MY FAVORITE CORNER OF SF
This article is part of My Favorite Corner of SF, a feature series that pays homage to a special place in the city.
How many lamentations have I shared with friends about how North Beach just isn’t the Italo-Bohemian hotspot it used to be. No question, tourism, and socio-economic factors have altered the face of the old neighborhood. Once I listened to Beat poet Jack Hirschman grandstand over a cappuccino inside a smoky cafe. Once, in City Lights poetry room, I chatted with the late Lawrence Ferlinghetti about our common Italian heritage.
But wait.
The truth is that some of us simply evolved with the place. From that long ago aspiration to be a poet, I transformed over time to seek lyricism in the motion of dance. And it’s happening weekly in the heart of North Beach at American Bites restaurant, 478 Green Street, where some of the old boutiques, watering holes, and shabby chicness endure.
Three nights a week, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., American Bites features dancing on the alfresco wooden deck out in the back. On Tuesdays it’s strictly Argentine tango, Wednesdays are for swing; Thursdays are for salsa. Dancers bring their own music and use Bluetooth to take advantage of the restaurant’s sound system.
It all happens on a floor once scuffed by Beats, Beatniks, and Bohemians. Formerly the Old Spaghetti Factory, the restaurant inhabits this 1908 San Francisco Landmark. If the two centenarian fig trees guarding the deck could talk, they’d tell on Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, and other enshrined North Beach literati. In the 1970s I watched flamenco dancer Cruz Luna here, perhaps planting the seed of my tango passion.
The dancing is free—but if you work up an appetite, the restaurant serves delicious fare with a great wine list and full bar. Owners Mike Saremy, Ali Azimdoost, and Mo Khosoosi, all from Iran, have enthusiastically supported the local dance community for a long time. Their Persian culture’s inherent love of food, music, and dance started in 1983 with their restaurant, Maykaydeh, which is connected to American Bites in front. Diners order from either menu.
Around the corner at 1414 Grant Avenue, get a whiff of old vinyl, some of it older than you. For thirty-five years, 101 Music has bought and sold records and CDs in a wide range of genres. For the tuned ear that thrills to analog recordings that capture all frequencies, the dimly lit boutique is a sonar paradise. A happy time warp of a place, it recalls that bygone “high-fidelity” listening experience. Made me want to rush home and spin my Allman Brothers’ “Eat a Peach.”
Speaking of time travel, the Foreign Lens, a gallery of photography dedicated to dance at 513 Green, boasts “Bohemian elegance.” It recalls an old French obsession. Years ago, I sought the Paris address of the Stein-Toklas salon that spawned the Lost Generation. The North Beach studio, too, fosters an international art community and exudes that vintage Parisian ambiance—a crucible of cutting-edge culture. It hosts music, cocktails, and sometimes tango dancers in its downstairs speakeasy. Find out about events, which have included live nude body painting, fashion show, performance art, fire dancer, and more, on their Facebook page.
Paces away are establishments that have survived the vicissitudes of time—and earthquakes. Caffe Trieste, 601 Vallejo, celebrating more than fifty years as the church of choice to the old and new ministers of culture, still caffeinates muses. Biordi Art Imports, 412 Columbus, with museum-quality ceramics and majolica straight from la Bella Italia, just celebrated its 75-year anniversary.
Sign up for The Bold Italic newsletter to get the best of the Bay Area in your inbox every week.
The Saloon, 1232 Grant, a blues bar that claims to have slaked thirsts since the 1800s (easy to believe), is in a Sam-Spade-like building that survived the 1906 quake. And much like the Saloon, this quaint, enchanting corner of The City By The Bay continues to exist; continues to thrive; continues to go onward.
One step, one bite at a time.
