Best of Daytime A+E 2007

No, it’s not your imagination. The grass really is greener here. The sky is bluer. The people are healthier. No wonder we love to wake up in the city that never sleeps (in). Here are our favorite ways to embrace the day.

Best Picnic Spot
The ultimate picnic combines elements of both wilderness and civilization, and that’s just what you’ll find at Sutro Heights Park, on a cliff high above the Great Highway at the outer edge of the Richmond. Park on 48th Street and enter the flat, grassy grounds past towering palm and eucalyptus trees. There’s plenty of either sun or shade to choose from, a smattering of picnic tables, benches where you can look out all the way to Pacifica, the remains of the raised stone terrace Adolf Sutro built for his house (which used to sit here) and even a statue of the Greek goddess Diana. Ah, nature. Sutro Heights Park Point Lobos Avenue and 48th Street
Best Way to Play Ball
Post-childhood, the fair sport of softball is enjoyed in only one of two ways: randomly, when you are thrown together with colleagues onto a company team, or consciously, when you go out and make the team that suits you best. That’s why we love the SF Adult Municipal Softball League. Individual players of fast and slow pitch can find each other through the league website’s message boards, and whole teams can sign up online: 40-plus, gay and lesbian, you name it. Teams play at fields all over the city—the Marina’s Moscone Field and Potrero Hill’s Jackson Playground are favorites because of their proximity to post-ninth watering holes.
Best Little Black Book
City guides are everywhere these days, but the unique thing about our favorite is that it’s written for people actually living in the city. Between the plain black covers of the new Not For Tourists Guide to San Francisco lie neighborhood maps showcasing practical information such as the location of libraries, banks, pharmacies and liquor stores, plus whole sections devoted solely to transit, parks and sports. Whether you need a sushi joint or an all-night copy shop, it’s all there in one place. Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda
Best Above-the-Radar Park
Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda At the top of Bernal Hill sits Bernal Heights Park, a 39-acre nature area laced with paved and unpaved trails leading to stunning 360-degree views of the city and bay. On the steep walk uphill, you’ll pass scads of wildflowers and lots of dogs—since Bernal is also an off-leash dog park (for now, at least). If it’s a weekday, you may well be the only person there. And its location couldn’t be more ideal; exit the park, walk down the hill and you’re on Cortland. Bernal Heights Park Folsom Street and Bernal Heights Boulevard
Best Kiddie Fantasy
It is a fact that all children at some point dream of riding in a fire engine. For the past 22 years, Robert and Marilyn Katzman have offered kids a chance to make that dream come true with their Fire Engine Tours and Adventures. Hop aboard the Big Red Shiny Mack Fire Engine at the Cannery, near Fisherman’s Wharf, and tour across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and Fort Baker while singing songs about your red chariot and listening to trivia about the city.
Best Hidden Bookstore
The key word when it comes to bookstore browsing is cozy, wouldn’t you agree? That’s why Bird & Beckett Books & Records is so darn perfect: on a charming street in Glen Park, stacked full of not just new and used books but also lovingly worn jazz and classical LPs, B&B is exactly where you want to be on a foggy Saturday afternoon, leafing through everything from the Noe Valley Voice to the Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal to the Paris Review. Bird & Beckett Books & Records 2788 Diamond St., 415-586-3733
Best Tourist Overhaul
If your last close encounter with Alcatraz was watching The Rock on TNT, maybe it’s time to make like a tourist this summer and take a ferry out to the newly renovated (to the tune of $35 million) facility. Upgrades include a new audio tour featuring interviews with former inmates and special sound effects, and a walk through the restored Alcatraz Gardens, where you’ll see some of the city’s best-kept roses, believe it or not. Al Capone should have been a horticulture enthusiast.
Best Outdoor Workout
Practically anytime you walk in SF, you’re getting a workout. But walking—or jogging or sprinting—the Lyon Street Steps in Cow Hollow is guaranteed to do for your heart and lungs what adoption did for Angelina Jolie’s bad-girl image. Come early evening, join the myriad neighborhoodies going up and down (and up and down) the 288 steps, often passing by brides and families posing for photos within its scenic sculpted gardens. Your reward at the top is a charming view of the Marina and Bay—not to mention a longer life and a nicer butt. Lyon Street Steps Lyon Street between Green and Broadway Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda
Best Personal Trainer
We heard from so many fans of Jeremy Cheung that we decided we had to try him out for ourselves. They were right: Honed at the National Academy of Sports Medicine, Cheung’s no-nonsense approach to fitness goes deep. During your 50-minute sessions, you will stretch, do slow power movements and hold core-strengthening poses that look so deceptively simple, you may wonder why you’re sweating and breathing so hard—and why you’re so sore the next day. The answer is efficiency. Cheung makes sure to change things up so you don’t plateau or get bored, and his stellar physique is matched by humility and a great sense of humor. And yes, as a matter of fact, he is single.
Best Way to Get a Hobby
If, like us, you now regret snoozing through home-ec class, you can make up for it at Craft Gym in Lower Nob Hill. Started nearly three years ago, the studio has everything you need for a thorough DIY workout. Whether you sign up for workshops, private lessons or general studio time, they provide the instruction, supplies and equipment; all you have to do is show up ready to tone your knowledge of sewing, knitting, ceramics, metals, paper, wood and textiles. Craft Gym1452 Bush St., 415-702-5700
Best Lifesaver for Moms
It takes a virtual village to raise a child, and whether you’re interested in finding a playgroup, help for postpartum depression or a few handy cooking lessons (now that chilled vodka and leftover Thai no longer suffice), the best virtual village in town is Golden Gate Mothers Group, which connects you to a network of 2,000 local moms for support and advice. More than a decade old, GGMG is a volunteer organization that sponsors events and activities for parents (think CPR training and informative lectures) and kids (think gymnastics and berry picking).
Best Icon
No, not the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, or the sleekly whimsical Transamerica Pyramid, or the Art Deco Coit Tower topping Telegraph Hill like a wedding cake. For landmarks, nothing beats Sutro Tower, the 977-foot behemoth that bears the honor of tallest structure in the city. Charged with 25,000 volts of electricity for the 25 broadcast stations that use it, its menacing shape visible from nearly everywhere in the Bay, Sutro sits dead center in SF, splitting the sunny side from the seaborne side. And when the fog rolls in and tumbles down Twin Peaks, concealing Sutro’s bottom half, the top looks exactly like a ghost ship sailing in an ocean of mist. No bridge can beat that. Sutro Tower Palo Alto Avenue and Marview Way Photo Credits: Patrick Siemer
Best Way to be a Survivor
We know how it is—you want to prepare for the next big earthquake, you really do. Somewhere on your Daytimer you’ve got a list of the supplies you need to gather and keep in your house and office and car—bottled water, vacuum-packed food, blankets. But you’re just too busy to spend an entire weekend collecting these things. Enter the Bay Area Red Cross Shop, where you can get everything from first-aid kits that fit in the palm of your hand to mini solar-hybrid generators to 20-person disaster kits. Translation: no more excuses. Bay Area Red Cross Shop 85 Second St., 8th floor, 415-427-8000
Best Success Story
Talk about the best of San Francisco: The Mission-based Women’s Initiative takes two of SF’s finest personality traits—social liberalism and entrepreneurship—and combines them to help low-income women start their own small businesses by providing training, support and loans. In the past decade, its graduates have created more than 1,000 companies and increased their median incomes by an average of 85 percent. From preschools to catering companies to clothing boutiques to chiropractic offices, many of the city’s businesses owe their existence to a woman with a dream—and the organization that helped her nurture it.
Most Spacious Doggie Drop-Off
Photo Credits: courtesy of Pet Camp San Francisco is not a hard place to find care for your pet while you’re trekking through the Andes; you have your choice of everything from a pet-sitter on Craigslist to a pet hotel with private suites. But what we love about Pet Camp is the extra space the dogs get to roam in—in many cases more room than they’ve probably got at home: 6,000 square feet, to be exact. With that kind of play area, your vacation just became Fido’s as well.
Best Place to Propose
Everyone knows that a little shot of adrenaline does wonders for romance, so when it’s time for the most romantic moment of your life, why not do it in a small, single-engine plane as you gaze down on the skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge? San Francisco Seaplane Tours take off from its base in Sausalito and circle over such landmarks as Mount Tam, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Golden Gate before coming back around and landing on the water. They’ll even bring the Champagne. If that doesn’t get you to yes, nothing will.
Best Pilates Teacher
Upon walking into Mercury Fitness in Cow Hollow, expect to see the nightclub version of a Pilates studio: Low lighting that beefs up musculature with shadow definition, bowls of healthy bar snacks (usually unsalted almonds) and one lean, mean, Spandex-clad hostess named Lara Hudson, a nationally acclaimed Pilates instructor, magazine cover girl and star of four workout videos (most recently, Slim, Strong & Firm). After just one of Hudson’s reformer classes, during which the 35-year-old former acrobatic dancer will guide you through a challenging series of core-fortifying exercises, you’ll feel as if you’ve been drawn and quartered, or as Hudson says, “your dishes are done.” That’s a good thing. Mercury Fitness 2904 Laguna St., 415-567-9009
Best Home-Buying Resource
Sorting your way through the unwaveringly hot SF real-estate market can be tricky. That’s why it’s nice to get a little help from your friends and neighbors. Alongside features that let you search for homes based on price, nearby school performance and proximity to public transit, Zip Realty’s website boasts a “client ratings” section, where users can post reviews and comments about homes on the market. Clients can rate homes on a scale from one to five based on curb appeal, interior, quality of neighborhood and more. That’s good enough to score a five in our book.
Best Baseball Overdose
SF loves its baseball, and when the All-Star Game returns here next month for the first time in 23 years, the fans will be out in full force for a full week of activities, including the Home Run Derby on July 9 and the big game itself on the 10th. All-Star Week kicks off at Moscone Center July 6 with the All-Star FanFest, where you can score a big-league autograph, barter for a Willie Mays card, hit a homer off a virtual Barry Zito and race other fans from third base to home.
Most Mythic Mural
This is a hard one, as breathtaking, ever-changing murals adorn the alleys of the Mission like designer outfits on Vanessa Getty during gala season. The reason we chose the Tonantsin Renace bas-relief mural, at 16th and Sanchez, is its pure visual punch: Metal, wood, tile, glass, mirrors and beads combine to form a striking, almost frightening image of the Aztec mother goddess, Tonanztin. Artist Colette Crutcher’s brilliant mosaic work can also be seen on the 16th Avenue steps (16th and Moraga) and in the 24th Street Mini Park (at York).
Most Kickass Commute
Real men (and women) who live in the mid-to-western parts of town don’t drive Hummers; they don’t even take Muni to the office. They ride their bikes. And when the workday is over, instead of heading down Market Street back to Hayes Valley or the Castro, they take the long way home: along the Embarcadero to North Point, through Fort Mason to Marina Green, and then up and over Pacific Heights—on Steiner if it’s an average day, on Fillmore if their energy is high, and on Divisadero if they’re feeling unstoppable. Gym? Who needs a gym?
Best Undiscovered Getaway
What do Tahoe and Yosemite have in common besides towering pines, majestic granite formations and fresh mountain air? Crowds. Not so for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, which lie adjacent to each other about 100 miles southeast of Yosemite. With 800 campsites and the 102-room Wuksachi Lodge at hand, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a place to stay, and you won’t have to elbow your way through the trails leading to Redwood Canyon, the world’s biggest grove of sequoias, or the General Sherman Tree—the world’s largest.
Hottest Saturday Afternoon Fever
Think your dancin’ days are over because you have a kid? Think again. You can still get it on at Ruby Skye’s monthly Baby Loves Disco parties, where you and your children aged 6 months to 7 years are welcome to an afternoon boogie session featuring live DJs, healthy snacks, a bubble machine, diaper-changing stations and even cocktails for Mommy and Daddy. The next party is June 16, so you might want to dust off that K.C. & The Sunshine Band CD and brush up on your moves.
Best Spot for a Rainy-Day Matinee
Not to dis any of the city’s old-time movie houses—we love every last one of them, we swear—but there’s something so ideal about the Clay Theatre. Maybe it’s the bustle of Fillmore Street all around it, or the corner ticket booth with its lone clerk sitting inside reading a Very Important Novel between sales. Maybe it’s the mix of foreign, indie and mainstream films it screens, or those comfy brocade seats, but when we see that weekend rain forecast, we head to Fillmore and Clay. Clay Theatre 2261 Fillmore St., 415-267-4893   Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda
Best Place to Tie the Knot
If you have visions of a wedding ceremony inside a small white clapboard church, then Old St. Hilary’s in Tiburon is your spot. The spic-and-span redwood and Douglas fir interior of this decommissioned Catholic mission is simple but elegant—it’s the kind of place in which you’d expect a Kennedy kid to get married. The oak pews gleam, and the arched Gothic windows offer views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Now a historical landmark, it’s available for you to rent out and hold any type of ceremony you choose.
Best Travel Supplies
Don’t wander into Get Lost in the Deco Ghetto unless you’ve got the time and money to go somewhere soon; we guarantee the ensuing wanderlust will be physically painful if not satisfied. Guidebooks and travel literature covering every part of the planet (from Soweto to the Serengeti to Shenzhen to Schleswig-Holstein), stylish but highly practical travel supplies, maps galore and a good selection of well-designed backpacks-cum-wheeled-carry-ons all make Get Lost a place where you could, well, get lost in the beauty and potential of it all. Some travel stores are all about functionality, some are all about style—Get Lost combines the two. Get Lost 1825 Market St., 415-437-0529
Best Coffee Break for Parents
On Saturday mornings, Bernal Heights families in the know head to Breakfast with Enzo in the Neighborhood Center. Folk singer and musician Enzo Garcia entertains kids with sing-alongs and melodious Simon Says games while parents grab coffee and pastries. Enzo invites a different guest each week. The kids are rapt, the parents are happy.
Best News for Nature Lovers
Central Park? Luxembourg Gardens? Dude, we’ve got a forest in the middle of the city, and the Presidio is about to get even better with the recent gift of $15 million from the Haas Jr. Fund, which will add six more scenic overlooks and 24 new miles of trails. Best of all, more kids will get to enjoy the city’s only campground, Rob Hill, just north of Baker Beach. By this time next year, the campground, designed for youth groups, will double its capacity from 60 to 120 campers in four group sites. It will also get quite the facelift: adding a new stone entryway, public green and campfire pit.
Best Waterfront Renovation
Anyone who doubts that a tired public plaza can be reborn as a vibrant gathering spot need only look as far as the Ferry Building for hope. We’re predicting the next waterfront rebirth will happen at Ghirardelli Square. Where now there is only chocolate and souvenirs, there will soon be a 6,000-square-foot wine shop and tasting room and new stores such as Kara’s Cupcakes, the doggie couture store Yap Wraps and Lola of North Beach. The chocolate stays, and so does McCormick & Kuleto’s restaurant; no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Best Picnic Spot
The ultimate picnic combines elements of both wilderness and civilization, and that’s just what you’ll find at Sutro Heights Park, on a cliff high above the Great Highway at the outer edge of the Richmond. Park on 48th Street and enter the flat, grassy grounds past towering palm and eucalyptus trees. There’s plenty of either sun or shade to choose from, a smattering of picnic tables, benches where you can look out all the way to Pacifica, the remains of the raised stone terrace Adolf Sutro built for his house (which used to sit here) and even a statue of the Greek goddess Diana. Ah, nature. Sutro Heights Park Point Lobos Avenue and 48th Street
Best Way to Play Ball
Post-childhood, the fair sport of softball is enjoyed in only one of two ways: randomly, when you are thrown together with colleagues onto a company team, or consciously, when you go out and make the team that suits you best. That’s why we love the SF Adult Municipal Softball League. Individual players of fast and slow pitch can find each other through the league website’s message boards, and whole teams can sign up online: 40-plus, gay and lesbian, you name it. Teams play at fields all over the city—the Marina’s Moscone Field and Potrero Hill’s Jackson Playground are favorites because of their proximity to post-ninth watering holes.
Best Little Black Book
City guides are everywhere these days, but the unique thing about our favorite is that it’s written for people actually living in the city. Between the plain black covers of the new Not For Tourists Guide to San Francisco lie neighborhood maps showcasing practical information such as the location of libraries, banks, pharmacies and liquor stores, plus whole sections devoted solely to transit, parks and sports. Whether you need a sushi joint or an all-night copy shop, it’s all there in one place. Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda
Best Above-the-Radar Park
Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda At the top of Bernal Hill sits Bernal Heights Park, a 39-acre nature area laced with paved and unpaved trails leading to stunning 360-degree views of the city and bay. On the steep walk uphill, you’ll pass scads of wildflowers and lots of dogs—since Bernal is also an off-leash dog park (for now, at least). If it’s a weekday, you may well be the only person there. And its location couldn’t be more ideal; exit the park, walk down the hill and you’re on Cortland. Bernal Heights Park Folsom Street and Bernal Heights Boulevard
Best Kiddie Fantasy
It is a fact that all children at some point dream of riding in a fire engine. For the past 22 years, Robert and Marilyn Katzman have offered kids a chance to make that dream come true with their Fire Engine Tours and Adventures. Hop aboard the Big Red Shiny Mack Fire Engine at the Cannery, near Fisherman’s Wharf, and tour across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and Fort Baker while singing songs about your red chariot and listening to trivia about the city.
Best Hidden Bookstore
The key word when it comes to bookstore browsing is cozy, wouldn’t you agree? That’s why Bird & Beckett Books & Records is so darn perfect: on a charming street in Glen Park, stacked full of not just new and used books but also lovingly worn jazz and classical LPs, B&B is exactly where you want to be on a foggy Saturday afternoon, leafing through everything from the Noe Valley Voice to the Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal to the Paris Review. Bird & Beckett Books & Records 2788 Diamond St., 415-586-3733
Best Tourist Overhaul
If your last close encounter with Alcatraz was watching The Rock on TNT, maybe it’s time to make like a tourist this summer and take a ferry out to the newly renovated (to the tune of $35 million) facility. Upgrades include a new audio tour featuring interviews with former inmates and special sound effects, and a walk through the restored Alcatraz Gardens, where you’ll see some of the city’s best-kept roses, believe it or not. Al Capone should have been a horticulture enthusiast.
Best Outdoor Workout
Practically anytime you walk in SF, you’re getting a workout. But walking—or jogging or sprinting—the Lyon Street Steps in Cow Hollow is guaranteed to do for your heart and lungs what adoption did for Angelina Jolie’s bad-girl image. Come early evening, join the myriad neighborhoodies going up and down (and up and down) the 288 steps, often passing by brides and families posing for photos within its scenic sculpted gardens. Your reward at the top is a charming view of the Marina and Bay—not to mention a longer life and a nicer butt. Lyon Street Steps Lyon Street between Green and Broadway Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda
Best Personal Trainer
We heard from so many fans of Jeremy Cheung that we decided we had to try him out for ourselves. They were right: Honed at the National Academy of Sports Medicine, Cheung’s no-nonsense approach to fitness goes deep. During your 50-minute sessions, you will stretch, do slow power movements and hold core-strengthening poses that look so deceptively simple, you may wonder why you’re sweating and breathing so hard—and why you’re so sore the next day. The answer is efficiency. Cheung makes sure to change things up so you don’t plateau or get bored, and his stellar physique is matched by humility and a great sense of humor. And yes, as a matter of fact, he is single.
Best Way to Get a Hobby
If, like us, you now regret snoozing through home-ec class, you can make up for it at Craft Gym in Lower Nob Hill. Started nearly three years ago, the studio has everything you need for a thorough DIY workout. Whether you sign up for workshops, private lessons or general studio time, they provide the instruction, supplies and equipment; all you have to do is show up ready to tone your knowledge of sewing, knitting, ceramics, metals, paper, wood and textiles. Craft Gym1452 Bush St., 415-702-5700
Best Lifesaver for Moms
It takes a virtual village to raise a child, and whether you’re interested in finding a playgroup, help for postpartum depression or a few handy cooking lessons (now that chilled vodka and leftover Thai no longer suffice), the best virtual village in town is Golden Gate Mothers Group, which connects you to a network of 2,000 local moms for support and advice. More than a decade old, GGMG is a volunteer organization that sponsors events and activities for parents (think CPR training and informative lectures) and kids (think gymnastics and berry picking).
Best Icon
No, not the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, or the sleekly whimsical Transamerica Pyramid, or the Art Deco Coit Tower topping Telegraph Hill like a wedding cake. For landmarks, nothing beats Sutro Tower, the 977-foot behemoth that bears the honor of tallest structure in the city. Charged with 25,000 volts of electricity for the 25 broadcast stations that use it, its menacing shape visible from nearly everywhere in the Bay, Sutro sits dead center in SF, splitting the sunny side from the seaborne side. And when the fog rolls in and tumbles down Twin Peaks, concealing Sutro’s bottom half, the top looks exactly like a ghost ship sailing in an ocean of mist. No bridge can beat that. Sutro Tower Palo Alto Avenue and Marview Way Photo Credits: Patrick Siemer
Best Way to be a Survivor
We know how it is—you want to prepare for the next big earthquake, you really do. Somewhere on your Daytimer you’ve got a list of the supplies you need to gather and keep in your house and office and car—bottled water, vacuum-packed food, blankets. But you’re just too busy to spend an entire weekend collecting these things. Enter the Bay Area Red Cross Shop, where you can get everything from first-aid kits that fit in the palm of your hand to mini solar-hybrid generators to 20-person disaster kits. Translation: no more excuses. Bay Area Red Cross Shop 85 Second St., 8th floor, 415-427-8000
Best Success Story
Talk about the best of San Francisco: The Mission-based Women’s Initiative takes two of SF’s finest personality traits—social liberalism and entrepreneurship—and combines them to help low-income women start their own small businesses by providing training, support and loans. In the past decade, its graduates have created more than 1,000 companies and increased their median incomes by an average of 85 percent. From preschools to catering companies to clothing boutiques to chiropractic offices, many of the city’s businesses owe their existence to a woman with a dream—and the organization that helped her nurture it.
Most Spacious Doggie Drop-Off
Photo Credits: courtesy of Pet Camp San Francisco is not a hard place to find care for your pet while you’re trekking through the Andes; you have your choice of everything from a pet-sitter on Craigslist to a pet hotel with private suites. But what we love about Pet Camp is the extra space the dogs get to roam in—in many cases more room than they’ve probably got at home: 6,000 square feet, to be exact. With that kind of play area, your vacation just became Fido’s as well.
Best Place to Propose
Everyone knows that a little shot of adrenaline does wonders for romance, so when it’s time for the most romantic moment of your life, why not do it in a small, single-engine plane as you gaze down on the skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge? San Francisco Seaplane Tours take off from its base in Sausalito and circle over such landmarks as Mount Tam, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Golden Gate before coming back around and landing on the water. They’ll even bring the Champagne. If that doesn’t get you to yes, nothing will.
Best Pilates Teacher
Upon walking into Mercury Fitness in Cow Hollow, expect to see the nightclub version of a Pilates studio: Low lighting that beefs up musculature with shadow definition, bowls of healthy bar snacks (usually unsalted almonds) and one lean, mean, Spandex-clad hostess named Lara Hudson, a nationally acclaimed Pilates instructor, magazine cover girl and star of four workout videos (most recently, Slim, Strong & Firm). After just one of Hudson’s reformer classes, during which the 35-year-old former acrobatic dancer will guide you through a challenging series of core-fortifying exercises, you’ll feel as if you’ve been drawn and quartered, or as Hudson says, “your dishes are done.” That’s a good thing. Mercury Fitness 2904 Laguna St., 415-567-9009
Best Home-Buying Resource
Sorting your way through the unwaveringly hot SF real-estate market can be tricky. That’s why it’s nice to get a little help from your friends and neighbors. Alongside features that let you search for homes based on price, nearby school performance and proximity to public transit, Zip Realty’s website boasts a “client ratings” section, where users can post reviews and comments about homes on the market. Clients can rate homes on a scale from one to five based on curb appeal, interior, quality of neighborhood and more. That’s good enough to score a five in our book.
Best Baseball Overdose
SF loves its baseball, and when the All-Star Game returns here next month for the first time in 23 years, the fans will be out in full force for a full week of activities, including the Home Run Derby on July 9 and the big game itself on the 10th. All-Star Week kicks off at Moscone Center July 6 with the All-Star FanFest, where you can score a big-league autograph, barter for a Willie Mays card, hit a homer off a virtual Barry Zito and race other fans from third base to home.
Most Mythic Mural
This is a hard one, as breathtaking, ever-changing murals adorn the alleys of the Mission like designer outfits on Vanessa Getty during gala season. The reason we chose the Tonantsin Renace bas-relief mural, at 16th and Sanchez, is its pure visual punch: Metal, wood, tile, glass, mirrors and beads combine to form a striking, almost frightening image of the Aztec mother goddess, Tonanztin. Artist Colette Crutcher’s brilliant mosaic work can also be seen on the 16th Avenue steps (16th and Moraga) and in the 24th Street Mini Park (at York).
Most Kickass Commute
Real men (and women) who live in the mid-to-western parts of town don’t drive Hummers; they don’t even take Muni to the office. They ride their bikes. And when the workday is over, instead of heading down Market Street back to Hayes Valley or the Castro, they take the long way home: along the Embarcadero to North Point, through Fort Mason to Marina Green, and then up and over Pacific Heights—on Steiner if it’s an average day, on Fillmore if their energy is high, and on Divisadero if they’re feeling unstoppable. Gym? Who needs a gym?
Best Undiscovered Getaway
What do Tahoe and Yosemite have in common besides towering pines, majestic granite formations and fresh mountain air? Crowds. Not so for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, which lie adjacent to each other about 100 miles southeast of Yosemite. With 800 campsites and the 102-room Wuksachi Lodge at hand, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a place to stay, and you won’t have to elbow your way through the trails leading to Redwood Canyon, the world’s biggest grove of sequoias, or the General Sherman Tree—the world’s largest.
Hottest Saturday Afternoon Fever
Think your dancin’ days are over because you have a kid? Think again. You can still get it on at Ruby Skye’s monthly Baby Loves Disco parties, where you and your children aged 6 months to 7 years are welcome to an afternoon boogie session featuring live DJs, healthy snacks, a bubble machine, diaper-changing stations and even cocktails for Mommy and Daddy. The next party is June 16, so you might want to dust off that K.C. & The Sunshine Band CD and brush up on your moves.
Best Spot for a Rainy-Day Matinee
Not to dis any of the city’s old-time movie houses—we love every last one of them, we swear—but there’s something so ideal about the Clay Theatre. Maybe it’s the bustle of Fillmore Street all around it, or the corner ticket booth with its lone clerk sitting inside reading a Very Important Novel between sales. Maybe it’s the mix of foreign, indie and mainstream films it screens, or those comfy brocade seats, but when we see that weekend rain forecast, we head to Fillmore and Clay. Clay Theatre 2261 Fillmore St., 415-267-4893   Photo Credits: Stefanie Michejda
Best Place to Tie the Knot
If you have visions of a wedding ceremony inside a small white clapboard church, then Old St. Hilary’s in Tiburon is your spot. The spic-and-span redwood and Douglas fir interior of this decommissioned Catholic mission is simple but elegant—it’s the kind of place in which you’d expect a Kennedy kid to get married. The oak pews gleam, and the arched Gothic windows offer views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Now a historical landmark, it’s available for you to rent out and hold any type of ceremony you choose.
Best Travel Supplies
Don’t wander into Get Lost in the Deco Ghetto unless you’ve got the time and money to go somewhere soon; we guarantee the ensuing wanderlust will be physically painful if not satisfied. Guidebooks and travel literature covering every part of the planet (from Soweto to the Serengeti to Shenzhen to Schleswig-Holstein), stylish but highly practical travel supplies, maps galore and a good selection of well-designed backpacks-cum-wheeled-carry-ons all make Get Lost a place where you could, well, get lost in the beauty and potential of it all. Some travel stores are all about functionality, some are all about style—Get Lost combines the two. Get Lost 1825 Market St., 415-437-0529
Best Coffee Break for Parents
On Saturday mornings, Bernal Heights families in the know head to Breakfast with Enzo in the Neighborhood Center. Folk singer and musician Enzo Garcia entertains kids with sing-alongs and melodious Simon Says games while parents grab coffee and pastries. Enzo invites a different guest each week. The kids are rapt, the parents are happy.
Best News for Nature Lovers
Central Park? Luxembourg Gardens? Dude, we’ve got a forest in the middle of the city, and the Presidio is about to get even better with the recent gift of $15 million from the Haas Jr. Fund, which will add six more scenic overlooks and 24 new miles of trails. Best of all, more kids will get to enjoy the city’s only campground, Rob Hill, just north of Baker Beach. By this time next year, the campground, designed for youth groups, will double its capacity from 60 to 120 campers in four group sites. It will also get quite the facelift: adding a new stone entryway, public green and campfire pit.
Best Waterfront Renovation
Anyone who doubts that a tired public plaza can be reborn as a vibrant gathering spot need only look as far as the Ferry Building for hope. We’re predicting the next waterfront rebirth will happen at Ghirardelli Square. Where now there is only chocolate and souvenirs, there will soon be a 6,000-square-foot wine shop and tasting room and new stores such as Kara’s Cupcakes, the doggie couture store Yap Wraps and Lola of North Beach. The chocolate stays, and so does McCormick & Kuleto’s restaurant; no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

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