Image via Passport

The San Francisco Agenda was Passport’s first pop up blog, and we hope you enjoyed all the great people and places we discovered and shared with you. By inviting writers and photographers from around the world to contribute to our Pop Up Blogs, we hope to provide you with an insider’s knowledge of the people and places that make each city we visit unique and exciting.

Each of the blog postings from the San  Francisco Agenda are archived here to help you plan your visits to wonderful the City by the Bay. A big thank you to Jim Gladstone for his amazing reviews and interviews.

BTW: What city would you like us to feature in our next Pop Up Blog? Let us know.

All the best from Team Passport!

I’ve been more than a little surprised to see lots and lots of discounted tickets popping up on online bargain websites for the American Conservatory Theater’s production of The Normal Heart. Last year, A.C.T.’s lighthearted Tales of the City was a tough ticket, and its run was extended multiple times. But this season’s gay-themed mainstage production appears to be lacking buzz. As playwright Larry Kramer might say (or scream): Shame!

Kramer’s scorching 1985 autobiographical drama about the early days of AIDS in New York is a ferociously emotional and political work of theater that was “ripped from the headlines” when first produced and today might be called “ripped from the history books.” The play helped catalyze and amplify community anger over the dismissal of the burgeoning epidemic by government and the medical institutions, and begin to move our country forward toward saner policy. The Normal Heart proved that art can make a difference in American society.

Michael Berresse, left, and Tom Berklund in The Normal Heart. (Photo: Scott Suchman)

The production at A.C.T., directed by George C. Wolfe, won last year’s Tony for Best Revival of a Play. Currently in preview performances, it officially opens next Wednesday.

Do San Franciscans feel The Normal Heart will bring back too many difficult memories? In the face of Prop 8, Mitt Romney, and rising presence of AIDS among younger generations, are today’s gay men so ready to bury our heads and ignore the still urgent messages of this landmark piece of political art? Here’s a fascinating interview with Kramer, conducted in conjunction with the play’sopening in New York last year.

Man up, San Francisco, and support this important production.

Amidst a Bay Area bar scene often flawed by overhype and overcrowding, on of my favorite ways to pass a Sunday morning is a visit to Zeitgeist. The Mission stalwart’s biker bar decor and rowdy, crowded late night scene cede to a calming quiet with sleepy-eyed early shift bartenders, and lemony sun spilling across the patio beer garden. Doors open at 9am, and until 11 or so, you and your crew can pretty much have the place to yourself.

You don’t have a wait to play game after game of pool at the red-felted table. The click of cues and the echoing roll of successfully sunken balls provide a meditative percussion, a sweet simple sound to start a day of lazy leisure.

And that crimson cloth constantly reminds you to order up another tall, tangy, justifiably celebrated Zeitgeist Bloody Mary. An awakening kick of pickle juice, a scold of grated of horseradish and a side-salad’s worth of briny vegetable garnishes make it seem sufficiently virtuous for pre-noon imbibing.

For a couple years now, the  Off the Grid organization has been choreographing regularly scheduled al fresco food courts, handling the logistics and licenses required to have three-to-eight food trucks corralled in a core urban location for a few hours of lunch or dinner time revelry, creating steady income streams for mobile food entrepreneurs and bringing a sense of camaraderie to local communities. Their online calendar provides info on where and when you’re guaranteed to find eclectic meals on wheels every day of the week.

But, now,  the next stage of street food evolution has arrived: There’s no need to check a calendar to get your grub on at the SOMA StrEatfood Park.  Opened this summer in a heavily trafficked area South of Market, the brainchild of Carlos Muela—proprietor of first-rate Mission tapas bar Esperpento—has turned a vacant lot into a festive hub of eclectic, modestly priced eats every day of the week—at lunch and dinner. It’s also about to become a major nexus of weekend nightlife, with a third shift of trucks now taking over on Friday and Saturday nights from Midnight to 4 am. From Vietnamese bahn mi, to pulled pork mac and cheese, to burritos, to chicken schnitzel, to falafel, to fresh baked cookies, this is a cornucopia on macadam.

As many as 10 trucks a shift set up camp around StrEatfood’s clever, barn-like covered seating area complete with big screen TVs playing local sporting events, heat lamps for the cooler weather, and—this being San Francisco—free WiFi access. And—drum roll please—there are public restrooms.

The StrEatfood Park also also has outdoor seating, with clustered plantings that make it feel less like a vacant lot than an urban garden.  At night, strings of tiny lights give the venue an carnival air as tail lights whiz by on the freeway above and giant billboards loom overhead.  There’s a gritty, urban magic to the place that’s likely to turn it into a regular spot on the itinerary of more adventurous tourists.

The Agenda is a big advocate of seeing movies on a big screen, surrounded by a crowd of friends and strangers connected by laughter, suspense, pathos, and excitement. Sure, the ability to watch Mark Ruffalo while sprawled on your couch in nothing but boxers and a blankie is a benefit to home viewing, but we spend so much solo screen time these days that the communal experience of film in a theater is well-worth hanging on to.

But the economics can feel tough to justify:  Up to $12 a ticket (never mind popcorn and parking) at many SF theaters makes regular moviegoing a hard pill to swallow.  For goodness’ sake, its only five bucks or so to rent a film and squeeze a whole gang of skivvy-clad Mark Ruffalo fans onto your comfy loveseat (Don’t forget to factor in the cost of a massive afghan).

Enter compromise, in the form of the SF MovieBears, a group of furry, film-loving fellows who—out of pure sociability and movie love—organize weekly group movie nights which allow members of the general public (regardless of physique, hirsuteness, and gender) to purchase discount tickets (usually $8) to screenings of first run films. You just reserve online, show up at the theater to get your ticket, and enjoy.  You can even sit wherever you want, although introducing yourself and sitting with other MovieBear participants offers a great opportunity for making new friends with at least one (movies) and quite possibly two (bears) common interests.

Jake Grrrrr..ylenhall in End of Watch, the MovieBear screening on October 3

Among upcoming outings are:

—Keep the Lights On,  the much buzzed about film about a gay relationship sullied by drug abuse

—The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a coming of age comedy featuring Ezra Miller, the demon seed from We Need to Talk About Kevin

—End of Watch, with Jake Gyllenhall as a cop

Check out th SF Movie Bears website to learn about their other social events, including nights at the theater, karaoke parties, hiking excursions, and more.

John Epperson

Last week, we took our own Agenda advice and checked out John Epperson performing as his alter ego Lypskinka…who was in turn performing as one of her many alter egos, Joan Crawford. The Passion of the Crawford is a rich, sly salute to one of the great gay icons, in which Epperson recreates an interview with the legend in her later years, disappearing into character while flawlessly lip-syncing to a recording of the actual event. Lip-syncing the spoken word requires a level of precision beyond what’s required to mouth along to pop songs, but Epperson is so technically on point that one actually forgets that he isn’t speaking—this is no drag show, its a display of extraordinary acting and remarkable physical discipline.

While post-modern drag is all the rage here in San Francisco, the evening had me feeling a tinge of mournfulness for studious exercises in camp and diva worship like Epperson’s. My partner and I—both in our mid-40s—were among the youngest gay men in the audience. Even as The New Normal takes to the airwaves and new norms begin to elevate society as a whole, one senses that a certain reverence for the gay past is beginning to wane. “Gay history” has really only been a topic of study for the past half century or so, yet—reflecting other ageist ways of our tribe—cultural touchstones that go back more than a few decades are starting to be treated like “gay ancient history.”

Are there any twentysomething gay boys who will carry the torch for Joan Crawford? Seems like Lady Gaga is already over for most of them.

So, if you’re over 35, here’s your assignment:  Be a Daddy Dearest.School a twink! Treat a young friend to The Passion of the Crawford,—which continues through this Sunday at The Rrazz Room, lend them some classic movie DVDs (How quaint…haven’t you heard of streaming?), take them to task!

And for you discerning gentlemen who recognize timeless classics and have no inclination to ever brush them aside, come share your good taste with John Epperson, himself, making a rare public appearance in trousers, and at the piano, for a one night cabaret performance of “An Evening with Lypsinka’s Maid”  on Monday night, September 17, at the Rrazz. Expect songs, stories, and appropriate deference to our distant 20th century past.

More drag delights? Check out a local star in and out of character, here.

San Francisco Cocktail Week gets underway next Monday, with a spirited series of events, from lectures to tastings to tours. Highlights include The Best of the West— a showcase of signature drinks from top mixologists in SF, Las Vegas, Portland, LA, Reno, Seattle, and Sacramento—and a prison-themed closing party at St. George Spirits in Alameda with $5 shuttle bus service to and from the Ferry Building in SF, so no one need go to the clink on a DUI.

As our own toast to to the festivities, the Agenda is happy to share 3 Cheers— a few of our favorite spots to imbibe in the Bay Area:

 1) Oakland’s District is is blessed with the genius of Spirits Director Caterina Mirabelli, a master of unexpected pairings. Go for the “Ryes to the Occasion” flight of whiskeys, carefully matched with selections from chef Bob Cina’s house made charcuterie offerings and take your palate into an unexpected realm of adventure.

7 days to mix it up (Photo courtesy of SF Cocktail Week)

2) One tends to think of Italian restaurants as unlikely locales for great bar programs, but Locanda in the Mission belies that assumption. Our favorite is the Helen di Montenegro, a smoothly balanced blend of tequila, amaro, agave, grapefruit and lime that’s none-too-sweet and awakens the palate for the heartier flavors of the Roman-style cuisine (Try the fettucini with rabit sugo and chicory).

3) A few times a year, I drop into Specs, conveniently located across the street from City Lights Books, with which it shares an air of San Francisco bohemia. This dark, bric-a-brac barnacled booze cave opened back in 1968 and never seems to change. Its not so much a time capsule as a capsule of timelessness. You can count on the presence of a taxidermied armadillo, a handful of pickled patrons, and the blessed absence of a television—which fosters conversations among strangers. Order straightforwardly: a Guinness, a shot of Jack, or a martini. And a plastic basket of cheese and crackers.

Video from Cocktail Week 2010, after the jump
Read more…

Welcome to a special “Double Take” Edition of Insider Tips.

J. Conrad Frank (Photo: Werner Images)

About three years ago, I was enjoying a Saturday lunch at the late lamented Blue restaurant in the Castro when I glanced across the room and spotted a tall lanky fellow with a handsome profile that struck me familiar. I racked my brain trying to figure out where I recognized him from before finally catching his eye and asking him where he worked, assuming I’d seen him at some shop, bar, or cafe I frequented.

“I’m a performer,” he said, introducing himself as Conrad. In that moment, it all clicked—I’d seen his face for weeks, made-up and bewigged, in advertisements for a Christmas show he was performing as his drag persona, the Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy. What a strange—and slightly embarrassing—sensation it was, to realize that I’d not been able to break through my perceptual gender wall to recognize Frank’s striking, singular face out of female context.

Well, Frank—who’s performed male roles in local productions of The Temperamentals and Sweeney Todd over the past year as well as doing regular gigs as Katya—is taking gender-blending one step further as the first drag headliner at San Francisco’s Penthouse Club, in a special Divas! Cabaret Brunch on Sunday, September 16.  The club—regularly packed with conventioneers and other afficionadoes of authentic boobage—advertises with the slogan: “Where the magazine comes to life.” Well, next Sunday, we can amend that to “Where the magazine comes to life…for those of us who read the Forum column with a cockeyed perspective.”

We’ve asked Conrad to answer our Insider Tips questionnaire below.  And if you click here, you can read Katya’s answers to the same queries.