I already have my favorite neighborhood spots for coffee and the occasional sandwich. Done. Once I find something good, I rarely stray -- kind of like driving routes or apartments. Since I’ve been working in Potrero Hill a few days a week, my spots are Farley’s for a darn strong latte and Hazel’s for great breakfast burritos and huge turkey sandwiches.

But driving in this morning, I spotted something new on the horizon: Pinkie’s Bakery.

Pinkie’s isn’t new to San Francisco. Owner Cheryl Burr’s been baking in her wholesale space for years now, supplying delicious bread to local restaurants, and decadent baked goods to farmer’s markets. But what is new is Pinkie’s as a retail space. Burr opened the doors yesterday, November 19, along with close friend Chris Beerman from Bento 415.

The duo are giving the pop-up lunch and casual dining trend their own twist, combining early morning baked goods and coffee with lunchtime bento boxes, quiche, and soup: two awesome businesses under one cute little roof. Beerman offers four bento box meals made with organic ingredients named/inspired by different neighborhoods in the city. Instead of strictly Japanese fare, he’s mixing up the flavors to lend a certain vibe to each box: For example, the Mission Box features Latin cuisine, with a Fra’ Mani Chorizo Torta as the star.

Because I stopped in before work, though, I picked up a pecan sticky bun ($2), although I was tempted by the whole wheat slices of banana bread and the small muffins and scones. The sticky bun was perfect: the dough was yeasty and slightly sweet with swirls of cinnamon and a buttery caramel glaze and candied pecans on top. I wish I’d bought two.

In talking to Burr and Beerman, you get a sense they’ll be sticking around. They’re exuberantly excited about the venture, psyched about the neighborhood and the growth potential therein, and happy to be working side-by-side. “We’re roommates!” Chris said. After looking at the lunch menu longily and falling in love with a sticky bun, it’s a marriage I hope—and have a feeling—will last.

Pinkie’s Bakery and Bento 415
Hours: Daily, 6am-2pm (although stay tuned as hours may change depending on how things go)
300 De Haro, SF
(415) 355-1619
www.bento415.com, www.pinkiesbakerysf.com

Today's Look: Natalie, Powell and Ellis

Tell us about your look: "I like baggy clothes. It's all about comfort."

Look how stoked these Berkeley kids are on their badass school garden program- now where is SF's?

As San Francisco public schools struggle to keep their salad bars stocked with a few local and organic options, Berkeley kids are benefiting from their town’s legendary reputation for sustainable grubbing.

Alice Waters, doyenne of natural food living and Californian cuisine, adopted Martin Luther King, Jr. middle school all the way back in 1994 and since then has helped to implement a school garden program that I dare say puts a lot of commercial produce growing operations to shame.

The Edible Schoolyard stands on an acre of ground adjacent to King school and plays host to such a variety of organic food that it could supply… well, an Alice Waters’ restaurant for one thing. They’ve got a cavalcade of trees bearing everything from olives to apples, a tea garden, oyster, shiitake and portabello mushrooms, amaranth, quinoa, egg laying fowl, berries and veggies of all stripes. They also have a cider press, a nifty composting system and even a rainwater catchment program set up that saves 200 gallons of water per inch of rain.

Students get the chance to learn all about creating a sustainable food system through a three year schedule of classes that teaches them everything from composting to cooking. The garden also offers community classes on similar subjects (next up: backyard mushroom cultivation!

Restaurantuer Alice Waters keeps Berkeley's King middle school kids up on their quinoa fix

Well, this is all good for the Berkeleyites. Hurrah, youse. But where's the big city answer to all this veggie lovin'? SF schools suffer from a budget worn thin by tax shy voters, but hey- San Francisco proper’s got a couple natural food gurus of our own, don’t we? One of our nutritional luminaries can jump that bar raised high by Miss Alice and adopt a deserving public school of their own, can’t they?

[Warning: the following paragraph may be slightly tongue in cheek] Of course they can. But if land availability is the issue- we are hectic urbanites, after all, gardening is perhaps best left to the periphery towns- maybe we can involve the kids on a different kind of food transaction! What better way to show-not-tell them the relationship between food and community than with a street cart internship program! C’mon, you’ve seen those lemonade stands the kids these days are running! Tamale Lady, I’m looking at you…

The Edible Schoolyard
Public visiting hours after 3pm on weekdays, all day Sat & Sun, free
Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School
1781 Rose, Berkeley
(510) 558-1335 www.edibleschoolyard.org

The mini-muffin whiz was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Oct. 28 for overstaying the 90 day Visa Waiver Program. Though recently married to an American citizen, Murat failed to file for Adjustment of Status. After his detention, the couple filed for deferred action and belatedly applied for a green card, while locals united in support. However, their requests were denied and Celebi-Ariner flew back to France on Nov. 12.

His wife, Pelin, will be joining him and recently sent out an e-mail announcing a moving-out sale. She writes:

Dear Friends, Home is where the heart is. Thus, this home must change hands, along with everything in it. This Saturday from 10am to 2pm, stop in to browse our moving out sale and have some complimentary muffins and chai. We will even have Amuse Bouche memorabilia for sale ;)

3269 22nd St. #1
between Mission and Valencia

see you then,
Pelin

The popular proprietor was an early participant in the growing food cart scene and could be found around the neighborhood selling a variety of tarts, quiches, and pita pockets. For one dollar Murat would provide you with “the ultimate recession buster breakfast” – chai and a mini-muffin – alongside a sign with the sage advice to “make your mouth happy.”

Au revoir Murat… good luck charming the French with your tasty treats.

Today's Look: Pat, Vallejo and Stockton

Tell us about your look: "I bought this coat at Bloomingdale's two years ago on sale."

Villagers of war-ravaged Laos bathing on the river Nam Ou. All photos by Ariel Soto

“I was in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, surrounded by incredibly friendly, honest and beautiful people and I found myself wanting to cry almost everyday,” wrote Guardian blog photographer Ariel Soto of her time spent in the small landlocked country of Laos (see her beautiful photo essay of the trip here.

Now, I’m also not saying you’re a bad person. Far from it, in fact. But in all honesty, what have you done for Laos lately? That was the question that a few young Laotian-Americans asked themselves and the result was the Jai Lao (“Lao Heart”) Foundation. The group provides supplies and financial support to both their homeland and Laotians living here in the US. Soto is helping to organize a Jai Lao Thanksgiving party that I promise you will be the most fun you’ve ever had while supporting your Laotian brothers and sisters.

A spread like this at 111 Minna and it's for a good cause? Total win-win.

The ladies of Jai Lao

Jai Lao’s Thanksgiving get down is taking the stage at 111 Minna, everyone’s favorite do-gooder art bar, and it will benefit the victims of the recent hurricane. Not only will enjoying the Lao food, music and cultural performances be doing a great thing for the generous folk of this ill-served corner of the world, it’ll also be an excellent chance to learn more about the traditions of a society of 6.7 million people and 68 ethnic groups.

Tues/24 6:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m, $30
111 Minna Gallery
111 Minna, SF
www.jailao.org

What you'll need:

1 lb. Grade AA butter
4 oz. green leaf cannabis trimmings
water
1 large stockpot

Instructions:

Place all the ingredients into the pot and fill with water. Place on the stove and bring to a boil; the boiling temperature should be 212-degrees.

Boil the mixture for 3 to 4 hours. At this point, the trichomes will melt off the leaf material and cling to the lipids in the butter. Cook this mixture until the liquid is evaporated. The cooked down cannabis leaves should resemble spinach, while the butter is a beautiful amber color with a nutty-taste. There should be no excess liquid.

Now, separate the mixture by pouring it through a strainer over another pot. The “spinach” mixture should collect in the strainer while the amber liquid drains into the pot. Press the green leaves until all the moisture has been drained. Next, put the leaf mixture into cheesecloth and wring it out over the pot of liquid.

Refrigerate the amber liquid overnight. The butter will rise to the top and become firm again. Scoop the butter from the top, and voila! – your cannabutter is ready to use in any of your favorite recipes as a butter or oil substitute. Keep the remaining amber liquid to cook with, as it will contain residual THC. Use it in sauces or to boil noodles – the sky’s the limit.

Today's Look: Renee, Stockton and Green

Tell us about your look: "My style is very individual. It's Paris/Boho."

Nine Dragons
Michael Connelly
Little, Brow;, 374 pages, $27.99)

By Tim Redmond

Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly's fictional detective, is the best continuing-series character in the genre (well, there's Spenser, but he's a special case). Bosch lives in L.A., where he's a cop. He's a little bit tortured -- what can you say about a guy named Bosch whose dad thought it would be funny to name him Hieronymous? -- but not so bent that it takes over the storyline.

And there's always a good storyline. Connelly, a former newspaper reporter, knows how to work the real world into top-fight fiction, and his books give you a great feel both for the seedy side of Los Angeles and the world of a police detective. He doesn't glorify cops -- they come with plenty of warts, and some of them are sleazebags and some are thugs and some are crooks. And he doesn't make violence seem anything but ugly, pathetic and painful.

Nine Dragons takes on a scene that Connelly doesn't know that well -- Chinese gangs and the Hong Kong underworld -- but instead of pretending to be an expert, he works his learning curve into his hero's head. Bosch, after all these years, has never quite recovered from his time as a tunnel rat in Vietnam, and is painfully nervous that his attitude toward Asians remains colored by that experience. From the first chapter, he's having trouble with his partner, Detective Chu, someone he desperately needs but can't entirely trust.

The writing's a bit rougher than a typical Connelly novel, and the ending is a little funky -- a lot of loose ends get tied up really quickly, and not as believably as in some of his previous books. But Nine Dragons has a great sense of pace, and, without ruining one of the pivotal movements, I can tell you that Connelly has a stunning ability to remind us of the sudden randomness of violent death.

In a Michael Connelly book, heroes don't take two slugs to the abdomen, roll over, light a cigarette, pull out a silenced pistol and tag the bad guy between the eyes. They don't scrawl the killer's name in blood or whisper the crucial piece of evidence with their last dying breath. They just fucking die -- sometimes by mistake. There's nothing glorious about it.

Not surprisingly, I liked Nine Dragons. Not as good as The Black Ice, The Last Coyote and Void Moon, but no writer produces a jaw-dropping classic every single time.

Twilight perfume: smells like money.

OF COURSE YOU DO!
There are plenty of logical forces at work here (Nordstrom, where many teenage girls happen to shop, is unleashing an entire New Moon-inspired clothing line.) But this vampire business is too hugely profitable to obey the laws of logic. Without further ado, I present the top three most inane tie-ins for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. (Know more? Do tell in the comments!!)

1) Burger King's New Moon campaign offers up such delights as the "Fan Pack," which, with the purchase of a "six-pack BK Burger Shots Value Meal" offers "collectible cards featuring stunning imagery from the film." They'll also be putting out a limited-edition New Moon version of their (famous?) cardboard crown. So what if vampires don't...eat?

2) The Volvo commercial. So cringeworthy. Please enjoy at your own risk.

3) Twilight Barbies. (With realistic vacant-face Bella and sparkly-skin Edward!)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens Fri/20, like, everywhere.

I make it a point to spend quailty time with my bike- you know, the daily commute/traffic battles, satisfying slogs up to Alamo Square Park, maybe an ill-advised wobble back from happy hour every now and then. But no matter how much qt they get with their parents, kids still need social time with their peer group.

Andrew Taylor, host of the SF BIke Expo's dirt jump competition, gets high on the prettest darn bike I've ever seen

So because I love her, I’m making a play date for my bike with the San Francisco Bike Expo. The day-long event will be jam packed with kids that ride their bikes even more than I do- there’s a BMX stunt competition and a mountain bike dirt jump contest that seeks to replicate the pants-wetting good times of Evil Knievel’s Cow Palace appearance nearly 40 years ago. Plus, there will be a track stand show down, which is awesome if you’ve never seen a guy on a fixed gear stop for a traffic light (possible).

For the pretty boys, there’s a custom and vintage show that will give out top beauty queen nods for everything from scraper bikes to lady’s rides. Cheapskates and re-users can hit the swapper’s corner for low cost gear scorage and vendors galore will be on hand to trick out you, your bikey and your holiday shopping list with new coaster breaks, locally made bike threads and leather saddles.

And yes, there’s a fashion show. Momentum magazine will be sending their pedal-ready looks (for humans) down the runway that premiered in September at Portland’s Fashion Week. A faddish idea I find completely unnecessary, but cede that we probably all had it coming, anyway.

SF Bike Expo
Sat/21, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., $8-10
Cow Palace
2600 Geneva, Daly City
(415) 404-4111 www.sfbikeexpo.com

When it comes to the actors in the Twilight franchise, Kellan Lutz puts it best: “We didn’t quite know what we were getting ourselves into.”

Not pictured: Kellan Lutz or Ashley Greene.

To be fair, Lutz — who plays beefcake vampire Emmett Cullen — was referring to the change in directors between films. After Catherine Hardwicke’s succinctly titled Twilight (2008), Chris Weitz took over for — brace yourself — The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

“We didn’t know, switching directors, if they were going to embrace us,” co-star Ashley Greene elaborates.

But Lutz’ comment could be applied to Twilight as a whole. This is a series that has consistently defied expectations, from the absurdly popular books to the fandom of the film series. When I participated in a recent roundtable interview with Lutz and Greene, both noted that they’re not exactly the stars of New Moon. Still, they’re part of the Twilight machine and thus, just as likely to get mauled by fans wearing plastic fangs.

Lutz’ Emmett is even more absent from New Moon than Greene’s Alice Cullen. “It was kind of a tease,” he admits. “Chris Weitz is such an amazing director.”

Not to worry, Greene counters: “In the third film, you’ll see a lot more of the Cullens.”

Of course, she has a slightly different perspective. Alice is a more integral figure in the second movie (and its source material), bonding with Bella and eventually accompanying her to Italy. (That’s right — Greene got a trip to Italy while Lutz was forced to stay put.) “My character got to grow a lot, which was very cool,” she says.

But don’t count on Lutz to be bitter. The amiable actor is thrilled to be playing Emmett, whether it’s in one scene or throughout the film. “I love Emmett Cullen to death,” he gushes. “He’s my favorite character I’ve ever played."

In fact, I’d wager that even Twilight naysayers would be charmed by Lutz and Greene. Both actors seem genuinely wowed by the series’ success rather than cynical and overexposed.

“I don’t think that any of us knew how crazy or exhilarating it would turn out to be,” Lutz says.

Greene continues, “I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of it.”

More importantly, neither is afraid to have fun with the role. Twilight critics often complain about its “why so serious” tone. When I reviewed the first film last year, I was pleased to find that it improved on Stephenie Meyer’s book. Sure, there’s angst galore, but it plays alongside humor and a smattering of camp. The following exchange between Greene and Lutz sums it up well.

Greene: “Everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust.”

Lutz: [growls]

The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens Fri/20 in Bay Area theaters.

Come drink up at Heaven's Dog

Heaven's Dog $5 drinks during November
There's only a couple weeks left to sip Heaven's Dog's cocktails for a mere $5. Any regular knows this is a steal for artisan, high-quality cocktails from a revolving list of specials... it could be Satan's Whiskers (a gin, sweet and dry vermouth, orange concoction) or a Tiger's Milk No. II (Spanish brandy, rum, sugar, cream, and nutmeg). By the way, it's still worth coming at full price.
Through Dec. 1, 4:30-6:30pm, Mon-Fri
1160 Mission, SF
415-863-6008
www.heavensdog.com

A view from St. George's

11/21 - St. George Spirits Holiday Open House “A Winter Wonderland” - prom wear recommended!
Pull out your crazy, cheesy prom wear for a holiday open house at our beloved local distillery, St. George. If you've ever been to a St. George party, you know they're a crazy bunch who rock out with attitude, music and world class spirits... all in a former naval air station hangar. With live music by John Clarke and Farewell Typewriter, take in distillation demos, photo booth, cocktail sipping and food from many of La Cocina's best (like Estrellitas Snacks, Botanas Felicitas, Kika’s Treats, Neo Cocoa), as well as El Huarache Loco, Pacific Fine Foods, Gelateria Naia and Recchiuti Confections. St. George does one better with a Cali Party Bus, transporting people for free from West Oakland Bart station 12:30-5pm (to and from the distillery every half hour), with stops at the Alameda Ferry Terminal around 1:30 and 4:05pm.
1-6pm
$40 advance/$50 at door
2601 Monarch, Alameda
510-864-0635
www.stgeorgespirits.com

A course from Chef Axelrod

11/22 - Navarro Winery Harvest Dinner
California Table Sunday Supper throws a Sunday Supper Series from Chefs Liz Bills and Melissa Axelrod (who's dinners I wrote about in an August The Perfect Spot issue), this time teaming with Sarah Bennett of Anderson Valley’s Navarro winery. Celebrating the end of harvest season with five to six Navarro wines (including some new releases) and a five-course meal from Bills and Axelrod. Yes, it's a 'pop-up dinner', warm, communal and unique, like a friend's dinner party but held in a Mexican cantina down a charming FiDi alley. The menu includes risotto cooked in a parmesan broth with Bellwether Farms Crescenza & wild mushrooms, slow-roasted leg of Sonoma lamb rubbed with lavender and honey, and a pine nut tart with baked apple ice cream.
11/22, 5pm, $85 (all inclusive)
Mercedes Hair of the Dog Cantina, 653 Commercial, SF
http://californiatable.net/events/index.html
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/88196

Today's Look: Megan, Stockton and Green

Tell us about your look: "It's all Louis Vuitton and I'm loving leggings right now!"

Mondays, frequently described as manic or met with a response of expletives, are seldom associated with happy thoughts of relaxation and general joviality. But it doesn’t have to be like that. A number of bars are doing their best to help you banish that beginning of the week gloom and give Mondays a better name. These are the best dives to grab a drink at the start of your week, when that first workday has you already asking, “is it Friday yet?”

The Saloon

This bar is older than dirt and looks the part. It may smell like piss, but no one will notice you reek of hangover from your previous weekend of debauchery, and neither will you after a few of their stiff drinks. If you can bear to part with your dear old friend Abe, hand over $5 on Mondays to drink away your blues to the sound of the blues and jazz band that plays.

1232 Grant, SF.
(415) 989-7666

Pop’s Bar

Let the bright neon glow of the sign outside transfix your eyeballs as your feet carry you into Pop’s for free Monday-night bacon. No, really. After bringing home the bacon, you can enjoy some real fried pork fat for free. You can even take your new bacon friend over to the graffiti covered photo booth and ham it up for a few snapshots. Just make sure to avoid the judgmental looks of the other patrons, who’d rather discuss sustainability and Bukowski poems with their pork pals.

2800 24th St, SF
(415) 401-7677

Tired of always serving everyone else? Want someone to serve you? Every Monday is bar and restaurant industry night at this Mission District favorite, where you can shoot down industry favorite Fernet for just three bucks, or opt for $1 off draft and well drinks. Trade horror stories about demanding patrons and shoddy tippers with others who share your pain -- if you can hear each other over the loud din the crowd creates here.

3200 16th St, SF
(415) 552-1633

El Rio

At the beginning of the week, you can suck down $1 Pabst and $2 well drinks all day. El Rio boasts a back patio where you can smoke like a chimney, and on occasion be pleasantly surprised by a selection of free food. Aside from the cheap prices, the biggest draw here is the crowd. Everyone is simply interested in having a good time in the friendliest way possible, making it the ideal stop to shoo away your Monday grumpies.

3158 Mission, SF
(415) 282-3325
www.elrio-sf.com