Storied: San Francisco

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Special: Caring Cowgirl's Liz Beeson Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

We first met and got to know Liz Beeson in 2019. At the time, she was raising money for a Caring Cowgirl minivan to cart around her therapy mini dwarf horse and mini donkey. (Please go back and listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of her podcast with us.)

Fast-forward to earlier this month, when we caught up with Liz to hear what's been going on in her and the minis's lives.

Among other stories in this special podcast, Liz talks about joining Brianna Noble's "Heels Down, Fists Up" equestrian demonstrations for racial justice.

We recorded this podcast outside of Thee Parkside in Potrero Hill in September 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Special: Muttville's Sherri Franklin Sep 11, 2020

Show notes

Catch up with Season 2, Episode 41 storyteller (Part 1 and Part 2), Muttville founder and CEO Sherri Franklin. Sherri talks about everything her non-profit senior dog rescue has gone through during quarantine as well as some exciting plans for the near future.

We're excited to announce that tickets are now available for the Muttville Gala! This year's theme: Mutts on the Moon. Get your tickets today for this virtual event!

For more information on adopting from of fostering for Muttville, please visit their website.

We recorded this special episode over Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E32, Part 2: Cassava's Yuka Ioroi Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast, Yuka picks up where she left off in Part 1, with her and her husband Kris's arrival in San Francisco. She worked a number of bartending jobs in The City before the couple decided to open their own place in 2012.

She talks about lessons she learned at those bartending gigs. Those, along with observations she had made of how her parents ran in their business back in Japan, informed how she has worked hard to do things right at her own restaurant.

Yuka talks about shifting Cassava into what it is now, scaled back due to the pandemic. She ends the episode reflecting on what it is about San Francisco, and especially the Outer Richmond, that she loves.

Unfortunately, Cassava had to close temporarily, but they hope to reopen next week. They also hope to start taking reservations for their new parklet soon.

We recorded this podcast at Cassava in the Outer Richmond in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E32, Part 1: Cassava's Yuka Ioroi Sep 08, 2020

Show notes

Yuka Ioroi's family name dates back to the 700s.

She grew up in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan with Mt. Fuji nearby. Her parents ran a business, and Yuka sees some of their ways of operating reflected in her own running of Cassava.

She moved to Los Angeles when she was 15. In the podcast, she describes some culture shock she experienced as well as a diversity she didn't see at home. After college, she worked an office job but got burnt out on that. From strip club bartending to waiting tables at a country club, she moved on to manager at a new restaurant. And that's where she met her future husband, Kris.

Yuka ends this episode talking about what brought the couple north to San Francisco in 2008.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Yuka will share the story of opening Cassava on Balboa.

Unfortunately, Cassava is closed temporarily. Please follow them on social media or check their website to learn about their reopening.

We recorded this podcast at Cassava in the Outer Richmond in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Special: Glass Key Photo's Gordon Szeto and Matt Osborne Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

You got to know Gordon Szeto in S1E42. Michelle and Jeff checked in with Gordon and Glass Key co-owner Matt Osborne for this special episode to see how they're handling all the changes that COVID-19 and the subsequent shelter-in-place have brought.

Glass Key Photo is open Mondays through Fridays from 2 to 4 p.m. You can browse their cameras for sale here.

We recorded this special podcast at Glass Key in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E31, Part 2: Radio Africa's Eskender Aseged Sep 03, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast, Eskender picks up where he left off in Part 1. After working for Joyce Goldstein at Square One, he went to Campton Place, where he worked with and learned a lot from chef Daniel Humm. He started doing an underground restaurant in his home, and that became his full-time gig starting in 2005. It was the birth of Radio Africa Kitchen.

The owner of Velo Rogue suggested that Eskender bring his food to her cafe as a pop-up. On the heels of success there, he moved over to a coffee shop near his home in the Mission, and that eventually led to opening his own restaurant on Third Street.

Eskender ends the podcast describing both his food and his philosophy of food.

Radio Africa Kitchen is open for pickup every Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. If you've never eaten there, please consider it. There's really nothing quite like it in The City or the Bay Area.

We recorded this podcast at Radio Africa in July 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E31, Part 1: Radio Africa's Eskender Aseged Sep 01, 2020

Show notes

When he was a teenager, Eskender Aseged fled his home country on foot.

In this podcast, the Radio Africa owner shares the story of walking from Communist Ethiopia to Sudan in the early 1980s. He found work in Khartoum and learned English, and he and his brother eventually got refugee status from the U.S. They arrived in Newark, New Jersey in 1986, and Eskender soon moved to New York City, where he worked as a busboy at the UN building.

He first visited San Francisco in 1986, when he came out here with his girlfriend at the time. He fell in love with The City immediately, as it reminded him of his hometown of Gondar. His first San Francisco home was in Bernal Heights, but he started spending more and more time in the nearby Mission, mostly in coffee shops. He found work in various San Francisco restaurants, including Cafe Majestic, Jeremiah Tower's Stars, and Joyce Goldstein's Square One.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Eskender will take us on the journey of his own culinary adventures, leading up to the opening of Radio Africa on Third Street. The restaurant is open for pickup every Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m.

We recorded this podcast at Radio Africa in the Bayview in July 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E30, Part 2: Rocket Dog Rescue's Pali Boucher Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

First it was punk rock. Then, dogs saved Pali Boucher's life.

In this podcast, Pali picks up where she left off in Part 1, with her return to San Francisco after a short time in LA. A teenager with bright red hair, she fell in with the SF punk scene, then in its very early days.

Pali describes a wild ride through addiction and eventually, getting sober. It was a rather circuitous route that led her back to dogs, but it happened, and out of that reconnection, Rocket Dog Rescue was born.

Like so many businesses these days, Rocket Dog could use your help. Please consider donating to this non-profit dog rescue today.

We recorded this podcast at Avedano's Meats in Bernal Heights in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E30, Part 1: Rocket Dog Rescue's Pali Boucher Aug 25, 2020

Show notes

Pali Boucher had what many would consider a wild childhood.

In this podcast, the Rocket Dog Rescue founder takes us on a colorful journey through her early years. Let's just say that her parents liked to party. Pali spent her first 10 years with her mom, moving all around the greater Bay Area (and even Mexico). After her mom died, she and her brother were separated when she went to live with her dad in Corte Madera. It was there that Pali started to realize her love of animals ... and especially, dogs.

She ends this episode talking about a short stint in LA, where she discovered punk rock and it saved her life.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Pali will talk about the nascent punk scene in San Francisco in the 1970s and starting her dog rescue non-profit.

We recorded this podcast at Avedano's Meats in Bernal Heights in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E29, Part 2: Tongo Eisen-Martin on Teaching, Art, Poetry, and Love Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Tongo picks up where he left off in Part 1, describing the changes he saw in his hometown of San Francisco after spending a few years in New York. It was obvious that money had done its part to stifle, displace, and erase art and the working class.

He started teaching with SF YMCA's CARE program, which works with imprisoned youth in The City, but some shady goings on in the program spurred him to leave. He went to Jackson, Mississippi, to do some movement work for a couple years before returning once again to San Francisco in 2015. He began writing poetry while in Mississippi, and when he got back to the Bay Area, it took off after Chinaka Hodge asked him to read before her at City Lights.

To end the podcast, we asked Tongo to read one of his poems for us. He recited (not read) "The Course of Meal." For the words to the poem, please see our website.

We recorded this podcast in San Francisco during quarantine on Zoom in July 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

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