Squat & Gobble is a unique restaurant with 4 locations in San Francisco. It will be 5 locations once again when Squat & Gobble West Portal reopens. It is well known for its savory crepes, but it offers so much more from its standard breakfast menu  to salads, sandwiches, burgers and pasta - a real casual dining experience. Squat & Gobble West Portal always had lines out the door for Sunday's breakfast and brunch crowd. And it has been missed!

The restaurant was practically burned to the ground in an early morning fire on October 12, 2012. Here is the aftermath.

By the end of November 2012 the site had been cleared.

Finally after getting through the City Planning and Building Departments, the rebuilding started in June 2013. And they are moving fairly quickly - here's is the progress as of Friday June 14. It will be great to have Squat & Gobble back in West Portal again!

Ghosts in the House?

As I lay in bed in the morning, I could hear the fan I use for noise cancellation speed up and slow down. Not a good sign. Sh** now I have to buy a new one. Then it began just like any other day. I got up, turned on my desktop computer and headed into the kitchen to make coffee. Then on to take a shower. I turned up the thermostat on the furnace, but it wouldn't start. D***, now do I have to call furnace repair?

Out of the shower and dressed, I poured myself a cup of joe and headed to my office. All of a sudden I heard beeping - where is that coming from? Then the beeping stopped. I went back to the kitchen to get something, and when I got back there was that beeping again. Ah yes, it was coming from the backup battery and surge protection  for my computer. Then the computer shut down, just like that! This is not good.

I moved the computer plug to a regular outlet and tried to start it again. But no. It said there was a problem on startup and it would see if it could fix itself. Then it went into a checkdisk routine. Then I noticed the lights were dimming and then brightening. This is definitely not good!

My partner got up and we were talking about the situation. Something is very wrong in the house! Then the surge protector for my partner's computer popped. Poof! Dead. And the furnace still wouldn't work (hint: it has electronic ignition and surge protection).

My computer finally worked itself through all the repair and startup routines. So I got online to find PG&E's (local electric/gas utility) phone number. And a furnace repair company. I told PG&E lights were dimming, things were popping and fans were speeding up and slowing down. Voltage surges! They'd send a guy out within the hour.

To make a long story short, the PG&E guy found that the house ground wires had been partially cut and were working themselves  loose. Probably the gardener! See the photo on the left - 2 electrical wires come into the house and there is a third bundle of ground wires coiled behind - they were the ones that had been cut. He repaired the ground connection in about an hour, and our electricity was back to normal. I turned on the furnace with trepidation....and it worked!

Later that night I found the Klipsch Promedia speakers on my computer system had been blown by the surge. So only two casualties, the speakers and the surge protector. And now there are no more.....

Ghosts in the House!

West Portal's 25th Annual Fine Arts and Crafts Show

West Portal's 25th Annual Fine Arts and Crafts Show takes place in the heart of San Francisco's West Portal village this weekend April 12-14, 2013 from 10am to 5pm every day on West Portal Avenue between 15th Avenue and Ulloa Street.

West Portal Avenue feels like a small town bustling with activity, quaint retail stores, restaurants, bookshops and coffeehouses.

The 3 day event features the works of more than 40 artists - from photography, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, there's something for all different art lovers at this arts and crafts fair.  The show is free to the public and sponsored by the West Portal Avenue Association.

Quickly / Kobe Bento in West Portal

The local TuttiMelon frozen yogurt shop in San Francisco's West Portal Avenue closed awhile back 'for upgrades'. When it reopened it became a Quickly / Kobe Bento shop. It's always fairly busy. There are numerous locations around San Francisco. There have been a number of discussions on NextDoor West Portal about it. Some residents like it. Some think it is formula chain retail and shouldn't be allowed in West Portal. Some just don't like the orange exterior and the bright signage. Is West Portal too conservative?

I think it adds a bit of spice to the Avenue. What do you think?

Love is in the Air

It's that time of year again! Valentines Day. Mating season.

I used to live across from West Portal Elementary School, and it seemed we lived on the way of a cross country animal route. Every now and then my Chows would be all excited playing out in the backyard. And I'd have to rush out to heard the dogs into the house! Raccoons, Opossums, Moles digging in the yard and then the opossums moved into their holes. And Skunks!

There was an article in SFGate.com today about Skunks. You can read about it HERE. It is apparently their mating season right now! It seems this time of year they'll spray at anything that moves. The article describes the awful smell as a horrible mixture of the oily smell of garlic, rotten egg and burned rubber. That is SOOO accurate! Too me it smelled like home heating oil with all that mixed in.

One of my dogs once found a skunk in the backyard. My dog was curious and was sniffing when the skunk backed up - got him right in the mouth. My poor baby had bad skunk breath for a month.

But I didn't escape entirely when we moved to the other side of Claremont in West Portal. I just saw a lone coyote roaming the streets last week! But thankfully nothing in my backyard but squirrels.

You'll never know what you'll find in San Francisco. Maybe I need to disclose the raccoons, opossums, moles, skunks and coyotes on my next West Portal listing!

Signs of the Season, in San Francisco

Sitting here in my home office today, Sunday December 23, 2012, thinking of recent events and the Winter Solstice and how the world didn't end. Random thoughts....

The office Christmas party was enjoyable, lots of food and wine, and the champagne bottle that erupted over an agent's desk! I wasn't going to put up the Christmas tree this year but Maggy and Maggie insisted they do it!

I have a transaction that is supposed to close this Friday, Dec. 28, but I know it won't. It took an appraiser a week to accept the assignment, and the loan docs aren't out yet. And Christmas holidays got in the way, leaving only three days left! Bah humbug!

Sent out a Service for Life! newsletter today to 200 emails. I get a lot of compliments on it. Even some listings.

Today is a dreary one, lots of rain, with no real breaks except one. The dogs, Kevin and Ponche got to go for a walk! I was watching the radar on SFGate.com and saw a break coming up. We made it a quick walk and made it in 20 minutes - got back just as a downpour started. Can't say it's cold and dreary though, after all the temp is 55. Ah yes, winter in San Francisco. Time for a glass of wine...

Just another day in the Life!

New Streetlights in West Portal Village

Good news! PG&E is replacing all Streetlights currently on a high voltage series loop between Ulloa, Claremont and Granville with standard multiple circuits. This current loop as well as the streetlights are over 80 years old. The new streetlights will be energy efficient LED bulbs.

Ownership of streetlights in San Francisco varies. SFPUC has 25,509 streetlights. PG&E owns 19,019. If you want to read more about our 80+ year old Streetlights, just click HERE to read and earlier post.

I've been watching this project here in San Francisco's West Portal unfold for the past few months. Digging holes in the street, snaking new cable, and now finally the new streetlights are starting to appear. They are shorter by about 6 feet, and they really do maintain the character of a village. Great new look!