the bay area needs more ...

11 THINGS: THE BAY AREA NEEDS MORE OF

Thursday, July 6, 2006

1. Miniature golf courses: Let's see: one in Livermore, one in Castro Valley, one in Cordelia, one in Sunnyvale, one in Redwood City and none in San Francisco. Runner-up: pinball machines.

2. Outdoor beer gardens: Zeitgeist in San Francisco is nice, but always overcrowded when the sun is shining. Runner-up: rooftop beer gardens.

3. Peet's: The phone book indicates approximately 77 Starbucks and 12 Peet's in San Francisco. Either we need approximately 65 more Peet's or 65 fewer Starbucks. Runner-up: morning exercise.

4. Shabu Shabu restaurants: There's a Happy Shabu Shabu restaurant in San Francisco, and that makes us happy happy, but genuine shabu shabu remains seriously hard to find. Runner-up: karaoke bars.

5. Independent movie houses: One in the Sunset would be nice ... and just about anywhere in the 'burbs. Runner-up: drive-in movie theaters ... including one on Treasure Island.

6. People taking BART to airports: Why should BART build an Oakland Airport connector if the trains to SFO are close to empty? Runner-up: support for a Geary Blvd. streetcar (or monorail).

7. Giant outfielders young-er than 40: Moises Alou fell out of contention this past Sunday. Runner-up: A's who can hit.

8. Franchise NBA players: There -- we said it (with apologies to Jason Richardson and Baron Davis). Close runner-up: franchise coaches and general managers.

9. Frank Chus: Saw him several times recently, each time looking progressively worse. Runner-up: explanations for his eccentric existence.

10. Alternatives to Comcast: It took 12 calls to get a basic refund. Comcastic? More like sarcastic. Runner-up: alternatives to television.

11. Subversion of the dominant paradigm: Runner-up: winks ... and nods.

Tim Sullivan, tsullivan@sfchronicle.com

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/06/NSGP2JOOPJ1.DTL

This article appeared on page H - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle