Tom Prete Family Man

What are you up to these days? I run the Ocean Beach Bulletin , a news source for far-western San Francisco. I’m also a not-often-enough freelance writer and editor, and full-time dad to two great kids.

Where would you have your last meal on earth? I'd like to keel over into a plate of sand dabs after three martinis with my mistress in a private booth at Sam's on Belden Place. But that requires a mistress. How about a big, fat Dungeness crab, a hunk of sourdough, and two Anchor Steam beers?

Why do you love your neighborhood? I love the people who really want to be here, whether they’re surfers leaving wet footprints on the sidewalk, Chinese grandmas in cardigans and trucker caps, the circle of Irish nannies at the playground, or the high school guys who used to hang out at Stern Grove and still have a primered El Camino in the garage. 

What's your favorite under-the-radar restaurant? Win's Restaurant on Taraval Street. At lunch time there’s often a line of construction workers out the door, which I always take as a good sign. Try the roast pork.

Who's your favorite quintessential local character? Pat Maguire, who owns the two Java Beach Cafés, and Beachside Coffee Bar and Kitchen. It was largely Pat and Buffy’s presence at Java Beach that created the environment that allowed Judah to flourish again. Ocean Beach had some sketchy years before they set up in the early '90s.