I think I hate San Francisco.

[nootje]

If you are solo you might want to eat at the bar where they have an edited menu of wonderful fresh fish dishes, amazing Spring Rolls (I've made a meal of them many times), and always a few surprises as well as excellent cocktails.

That sounds good, and the right thing for me after these long travel days. (Boston, Chicago and SF in three days, leave on Monday, back on Friday in the Netherlands).

 

[Gus]

https://m.sfgate.com/local/article/...edium=cpm&utm_campaign=arb_645#photo-15466387

 

[romafan]

The Ferry Bldg is where Hog Island Oyster is, yes? If you like oysters, and can hit the nice evening/no crowds exacta (may be impossible), that would be a nice way to spend the early part of your night out

 

[nootje]

SF and the slanted door where good, thanks guys. Didn’t have much energy left but it was a nice evening to walk there from union square.

 

[Bounder]

SF and the slanted door where good, thanks guys. Didn’t have much energy left but it was a nice evening to walk there from union square.

I hope you were watching where you stepped.

 

[Gus]

I took BART into downtown SF this week. Each of the downtown stations were clean and without any odor (including the platforms). What a huge difference in the last few months. Glad that they are embracing this new, higher standard.

Unfortunately, Market Street and many of the streets around Union Square reek of urine. But, cleaning up BART is a big start.

 

[nootje]

I hope you were watching where you stepped.

The amount of people on the street was a bit jarring given the overall wealth of the US and SF in particular to be frank.

 

[djblisk]

Anybody been to Big4 in SF.

Also... if you want italian in SF, either Cotogna for high end, or Baonecci for low end. Both superb.

 

[imatlas]

Been to Big4 many times. Probably the best place in the city for a nightcap.

 

[Bounder]

Let's see if we can bring Manton out of lurker mode. There is so much wrong with this I hardly know where to start.

San Francisco wants to ban employee cafeterias

San Francisco is mad because tech employees are eating at free in-house cafeterias instead of availing themselves of the many wonderful lines to stand in that San Francisco has to offer. It seems that the city government expects tech companies to do the work of de-shitholifying San Francisco for them.

Some highlights.

In 2011, the companies were given tax breaks on payroll and stock options with the hope that they would bring jobs and investment to the neighborhood, just a short walk from San Francisco’s City Hall.

Within a few years, a number of companies like Twitter, Square and Uber moved into Mid-Market. But despite initial excitement over the opening of a number of restaurants and shops, the neighborhood has not yet flourished the way many had hoped.

“We gave huge tax breaks to revitalize neighborhoods,” Mr. Peskin said. “But instead, they’re all walled into their tech palaces.”

-----
Open drug use is still common on the streets around Twitter’s headquarters. Some of the big restaurants that moved in have already moved out because they were not drawing enough customers.

Gosh. I can't imagine why.

------

“These tech companies have decided to leave their suburban campuses because their employees want to be in the city, and yet the irony is, they come to the city and are creating isolated, walled-off campuses,” said Aaron Peskin, a city supervisor who is co-sponsoring the bill with Ahsha Safaí. “This is not against these folks, it’s for them. It’s to integrate them into the community.”

How considerate. As always, San Francisco's enlightened public officials have only your best interest at heart.

------

Still, he offered as a caveat, the bigger issue for him is crime, street chaos and the staggering expense of security (there are several security guards at the door and inside). Recently, someone took off their pants in the store and had to be carried out by a guard, only to come back and urinate on a window.

And those poor tech workers, trapped in their "free" cafeterias, are missing all that.

 

[sfo423]

Paging Jane Kim to the courtesy phone...............

Frick (Peskin) & Frack (Safai) are not supes in this wasteland. Frick comes close but 'ya think Jane does not want this battle when she wants to climb the ladder of public office? There will be needed pandering to the deep tech pockets.

I'll remember this when I decide to blindly open a shop selling hypodermic needles down the street from the free needle exchange.

This is such an overreach its absurd.

 

[sugarbutch]

San Francisco appears to have gotten the idea from Mountain View: https://www.eater.com/2018/7/23/17603424/facebook-mountain-view-ca-free-cafeteria-ban

"The Bay Area city of Mountain View is effectively banning Facebook from providing staff with a free cafeteria at a soon-to-open office. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city is banning companies from fully subsidizing meals for their employees, in a move likely designed to help boost small businesses in the city. In other words, the idea is that tech workers who can stay inside for a free lunch aren’t likely to spend their hard-earned dollars at nearby restaurants."

 

[Gus]

This is flawed reasoning. There is no way to boost small business development in any city when you have rents that are so out of line with the fundamental economics of profitable independent retail and food services overhead. The only ones who can afford the rents in SF and NYC now are national chains. I don't think anyone would advocate that we need more of them in either city other than landlords.

 

[sugarbutch]

I generally agree with what you've said, Gus, but SF does have other programs which enshrine below-market rents for some businesses (which likely has other unintended consequences). My guess is that ultimately a very few businesses would benefit but the positive impact would be limited to those businesses. You know, the typical concentrated benefits/diffuse costs which allow a lot of dumb legislation to get passed (at all levels of government).

 

[Omega Male]

Have spent a year in the Bay Area now and still know next to nothing about the city because we live out in Marin. Guess this is a stereotype? Previously lived out in Surrey and knew next to nothing about London, so have prior form. Preferred London for an occasional excursion from a pure bougie perspective, better overall entertainment offering and considerably less fucked-up street scene.