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That whole area is very interesting. Fillmore, Japantown, Pacific Heights are not only neighbors but they spill into each other.
Only on Fillmore Street can you shop at a Marc Jacobs boutique and then walk a few blocks down to eat Popeye's Chicken. I know because I've done it.
Yup... we both know that the people here giving SF a hard time about its supposed lack of diversity who've claimed to have visited SF (*cough* pollster *cough*) have only ever been to the northeastern corner of the city if they've actually ever visited, and within that corner only a small fraction (just like every other tourist). The Fillmore, Japantown, etc. might as well be on the moon for them.
I have a memory from this spot, but it was late night.
LOL
Please, do tell! Haha.
I worked for the company that turned that hotel into the Tomo in '07, and got a free night there with my then-girlfriend, so I, too, have some memories from that spot, late at night
Those sure are some typical whitebread suburbs @ 415s2K. I couldn't help but notice though that I was walking through the adjacent burbs over on this street called "Fillmore" which seemed to have a lot of jazz clubs... and soul food joints... and more jazz clubs... meh, must have been left over from way back when SF had a black population. It couldn't possibly have an established black community... this is San Francisco we're talking about for chissakes. I took some pics too... might as well post a couple.
... Black people? In San Francisco? Who woulda thunk. This is obviously a one-time occurence though... we'll be getting back to our scheduled programming of white and asian starbucks-sipping yuppies shortly.
^ hmm. I think I need to get my eyes checked... everybody knows that it's impossible to only see more than 5 black people at a time on a street in San Francisco, let alone every person. San Francisco must have chartered buses to Oakland and back or something.
^Finally! I was starting to think I was in Oakla- WHAT THE HELL? N-no... it can't be. Those SF whites and asians... are walking next to a black person? And they haven't spontaneously combusted? What in the hell is going on in the Fillmore...
... Let's pretend we didn't see that. Everybody knows that it's physically impossible for a black person to walk inside a Starbucks. Period. No exceptions.
... This can't be real. A rapper. In San Francisco. Huh. Am I in the Twilight Zone? Anyway, I wonder what that banner behind him says-
JUNETEENTH?
...
THE 64TH ANNUAL JUNETEENTH?
...
IN SAN FRANCISCO?!
*head explodes*
But wait, there's more... I took well over 100 pictures of this spectacle. Peruse them at your own risk.
No way! You must have p-chopped those pictures. After all, since you live here, you're no doubt an Asian or white computer programmer, that's the only way you'd be able to afford the astronomical cost of living... so that's old hat for you! The *** was up when I saw the dapper fellow with the Starbucks, and then I noticed in the third to last photo, that you missed a spot as it appears that a black woman in the background is hugging a white man. I mean, come on... just how long do you think you can suspend disbelief, old bean?
Serously though... I was at that festival I've seen soooo many shows up and down there... I also filled in on bass for a set at the Boom Boom Room once. The band was all white, the crowd was all black, haha.
No way! You must have p-chopped those pictures. After all, since you live here, you're no doubt an Asian or white computer programmer, that's the only way you'd be able to afford the astronomical cost of living... so that's old hat for you! The *** was up when I saw the dapper fellow with the Starbucks, and then I noticed in the third to last photo, that you missed a spot as it appears that a black woman in the background is hugging a white man. I mean, come on... just how long do you think you can suspend disbelief, old bean?
Serously though... I was at that festival I've seen soooo many shows up and down there... I also filled in on bass for a set at the Boom Boom Room once. The band was all white, the crowd was all black, haha.
Another thing you can't get in NY or NJ: a burrito as good as this. Trust me, I've looked.
Went a block west and a block north to the corner of Arguello and Clement. As you may know, Clement is sort of like the "new Chinatown" of San Francisco. See, after 140 years, they somehow outgrew Chinatown and started moving all over the city... so now, Clement and Irving have become main drags to the North and South (respectively) of Golden Gate Park (which, BTW, is bigger than Central Park by about 20%) for San Francisco's Chinese population. Although you still hear tons of Chinese and Vietnamese being spoken, the areas are increasingly Asian-American as you now have a generation-and-a-half's worth of Asian-American residents who have lived in these areas their whole lives.
PIZZA!!!
Irish Pub.
French-Vietnamese.
Central American artisan coffee right next to Vietnamese.
Italian. Every time you walk by this place, your mouth waters from all the garlic, basil, oregano, and tomato you smell
Japanese
Banh mis. Oh, god, do I love banh mis. The best one I've had in Norcal is on Broadway, at a place called Vietnam Restaurant, but these guys are the best on Clement (they're creatively titled Pho Clement). They also have amazing vietnamese vegetable curry!
There weren't as many people out as there usually are since it was in the middle of the day... but it gives you an idea of what the strip looks like. It's fairly long, as you can see... those are shops all the way down.
The most popular Burmese place in SF. There are a couple good ones down Larkin mixed in with all the Vietnamese places in Little Saigon, too, but my favorite is Mandalay on California St., just north of Clement. Try it if you're ever in the area!
Thai, Chinese
One of many dozens of little groceries on Clement.
One of my favorite grocers. Vietnamese sauces, spices, veggies, beer, etc.
Turkish/Mediterranean across the street.
Japanese again...
Come here any day, and you can find a mix of latin American workers, Asian-American high school kids, and white or black punks eating ice cream or slice of cake.
Chinese pastries.
Stopped inside my favorite aquarium shop, which is self-serve (you scoop and bag the fish and amphibians yourself). Here, we have two 4-inch long green tree frogs contemplating their existence.
Seahorses, $19.95 each.
Crazy-ass blue ribbon eel.
Right next to the Hawaiian BBQ is Haig's, which is Armenian/Bulgarian/Indian/Pakistani/Kazakh/Ughyr.
See's Candies... and VIETNAMESE SANDWICHES??? *drool*
Back to Geary.
A Russian deli.
Right next to the Russian deli...
Thai, bagels.
Chinese market; Sichuan restaurant; Japanese restaurant; Hunan restaurant.
Good Ol' American cuisine!
Russian/Baltic grocer, pharmacy, housewares, etc.
Another cool-looking old theatre, but this one is disused. On the lobby level is a pan-Asian cute-trinket shop and a home appliace showroom.
Sushi, Thai, tarot readings, Hong Kong lounge
Pho Clement #2. If a half-mile is just plain too far!
Japanese curry house, taqueria
(Really good) Italian place; Russian/Georgian barkery (which is open; don't know what happened to their windows!), Chinese
Russian pharmacy/medical supply shop
Orthodox Church in the background
Israeli/Russian Jewish kosher bakery...
...right next to an Irish bakery and pub!
This is the spot with the awesme dolmas and hot Kazakh deli-girl!
GASTRONOM!!!
Headed back East on Geary. The burrito I had earlier was giving me food coma.
Vietnamese
Irish
Korean bar, ramen.
And that's it!
There were a good two-dozen more spots between there and where we started this chapter, but I lost interest and really needed to use the bathroom, so there you have it
KFC, Mandarin, Korean, pizza, an Irish pub, and then Italian
@OP_ My guess would be California. There are cultures there from every large country to small Island, in my experience. My other observation would be New York, and stats. I am not knowledgable about.
however, i think most american cities have stuff like that. its just that none of them are to the scale of nyc
Very few cities in America have a strip like this, where you can find basically any type of Asian cuisine or shop, plus American, Middle Eastern, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Ethiopian, Russian/Baltic, etc. immediately next to one another; that's why it's unique (I'd know, I've been all over the US for business, pleasure, and life in general). Furthermore, San Francisco has multiple areas like this (Mission, Broadway, Irving, Valencia, to name a few)... most cities are lucky if they have one strip that's two blocks long like this! I walked about 3 miles on this one, and there was another good mile to go.
I hope that, at the very least, it made you realize how your preconceptions of SF - and California as a whole - were way off base.
Very few cities in America have a strip like this, where you can find basically any type of Asian cuisine or shop, plus American, Middle Eastern, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Ethiopian, Russian/Baltic, etc. immediately next to one another; that's why it's unique (I'd know, I've been all over the US for business, pleasure, and life in general). Furthermore, San Francisco has multiple areas like this (Mission, Broadway, Irving, Valencia, to name a few)... most cities are lucky if they have one strip that's two blocks long like this! I walked about 3 miles on this one, and there was another good mile to go.
I hope that, at the very least, it made you realize how your preconceptions of SF - and California as a whole - were way off base.
Probably not lol.
Agree with everything else you said... Oakland has them too though
Agree with everything else you said... Oakland has them too though
Oh yeah ,definitely. I lived at San Pablo and Mead before they tried to "revitalize" the whole area, and while that was hardly the sort of area I'd suggest anyone stop on their big Bay Area trip unless they wanted to sample some authentic West Coast hood rock, the whole strip all up and down Broadway... all around Lake Merritt... large stretches of International... North Oakland... etc are all perfect examples of integration and diversity.
Remember one time I was driving home and passing by a middle school, and some kids crossing the street were ogling my car: a Vietnamese kid holding hands with a black girl, and a white kid holding hands with a Vietnamese girl, while an Indian/Pakistani kid and a black kid tossed a basketball up in the air. That sums it up pretty well.
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This is obviously a one-time occurence though... we'll be getting back to our scheduled programming of white and asian starbucks-sipping yuppies shortly.
I've seen soooo many shows up and down there... I also filled in on bass for a set at the Boom Boom Room once. The band was all white, the crowd was all black, haha.
