Discovering San Fran Hoods

I discovered Glen Park, another San Francisco neighborhood, not far from Portrero Hill, my temporary abode. Known to have a low profile, it's the first area this side of the bridge I drove around and thought, "this is California." It's also the first area inside the city I experienced "real burbs." It's much less urban that surrounding areas and the rent is a tad less than Noe Valley, Portrero, Bernal and South of Market properties. The downside is its distance from quaint streets lined with shops, supermarkets, coffee bars and restaurants like Noe and Pacific Heights offers. Glen Park does have a small center that sits at the base of Chenery. 

Two charming things worth a mention include its corner creperie and Bird & Beckett Books & Records, a quaint bookstore less than a block away. While ordering my traditional mushroom spinach favorite, I met a local writer. Although he mainly writes for non-profits, he recently wrote a chapter of The Political Edge. Bird & Beckett plans to do a book reading discussing the book on November 30 at 7 pm.

The Political Edge is a collection of essays by 25 San Francisco activists and writers on "elections, war, urban hell and transformational politics." Have you ever noticed a different tone and way of looking at the world when talking about cars between someone who owns one and someone who doesn't? The writer and I had one of those. He decided that he wanted to introduce me to a few "musts" every newcomer should know about, including Rainbow Grocery, an independent, collectively run cooperative that sells natural, organic and health conscious products, Sunflower, a small Vietmanese eaterie on 16th, and the view from Twin Peaks.

Every local has seen the view, drags relatives and friends to the top to see the view and has likely hiked the area around it. While I haven't really written about all the reasons I moved out here, a view like this one has to be among the list......a reminder of just how beautiful San Francisco really is. I'm surprised it took me so long to discover it.