I’m still stunned.  It seems like it was just yesterday when my boyfriend and I were talking about going out for dinner at PJ’s Oysterbed.   We decided to go somewhere else that night because, well, it wasn’t like PJ’s was going to shut its doors or anything right?

Au contraire!

PJ’s did shut it’s doors at 737 Irving Street a couple of weeks ago, and per the word across the blogosphere (and the stench that can still be smelled across the street), they left something for the neighborhood to remember them by. 

On June 5th, Eater SF (Curbed SF’s hungrier cousin) reported that the answer machine at PJ’s Oysterbed insisted that the closure was temporary. 

I held my breath.  (Both due to the gut wrenching smell on Irving Street and because of my anticipation for the stench-free reopening.)

Yesterday, I couldn’t hold my breath any longer and called the restaurant.  The answering machine message states “We regret to inform you that we are permanently closed…….” 

A tear (almost) ran down my cheek. 

It was one of my favorite places in the City, let alone in the Avenues.  But like so many of my favorite restaurants that have gone before, it too had to shutter it’s doors. 

The funny thing is that I don’t think I even remember what I ate there.  I vaguely remember gumbo.  I know I loved their desserts.  I loved that they knew how to make a cocktail without watering it down.  And I loved that the chef would come out wearing white shorts and beads and dispersing jello shots to the customers.  Really, I just loved the vibe there.  I always had a good time. 

But I still have a glimmer of (false) hope.  In addition to announcing the permanent closure, the answering machine message also states that you’ve reached “PJ’s Oysterbed in the Outer Sunset,” not Inner Sunset.  If they’re wrong about the location, maybe they’re wrong about the permanent closure?  I know I’m grasping at straws here… but what if it doesn’t reopen ever?  Will I have to make my own jello shots while wearing white shorts and beads around the house? 

I know I’ll come to terms with the loss one day.  I know I’d be able to deal with it better if I knew what happened and the reasons for closing.  But, I’ll be ok… eventually.  For now, I just regret not going when I had the chance. 

Good-bye PJ’s - I’m sad to see you go.

Sometimes you just need a cup of coffee.  Anything will do.  McDonald’s.  Rolling Pin.  Happy Donuts.  Folger’s Crystals.  Whatever.  All you need is a boost of caffeine.

Othertimes, you want your coffee to take you away to a quite neck of the woods (so to speak of course, there aren’t really any woods in the Outer Sunset district).  You want a place with a bit of an artistic vibe.  Where you can grab a book from a shelf, order up a snack, a cup of caffeine (or a glass of wine or beer if you prefer your liquid beverages to beon the alcoholic side!) and relax on a weathered old sofa. 

But the best part?  

Open Mic comedy on Monday nights.  I stumbled in here on a random Monday, and while I didn’t find myself laughing too much because I had met an old friend there to chat (ok, maybe there was a little snicker that came out once or twice), I did enjoy the fact that the place was more than just a coffee shop buried deep in the Avenues (and the fact that it’s buried out here in the Avenues is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing.)  It was actually a bit of a community hub too. 

Stop by sometime and take a load off.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

 
Sea Biscuit Cafe
3815 Noriega Street
(between 45th Ave & 46th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 661-3784

I have a bit of an addiction that I don’t really like to talk about.  I’m addicted to reality TV.  And usually, it’s really bad reality TV.  Out of the reality TV shows that really feed my addiction, the cop/criminal shows are the ones that really do it for me.  But the TV shows just aren’t local enough, and I’d like at least part of my dose of reality to be located close to home. 

So I depend on my local police departments to feed my addiction to reality!

Depending on where you live, your local police department will email you a crime report, either on a daily, or a weekly basis. 

If you live in the Sunset or Parkside districts, Captain Paul Chignell of the Taraval police station will send you a fairly complete daily report of arrests and criminal incidents throughout the neighborhood, sometimes with a little bit of entertaining commentary to go along with it.  These reports are pretty thorough, but you will sometimes receive a few days worth of emails at a time when the Captain dares to take a day off.

If you live in the Richmond district, you receive an email from Captain Anthony Fotinos of the Richmond police station every Friday afternoon with a “greatest hits” style email that covers the highlights of crime (if you can call them that) that have occurred in the past week.  This newsletter also adds events from the Safety Network calendar to the email - which gives a nice balance of the good and the bad, or yin and yang, so to speak, but they’re definitely less thorough than the Taraval district’s daily updates.  Which makes me wonder exactly what qualifies for the weekly greatest hits list? :-/

If you want to get the Taraval station’s daily update, email the captain to request it. 

And if you want to get the Richmond station’s daily update, email the station to request it.

And even if you’re not a reality junkie like me, you might find these reports useful to know what’s going on in your neighborhood.   After all - knowing is half the battle!

It’s summer. Seriously! I know it’s overcast and cloudy, but it’s June, and that means the summer real estate buying season is at hand.

And with that in mind, I thought you might enjoy seeing what the real estate market is up to in the Richmond District and Sunset District.  I do this on my other blog, but thought you might appreciate having some local real estate sales info posted for your statistical pleasure. 

So here’s this month’s summary of home sales pulled directly from the MLS. They are broken up between District 1 (mostly Richmond District Homes) and District 2 (mostly Sunset and Parkside District Homes), but these numbers do include the surrounding areas such as Golden Gate Heights for the Sunset or Lone Mountain, etc. for the Richmond.  Also, one thing to note is that, these are all closed sales and not pending sales.

Check back monthly to get the latest facts and figures - and if you have any questions about these statistics, about how homes sales are fairing in your specific neighborhood nook, or the San Francisco real estate market in general, feel free to give me a holler! I’m always happy to talk “real estate!”

Here’s a quick snapshot of the market from May 1, 2008 through May 31, 2008:

DISTRICT 1 HOME SALES (Inner Richmond, Central Richmond, Outer Richmond, Lake, Lone Mountain, Jordan Park/Laurel Heights, Sea Cliff)

Single Family Homes

• 25 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $1,400,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $650,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $14,500,000
• Median Selling Price was 120% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 15
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 104.5% of asking price

Condominiums, Lofts & Co-ops, TIC’s

• 17 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $860,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $575,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $1,608,000
• Median Selling Price was 96% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 49
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 106% of asking price

DISTRICT 2 HOME SALES (Inner Sunset, Central Sunset, Outer Sunset, Inner Parkside, Central Parkside, Outer Parkside, Golden Gate Heights)

Single Family Homes

• 48 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $838,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $550,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $1,900,000
• Median Selling Price was 103.5% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 24
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 102.5% of asking price

Condominiums, Lofts & Co-ops, TIC’s

• 5 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $702,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $505,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $949,000
• Median Selling Price was 96% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 50
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 101% of asking price