Photo by The Tens
Here are a few local links to take you into the weekend…
- SFist brought our attention to an unexpectedly interesting photo essay on Outer Richmond District garage doors. Photo blogger The Tens has 34 shots in the series so far, full of contrasting colors and patterns.
- Sigh, another soon to be empty storefront on Geary… SF Eater reports that Thai fusion bistro “Morph”, located at 5344 Geary near the Alexandria, has called it quits. No one’s answering the phone and the lights are off. Never tried it, but we liked the decor when it opened in April, 2010.
- Ever gotten a ticket for not curbing your wheels properly? Beyond aggravating and as this 7×7 article points out, probably contestable. Their parking guru tells a reader how to prove that the ticket she got at 6th & Clement is erroneous. Score one for the citizens.
- If you’ve got a tough stomach and an adventurous appetite, head over to Kowloon Tong Dessert Cafe (393 7th Avenue) and try out their amphibious desserts. Yup, you read that right. NBC Bay Area highlights their “several desserts with snow frog (dried fatty tissue collected near the fallopian tubes) or tortoise jelly (a gelatin-like substance made with herbs and, possibly, ground turtle shell).” Supposedly good for respiratory ailments and better skin.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Sarah B.
Walked by Morph many many times, but it never seemed to be open and the menu never really grabbed me. I agree cute decor.
Ah ha, my suspicions have been confirmed. Every time I’ve walked by Morph the last few weeks it’s been closed. The last time I new it was over when they were closed on a Saturday night.
It’s a shame more people didn’t try Morph; the food was uniquely delicious and the owners extremely nice to their customers. We went quite a few times and will miss having them in the neighborhood. I wish them well.
Too bad about Morph not making it: we agree with Kate.
About the DPT:
Good habit to get into: always curb your wheels no matter what the grade.
Clearly, DPT (and other) officers have been told to issue tickets regardless of what the law says–“Ticket them all, and let God sort them out!” There is, of course, zero excuse for the DPT and its officers not to be aware of this portion of the law–and no excuse, either, for them not to have access to info on the actual grades covering their routes.
This kind of ticketing is, of course, oppressive. Often, it means that someone must make time to appear for a personal appeal at the DPT, and it’s difficult and expensive for a lot of rank-and-file workers to do that.
I suggest that, once you’ve successfully appealed your ticket–file a personal complaint against the DPT officer who signed it: If ignorance of the law is no excuse for the citizen accused of a violation, it is much less an excuse for an officer of the law at any level! And, no, officer, “I was only following orders” is not a defense,
Let’s flood the system with complaints!
Morph was a very good restaurant, with exceptional service. Again, I’ll make a special plea for business zoning in the Richmond. There are too many of one kind of restaurant, all packed together. I know from experience that MOST restaurant owners are first-timers; they don’t know what they;re getting themselves into, and if a commercial place already has a kitchen, it’s tempting to “try it out”. Sadly, 90% of new restaurants fail within 18 months.
Now, as a result, we have another empty storefront. Voila!
My post may elicit another hue and cry from those who say “let the market work”. My response: it’s not working so well, is it? Not when one considers all the empty commercial spaces in the Richmond.
Also, landlords, *clean up the facades of your commercial buildings*! Your negligence in this very important part of community and commercial responsibility makes the Richmond District look like a low-rent dump!
As for the “curb your wheels” violations: absurd. We do need better mass transport in this city, so more people can get out of their cars! Why can’t we have cheap, accessible, safe, transport that takes you where you want to go, when you want to go, like most civilized cities in Europe, and several cities here in the US?
@Phil: We do need better mass transit in San Francisco. Why don’t we have it? Because we have no way to finance it. In much of Europe, decent transit is part of the “social wage,” services consumed collectively and paid for by taxes. In California, transit is mostly seen as something for everyone to young, too poor, or too old, or too disabled to have or use a car. Even with SF, the pro-transit position often turns out to be, “Let’s get other people to take Muni (so that there will be more room on the roads for me and my car).” Some years ago, progressives put a proposition on the city ballot that would have directed some downtown property tax revenues to Muni, but it was narrowly defeated (massive resistance from SPUR and the Chron). Other problems: poor management at Muni and by the city in general (diversion of Muni funds to other city departments via bogus service invoices; the grandiose Central Subway project; etc.).
Honestly, being from Texas (Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio) I would say our public transportation here is pretty darn good. Yes, of course there is room for improvement. I myself live in the Inner Richmond and loathe taking two busses and an hour of my life to get to the Mission or the other side of downtown. I’m assuming it depends on where you are located in the city as to how efficient your specific bus route is, and there have been a handful of times where I have watched a bus drive past me, several feet ahead, a minute before it’s scheduled departure. But I’ve encountered more times where the driver has waited or stopped to let me on as he watches me run in desperation. My main suggestion would be to have BART come all the way out west to the ocean! Now THAT would be something.
Whitney, I am with you.
Up until last year, I lived in Austin, a rather progressive city, for 15 years. If people think Muni is bad, take a ride on CapMetro. Two buses to get across town in SF is nothing compared to the multiple lines you have to take in Austin and then you will likely still have to walk numerous blocks and cross extremely busy multi-lanes of traffic in 100-degree weather. I use Muni on a regular basis, but can only count on two fingers the number of times that I used CapMetro.
I also lived in Switzerland for a number of years and nearly used public transport exclusively. To get to one side of Zurich to the other, it would take you about an hour and usually a mix of trains, trams, or buses (depending on where you were going). Although it has its issues and funk, MUNI is more in line with European systems than it is with those in other U.S. metros.