When I peered through the window of Bob's Bar in the Financial District, which is attached to Bob's Steak and Chop House, I was both aghast and... More >>

I don't know why Sixth Street gets such a bad rap. It is indeed Skid Row (one of many), but I never feel nervous or scared walking the stretch by... More >>

I couldn't tell if Fog City Pub and Cafe, located directly across from the Powell Street BART station, was old or new, because when I peered in... More >>

Sometimes I have the urge to pretend I'm in Europe, where you can sit in front of a restaurant with a drink and watch people walk by. On those... More >>

Face it: Democracy is overrated. Anyone who has ever been on the losing side of a 49-51 vote knows that. Still, almost everyone in America, on... More >>

It was inevitable that in a world where most hotel lobbies are stuck in the 1980s — with mauves and light grays and retro Art Deco accents... More >>

When people say that the old dive bars in the city are disappearing, they're half-right. It's not so much that they are going away (they drop off... More >>

I was sitting at Specs' Cafe in North Beach, waiting for my blind date to arrive, and thinking about Christopher Columbus. One thing I've learned... More >>

When you're a kid, you keep hearing the refrain, "Just be yourself!" But this can be puzzling, especially if you have no idea who you are. And... More >>

There's a fine documentary series, The Bachelor, currently airing on television. A single American male with a garden-variety yet manly job, like... More >>