Bowling Green Drive

  Even when Golden Gate Park is crawling with kids, frenetic with Frisbees, and alive with residents at play, the AIDS Memorial Grove succeeds as a living monument where people can honor, reflect, remember, and mourn those lost to the disease. Tranquillity and pensiveness set in the minute you... More >>
• Best Street Performer
  Edward Jackson
  Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson ain't got nothing on Edward Jackson, one of the city's most popular street artists and most talented tap dancers. The crowds gathering at Powell and Market aren't just there waiting for the cable car or to get into the... More >>
• Best Place to Get Lost
  Interfaith Labyrinth at Grace Cathedral
  Just after entering this outdoor floor maze of white and gray terrazzo tile, you are led close to your final goal: the scallop-edged circle in the center of the labyrinth. Nirvana, in this case, bears an uncanny resemblance to the ever-elusive Home in a game of Sorry. If you were to cross over... More >>
• Best Historical Locale
  The Embarcadero
  Ever since the Embarcadero Freeway came tumbling down a decade ago, the waterfront has been a pleasant place to stroll, sunbathe, and learn all about San Francisco's rich maritime heritage. Handsome historical markers were installed along the promenade in addition to the palm trees and the... More >>
• Best Poet
  devorah major
  It might seem hard to fill the shoes of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Janice Mirikitani, but devorah major, newly named as San Francisco's third poet laureate, seems up to the challenge. The author of two books of poetry, Traveling Women (co-written with Opal Palmer Adisa) and Street Smarts, and two... More >>
• Best Tour of Chinatown
  Chinatown Community Development Center's Youth-Led Underground Tours
  There are innumerable tours through Chinatown, but if you want an insider's look at the rich and little-known stories of one of the country's most densely populated neighborhoods, join up with a tour led by San Francisco high-schoolers who are part of the Chinatown Community Development Center's... More >>
• Best Park Bench
  Dolores Park
  Taking full advantage of living in a vista-crammed town like San Francisco involves soaking in the scenery every now and then. There's no better place to do that than on the divinely placed bench at the corner of 20th and Church streets. Perched above Dolores Park, it offers sweeping views of... More >>
• Best Place to Impersonate Sarah Jessica Parker
  Cafe Qué Tal
  All laptop owners are -- on some level -- jealous of Carrie Bradshaw, the fictional scribe/protagonist of HBO's hit series Sex and the City, but her sex life has nothing to do with it. We want that coffee-shop window table she's always clicking away at, that perfect spot where good java, a... More >>
• Best Local Version of Machu Picchu
  Batteries Chamberlain, Crosby, Cranston, Marcus Miller, and Boutelle
  There's a haunted quality to the Presidio's decaying coastal bunkers, a twisted, rusty, fog-shrouded Weltschmerz of abandonment and eerie quietude. They were built a century ago to protect the Golden Gate from a succession of encroaching enemies; now grass grows in their cracked armor. The... More >>
• Best Irony in Urban Redevelopment
  Fillmore Street's "Walk of Fame"
  The story of redevelopment in the Fillmore District has been told enough times that it has become our own cautionary tale about the evils of urban renewal. Reduced to its essence, the story goes something like this: Vibrant African-American neighborhood known as "Harlem of the West" is razed in... More >>
• Best Way for the City to Fill Underfed Coffers
  Strategic Towing on Valencia
  Valencia's center-lane parking strip has become such a civic institution that it's only a matter of time before tourists start snapping photos. But when we see potholes on half the streets in town, we can't help but offer the Traffic Department an obvious fund-raising plan: Tow away four of... More >>
• Best Movie Programmer
  Anita Monga
  Everybody loves the Castro Theatre. It regularly wins readers' polls and Best Of awards for its gorgeous space, community spirit, and outstanding programs. But the Castro's heart is clearly in its eclectic, thoughtful mix of films, all of them selected by Anita Monga, programmer since the late... More >>
• Best Place to Clown Around
  Clown Conservatory at the San Francisco Circus Center
  It's the only full-curriculum clown school in North America -- yes, more comprehensive than the famous but recently downsized Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Clown College in Florida. If you want to be a clown, and get the degree to prove it, the Clown Conservatory is the place to go.... More >>
• Best Cult Filmmaker
  Antero Alli
  Calling Antero Alli self-sufficient is an understatement. The Finnish-born writer, director, and playwright makes feature films shot on video that are created completely independently. Whether writing and shooting his self-financed flicks or marketing, editing, and booking screenings at art... More >>
• Best Community Organizer
  Ron Morgan

  Organizing Coordinator, Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center

  Charming Ron Morgan is the staff community organizer at that nexus of Bernal Hill society: the Neighborhood Center. Morgan and his boss, Mauricio Vela, are leading the charge to keep Home Depot from building a store on the old Goodman's site. They say Home Depot will attract pollution and... More >>
• Best District Attorney (2 Comments)
  William H. Langdon
  Elected district attorney of San Francisco in 1905, Langdon took on the corrupt power structure, led by Mayor Eugene Schmitz, who was using the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake as an opportunity to enrich himself. The thieving mayor was in cahoots with a lawyer, Abe Reuf, the first in the long... More >>
• Best New Office Building
  101 Second St. (at Mission)
  Egypt under Cheops, Rome under Cesar Augustus, Mexico under Nezahualcóyotl, and San Francisco under El Rey Dot-Com are all examples of oppressive political regimes that left behind architectural legacies so felicitous it's hard to remember their eras' downsides. In the case of San... More >>
• Best Real Estate Agent
  Linda Harrison
  We've met our share of oily, cutthroat denizens of the real estate world, a universe that can be particularly treacherous in San Francisco, where the competition is even more intense thanks to creative purchasing options like TICs. But Linda Harrison is a different breed of agent. She's an... More >>
• Best Doctor (OB/GYN) (7 Comments)
  Dr. Frederica Lofquist
  When it comes to doctors, San Francisco has plenty of great ones; let's face it, we're in the heart of one of the top medical research communities in the world, right? But Frederica Lofquist manages to stand out even in that kind of company. She has a knack for remembering names and personal... More >>
• Best Live-Work Lofts
  Yerba Buena Lofts
  In San Francisco, Brigadoon by the Sea, the prospect of change has all the appeal of a mudslide. Locals pine for the Victorian days when Third Street stank of slaughterhouses, the piers ached with day-laboring longshoremen, and the western half of the city was covered in sand. As a result, San... More >>
• Best Place to Feel as If You Are in Paris
  Belden Place
  Belden Place will transport you back to the cafe-lined streets of Paris. Located in the Financial District, this narrow alley is lined with three French-inspired cafes and filled with umbrellaed tables, usually occupied by hipsters sipping cappuccino or wine and filling ashtrays. To add to the... More >>
• Best Batterer Betterer
  Hamish Sinclair

  Founder, Manalive

  Wild-haired Scotsman Hamish Sinclair employs the most unseemly of tools -- New Agey, postmodernist-feminist, get-in-touch-with-your-feelings group therapy -- against the most intractable of problems -- male thuggery -- to achieve an altogether startling outcome: apparent success. Sinclair has... More >>
• Second Best Block of Victorians
  1800 Block of Laguna (between Bush and Pine)
  Victorians are the architectural soul of San Francisco, the unifying theme that imbues the city with its unique character and sense of style. Even so, the charms of these Painted Ladies must usually be enjoyed piecemeal. It is rare to find more than a handful side by side; they exist today only... More >>
• Best Hidden Lake
  Mountain Lake
  It's hard to hide anything in a city as compact as San Francisco, but Mountain Lake may yet surprise a few San Franciscans. Tucked away in an obscure southern corner of the Presidio, the lake hides in plain sight, concealed behind bushes from traffic zooming toward the Golden Gate Bridge on Park... More >>
• Four Best Skyscrapers
  Although it's impossible to admire the glass-and-concrete monoliths that have been destroying the city's Mediterranean skyline since the mid-1960s, a few examples of great urban architecture still exist in the canyons of the Financial District. The category means we've had to leave out some of... More >>
• Five Best Ways to Impress Your Date
  You've met the biped of your dreams at the corner laundromat and, wonder of wonders, she's agreed to go out with you this Saturday. Don't blow it! Follow the instructions below and even if you impress your date so much you never see her again, your evening will be a memorable one. All you need... More >>
• Best Mobile Landmarks
  San Francisco is filled with interesting places -- rowdy bars, relaxing parks, and sites that are simply a pleasure to look at. But the city is also blessed with actual human beings who count as must-see attractions in and of themselves. Below, a handy guide to three of our favorites: Real... More >>
• Great Escapes for Lovers
  Love in the Bay Area can be expensive. Fancy dinners out, weekend getaways, private investigators -- these things usually don't come cheap. But there are a few odd gems that couples can enjoy together for not a lot of money. Chapel of the Chimes 4499 Piedmont (at Pleasant Valley),... More >>
• People & Places Readers' Poll
  Best Reason to Love San FranciscoDiversity Most Romantic Spot Twin Peaks Favorite Tourist Attraction Golden Gate Bridge Favorite Place Tourists Don’t Know About The Mission Favorite San Franciscan Willie Brown San Franciscan Closest to Hell Willie Brown Best View Twin Peaks Best City Supervisor... More >>