Sunday brunch is a much-loved weekend event and a tradition with many people. Brunch is often the one meal during the week that isn't rushed, when people take time to savor the food and enjoy the company of friends and family. San Franciscans are no exception as you can see from the waiting line around the corner and up the street at Mama's Cafe in North Beach, one of the City's many popular brunch spots. I was struck by the line out the door one picture-perfect morning as I walked across North Beach and up to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. As I returned to North Beach about 30 minutes later, the line hadn't grown any shorter. It would be interesting to see what the line is like today, during our record (for me, at least) cold spell - 36 degrees when I got up this morning! Reviews of Mam... 12/08/2013

Address: 747 Filbert, Units A & B, San Francisco, CA 94133MLS#: 411366Year built: 1908Beds/baths: 3/2Listing price: $1,395,000Interior: 2,106 sq. ft. of urban living in downtown S.F. Enter to high ceilings and hardwood floors. An open gourmet kitchen with 6 burner gas Viking range and marble counters leads into small breakfast area. Prepare larger meals to be eaten at the dining room, adjacent to spacious, comfortable living room. For more information and images of this listing, please click here.     08/07/2013

Located in a quiet block of Taylor Street, just off Columbus Avenue and the heart of San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, you'll find Pat's Cafe. Pat's has been in this location at 2330 Taylor Street for 10 years now. Pat's Cafe is one of those warm, friendly, unpretentious places where you are instantly made to feel welcome while you enjoy a great breakfast or lunch. The food is hearty and good, the wait staff is friendly and efficient, and Pat is usually on hand to great you and make sure all is well. An added attraction are the photos and paintings on the wall, done by local artists and offered for sale. You won't be the first person to "discover" this gem; Tom Clancy must have stumbled in or directed to it -- he referenced it in his best-seller, Dead or AlivePat is a woman of m... 01/29/2013

Today in San Francisco-getting in the holiday spirit Saturday-a day for some exercise and personal time-a day to enjoy our fair city-a day to see the beauty and spread the cheer. Christmas lights are going up, in private homes as well as in businesses. Christmas trees and wreaths are being sold at Whole Foods, at Cole Hardware, at other places around town. I see more wreaths in proportion to trees here in this urban area than I do in suburban San Carlos and other Peninsula and Silicon Valley cities. Today, even one cable car was decked out! 12/03/2011

In case you haven't heard, I'm not a fan of TIC's. When talking to buyers about them for the first time, my strongest reasons are that the only loans available for them have insanely high rates; you are getting into financial bed with a bunch of strangers; and your chances of ever seeing your buidling convert to condos is infinitesimal. TICs also took the hardest hit when the market tanked. The exception to my rule is TICs in two-unit buildings. A two-unit building that is owner-occupied is relatively easy to convert to condos. You can also share a single conventional loan with your partner on a two-unit building. And you only have one other owner to deal with instead of a snarled mess of three, four, or even six separate partners. Because I like TICs in two-unit buildings, I can recom... 02/28/2011

I was in San Francisco in early September 2005 for a managers meeting. Wow, were those different times. I spent a couple of days there. One afternoon some of my coworkers and I spent the afternoon down at Fisherman's Wharf. Just before we caught the trolley to head back to the hotel I took this one last photo as the sun was setting. I was going to use it for the KODAK Moment contest but decided not to at the last minute. It's remains one of my favorite images of the waterfront. Click on the picture to view full size on my Picasa photo album. 02/13/2011

Nesting in North Beach 835 Filbert was one of the nicest condos I saw in North Beach last week on Tuesday Tour, given its location, quality of construction and price point. It has 2BR/2BA, 935 square feet and is listed for $835,000-- there may be room in the price, because it's been on the market for over two months. The condo flat is the bottom unit with the French doors.     A bit of outdoor space at the top of the stairs.     An open living/dining/kitchen makes the home seem larger than it really is.     Rockstar closets! I know this is a weird photo to feature, but this kind of interior storage is unusual in San Francisco and I like the design of the doors.      The bedrooms have a comparable look and feel. This one is part of the master suite.     The bathrooms are also similar. Th... 09/07/2010