Chef Elizabeth Falkner Creates Muhammad Ali’s Birthday Cake. Page 14
Meet Oakland Restaurateur Michael LeBlanc. Page 10
Kathleen Archambeau profiles entertainer Ricky Martin. Page 16
The LGBTQ Newspaper and Events Calendar for the San Francisco Bay Area | July 28 2011 www.sfbaytimes.com
March 22-4 April 4, 2012 | www.sfbaytimes.com
/SanFranciscoBayTimes
PHOTO BY: STEVEN UN DERHIL L
Food Fuels LGBTQ Community
/SFBayTimes
Killing of Iraqi Youths Sparks Castro Vigil
Gary Virginia and Michael Petralis protesting at 18th & Castro Streets
By Gary Virginia
Zakaria Abderrafi enjoying brunch at Jake’s on Market
By Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas Dur ing t he hear ings for US Supreme C ou r t ch ief just ice Joh n Roberts, a participant pulled out a picture of a mustache-sporting fel low present i ng Rober t s w it h a ca ke. “ Rober t s must be g ay,” t he com ment ator specu lated. “ St r a i ght men don’t p o s e w it h food.” If that is the case, they and others might take more pr ide in their eats if they were to visit the Castro these days.
Even with the still sagging econom y, r e s t au r a nt s o ld a nd ne w continue to draw in diners. On a recent trip to Anchor Oyster Bar, for example, the wait for a table in the tiny restaurant was lengthy, but t he incred ibly fresh seafood was well worth it. Catch Restaurant is anot her must v isit. Starbelly and Tangerine entice, while J a k e ’s o n M a r k e t h a s q u i c k l y become a see-and-be-seen de st i n at ion t o enjoy A mer ic a n comfort food.
The Castro now has its very own B B Q j o i nt , T he D a n c i n g P i g. W here el se c a n you go for late night breakfast cravings than Orpha n A ndy’s? Ca fé F lore is forever voted “ best café” in polls… The list of fabulous Castro eateries could go on and on. T hat is one reason why t he Bay T imes w ill be reg ularly cover ing the food and beverage scene here, starting w ith this issue. A nother reason is that food plays a central role in pulling our community to-
get her. Viv id ev idence is at t he Ca st ro Fa r mer s’ M a rket , wh ich just recently reopened. R a i n d id n’t d a mpen t he s pi r it s of shopper s a nd fa r mer s on t he ma rket’s open i ng even i ng. “ It’s just t he most honest and fr iendl y m a r k e t ,” S h e l l y M c M a h o n of Shel ly ’s Fa r m Fresh told t he B ay T i m es. “ T he Ca st ro i s ver y community oriented. I truly love this market.” (continued on page 23)
PHOTOS BY: TER R I HIL L
Bay Area’s “Good Life” Inspires Painter Terri Hill
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N e w Ye a r ’s D ay, 2 0 0 9 , w a s a memorable one for Terri Hill. On that day, she became a full time painter. But her absorbing works, bursting with vivid hues and energ y, at test to her over 33 -yea r ba c k g rou nd i n g r aph ic des i g n. Ju ic y cher r ies, pract ica l ly d r ip pi ng of f t he ca nva s, look sweet and seductive. Cocktails become architectural masterpieces, rising from tabletops. Rea l ist ic choco lates dare you not to crave. Such memorable works are a literal piece of cake for foodie Hill,
who st i l l happi ly celebrates t he Bay Area’s edible and other of ferings, even after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Her active life continues. “You can see the inf luence of living in wonderful Northern California,” she says. “It’s pretty obvious that I run, bike and swim, as well as enjoy the wonderful local fruits and vegetables and wines of the area.” She add s , “ T h i s a rea i s such a perfect place to be as a painter…
the good life is wonderful for creating great art!” And great it is, in our opinion and t hat of her many admirers. Hi l l is also a member of our community, having met her partner, land sur veyor L aura Cabra l, over 15 years ago. The t wo women connected wh i le pa r t ic ipat i ng i n a Palo A lto gay and lesbian running group called FrontRunners. They trained together for a marathon. Romance clicked. “A friend asked me who my type was, and I thought to myself, I’d
like to be with someone like Laura,” Hi l l recent ly told T he Santa C l a ra We e k ly. B ot h women now call Santa Clara home, enjoy ing t he company of other “gaybors” living on their street. But a s muc h a s B erke le y- b or n Hill celebrates Northern California, her works hold universal appeal, as you’ll see later in this issue of the Bay Times. You can also f ind her paintings at View points Gallery in Los Gatos (viewpointsga l ler y.com) and at her website, designerhill.com.
In recent mont hs, mu lt iple reports coming out of Iraq ind icate t hat as many as 10 0 or more youths have been killed for d ressing or act ing in “ Wester n” style. Targeted as suspected gays, g o t h s or “e m o s ,” t h e v i c t i m s’ names were often listed on pub lic f lyers and later discovered to have been beaten or bludgeoned to death with concrete blocks. A s repor ted on March 11 in the N Y T imes, “Human r ights advo cates say the threats and violence are aimed at gay men and at teenager s who st yle t hemselves i n a uniquely Iraqi collage of hipster, punk, emo and goth fashions. The look, shorthanded here as ‘emo,’ h a s f l o u r i s h e d o n B a g h d a d ’s st reet s a s a n emblem of g reater social freedom as society has begun to bloom after years of warfare. But it has drawn scorn and outrage from some religious conservatives, and is often conf lated with being gay.” Respond i ng to t he cr isis, member s of Gay s W it hout B order s/ San Francisco (GWB), held a twohour vigil on March 14, at Castro and 18th streets. A large banner urg i ng I raq to stop k i l l i ng gays was hung in front of the Bank of A merica while activ ists placed a memorial wreath and held posters to educate passersby. M ichael Pet rel is of GW B urged t he publ ic to sig n a globa l pet it ion a t w w w. a l lout .or g , w h ic h request s world leader s to spea k out publicly against the v iolence and push Iraqi of f icials to investigate the matter now. The petition has close to 8,000 signers to date w it h suppor t ive com ment s from around the world. The most v iv id reporting on the massacre is com ing from a blog t it led “ R a i nbow I r aq - E a ster n Eye on Gay L i fe” by a n a l leged (continued on page 23)