elly j.'s Profile

They've raised their prices but they are still awesome. I rolled up at 6pm (they close at 7), told the doc I had a UTI, we went over my symptoms, he treated me like an intelligent human and prescribed me antibiotics with no hoopla.

This place provides a real service for the neighborhood!

This place looks like it's closed and has been replaced with some sort of incredibly white (in all senses of the word) restaurant or business. I am depressed. It was one of my favorite taquerias. The Castro seems to be getting super upscale super quickly. I'm not opposed to fancy restaurants but every neighborhood needs cheap eats too!

the amount of designer denim on display at coffee bar is mind boggling.

I've gone here twice to get phones unlocked, once before a trip to India and once after I sold a phone on ebay. They were super speedy about unlocking, and really nice, too. It seems like just your average ghetto cellphone store but I found them very knowledgeable and friendly!

I love Modern Times. They are a great local bookstore, with grassroots events and readings from non mainstream writers. They have a pretty good selection of  both eclectic stuff AND bestsellers. They do special orders, so I've been endeavoring to order books through them rather than from Amazon - because I want to support local businesses, especially bookstores, which are sacred places for sure.

But: I wish they'd stop screeching at me to check my bag every time I go in!

I had a really sh*tty experience at this store.

I don't live in Brooklyn anymore, but I was visiting for a wedding. I went in here to get a pair of shoes for the wedding. I told the salesgirl that I wanted to take them home and see if they matched my dress - she said they didn't do refunds but that I could exchange them. The store has some cute stuff so I figured I'd take my chances and just bring the shoes back and get  something else if they didn't work with my outfit. I made this intention clear to the woman who helped me, even saying that I might exchange for clothes, and she nodded blithely throughout the whole transaction as if this should work out just fine.

They didn't bother to tell me that THE CLOTHING STORE AND THE SHOE STORE ARE SEPARATE STORES. When I brought the shoes back the next day, I picked out some clothes to exchange for, and the woman who was working there was completely rude to me, unhelpful and surly whilst informing me that I could only exchange shoes for shoes. When I explained calmly that I had no idea that the shoes/clothes were separate stores and that I felt misled, she didn't give a shit and continued to be surly and unhelpful. She said I should come back later when they might have some shoes that I want, and I explained that I live far away and was flying out the next day. She shrugged and said to give the receipt to a friend.

In summary, this store f*cked me and they didn't even pretend to be nice whilst doing it. There are a lot of cute places to shop in the slope that have nice people working there and will give you a refund when you're in a bind. This store is not one of those places. I will never go in there again.

CELLspace is a huge warehouse with a metalworking area in the back and a rather magically constructed mezzanine for DJing from and hanging out in. They offer their space for rent to an incredibly diverse range of events and organizations, from dance groups made up of local kids to crafty lady gatherings to weekly hula hooping practice.

the place is not a glamorous venue - it's a converted warehouse that isn't rolling in dough, so don't expect luxury. they can be disorganized about booking, but they're staffed by volunteers, so i'm pretty sympathetic to the resulting disorganization.

they've also had to fight hard at various times to keep being able to offer events in their space, for permitting reasons and other obstacles. the dedication and accomplishment in the face of beaurocracy is impressive.

over the last 8 years or so, at CELLspace,  i have:

- rollerskated at a roller skate dance party (with crazy electro band)
- hula hooped (the SF Bay Area Hoopers meet here on Sundays, in the winter)
- danced so many different ways in so many different outfits for so many different reasons
- seen a circus, complete with EXTRA ACTION MARCHING BAND
- seen amazing talks, such as when noah levine (http://www.dharmapunx.com)  used CELLspace for a speaking event
- made art
- seen metalworking art in their gallery
- wandered in to pee on my way home from the bus
- been to a biodiesel and permaculture benefit party

and MUCH MORE. if you are ever looking for something to do in SF, just check the schedule at CELLspace.org. every event is thrown by someone different, so you never know what you'll get, but there's always something random going down.

in summary, I love CELLspace.

don't be afraid. really. i know you have post traumatic stress disorder from that one time you went into the indie record store back home and the guy behind the counter was surly and made you feel stupid and uncool. this isn't that record store. this is a different record store, where the staff is completely nonjudgemental about your dumb questions. they want you to like things as much as they like things. it's all going to be okay.

Senses is new, so I don't want to be too hard on them, but my meal here just wasn't that memorable, and the place just isn't very interesting. it's sort of a bland stereotypical fancy restaurant.

Unlike other places that have opened up and down Valencia recently (Dosa comes to mind), Senses just doesn't feel connected to the neighborhood vibe or community. It's apparently designed by the same people who did Limon, but it just doesn't seem to fit.  

I'm usually really psyched when something new appears in my oft-traveled Valencian route, but I'm not excited about Senses.

excellent neighborhood joint. back patio, tasty mexican food, pool table, jukebox. i live right next door and go here often for dinner or a drink. my only complaint would be that they aren't always the best for the super fancy girly drinks (my favorite kind), but if you just want a beer or a margarita, or a delicious cheap taco, you're all set.