My Google News alert fed me this lil’ gem, about the SRO Bristol Hotel on Mason Street at Eddy. It’s a newspaper article from the San Francisco Chronicle, dated September 4, 1985. Apparently, some of the Bristol’s residents thought the former room of serial killer Richard Ramirez kept its bad juju even after its Satan-worshiping tenant had been re-housed on San Quentin’s death row. Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, stayed in the Bristol during part of his 1985 cross-California murder spree. He was eventually convicted of 13 counts of murder, 5 counts of attempted murder, and numerous counts of sexual assault and burglary. The hotel’s manager was critical in catching Ramirez, as he contacted police after seeing a sketch of the suspected Stalker.

Ramirez sexually assaulted, raped, and mutilated women, and during his time in San Francisco he lived in the same building as famous Society for Cutting Up Men (SCUM) founder and would-be Andy Warhol murderer, Valerie Solanis. Solanis died at the Bristol in 1988 of emphysema, and it’s not known how long she lived there. Solanas was in her 50′s when she died at the Bristol, twice as old as Ramirez. It’s unknown if they actually ever met one another, even in passing, but it’s certainly interesting to think about what it would have been like. Would there have been a spark of recognition between criminals? Or would they just have seen each other as potential victims?

From the Chronicle:

“The vibrations are so bad in Room 315 at the Hotel Bristol in the Tenderloin that Daniel Sepeda thinks it’s time to bring in the holy water. ‘I should sprinkle some around and say some prayers,’ he said. ‘There are weird spirits here. It gives me the creeps.’ Sepeda and his roommate, James Bowton, attribute those creeps to Room 315′s former tenant, Richard Ramirez. Ramirez is the man police say is the ‘Night Stalker,’ a cold-blooded serial killer who murdered people while they lay sleeping and then scrawled satanic symbols on their walls. Ramirez stayed at the Bristol several times during the past two years, according to manager Alex Melnikov… Melnikov said Ramirez left behind a mysterious odor in the room. ‘It smelled like skunk,’ said one resident who declined to give her name. ‘The cleaning man sprayed like hell, but it wouldn’t go away.’ A five-pointed star, a pentagram, associated with devil worship, was found drawn on the bathroom door…”

Seems like everyday in the Tendernob there’s some new teeny shop opening up. Just today, I noticed a dark-haired gal setting up a shop called Sportique around 810 Sutter Street, between the HUF skate shop and the Silverman art gallery.

Previously, the space (which is seriously the size of my bedroom) held some kind of weird clothing store that never had more than one rack in it at a time. Sportique isn’t open yet, but from what I can see it’s basically a boutique-y version of REI. They carry polarized sunglasses, canteens, fleeces, hoodies, t-shirts with graphic prints, and outdoorsy jackets by Helly Hansen. I’ll stop back by tomorrow to get a better look, and maybe I’ll be able to talk to some staff. As I passed by today, the shop girl was still literally unpacking boxes of merchandise and hadn’t even gotten to folding all of it yet. So far though, the store looks welcoming and even though I’m not an outdoors kinda gal, I liked the stuff they had. Bienvenue, Sportique, and à demain!

(Helly Hansen jacket below. Disclaimer: I have no idea if Sportique carries this particular item, I just to show the type of stuff they offer. Plus, I wanted to put a pic in the post.)

Beth Spotswood (whose day job seems to be writing 38% of the blog content in San Francisco) is to be adored. In addition to having a Wikipedia entry and coming to Tendernights, she also allowed herself to descend to the depths of quiz night at Edinburgh Castle despite being at a post quiz night time in her life:

I have a penchant for the 1990′s, all television, medical oddities, long-term kidnappings, local history, current teen interest, celebrities and serial killers.

It’s a good read that includes what I assume to be the dream of any American girl when it comes to a man from Amsterdam:

Les and I enjoyed breaks from the Dutch every time a woman approached the bar to order a drink, because their attention would instantly be diverted to the fresh meat. This whole fiasco would have been entertaining to watch, had we not been their convenient back-up plan.

Oh sure, a *dog* did it. Uh huh. Found on a sidewalk in an alley off of Polk Street.

Surely this is just something for hanging out at as I’ve never seen anyone eating there. And to be honest, I don’t want to rip on Yemeni’s as we do indeed like the food and especially how it’s a good deal different than Saha across the street despite their both being from the same small region. It’s just that this looks like the outdoor seating at Dave’s pawn shop in Flight of the Conchords. I half expect to see two New Zealand tourists plop down on it and have a coffee at any given moment.

This is obviously some kind of subliminal reminder that we need to get down there again someday soon to take better photos for a full-fledged review. If you haven’t given it a try, head on down for something different and tasty.

At Tendernights, we were pretty stoked that the loin was there selling their wares. We were even more stoked that they were able to print up Tenderblog t-shirts which we were running around in. Some of you even bought them and are wearing them around the hood. All solid. All good.

For those of you who might have missed out on getting one of these magnificent specimens of clothing, you shall remain missed outteth no more for they are now for sale in black, gray, and army. If you were smart, you’d get all three in a whole variety of sizes since they’re 100% cotton, screened here and just $15, which in today’s tee couture market is a freakin’ steal.

And let me emphasize that in buying one of these tees, you’re not only fronting your Tenderloin/blog pride, but also supporting a local business. This does a helluva lot more for this neighborhood than financially dead-end museums which is why we’re super behind this. That and the fact that the shirts and you, dear TenderReaders, are cool.

(While you’re at it, get a hoodie too. When I wear mine to meetings at the office, those effin’ meetings are adjourned if you get my drift, which I don’t even think I do.)

Now, I understand that some of the gang at El Tesoro might not be eligible to vote, but I can’t help to wonder if they’re hedging their bets in the upcoming District 6 election or don’t get how endorsing generally works? One might say, “Oh, but you can’t endorse two candidates.” Guess what, they just did. Suck on that what-may-seem-to-be-common-sense!

While they’re at it, they might as well put up the other 12 and go for broke on the deal. These guys are on to something. Something big. Endorse. Everyone. Maybe we should take their lead somehow on Tenderblog. Food for thought. Oh, on that note, I shall never stray from thee again mighty Tesoro, unless of course I’m at 24th and Mission and Farolito is open, which… it pretty much always is.

I was walking by Brenda’s today and checking on their expansion which looks to be moving along with some degree of progress.

For those who didn’t know, Brenda’s has taken over their entire building on Polk Street, including the laundromat space that used to be next door. The shot above is the new top of the building and is a nice touch. That and the sign taking up the entire front. We can only hope that soon our beloved breakfast spot shall be bigger, badder, and even more beignet-ful.

I never have coffee or any other drinks to-go as if I’m in a hurry I just sit down for 5 min, drink, and then go. So one of my pet peeves is places that give you paper or plastic cups even when you emphasize that you’re going to drink it there. And it bothers me even more when I see that they have actual non-disposable cups hidden behind the counter. This is enough for me to X-list a place, as I find this practice unacceptable in such an environmentally-aware city as San Francisco, where plastic bags are not allowed, composting is compulsory and the city has detailed guides on what green products people should by. Beyond the green side of things, using paper/plastic cups also interferes with the taste of the drink. Even if it’s in a minor way, for places that pride themselves in having amazing gourmet coffee it’s a baffling issue.

So what’s up with you, coffeeshop owners and baristas of San Francisco? Why are you so fond of using paper and plastic? Are you allergic to dishwashing or what? Would you toss out your cups and plates from every meal at home? Maybe some of you do, which is kinda terrifying.

Pictured here you can see the waste produced by a meeting hiphapa, humin and I had the other day at Jebena (at least he plate was not throw-away, I guess it could have been worse). And as much as I love Little Bird, I also have to point a finger at them as one of the offenders in this despicable disposable cup trend. If you don’t want to be green, then at least be smart about your money. If I’m eating in, give me the option of a proper ceramic or glass cup so that you don’t have to buy new cups all the time, thus saving money for your business.

Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled Loin…

Jonathan Hirsh is one of those people that when you meet them, you have to curse yourself for not having found them earlier. Not only is he our neighbor, living only 2 blocks from us, but he frequents a few of the same spots we like, and has a lot of the same frustrations and opinions about the TL as we do. Most importantly though, he’s the founder of one of the coolest events in this neighborhood: the Tenderloin Reading Series.

For some strange reason, we hadn’t heard about the TLRS until two weeks ago, when a friend sent us the link to a Facebook event page for a reading happening that same night… and which had started two hours earlier. Although it was a Saturday, we were at home in comfy clothes after a long day of running around and solidly in the chill out zone. After reading this, though, we immediately put on some pants and headed to Koko Cocktails to check it out:

The Tenderloin Reading Series is a quarterly reading series featuring creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry on or about San Francisco’s infamous Tenderloin neighborhood. Over the last year, the event has brought together known local writers (such as Stephen Elliot and …Tony Du Shane) with the fellow next to you at the bar to share their perspective on San Francisco’s most dynamic area.

That day we only caught the last reading of the night, by MG Martin who closed the night with a song about the Tenderloin (the third segment in the video). But, we got the chance to exchange a few words and email addresses with Jonathan. After seeing him again briefly at the TenderNight the following week, we caught up with him a few days ago at the Geary Club while Lilian the waitress downed shots of Jagermeister over Sam Cooke music from the jukebox. The bar oozes appeal to young and old alike.

Interestingly, Jonathan first got the idea of starting the TLRS after attending Muni Diaries‘ Riders with Drinks event a bit over a year ago. And I say interestingly because that event also inspired us to outright copy it for organize TenderNights.

When Jonathan started the TLRS, he says he wasn’t part of San Francisco’s literary circles. He simply enjoyed the feeling of community at the Muni Diaries’ event, regardless of people’s backgrounds and feelings towards Muni. So through word of mouth, and asking some people he met at a few readings, the lineup for the first TLRS was formed. The subsequent events had readers who were repeating the experience, as well as new ones found in the same way. Some of them come from San Francisco’s literary community and are well-known in those circles, while some others are newcomers talking about their day-to-day experiences.

Jonathan has been writing all his life, and in fact when we shared a beer at the Geary Club he was carrying a little notebook with him. But he doesn’t define himself as a writer, because he’s many things at once. He’s a musician, a DJ, a poet… and a librarian (though not a singing one, as far as we know). In case you’re curious about his literary style, here’s a reading of some of his pieces which all seem to revolve about some girl. Ah, love…

Jonathan Hirsh has a lot of ideas on how to make the Tenderloin “the best possible place it can be”. He says:

I don’t love it here
I fucking love it

He loves many things and many places. For example, Koko Cocktails, where the TLRS take place and also where he’s the resident DJ every Monday night for Black Gold. And that’s where you should be tonight while sipping on something sweeeeet.

• The next TLRS reading will be during Litquake, on October 9th, at Dog’s Clock
• Stay up to date on the latest readings of the Tenderloin Reading Series via their blog
• Follow the TLRS on Twitter here