TENDERLOIN GEMS IN THE NEWS

A San Francisco Champion

David Lazar ends a 33-year career with the San Francisco Police Department this week. He leaves as among the most acclaimed members of the SFPD in its modern history; from Chinatown to the Tenderloin to SOMA, many see Lazar as a community hero.

La Voz Latina, which empowers immigrant families in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, celebrates its 20th Anniversary this week. The group has made a dramatic contribution to the lives of immigrant families, providing essential services for a Latino community that reflects an historic shift in the Tenderloin’s population.

Holy Stitch founder Julian Prince Dash believes jeans are a lot like people. “They might look plain on the outside, but you never know what’s going on inside,” he said.

That’s why the self-taught tailor, designer and nonprofit leader hides all kinds of surprises in his denim. The lining of Holy Stitch pants contains text telling the jeans’ individual story, and the pockets are lined with leopard print to represent the animal nature hidden within us. The overarching message: Appearances can be deceiving.

Justin Bautista loves the Tenderloin. It’s “the whole world in a neighborhood,” he says.

“You can hear five different languages when you go down the street, or you can get food from 15 different cultures on three blocks, you know?” Bautista said on a recent afternoon as he ran an errand during his lunch break. “This kind of mosaic of people and businesses and attitude is, to me, what makes any city great.”

In the before times, Donna Personna said, “there was no history.”

The activist, former Cockette and current Aunt Charlie’s Lounge performer recalled how, at the height of the AIDS crisis, she was part of multiple community groups that cleared out the homes of the dead.

As the Trump Administration issues “gender ideology” directives and anti-trans legislation, San Francisco will celebrate today’s Transgender Day of Visibility – one ensured with an expansion in progress at the Tenderloin Museum, the exisiting Transgender District and the opening this month of an immersive play on some of the community’s history.

Hanging on the walls of a new Lower Nob Hill brick and mortar are five rare delicately painted leather jackets with phrases like, “Nothing Can Break Me,” and “London Calling.” Welcome to Punk Majesty (1124 Sutter St.) The showroom, available to visit on appointment seven days a week, sits on Sutter across from the Funeral Home Directory, waiting for the right person to step inside and discover its magic.

A free event next month in the Tenderloin to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, is expected to draw thousands.

The inaugural Tenderloin Eid Street Fair, set for April 5, will feature local food vendors such as Fanoos Grill, Habibi’s Birria, Yemeni Kabab & Mediterranean, and Z Zoul Cafe, which are allowed to cook outdoors for the first time in the neighborhood.

San Francisco’s Chinatown has its iconic Lunar New Year parade and block party, North Beach boasts the Italian Heritage Parade and who could forget the Mission’s Carnaval celebration?

Now, thanks to local community organizers and the district’s first Muslim American supervisor, the Tenderloin will introduce its own cultural fete: the Eid Night Market Street Fair, slated for April 5.

Draymond Green, a four-time NBA champion and longtime Golden State Warrior, is stepping into San Francisco’s restaurant scene with the opening of MESKI.

Chef Azalina Eusope continues to make her mark as an ambassador for Malaysian cuisine in this cleverly designed space that calls to mind a tropical hideaway ensconced in the rough-and-tumble Tenderloin.

There are those who veer toward excess for the sake of excess — the Action Bronson-esque gourmands of the world — but, in a city as expensive as San Francisco, finding cheap meals and affordable sandwiches is just plain smart. Believe it or not, San Francisco is stuffed with financially accessible restaurants, cafes, and bars. Inexpensive sandwiches and noodles in the Financial District are here to prove the point for the naysayers in the back: this city can be affordable if you search for it. Try any of these 15 businesses to confirm the possibly shocking news for yourself.

Sungho does what they’re calling “Korean soul food” in the Tenderloin. It’s an option in the area for comfort dishes like kimchi pancakes, 24-hour simmered pork bone soup, and spicy marinated crab.

New San Francisco hotel, an urban retreat

The new Timbri Hotel San Francisco just opened its doors in the city’s Mid-Market neighborhood, providing a “sanctuary” vibe in the heart of a bustling city. The hotel, San Francisco’s first Curio Collection by Hilton property, offers 236 modern yet cozy rooms, a rooftop solarium with a bar and panoramic city views, a fitness center, and several onsite eateries.

Hilton’s Curio Collection has added the Timbri Hotel San Francisco, a new 236-room property in San Francisco’s Mid-Market district. The Timbri opened on Jan. 3. Accommodations feature floor-to-ceiling windows as well as amenities like deep soaking tubs and minibars showcasing locally made products.

For standout bánh mì, ramen, pupusas, and more, head to these spots. In these nearly half a square mile of city blocks, you’ll find our very own Little Saigon, vibrant farmers markets, and some of SF’s best restaurants—everything from family-run phở joints and slice shops to fancy tasting menu spots ideal for a special occasion. Here are the top places to eat in the Tenderloin.

You’d think you should prioritize ordering a kebab at Yemeni Kebab & Mediterranean, which opened a couple of months ago in the Tenderloin right across from The Warfield Theater.

For a recent show about China’s Bronze Age, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco invited a group of Bay Area content creators who specialise in textile and costume design for a private tour with the exhibition’s curator.

There’s a cluster of bánh mì options in the Tenderloin at Larkin and Eddy—Saigon Sandwich, L&G, and Bo & Beurre, which has a slightly longer menu and higher prices than the others.

This Turkish spot in the Tenderloin is big enough to do a Biles II in, so you can always count on it for a last-minute group dinner.

It’s a Thursday night at Chapeau on Clement Street, and the scene is so familial and wholesome, it almost seems like you’re a guest at someone’s house. Owner and executive chef Philippe Gardelle is standing at the door welcoming regular customers with hugs. “Do you want your usual table?” he asks in a thick French accent.

“When I started working here, we had one bartender who was a former empress of the Imperial Council of San Francisco named Mae,” Joe Mattheisen, manager of Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, tells me. “She had a glass eye, and she’d roll it down the bar saying, ‘looking at you’, or drop it in somebody’s drink.”

The location of this Malaysian restaurant in the heart of the Tenderloin neighborhood is no accident. James Beard Award-recognized chef Azalina Eusope has been bringing her food and culture to this corner of the city for decades, first selling at the farmers market and later at a stall inside the Twitter building.

Don’t think K-pop, K-dramas or K-anything is for you? Curators of a just-opened exhibit at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum aim to prove otherwise.

For Estrella Gonzalez and her mother, Maria del Carmen Flores, the opening of their restaurant in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood is the realization of a long-held dream.

The best things in life are uncomplicated. A capsule closet. Slip-on sneakers. The chords to “I’m Yours.” And, of course, Outta Sight Pizza.

During this week’s First Thursday Art Walk in San Francisco’s Tenderloin Museum, neighbors and guests celebrated “Tenderloin Blackness,” an upbeat exhibition about the notable personalities who made the area a hub for Black people.

During this week’s First Thursday Art Walk in San Francisco’s Tenderloin Museum, neighbors and guests celebrated “Tenderloin Blackness,” an upbeat exhibition about the notable personalities who made the area a hub for Black people.

August’s First Thursdays Art Walk is not to be missed, John Vochatzer aka Calamity Fair co-owner of the beloved Moth Belly Gallery is having a solo show “All The Little Things That Happened In Our Heads” featuring 100 new drawings.

A dozen kids sat at the edge of the Phoenix Hotel swimming pool in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood on a recent Wednesday, dangling their legs in the water, unsure about going any farther. But standing in the shallow end to coax them in were two instructors from Tankproof, a national nonprofit with a mandate to teach beginners how to swim.

What started more than 90 years ago as the Gaylord Hotel is now more than a decade into its new life as a collection of bars and an event space near the theater district, and it’s become a citywide favorite.

A longstanding La Cocina food-hall vendor is back with her own brick-and-mortar restaurant nearby almost a year after the marketplace closed.

Mộng Thu Vietnamese Cafe in San Francisco is family-run oasis for bánh mi and noodles in the Tenderloin.

The Rosebud Gallery SF presents “Hungry,” a show that seeks to present a diverse cross section of queer art.

This Tenderloin spot is perhaps the best known Turkish restaurant in the city, and for good reason. The menu is fresh and full of authentic dishes that are often made by hand, including pide, the popular Turkish pizza equivalent. Their lentil soup, served with homemade bread, is a menu standout.

Tilted Brim’s best-selling item is a hoodie that, in big, arched capital text, reads “Tenderloin.”

Grab a group of friends and head to one of these spots serving bottomless mimosas (or at least big batches) of all colors and flavors to keep the good times pouring at brunch.

You’re coming to Pho 2000 to demolish a bowl of fragrant soup as big as a dunk tank.

Skateboarders do not look at the city — any city — the same way that non-skaters do.Skateboarders have brains that make instant calculations using principles of geometry and physics, and are hardwired to evaluate ways around obstacles and over gaps.

When San Francisco chef Azalina Eusope was named a semifinalist in the 2024 James Beard Awards—the so-called Oscars of the food world—it did not translate to lines out the door at her Malaysian restaurant, Azalina’s.

Traversing San Francisco’s Tenderloin and neighboring Polk Gulch hoods today and remembering the once-vibrant queer community that existed there only two decades before makes one want to cry out “Rosebud,” like the titular character in Orson Welle’s Citizen Kane.

Rosebud Gallery, which is set to open on March 7th, will exist as a ‘community-focused creative haven’ that celebrates SF’s inclusivity and resilience.

SAN FRANCISCO — Julian Prince Dash started Holy Stitch Factory Fellowship, a non-profit sewing school and mentorship program in San Francisco, California.

For San Francisco restaurateur Cristina Wu Feng, growing up in Venezuela as the child of Chinese immigrants was not easy. She avoided bringing traditional Chinese foods like duck and pork to school and made sure to only speak Cantonese at home.

The James Beard Foundation Awards are known as the “Oscars of the food world” for good reason — it’s the industry’s highest honor, celebrating the country’s best chefs and restaurants of the year.

Cantoo checks all the boxes of a great casual lunch and dinner spot. They have massive plates of Venezuelan Chinese noodles, rotisserie, and empanadas, a big space where it’s easy to get a table, and a speedy takeout operation.

The Tenderloin reminds me of New York in the 1980s, unkempt, unsanitized, the intersection of Bleecker and the Bowery. There are stretches of sidewalk in the Tenderloin where you have to hold your breath — and close your eyes.

Queer-run Brenda’s French Soul Food has been our best, authentic New Orleans restaurant. Partners in business and life, Brenda Buenviaje and Libby Truesdell, opened the equally great Brenda’s Meat & Three in 2014 on Divisadero.

The notorious Tenderloin. It’s a symbol of so many problems afflicting San Francisco. Homelessness, drug overdoses, retail theft, general filth.

But I have to admit, it’s one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.

The Tenderloin reminds me of New York in the 1980s, unkempt, unsanitized, the intersection of Bleecker and the Bowery.

Moth Belly Gallery co-owner John Vochatzer refuses to surrender San Francisco to its late technocratic occupants.

Donna Personna does not want to be tolerated.

“I am to be loved, adored and respected,” the 72-year-old San Francisco woman declared on a recent morning, seated inside her fifth-story apartment.

It was after the bars had closed and well into the pre-dawn hours of an August morning in 1966 when San Francisco cops were in Gene Compton’s cafeteria again. They were arresting drag queens, trans women and gay hustlers who had been sitting for hours, eating and gossiping and coming down from their highs with the help of 60-cent cups of coffee.