The Bold Italic

SF I love you. Unrequitedly. Your subterranean nightlife is beautiful, as any road to ruin can be. Still I love you. You’re an affliction.

San Francisco, you opened my mind.
You drained my soul.

And still I love you.
You’re an affliction.

A 4 Year Old Reviews Chez Panisse She insisted that only girls could be food reviewers because boys “would just punch everything and kick the food.”

A 4 year old reviews Chez Panisse.

Apple juice? A triumph.
Sparkling water? Immediate betrayal.

She took one sip and spat it back into the beautifully engraved glass like a tiny, hydrated villain.

How to party like it’s the Met Gala in San Francisco People tell me all the time how drab San Francisco is, as they might put it: no one dresses up, and where are the good parties? Glamour does exist in ye olde city of denim, hoodies, and Crocs — you ju...

People love to say San Francisco is drab.
“No one dresses up.”
“Where are the good parties?”

Meanwhile we're running from Grace Cathedral to SFMOMA in a ballgown.

San Francisco is not a hellscape at all I had my first real visit in SF recently, and don’t worry: I had a nice time!

If I believed every doom-loop headline about San Francisco, I would’ve missed one of the best trips of my life. San Francisco is not a hellscape at all.

This was Santa Skivvies 2024 Jingle bells, jiggling butts, and holiday hijinks. It’s San Francisco’s sequin-soaked blend of charity and nakedness in the Castro.

Any day that starts with a promise of leather, red jockstraps, and antler headbands can only end in peppermint schnapps and shame. And also prove once again that San Francisco knows how to do the holidays better — and weirder — than anywhere else.

Demi Moore, Austin Butler, and Zac Posen take on The Bay (sort of) San Francisco’s SFFILM Awards Night brought an unexpected dose of star power to our foggy streets.

Demi Moore, Austin Butler, and Denis Villeneuve lit up SFFILM’s red carpet on Monday, bringing Hollywood to our land of denim and foggy streets. A record $500K raised, big-screen cinema celebrated, and just enough snark (from us) to keep it real.

‘Drag on Ice’ deepened my love for San Francisco From audience member to performer, Joe Wadlington shares his experience gliding across the Union Square rink in glitter outfits and wigs.

I wrote about performing in “Drag on Ice” for the @thebolditalic.bsky.social

thebolditalic.com/drag-on-ice-...

Q Bar returns along with ‘Booty Call Wednesdays’ — and Castro heals a bit more It’s a homecoming for a party that once defined the midweek in Castro. Juanita More brings queer community back inside the cramped space.

QBar has risen from the ashes of a devastating fire, and Booty Call Wednesdays made its triumphant return along with it. Packed dance floors, rainbow lights, and nostalgic vibes made Thanksgiving one to blur out with booze—in the best way. 🥂

‘A Man On The Inside’ doesn’t give SF enough screen time But the Netflix show is still an enjoyable Ted Danson dramedy.

Ted Danson in San Francisco? Yes, but not really. 'A Man On The Inside' features SF as a backdrop, but most of the action unfolds in cozy interiors. The series is worth the watch for its poignant reflections on life’s later chapters, not for sightseeing. Here's our take:

Q Bar returns along with ‘Booty Call Wednesdays’ — and Castro becomes a little more whole It’s a homecoming for a party that once defined the midweek in Castro. Juanita More brings queer community back inside the cramped space.

Q Bar has risen from the ashes — literally. The storied watering hole finally reopened a few weeks ago after an intense fire sent the bar on a 5-year hiatus. Now in its triumphant return, Q Bar’s dance floor is already packed with energy and nostalgia.

My latest for @thebolditalic.bsky.social!

The olds love Cyndi Lauper A legend at Chase Center delivers sincerity, silliness, and a show that’s hard to define. Did she stick the landing? Well…

Cyndi Lauper — known for her unique voice, activism, and 80s perms — delivered less of a self-sendoff and more of a Sesame Street variety hour at Chase Center. Did we hate it? No. But the rose-colored reviews on this one need a little comeuppance.

How to gaslight your family into thinking you cooked Thanksgiving dinner Nothing says “chef at work” like a little flour on your shirt. Turn that grocery store dessert into a heartfelt heirloom.

Are you hosting Thanksgiving but hate cooking? Turn your kitchen into a theater of lies.

Are you dreading or dreaming of SantaCon's return?

Is there any late-night food in San Francisco? While there are scant midnight offerings here, they are by no means gone entirely.

Is there any late-night food in San Francisco? The answer is yes. While there are scant midnight offerings here, they are by no means gone entirely:

Happy holidays, San Francisco.

📸 by Dana Veeder.

Why now is the best time to live in San Francisco Does anyone in mainstream media have anything nice to say about San Francisco?

Does anyone in mainstream media have anything nice to say about San Francisco? Or is it just fun and trendy to shit all over what is still — by any standard — the most beautiful big city in America?

What to do in San Francisco for the holidays In a city teeming with transplants, many visit home for the holidays. But there’s still much to do during this festive time of year, 2023.

Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃 SF is a city teeming with transplants, and many of us visit home for the holidays. But there’s still much to do during this festive time of year locally, or to vacation. Here are our ideas:

While Westfield Centre flounders, Stonestown Galleria thrives A tale of two malls in San Francisco.

While Westfield Centre flounders, Stonestown Galleria thrives. This is a tale of two malls in San Francisco.

It's a beautiful time to be in San Francisco.

📸 by Bilal Mahmood

Look what arrived at Fisherman's Wharf 💕🎡

📸 by Dana Veeder

San Francisco is dead? Tell that to the thousands at Chinatown Night Market. Dragons, lions and dim sum: the evening festivities packed Grant Avenue two nights in a row.

thebolditalic.com/san-francisc...

San Francisco: a city of sirens and foghorns; cable cars & church bells. Few places take it all in more than Nob Hill. Hillsides, towers, incoming fog banks, hidden parks, technicolor apartment buildings changing from block to block.

Story here: thebolditalic.com/why-i-love-n...

Jewish-owned ice creamery Smitten to reopen after targeted, pro-Palestinian vandalism Smitten, a Jewish-owned ice creamery is set to reopen after its storefront was vandalized and targeted with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

Smitten, the Jewish-owned SF ice cream shop targeted with vandalism and pro-Palestinian graffiti in a potential hate crime, will reopen.

Castro Halloween’s triumphant and low-key return made us smile. To our eyes, it felt like a regular Halloween weekend in our city’s queerest neighborhood.

📸 of @maxdubler.com and Carl Cade of the Transamerica Pyramid and Karl the Fog.

Story here: thebolditalic.com/castro-hallo...

Love it. We definitely want to do drag of them now.

Anyone remember these two? San Francisco's most famous twins, Marian and Vivian Brown. Photo of them in 1990 enjoying high tea, taken by Carol Highsmith.