SCANORAMA
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new york a Soda shop returns • LONDON great pub grub • HAMBURG christmas shopping • bangkok river dance
october 2014
SCANORAMA Your ticket to � world THE Sas MAGAZINE since 1972 • NO.10/2014
fjord focus bangkok beijing chicago frankfurt gothenburg hamburg london munich new york oslo peloponnese san francisco tokyo washington dc
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EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
14/07/14 13:49
exploring norway’s DAZZLING coastLINE
OBI-WAN KOBE
the tokyo chef bringing kobe beef to the masses
NECTAR OF THE GODS LIVING IT UP IN THE PELOPONNESE
GETting INTO THE NEW AGE GROOVE
the STREETS of zen francisco 2014-09-16 13:36
Green shoots: John Stokes tends the trees at Alemany Farm, one of the city’s urban agricultural projects
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ZEN CITY SAN FRANCISCO
Few cities can boast of a culture so filled with options to advance足both mind and body as the City by the Bay. The most progressive足American metropolis continues its long tradition of inner and outer health, all while having a good time words by ERIK AUGUSTIN PALM photographs by Katie NEWBURN
Farm to plate: Pan-seared Alaskan salmon足, cherry tomatoes and roast corn at Serpentine
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feel-good sAN FRANCISCO
Grass roots: The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market has been supplying the city with locally grown produce since 1993
T
here are many reasons why San Francisco always ranks highly on any list of the American cities with the best quality of life. Anyone who visits this northern Californian metropolis can see that pretty much anywhere you look, there’s a stunning postcard view. On top of that, the art, music and entertainment on offer is endless, and there’s no shortage of nightlife – regardless of your lifestyle or orientation. But what’s just as important is the city’s rich culture of inner and outer well-being. San Francisco became known as something of a mecca for emotional growth and self-expression during 1967’s Summer of Love, when hippies and other freethinkers from all over America converged in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. But the roots of the city’s holistic approach to life date back much further. Chinese and Japanese immigrants started arriving in San Francisco during the late 1800s, laying the foundations for a meeting of Eastern and Western ideas. This fusion was popularized during the 1960s by local Buddhist philosopher Alan Watts. Today, yoga, meditation and alternative medicine are as much a part of the city’s DNA as organic food, hiking and working out. It’s an environment that takes a Zen approach to fitness, but still finds room for a glass of Californian wine.
those postcard views are a key part of the city’s character. San Francisco’s parks were recently ranked as the best in America. Not only are there more than 220 of them, but they are well kept, and accessible. An astonishing 98% of the population lives within close proximity of a park, and Golden Gate Park is bigger than New York’s Central Park. All in all, parks make up 18% of San Francisco. Having green spaces nearby obviously makes outdoor exercise much easier, and walking through a city park is an effective way to experience a short state of meditation. Golden Gate Park serves as the city’s main green lung and contains the Conservatory of Flowers, the de Young Museum and a Japanese Tea Garden to expand the mind. All around you there are people running, doing fitness boot camps or practicing tai chi, qigong and other Eastern ways of keeping the body in balance. Elsewhere, in gorgeous Washington Square Park in North Beach, right next to Chinatown, you’ll see groups of elderly Chinese performing seamless tai chi poses in front of the majestic Saints Peter and Paul Church. Feel free to join them. If that doesn’t float your boat, maybe running up and down the city’s many hills will suffice. San Francisco’s openness to people of all kinds is perhaps its defining trait. On a bike ride from the Embarcadero up to the •
Yoga, meditation and alternative medicine are as much a part of the city’s DNA as organic food, hiking and working out
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Checking out the Granny Smiths at Bi-Rite Getting some exercise in Golden Gate Park
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The bridge across the Bay, the city’s most famous landmark Fresh fruit with almond butter and buttermilk at Outerlands
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feel-good SAN FRANCISCO
Oasis of calm: The Japanese Tea Garden, America’s oldest, is found in Golden Gate Park Plant to cup: Outer Sunset’s Andytown is one of a new wave of specialty coffee roasters
Castro district you are able to enjoy a wide range of cultures and communities. Start with a superb cappuccino in Little Italy, then bike through Chinatown – the biggest of its kind outside Asia – where you can stop for a moment to reflect in the Tien Hau Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in America. Continue with some late-morning dim sum at one of the many mom-and-pop establishments around Stockton Street. After that, bike over to the Tenderloin district, where a large Vietnamese population rubs shoulders with all sorts of colorful characters. This is the grittiest part of the city and many locals have a love-hate relationship with it – complaining about its social problems but saluting its edgy, creative vibe. For lunch stop at Saigon Sandwich where you’ll find the best banh mi in the Bay Area. Venture on to the Mission, San Francisco’s hipster hub numero uno, but still very much a Latino neighborhood with amazing murals and Mexican food. From there it’s just a short ride uphill to the Castro, America’s most famous gay district. Finish off with a drink at the bar Twin Peaks, next to bear couples and drag queens. In San Francisco everyone is free to be themselves. although it’s easy to joke about the number of people walking around with yoga mats in San Francisco, it’s an important community. Within the city’s 127 sq km there are close to 150 yoga studios, whether you want to practice ashtanga, Bikram, hatha, Iyengar or vinyasa. Yoga Tree is San Francisco’s biggest yoga chain, with eight locations where “celebrity yogis” often •
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feel-good SAN FRANCISCO
Community project: Nicole and Bobby Davis check the zucchinis at Alemany Farm
Niche market: Serpentine is one of the city’s Slow Food favorites
come to teach. There are also hybrids, such as yoga raves, nakedyoga – or hiking yoga, where you put on your sneakers and backpack and stroll into the wild before doing that downward-facing dog. And SFO has America’s first airport yoga room. For those who want to go deeper in their spiritual journey, there are numerous meditation centers in and around the city. The San Francisco Zen Center on Page Street was established in 1962. Other options include a Brahma Kumaris meditation center,the Dharma and Sensuality Meditation Group and San Francisco Shambala Meditation Center. And just a short ride from the city are re nowned centers for self-development such as Spirit Rock and Esalen. There aren’t many hippies on the streets of San Francisco these days, but an abundance of spiritual explorers.
Whole Foods sure is nice, but in San Francisco there are independent food co-ops and stores such as Bi-Rite and Rainbow Grocery all over the place. And it seems like there are farmers markets in almost every neighborhood, although the best and biggest is the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market down by the Embarcadero. The healthy food culture in San Francisco is part of a broader environmentally conscious way of life that has permeated the region for decades, and resulted in the city being named the greenest in America in 2011. Whether it is urban agriculture projects such as Alemany Farm, Grow City and Urban Sprouts, regulations such as the ban on nonrecyclable plastic bags and the sale of plastic water bottles on public property, or the focus on re cycling and composting, it is clear that the city values its rich soil, wildlife and spectacular setting.
san francisco is a great place to eat, thanks in large part to a wealth of organic, locally grown produce. The American Slow Food movement began in the Bay Area in the 1970s with Alice Waters’ restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley and several other restaurants in San Francisco, such as Slow Club and newer additions such as Bar Tartine and Serpentine, as well as vegan options such as Herbivore, Millennium and Gracias Madre. Here the farm-to-table philosophy rules the culinary landscape.
it should be added that yes, San Francisco has become one of the most expensive cities to live in America, mainly because of the tech industry’s growing presence. But a strong mind-bodyand-soul ethos has prevailed, and is in fact linked to the innovation the region is so famous for. So go to San Francisco, with flowers in your hair – and a smartphone in your hand, hiking boots on your feet and a yoga mat in your bag. Whatever you’re • searching for, it will be an experience to remember.
The healthy food culture is part of a broader environmentally conscious way of life that has permeated the region for decades
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H E A LT H Y & Z EN SA N F R A NCISCO
STAY Hotel Kabuki
EAT Herbivore
Enjoy a sushi dinner then soak in a traditional tub, in the middle of Japantown. Rooms from $300. 1625 Post Street. Tel: +1 415 922 3200. www.hotelkabuki.com
This mini-chain of vegan restaurants has two locations in San Francisco. An excellent option for fairly priced food in a friendly atmosphere. 983 Valencia & 531 Divisadero. www.herbivorerestaurant.com
Harbor Court Hotel A historic building right by the Embarcadero with in-room yoga equipment. 165 Steuart Street. Tel: +1 415 882 1300. www.harborcourthotel.com
Orchard Garden Hotel Situated next to the Chinatowngate, this is the most eco-friendly hotel in town, awarded LEED certificationby the U.S. Green Building Council. Rooms from $200. 466 Bush Street. Tel: +1 415 399 9807. theorchardgardenshotel.com
Millennium Chef Eric Tucker invents new vegan dishes out of locally grown organic produce. 580 Geary Street. Tel: +1 415 345 3900. www.millenniumrestaurant.com
Serpentine Feast on dishes such as squash salad and saffron pappardelle with wild mushrooms at this Slow Food restaurant. 2495 Third Street. Tel: +1 415 252 2000. www.serpentinesf.com
Gracias Madre There’s no shortage of fantasticMexican food in San Francisco, but this vegan cantina is unique. 2211 Mission Street. Tel: +1 415 683 1346. gracias-madre.com
Slanted Door Chef-owner Charles Phan fuses Vietnamese cuisine with Californian fine dining. 1 Ferry Building #3. Tel: +1 415 861 8032. www.slanteddoor.com
Cha-Ya Japanese cuisine endowed with a vegetarian and vegan sensibility, very fresh and calming. 762 Valencia Street. Tel: +1 415 252 7825.
DO Yoga Tree Try the Valencia Street studio, a cathedral-like
space where you can let your sun salutation light up the room. 1234 Valencia Street. Tel: +1 415 647 9707. www.yogatreesf.com
Washington Square Park This green oasis is the perfect place to do morning tai chi and qigong. Join the elderly Chinese men and women standing in a group by the church. Filbert Street & Stockton Street.
San Francisco Zen Center Regardless if you’re an atheist that knows nothing about Buddhism, or
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If you want a bit of adventure during your vacation, try clambering up more than 2,000 sq m of climbing wall. 2295 Harrison Street. Tel: +1 415 550 0515. www.touchstoneclimbing.com
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touchstone climbing Mission Cliffs
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if you’ve practiced Zen meditation before, a visit to the San Francisco Zen Center is recommended. You will leave feeling more peaceful. 300 Page Street. Tel: +1 415 863 3136. www.sfzc.org
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