Lately I've been taken aback by the gloomy public perception of San Francisco. Everyone seems to think it spent the pandemic spiraling down in a horrifying “doom loop” of non-stop crime and hopelessness, and has now degenerated into an apocalyptic hellscape.
Oh, please. People have been composing San Francisco's obituary ever since the end of the Gold Rush. It wasn't on life support in 1855 and it isn't now. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I spent an entire summer walking around the city, and what I discovered during those long rambles made it clear San Francisco is alive and kicking and still — if you know where to go — remarkably cheap and cheerful. It hasn't lost its quirky charm, freewheeling spirit, or mind-boggling innovation. Sure it has issues like any city, but never doubt that it is busy re-inventing our collective future.
My San Francisco became an instant bestseller in February, 2025.
Oh, please. People have been composing San Francisco's obituary ever since the end of the Gold Rush. It wasn't on life support in 1855 and it isn't now. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I spent an entire summer walking around the city, and what I discovered during those long rambles made it clear San Francisco is alive and kicking and still — if you know where to go — remarkably cheap and cheerful. It hasn't lost its quirky charm, freewheeling spirit, or mind-boggling innovation. Sure it has issues like any city, but never doubt that it is busy re-inventing our collective future.
My San Francisco became an instant bestseller in February, 2025.
This book is my small way of pushing back against the rising tide of misinformation that’s flooding our lives.
If you haven't read My San Francisco yet, you can order it HERE.
Already read this book? Please leave a review HERE.
You can purchase a signed paperback edition, in person or online, from
Rebound Bookstore in San Rafael, CA
If you haven't read My San Francisco yet, you can order it HERE.
Already read this book? Please leave a review HERE.
You can purchase a signed paperback edition, in person or online, from
Rebound Bookstore in San Rafael, CA
MY SAN FRANCISCO: THE ORIGINAL BLOG POSTS
DISCOVER MY PICKS FOR
THE BEST OF SAN FRANCISCO
The Literary Dive Bar Pub Crawl (What I Remember of It)
Tempest Bar & Box Kitchen, Vesuvio Café, Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Café
Bourdain Took One Look & Cried "Cowabunga!"
The Old Ship Saloon & Nob Hill: Cable Car Museum, Grace Cathedral, Tony Bennet Statue, the Tonga Room
Is the Modern Art World Completely Bananas?
Dogpatch: The Hard Knox Café, Minnesota Street Project, Marsella's Lasagneria, Dogpatch Saloon, Hells Angels HQ
"Don't worry, there's a shortcut."
Angel Island: Immigration Station
I Want to Be That Kind of Woman
Museum of African Diaspora, Yerba Buena Gardens, The Mother of San Francisco, The Grove, and the Official Death of the "Doom Loop" Narrative
Take Off on a Joyride
Carlin's Café, The Pirate Supply Store, Dog Eared Books, Fabulosa Books, Café de Casa
Eat, Drink & Be Merry at the Death Café
Mission Dolores, the Death Café, Death Doulas, and San Jalisco's Seafood Cocktail: Levanta Muertos (Raise the Dead)
We Are Not Yet a Lost Civilization
North Beach/Little Italy, Mara's, Washington Square, Saints Peter & Paul Church, Mama's
Predictions to Live by in the Year 02024
The Long Now, The Interval, Greens.
What? Why Is My Library Sealed Off with Crime Scene Tape?
The Castro, GLBT Museum, Orphan Andy's, Twin Peaks Tavern
My Cozy Lunch with a Short Story Vending Machine
Café Zoetrope in SF's Literary District
The Grit & Wisdom of the Tenderloin
Del's Tenderloin Tour, The Tenderloin Museum, Glide Memorial, and the city's most popular fried chicken
My Driverless Taxi's Meltdown on Telegraph Hill
Waymo, Coit Tower, Filbert Steps, Pier 23
A Surge of Sea Lions in Crazytown
Pier 39, Maritime Museum, Community Garden of Ft. Mason, Chestnut Diner
Could Kindness Save the World?
Presidio Social Club, Swords to Plowshares, Spark Social Food Trucks
"Creativity Is Intelligence Having Fun"
De Young Museum, Foghorn Taproom
Finding the Words That Let You Live Out Loud
City Lights Books, Beat Museum, Public Library, Brenda's Meat & Three
Hi, I'm Artificial Intelligence & I'm Here to Help You
Ippudo's Ramen Noodles, Driverless Taxis, Misalignment Museum
Real Reasons to Love Chinatown
Delicious Dim Sum, Hang Ah, Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, Bruce Lee
My Cheap & Cheerful Lunch in the Dystopian Hellscape
Red's Java House, SF Ferry Building
DISCOVER MY PICKS FOR
THE BEST OF SAN FRANCISCO
The Literary Dive Bar Pub Crawl (What I Remember of It)
Tempest Bar & Box Kitchen, Vesuvio Café, Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Café
Bourdain Took One Look & Cried "Cowabunga!"
The Old Ship Saloon & Nob Hill: Cable Car Museum, Grace Cathedral, Tony Bennet Statue, the Tonga Room
Is the Modern Art World Completely Bananas?
Dogpatch: The Hard Knox Café, Minnesota Street Project, Marsella's Lasagneria, Dogpatch Saloon, Hells Angels HQ
"Don't worry, there's a shortcut."
Angel Island: Immigration Station
I Want to Be That Kind of Woman
Museum of African Diaspora, Yerba Buena Gardens, The Mother of San Francisco, The Grove, and the Official Death of the "Doom Loop" Narrative
Take Off on a Joyride
Carlin's Café, The Pirate Supply Store, Dog Eared Books, Fabulosa Books, Café de Casa
Eat, Drink & Be Merry at the Death Café
Mission Dolores, the Death Café, Death Doulas, and San Jalisco's Seafood Cocktail: Levanta Muertos (Raise the Dead)
We Are Not Yet a Lost Civilization
North Beach/Little Italy, Mara's, Washington Square, Saints Peter & Paul Church, Mama's
Predictions to Live by in the Year 02024
The Long Now, The Interval, Greens.
What? Why Is My Library Sealed Off with Crime Scene Tape?
The Castro, GLBT Museum, Orphan Andy's, Twin Peaks Tavern
My Cozy Lunch with a Short Story Vending Machine
Café Zoetrope in SF's Literary District
The Grit & Wisdom of the Tenderloin
Del's Tenderloin Tour, The Tenderloin Museum, Glide Memorial, and the city's most popular fried chicken
My Driverless Taxi's Meltdown on Telegraph Hill
Waymo, Coit Tower, Filbert Steps, Pier 23
A Surge of Sea Lions in Crazytown
Pier 39, Maritime Museum, Community Garden of Ft. Mason, Chestnut Diner
Could Kindness Save the World?
Presidio Social Club, Swords to Plowshares, Spark Social Food Trucks
"Creativity Is Intelligence Having Fun"
De Young Museum, Foghorn Taproom
Finding the Words That Let You Live Out Loud
City Lights Books, Beat Museum, Public Library, Brenda's Meat & Three
Hi, I'm Artificial Intelligence & I'm Here to Help You
Ippudo's Ramen Noodles, Driverless Taxis, Misalignment Museum
Real Reasons to Love Chinatown
Delicious Dim Sum, Hang Ah, Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, Bruce Lee
My Cheap & Cheerful Lunch in the Dystopian Hellscape
Red's Java House, SF Ferry Building
KEEP IN TOUCH!
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