Closing Time for Pizza Express on Cortland?

/ Todd_Lappin / 19 Comments

Reader Angel (aka @TheAnorexicSumo) snapped this photo for us; it’s a property listing for 919-921 Cortland, advertising both the residential unit upstairs and the restaurant space downstair, with a “month-to-month lease.” (Online listing here.) Thing is, however… that restaurant space is currently occupied by Pizza Express. So does that mean Pizza Express will soon face extinction?

If so, alas, I can only shrug indifferently. The folks at Pizza Express are friendly and the vibe inside is old skool, but in my taste tests the pizza itself has been undistinguished — with overinflated dough and underflavored sauce. Others may differ, of course, but I grew up in New Jersey, so take that for what you will.

PHOTO: TheAnorexicSumo

The Yoga of Bernal: Drive. Slow Down. Wave. Yield. Connect.

/ Todd_Lappin / 16 Comments

No, After You

Andrea Ferretti moved to Bernal Heights last year, and she’s noticed that living here has had an enlightening influence upon her approach to daily life. She traces the root of that experience to the ritual that take place when two cars try to pass one another on one of Bernal’s tiny, narrow streets. Andrea calls this “The Yoga of Bernal”:

Bernal marches to its own drummer and the pace of that drummer is verrry slow. When I first moved there and I would drive home from work, I found myself exasperated as soon I reached Bernal. I would be in fast-twitch, downtown mode, eager to get home when suddenly I’d be halfway down a steep, narrow hill nose to nose with a driver coming the other direction. One of us would have to awkwardly back up or pull into a driveway to let the other pass.

Then one day something shifted. I noticed the rhythm to driving in Bernal: If you see another driver coming toward you in the distance, you pull over to the right—this is easy to do once you reach a small intersection—and it allows you smoothly weave around each other in a sort of dance. You do this over and over again as you drive through the neighborhood—either you choose to yield or the other car does— and it works out perfectly. When I clicked into this simple Bernal dance I felt like I’d finally arrived as a local. Sure, you have to slow down a bit, you have to give your neighbor driver a friendly wave, and you have to be willing to yield. But that’s all part of what living in Bernal is all about. Slowing down, giving a wave, yielding when it’s necessary.

PHOTO: “No, After You!” by Telstar Logistics

Photos of Finches (and That Mysterious Giant Shrub)

/ Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

House finches closeup (11 Aug 11)

I love this photo, which was taken by Ed Brownson and submitted via (hint! hint! hint!) the Bernalwood Flickr group. The birds are house finches, the place was Bernal Hill, the date was August 11, and the weather was — surprise! — kind of foggy.

Meanwhile, in another one of his shots, Ed snapped a wider angle on the woody shrub where the finches were hanging out. Perhaps you’ll recognize the location; it sits on the eastern slope of Bernal Heights Park, facing downtown to the north. I’ve always wondered about that shrub/tree thingy… it’s so distinctive. Any of Bernalwood’s armchair botanists know more about it? What kind of tree/shrub thingy is it??

UPDATE: For ye plant-sleuths, here’s a more clear perspective on the mystery shrub, showing both its full shape and location.

Lone Tree

PHOTOS: Finches, Ed Brownson. Mysterious shrub, Telstar Logistics

A Vision of the Future to Make NIMBY Heads Explode

/ Todd_Lappin / 27 Comments

San Francisco: Mission Freeway (1948)

If you were impressed by the amount of NIMBY energy expended to stop the installation of new cellular antenna towers and Smart Meters, just try to wrap your head around the fury that would be directed toward this proposed project from 1948.

The basic plan was very simple: Along the axis of the Bernal Heights segment of Mission Street, erect a combination elevated freeway and public transit rail line. The incomparable Eric Fischer tracked down this alternate-universe vision of the future, and he explains:

Looking northeast toward Cortland and what would now be called 30th Street BART, between Mission and Coleridge, from the 1948 Transportation Plan for San Francisco.

Yup, that’s Cortland, shooting uphill near the top right corner of the image. This may not have been an attractive plan, or even a desirable one, but on the upside we would have gotten our own eponymous train station out of the deal. Notice:

IMAGES: via Eric Fisher

A Very Luscious, Very Brief Film About Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Antonio Abadia recently had one of those “OMG! I just discovered Bernal Heights!” moments, so he made a (very) short film about it.

I went to explore I bit around my neighborhood, and I find out that just about 10min biking there is cool park called Bernal Heights where you can see such a nice view of San Francisco.

His video is swell, even though it feels like the opening montage for an entire, luscious film about Bernal… which, alas, it isn’t. Yet.

Listen to Tia Harrison from Avedano’s on KQED’s Forum

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

More media coverage for another one of our Bernalwood celebrities: Tia Harrison from Avedano’s Meat Market on Cortland was a guest on KQED’s Forum radio program this morning, talking about “Sustainable Meat and the Art of Butchery.” If you missed it, you can listen to the program right now via our spiffy little audio player:

PHOTO: Tia Harrison of Avedanos, by Claudine

How to Navigate the Cesar Chavez “Big Dig”

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Chavez Big Dig

Chavez Big Dig

And so it begins. Construction started recently on an extensive new project to replace the main sewer line that runs beneath Cesar Chavez Boulevard between Guerrero Street and the US 101 Hairball interchange. Along the way, Chavez will also get a major remodel, transforming it into a tree-lined, pedestrian- and bike-friendly thoroughfare that will look kind of, sort of, pretty much like that new stretch of Ocatvia Boulevard that connects Hayes Valley to Market Street.

It will take time, but remember this mantra: Infrastructure Is Sexy. When the project is done, we’ll not only have a dashingly handsome new sewer main, but Chavez will also look more happy and more better. Between then and now, however, it will be a dirty, traffic-snarled mess. Thankfully, our next-door neighbors at  Noe Valley SF have pulled together a handy overview of the project, and what to expect along the way. They’ve kindly allowed us to republish it here, to facilitate your long-range strategic planning:

The sewer work is scheduled to begin in late June, starting at Hampshire and working west. The construction crews will work on three- or four-block chunks at a time. These blocks will have no parking during the work, which will involve digging a trench 10 to 13 feet wide to accommodate the 72 to 84-inch-diameter pipes being installed.

In addition, on the south side of Cesar Chavez, the existing pipes will be relined. Workers will need to block traffic for this as well.

From Hampshire to Treat, the trench is expected to be closer to the north side of the street; west of Treat, the trench is expected to be closer to the middle of the street. Two travel lanes in each direction will be maintained on Cesar Chavez throughout the project, but the lanes will move according to where the trench is. The existing three lanes of traffic west of the project will be gradually merged into two lanes in the construction area.

For the crossing of Mission Street, workers will avoid digging a trench to minimize disruption to Muni and BART service. Instead, they will dig two pits, one each at Capp and Bartlett, and install the pipe with a trenchless method.

In addition to Cesar Chavez, sewer construction work will take place on the following streets in the area as part of this project:
* Harrison: from Cesar Chavez to 26th
* Valencia: from Cesar Chavez to Mission
* Fair: from Mission to Coleridge
* Coleridge: from Fair to Coso
* Coso at Coleridge

Each block should take five to six weeks, and the first large segment from Hampshire to Folsom should take about nine to 10 months. When each three-block chunk is completed and reopened, the street will be striped according to the new streetscape striping, with parking lanes, bike lanes, two car travel lanes in each direction, and turn pockets or turn restrictions as outlined in the approved plan. As part of the streetscape improvements, the greening, repaving, and median work won’t begin until the sewer work reaches Folsom, about nine months after it begins.

The sewer work on Cesar Chavez would take 15 to 16 months, and the streetscape work another nine months, totaling about two years. Work hours will be Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm, with some possible weekend work. City officials emphasized that residents will have local access, and, on the occasions when driveways must be blocked, the contractors will contact households individually to work with them on solutions.

Notices that will be distributed before the project starts will include a 24-hour number for questions and complaints. The city will conduct meetings […] every three or four months to update and obtain feedback from the community.

Alex Murillo of the DPW Office of Communications and Public Affairs will be the contact person for the project, and he gave out his office phone number (415/437-7009) and cell number (415/627-8106). Brave man! He can be reached at Alex.M.Murillo@sfdpw.org. The project is also up on the DPW website: http://www.sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1166.

The project manager for the streetscape aspect is Kris Opbroek, who can be reached atKris.Opbroek@sfdpw.org or 415/558-4045.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Into the Skies with the Bernalwood Air Force

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Above California

Tidal Flats

Terrain Below

Above Suburbia

Did you know that Bernal Heights has an air force? We do! Happily, it’s not the militarized sort — at least not yet. (Take note, uppity La Lengua separatists!) There are several pilots who live in the ‘Wood, and they take to the skies when the view from atop Bernal Hill just isn’t high enough.

I went flying with one Bernal aviator last weekend; a gentleman whom I met via this blog. Wing Commander Fiid lives in South Bernal, and after driving down to Palo Alto Airport, we took off in a cozy Cessna 172, bound for the Central Valley town of Willows, about 170 miles north.

Cessna at Palo Alto

Here’s Wing Commander Fiid, confirming our flight path with BERSAC (Bernalwood Strategic Air Command):

Mr. Williams

Alas, we had to bypass Bernal Heights itself, as our lovely neighborhood was covered in a thick and unphotogenic blanket of fog. So instead, our flightpath took us to the east, along I-680, where we looked eye-to-eye with Mt. Diablo:

Mount Diablo

Then we circled a few times over the mothball fleet at Suisun Bay, capturing some great angles on the battleship USS Iowa:

Mothball Fleet

Mothball Fleet

Luckily, other Bernal aeronauts have swooped over the neighborhood on days when the skies were more cooperative. Here are some photos taken by aerial photographer and Bernal resident Jon Hope that capture the scene above our eastern frontier, looking north from Cortland:

Here’s an intimate portrait of the giant bald spot atop the Lowe’s store on Bayshore. “Rogaine on Aisle Six!!”

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics and John Hope

A Glorious Moment to Warm a Fog-Chilled Soul

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Bernal Heights Fog With Sunset

The weather for the last few days has been an overcast soup. That can be a downer at times, which is all the more reason why it’s important to appreciate those moments of grandeur that occur when fog meets sun and a crazy cosmic swirling dance ensues. Jeff Rueppel captured one such moment on Bernal Hill last week:

Eleven years ago, give or take a day I moved to San Francisco. A couple of years in Colorado and travels else where, it’s been my home since then. One of the most amazing things most about this place is the fog. Other places have clouds, or weather if you want, but I haven’t been anywhere else with fog like San Francisco. In the summer when it comes in from the Pacific and crawls over Twin peaks it’s something different. Almost alive, it pushes it’s way into the city through valleys and over the Golden Gate. I’ve always wanted to catch a photo of it doing it’s thing over the city just when the sun gets behind it and brings it to life. Cassi’s dog and I hiked up here tonight with a pack of cameras and fought though the cold wind for 15 minutes to try and make photos. We got at least one I like.

Fantastic photo. Do yourself a favor and view it large!

PHOTO: Jeff Rueppel

TV Miniseries Profiles Grime, Bernal’s Celebrity Tattoo Artist

/ Todd_Lappin

Bernalwood is home to many stars and celebrities, and one of them is the subject of a new TV miniseries, with the first episode airing tomorrow night. He goes by the name of Grime, and he’s a tattoo artist who works out of the Skull and Sword tattoo studio on Cesar Chavez at Mission. Grime is kinda famous in the tattoo scene, and now the VICE network is featuring him in three episodes of their “Tattoo Age” show.

If you want to watch, don’t bother looking on Comcast — you won’t find it there. But you will find it on the Web, if you tune your browser to this frequency. The first episode airs August 10, with the next two coming on August 17 and August 24. Here’s the trailer:

PHOTO: Top, Vice TV. Below, Grime, photographed by Hussein Katz via Inked Magazine

Anticool Bernal Driving Machine Visits the Secret Workshop of Anticool Bernal Auto Racing Team

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Electric Garage

It’s like when Batman meeting Robin. When Bonnie met Clyde. When Peanut butter met chocolate. Indeed, the photo above captures the scene that transpired when Bernal’s most anticool driving machine joined forces with Bernal’s most anticool racing team.

The backstory: That 1970s-vintage electric car Comuta-Car that we talked about a few days ago desperately needs of some brake work. And who better to accept that challenge than the those fatherly gearheads from Bernal Dads Racing? So one night this week, the Comuta-Car popped in for inspection at the Dads’ top secret race-prep automotive workshop.

Here we see Comuta-Car owner James Nestor offering the ritual six-pack to the Dads in exchange for their consideration and services:

Electric Garage

Here’s a rakish view of the Comuta-Car from the front. Notice the completely nonfunctional air scoop nostril between the headlights! Sooooooooo antisexy!

Electric Garage

For the anatomically curious, here is a view of a few (but not all) of the Comuta-Car’s batteries, and its electric motor (visible in the center), all revealed beneath the cabin bench seat:

Electric Garage

It’s all perfectly futuristic, don’t you think?

Electric Garage

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics