North of the Panhandle (Nopa) is an unique s.f. 'hood i've explored sparingly as many businesses…read moreoperate only post 5. demographics are somewhere from between geary st. to golden gate park, fillmore st. to USF campus. NOPA is seemingly laid back day when measured by traffic. NOPA becomes lively when most businesses open for the evening. . 1've experienced brenda & meats, soulva, bo bo guys, bi rite market, the mill, 4505 burgers & bbq. meats, et al. the main street is divisadero.

#134/2016 Ok, ok,…read moreok! I'll stop calling everything The Western Addition and succumb to realtor speak and call it "NoPa." Geez. It still makes me chafe a bit. Defined as "North of the Panhandle", it's the neighborhood that extends from the edge of the Panhandle to Alamo Square. Not long ago, it *used to informally be called "Divisadero Depths" (and you were for sorry for anyone who lived here) and now the neighborhood's home to one of the top 10 Food & Wine restaurants, NOPA, as well as hotspots like 4505 Burgers & BBQ, The Mill and other great eateries like Little Star pizza, Little Chihuahua and a bunch of swank retail spots, cool bars, the Independent plus the best nail salon in this 'hood, Q Spa. I'll dust myself off and git with the program. It's NoPa and it's here to stay.

I always think of the Western Addition as this huge part of San Francisco west of Van Ness Avenue…read more In my head, where I live (the Panhandle), Hayes Valley, Anza Vista, Alamo Square, Cathedral Hill, and even Japantown are sub-neighborhoods of the larger Western Addition, kind of like South Beach seems like a part of SOMA, rather than a distinct neighborhood. I know I'm not right, but it is interesting and telling that what used to be the larger Western Addition got carved into these smaller neighborhoods, probably for real-estate purposes--and by "real-estate purposes," I mean racism, because the Western Addition has long had a reputation as a Black neighborhood, and one of the things that the real-estate industry has traditionally done is segregate potential homebuyers by race. You probably know the story. Through the 1950s, the Western Addition was home to many of San Francisco's jazz clubs and to a larger Black community of business- and homeowners. This Black neighborhood was destroyed, like many Black and minority neighborhoods across the country in the mid-twentieth century, by redevelopment. The Central Freeway was rammed through the middle of the neighborhood, and by 1970, more than 10,000 people had been displaced, 60 entire city blocks of homes and businesses having been razed. What replaced those homes were the widened Geary Street (now Geary Boulevard) and the collection of mostly shoddily constructed housing projects that dot the Western Addition today. It's still an interesting neighborhood with a slightly higher Black population than most of the rest of the city (excluding Bayview and Hunters Point, which are losing their Black populations as well), but it is a shell of its former self, especially when it comes to nightlife. It recently lost is Safeway, but there is a new Trader Joe's. The city is also redoing the Buchanan Street Mall, which is the no-cars greenway, including multiple playgrounds, that replaced Buchanan Street between roughly Page and Eddy Streets in the heart of the Western Addition. The blocks and blocks of fenced-in housing projects can feel scary to walk by, especially at night, when the east-west streets in the neighborhood are desolate except for people waiting for the 5-Fulton or 31-Balboa at bus stops. Sadly, there's still more crime here than in surrounding neighborhoods, including drive-by shootings near Jefferson Square Park that killed a child at a sleepover party. The Western Addition is also home to The Fillmore, Kimbell Park, the the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, and quite a few churches. I also think it's funny that it's called the Western Addition even though it's on the eastern side of San Francisco. And its police station, in front of which cars are broken into regularly, is called Northern Station, even though three other police stations are farther north than it, including, again hilariously, Central Station.

I can't even tell you. You've gotta live here to understand…read more update: and goddamnit stop calling it NOPA. NOPA is a restaurant that used to be a laundromat, that's all.

Met here for a networking dinner. Staff was welcoming and polite. Food was delicious and…read moresatisfying. Yummy Gorgonzola and pear salad. Handmade raviolis with amazing bolognese sauce. The waiter said the chef is known for his sauce! The entire entree was superb

In the 70's, when I was in the service, stationed in Sacramento, I often drove down to San…read moreFrancisco for the weekend, staying for about $10 per night in the Montgomery Street Barracks which are set alongside the parade grounds, which have since been converted to The Lodge at the Presidio. I spent many of those days in North Beach, regularly visiting City Lights, where the staff taught me how to choose from amidst the mass of books they offered. RIP founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who managed to squeeze charm and pleasantness into the few minutes we spoke, the one time we met. I'd pick one or two books, then head over to Caffe Trieste, where, in my late teens, I tasted my first espresso and first heard operatic music performed live. I'd spend hours, reading and watching people. Later, when I'd get hungry, I'd walk down to Mario's Cigar Shop for a sandwich, or to Stella Pastry for a sfogliatella or (well, plus) a slice of sacripantina cake. Other times, I'd wander the city, learning about architecture and Chinese food and latter-day hippie culture, but when I was on Columbus Avenue, I stayed put. It was home base, and, for me, a comfort zone.

We visited San Francisco for my birthday recently and were amazed at the improvement one year with…read morethe new mayor has wrought! We were also there in January of 2025, and the staff at the hotel was very excited that the mayor was meeting and engaging with the Asian community in Chinatown for Lunar New Year celebrations! This is a backbone community that not only works, but lives just two blocks away from Union Square. One year later, the downtown is now alive and humming. Hundreds of workers on every kind of transportation imaginable pour into downtown each day. We saw many riding the new electric bikes that are now ubiquitous. People on electric scooters and skateboards, and lots of pedestrians insure that the downtown businesses thrive. We at dinner at Cheesecake Factory in Macy's on Union Square and walked through the square to see the huge lighted Christmas tree and the skaters on the frozen pond. Hundreds of people were there, enjoying the sights and the Christmas market near the square. San Francisco is a town reborn and enjoying the good life!!

This review is for the Annual Tulip day. It's a total joke because you have to wait in many lines…read morejust to get tulips. I went today and was very angry. Poor crowd control and very disorganized. Complained to many different staff associated with the event that it needs improvement and they don't seem to care. This is a very shoddy event no matter if you arrive early or not. If you have elderly family members over the age of 65, it's best to avoid at all costs. Please bring snacks if you have poor health because you will suffer greatly. My mum had a hard time today because she didn't eat anything. It's also very impossible to grab food along the lines because 1. it's overpriced 2. It's very hard to return because the barricades are sealed tight. There needs to be a time in the Tulip day event where people over the age of 65 and their family get first priority. 3 hour wait for a small amount of Tulips, not acceptable. Pigs! The news and social media is lying to you.

Lots of Kids / Familes out for BalBOOA Fright Fest on Balboa Street in the Outer Richmond San…read moreFrancisco, it was nice seeing the involvement of numerous merchants and the ministry Full Life Christian Center.

Balboa Ave is a residential stretch from the end of Turk Street to the ocean. You may find yourself…read morehere if attending films at Balboa Theatre or scoping out an excellent, especially Asian, restaurant. On your way to the ocean, Fulton is faster, but Balboa more interesting if you're not in a hurry. There are stop signs almost every block serving as great traffic calming, & allowing time to check out the area stores & restaurants. The weather can be colder & foggier than east of 10th Avenue, but thanks to global warming there's a lot more sunshine.

Potrero Hill probably only deserves four stars relative to the rest of San Francisco; but many…read morenon-San Franciscans have never heard of Potrero Hill, or if they have, they're old-school sports fans who know that a certain Heisman Trophy-winning domestic abuser and murderer grew up in its rough hillside housing projects before becoming a sports and entertainment superstar, and those people have it only three-quarters correct, so I'm pulling the five-star trigger and laughing all the way to Connecticut Street, because there's no bank on Connecticut Street (that I'm aware of). I love its north side, which is flat. I love its east side, which boasts stunning views of the bay and Downtown San Francisco and a lot more. I love its south side; those decrepit housing projects are falling apart even faster than they used to, but help is on the way in the form of brand-new, physically attractive projects right across the street--I think; even despite their sad state of disrepair, they have better bay views than probably any other two-story housing projects anywhere in the country; plus the non-housing-project part of the south side of the hill is a pretty interesting neighborhood on its own. I love its west side, with the real crookedest street in San Francisco and the beauty of McKinley Square and mysterious buildings everywhere. I love its corner stores, its regular stores, its epic tiny library. I'm less in love with its restaurants, even though I do love me some Goat Hill Pizza and Sunflower and--yes--even Ganim's. Potrero Hill is a real hill. Try climbing even part of it. Those steep streets are worth the spectacular views from random neighborhood spots. It has everything you need. Would I live here? Of course. But I know too much about Texas Street to want to--to *really* want to.

Family-friendly Potrero Hill is an often-sunny, hilly area with bay and skyline views and a mix of…read morecondos and classic Victorians, plus parks with sports facilities. 18th Street has quaint eateries and shops. Nearby are gritty music spots and the historic Anchor Brewing Company, which was recently purchased with Chobani bucks, so re-opening soon I hope. On the neighborhood's eastern edge, industrial-cool Dogpatch, with hip bars and eateries, runs along the waterfront. To live or visit here you need good steep street hiking abilities. Boundaries: 16th st to Caesar Chavez- Hwy 101 to Hwy 280

I want to write about moderately good impressions of Bostonian classmates with distinctive accents…read moreand their shaken-down girlfriends, and plentiful sokh as well as other hidden delectables and gardens and garden boxes and run-down neighborhoods that remind me of non-run-down neighborhoods back when they were more run down. And Joe. And proud old men and this loving community that mourns them and their senseless deaths with renamed streets. And the Kaiser hospital, which I really don't like and try to avoid even though it's much closer to me than the brand-spanking-new one in Mission Bay. But mostly paper streets and walkway streets and stair streets and exotically named streets all laid out in a surprisingly confusing grid, but I solved the puzzle and cracked the case, and I know how to pop out right by Blood Centers of the Pacific, but it closed! And that has made me sad for years even though I hadn't donated blood there since 2010, not long before I had my appendix removed. I forgot about the former forlorn Walgreens (RIP, really?) and its promising but surprisingly dangerous little parking lot. And pimple parking even before the neighborhood parking permit went into effect in 2015. Has it really been ten years? There's a straight-up red or black '80s toilet in an apartment here. I know because I saw photos of it when we were looking for a new place to live after the fire. I didn't think I'd live in Anza Vista then, nor do I now. But that toilet? Not quite chef's kiss, but it was amazing in a way I can't explain. And I would gladly write letters to my uncle and my childhood friend's parents, but they wouldn't understand. It has a view of more than Anza Street, which ironically starts right outside the neighborhood's borders. (Anza begins where O'Farrell ends.) Be sure to visit the Orthodox church and St. Joseph's Avenue. It goes all the way through to Geary!

In the way back machine in the early 2000s, my co-worker moved to a new apartment with two of his…read morefriends and no one could place his address or recognize his neighborhood. "What's Anza Vista?" we probed with a bit of a Mean Girls sneer. Now keep in mind, we sounded haughty while we ourselves lived in a slightly crappy neighborhood known for providing morning crack deals to some of its denizens and 40-caliber nightly entertainment. It's now Hayes Valley. So it was known as "Anza Vista Heights" (and "Divisadero Depths"). Anza Vista is still a little tattered, sitting right above busy workhorse boulevards of Geary and Divisadero yet boasting real estate as expensive as any around town. Most of Anza Vista has rickety '60s architecture but knockout skyline views.

If I lived here I'd probably give this neighborhood a 5 star, cause that would mean I could afford…read moreto live here. There's the Upper Fillmore shopping & restaurant strip. You can tell many clothing stores are super pricey cause there's only 3 shirts hanging on a rack. (Slight exaggeration). The architecture, mostly Victorians, are well kept & beautiful. How do you tell you're in an expensive area?There's non-stop landscaping taking place. Occasionally I find myself huffing & puffing up the crazy steep streets on my way to Sutter Pacific, wishing I had taken an Uber.