East Bay Express

Blind Spot: A Motorcycle Death Raises Unanswerable Questions

Salvatore Cordileone: Gay Rights Advocates Will Protest Archbishop-Elect Installation Mass

Next Thursday, Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone will be installed as the San Francisco Archdiocese's Archbishop. Over the course of his career -- which began at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Calexico, a border town 122 miles east of San Diego, with a population that's 97 percent Latino -- Cord ... More >>

Motown Imposter Alan Young Accused of Trotting Out Old Con Act

Back in 2010, local cops caught longtime con man Alan Young's well-worn act. In October of that year, Young was apprehended after a series of cons in which he portrayed himself as Motown singer/songwriter Lamont Dozier, and managed to separate money and goods from those charmed by his anecdotes. It ... More >>

Salvatore Cordileone, San Francisco's New Archbishop, Helped Create Prop. 8

The Vatican today named Salvatore Cordileone, one of the creators of California's notorious Proposition 8, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, a jurisdiction that spans from Hawaii to Salt Lake City, Utah. Cordileone, bishop of the Oakland Diocese since 2009, will replace ... More >>

Vegan Porn, Vegan Lobster Bisque, and Vegan Michelle Pfeiffer!

​In piggy news, grocery chain Kroger AND New Jersey are both giving gestation crates the boot! Huzzah! Obviously this is an excellent time to make a joke at New Jersey's expense but I'm not going to because Jersey is actually my third favorite state. For all you Dangerous Minds fans, which I'm pr ... More >>

Fire, Not Obama Crackdown, Shuts Mission Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Prior to the four-alarm fire next door, the coffee shop behind the nameless awning and signless storefront at 208 Valencia St. was notable not for what was behind the white door opposite the barista -- a pot club -- but for the dispensary's flaunting of federal law.Exactly how 208 Valencia Caregiver ... More >>

SF Weekly Food Critic Jonathan Kauffman Is Moving On

Here's some bittersweet news for anyone who has vicariously savored the San Francisco meals Jonathan Kauffman captures in the exacting, inventive prose of his weekly review column. After two years of serving as SF Weekly's lead food critic and writer, Kauffman is moving on to a new gig as the S.F. e ... More >>

Examiner Hasn't Bought Guardian -- Yet

Earlier today, the East Bay Express broke the news that the owners of the San Francisco Examiner have bought the San Francisco Bay Guardian. It turns out that's not quite true -- but may be soon. Tim Redmond, the Guardian's executive editor, tells us that his paper has been looking to sell for a cou ... More >>

Oakland Electronic Label West in Dust Drops Debut Compilation, Yalls Play Free Tonight

Only days after a party celebrating new local indie-electronic imprint Lavish Habits, there's another new Bay Area outfit making itself known: West in Dust is an Oakland record label started by producer Dave Reep (of Elephant and Castle) and Glenn Jackson (of James & Evander) that intends to focus ... More >>

James Beard Finalists Announced Today: Here Are the Locals

​Today, the James Beard Foundation announces the finalists for both its restaurant, book, and journalism awards, often called the "Oscars" of the food world. (Semifinalists for the 2012 restaurant awards were announced on February 21). The foundation is tweeting out the results as we type, so SFoo ... More >>

Name Check: How Does Your Restaurant Fare on Google?

​Newspapers and blogs aren't the only businesses that need to think about search engine optimization. The East Bay Express has taken it upon itself to demand that restaurants pick SEO-friendly names as well. Not long after the paper called out certain bands for being un-Googleable (have you ever t ... More >>

Newspaper Guild Blasts Mayor Jean Quan Over Arrest of Reporters at Occupy Oakland

​Plenty of people are unhappy all around about what happened in downtown Oakland Saturday evening -- journalists included. Hundreds of police in riot gear descended on a planned Occupy Oakland rally over the weekend, which escalated into another violent scene where more than 400 people were arrest ... More >>

Oakland, Epicenter of the Taco Truck Scene, Finally Lets Food Trucks Move Downtown

Lydia Chow/FlickrMore food truck gatherings like this may be coming to downtown Oakland.​Oakland's International Boulevard has been the heart of the Bay Area's food truck scene for decades -- thanks to the benevolent (even relaxed) oversight from the city, the Fruitvale neighborhood has become the ... More >>

Music Links: Drake and Weezy in the Bay, Loud Talkers at Concerts, and More

Drake hangin' with Mistah FAB on the set of his video shoot in Oakland. Photo via SoulCulture.​ So, Drake and Lil Wayne were in the Bay Area last weekend, shooting a video for "The Motto." [East Bay Express] A worthy screed about awful loud talkers during a Weakerthans show at the Independent ... More >>

A Talk About the Bay Area's Food Scene

{Guerrilla Futures | Jason Testers}​What: The Bay Citizen & The Booksmith Culture Talks: The Bay Area's Food Scene Where: Madrone Studios, 1317 15th St. (at Folsom). When: Tonight! Nov. 17, 7 p.m. Cost: $15 door, $10 before, and free for Bay Citizen members The rundown: The foodie realm ex ... More >>

Music Links: Is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Getting Too Big?

Is Hardly Strictly getting too big for its own good? [SF Gate] "Employees must carve 'Slayer' into forearms before returning to work." [Uptown Almanac]

Screw Authenticity: Asian Food in America

Lummmy/FlickrShould Americans even be calling pad thai "Thai" at this point?​This week, Gilt Taste is running a fantastic series about Asian food in America -- or rather, Asian American food. The series led with an article by former SFoodie editor (and current East Bay Express critic) John Birdsal ... More >>

Music Links: Rock Make This Saturday, How to Think About Thievery Corporation, and More

S.F. rapper DaVinci's Feast or Famine EP. Even Pitchfork likes it.​ Thievery Corporation refuses to be pigeonholed. Just call the duo's work baby-making music. [SF Gate] Everything you need to know about Saturday's free, all-ages Mission street music festival, Rock Make. [The Bay Bridged]

The Chez Panisse 40th Anniversary Tributes Are Rolling In

marioanima/FlickrThe sign for Chez Panisse should read: All hunger ye who enter here.​August 28 marks the 40th birthday of Chez Panisse, as you've probably been hearing. Alice Waters has been redecorating her restaurant with old menus and holding commemorative dinners galore, and the newspaper st ... More >>

Urban Gardens Are Hot, but What About Urban Pollution?

Oakland, like San Francisco before it, is rushing to accommodate urban gardeners by revising its regulations to allow people to sell produce they grow in the city. There's one catch, says East Bay Express's Nate Seltenrich: Much of the soil in West Oakland is contaminated with dangerous levels of le ... More >>

The Ritz Readies for Change, and Dumplings & Buns Pre-opening Bites

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. The Ritz is puttin' on a new name. Inside Scoop reports The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton is set to shutter on Sept. 15, after it opened 20 years ago with Gary Danko at the helm. Chef Ron Siegel will st ... More >>

These San Francisco Bars Are Streaming Online Footage of You Getting Drunk

Courtesy of the East Bay Express​The East Bay Express had an excellent and eye-opening item this week about an iPhone app called BarSpace. According to Express writer Ellen Cushing:Founded by a handful of Sonoma County entrepreneurs, the app, BarSpace, and its related Website, BarSpace.tv, employ ... More >>

Music Links: Debunking the Kreayshawn Myth, Battlehooch Live, A B & the Sea Pics, and More

Battlehooch will presumably have a larger performance space than its tour van tonight.​ Is there truth to the Kreayshawn myth? [East Bay Express] Battlehooch has a new live record -- but the only way to get it is to go to the show tonight! [The Bay Bridged]

Goodbye to Shirley Fong-Torres, Fernet Branca Gets Its Own Music Video

​Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media. Wok WizShirley Fong-Torres.​Goodbye, Shirley. I flipped open my computer this morning to learn some sad news: Shirley Fong-Torres, author of The Woman Who Ate Chinatown and owner o ... More >>

Jonathan Kauffman: Remapping the city, one memorable dish at a time