Overheard and observed in the old neighborhood

Editors’ note: This is Ernie Beyl’s last column, submitted before his passing on April 12, the day following his 90th birthday. Ernie was a treasured contributor to The Marina ... Read More

North Beach Journal

I was so much older then, and I’m younger than that now

By Ernest Beyl

This month, April 11, I’m celebrating my 90th birthday. I hope you agree I’m getting younger all the time. Remember the Bob Dylan line from “My Back Pages”? “Ah, but I wa... Read More

North Beach Journal

Only in North Beach: Assets in the old neighborhood

By Ernest Beyl

Readers of these sketches columns may remember I’m bullish on San Francisco — optimistic about its future. And, while I acknowledge the city has problems, I believe they are so... Read More

North Beach Journal

Gourmets, gourmands, voluptuaries, jazz, and my doctor

By Ernest Beyl

Well, here it is February, and I’m still grappling with Christmas — Christmas presents that is. I received a lot of gifts this year. The older you get, the more presents you re... Read More

North Beach Journal

A plebian gourmand’s glorious dinner party, faux food, table talk, Gino and Carlo at 75

By Ernest Beyl

I’ll be frank here. I seldom dine at San Francisco Michelin-starred restaurants. Nor do I frequent the San Francisco Chronicle’s top-rated selections. Why? It’s because I’... Read More

North Beach Journal

Changes: Good and bad in the old neighborhood

By Ernest Beyl

Yes, our city is changing. but not all the changes are good. Not all the changes are bad, either. And, here in North Beach — one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods — change i... Read More

North Beach Journal

Pho, ‘San Francisco Noir,’ signs of the times, the Grateful Dead, and Alice Waters

By Ernest Beyl

COIT TOWER IS FILLED WITH PHO I used to entertain the not too far-fetched idea that Lillie Hitchcock Coit’s wonderful tower on Telegraph Hill was filled with red sauce piped down... Read More

North Beach Journal

A Bull Shot, me and Julio, and a wig for Halloween

By Ernest Beyl

THE ORIGINAL BULL SHOT Recently I had a yen for a Bull Shot, so I got myself over to Original Joe’s and consulted with bartender Michael Fraser. While preparing one for me — vo... Read More

North Beach Journal

Perhaps a compromise on the Piazza St. Francis-Poet’s Plaza plan?

By Ernest Beyl

It was my intention in this sketches column to give readers some positive news on the Piazza St. Francis-Poet’s Plaza, Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s visionary plan to turn a short se... Read More

North Beach Journal

The Cellar, legacy businesses, and Elvis Christ has left the neighborhood

By Ernest Beyl

POETRY AND JAZZ In the spring of 1957, poetry and jazz co-mingled as an art form in the Cellar, a basement nightclub in North Beach. The Cellar, 576 Green Street, is long gone and... Read More

North Beach Journal

Meatballs and other strange and scholarly pursuits in the old Italian neighborhood

By Ernest Beyl

I’m a lover of meatballs, and I suppose I spend an inordinate amount of time checking them out here and there. And perhaps there’s no place better to do this research t... Read More

North Beach Journal

Nostalgia all over again

By Ernest Beyl

In a recent column, i got all weepy for the good old days in North Beach and quoted a passage from a Stanton Delaplane San Francisco Chronicle column — his final one before he di... Read More

North Beach Journal

Plebian food for plain folks and my favorite vegetable

By Ernest Beyl

In a recent column, i attempted to entertain readers by repeating a few lines I picked up while eavesdropping in North Beach. I was probably entertaining only myself, but never min... Read More

North Beach Journal

A farmers’ market for North Beach? Not so fast

By Ernest Beyl

OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN ACTION If you’re not terminally fatigued by watching our country’s democratic process in action, you may want to turn your attention to North ... Read More

North Beach Journal

Eavesdropping in the neighborhood

By Ernest Beyl

I’m an ardent eavesdropper. One might even say as a columnist I’m a professional eavesdropper. Nothing wrong with eavesdropping as long as you’re open about it. S... Read More

North Beach Journal