Adobe Bookshop brings me much happiness. Not only are there a zillion wonderful used books of all kinds, there is the man behind the books, Andrew McKinley. He is the heart and soul, and his wise, welcoming and super fun personality draws all sorts of colorful characters to gather and be eccentric.

One day when I was walking around in the hills behind my house, I happened upon this bizarre street. It was as though someone had taken postmodernism and tried to make it into a block of houses. Each one has its own internally complete theme, involving strange colors and sculptural elements attached to the outside walls (gold eggs, wisps of wrought iron). This led me on subsequent walks to name them: the Corbusier House, the Barn, the Preschool Blocks house, the House of Wicca… and so on.

Reliably divey, with an ample back patio, ill-advertised punk shows and the occasional appearance of dollar oysters.

A veteran San Francisco arts institution that recently moved from its home in the Mission to the bottom of the San Francisco Chronicle Building. Their gallery regularly puts on exhibitions that are relevant, accessible, and often straight up delightful. As opposed to some of the more buttoned-up galleries, Intersection’s penchant for participatory pieces is met with a regular crowd that tends to be game for participating, which always makes for a good time.

Very friendly neighborhood coffee shop with a tasty simple brunch menu. You can find me there Sunday morning reading.