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BARtab Halloween & Wine
Challenges at the plaza
West Hollywood offers fun
Costumes & Cabernets Monsters & Merlots Spooks & Spirits
Smuin Ballet opens season
see inside
The
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 41 • No. 39 • September 29-October 5, 2011
Warriors hire Welts by Roger Brigham
R
Rick Gerharter
Jorge Hernandez and Mark Garrett put on their finest for last year’s Castro Street Fair.
Castro fair is Sunday by Seth Hemmelgarn
T
he annual celebration started by the late gay icon and former Castro Street business owner Harvey Milk in 1974 is set to take place this weekend. The 38th annual Castro Street Fair, with a theme this year of “The Happiest Place in San Francisco,” will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, October 2. George Ridgley, the fair’s executive director, said that to him, the fair has “always See page 13 >>
Rick Gerharter
Folsom draws a crowd
Y
oung, hunky men hung out at this year’s Folsom Street Fair, Sunday, September 25, and joined hundreds of thousands of leather and fetish enthusiasts at the South of Market ex-
travaganza. As usual, the throngs of people enjoyed flogging, dancing, and adult beverages – all in the name of fun and raising money for a bevy of nonprofit organizations.
ick Welts made history in May when he became the first major sports executive in America to come out of the closet while president and chief executive officer with the Phoenix Suns. This week he made history by becoming the first openly gay major sports executive to be hired by a major men’s professional sports franchise, when Jane Philomen Cleland he was named the new president and chief Warriors operating officer of the President and Golden State Warriors. COO Rick Welts “I’ve been in basketball about 40 years,” Welts said at the Warriors’ Tuesday morning press conference at its Oakland practice facility announcing his hiring, “but I don’t think any morning I’ve ever woken up more excited than today. It’s an opportunity probably for the first time for me to align my personal and professional lives.” See page 14 >>
Castro serves up new dining scene
Through blog, man T mourns publicly
by Matthew S. Bajko
by Matthew S. Bajko
I
t began with email updates to close friends and family last November as his husband struggled against anal cancer and complications from being both HIVpositive and having a hepatitis C infection. Following the death of Randy Allgaier, a nationally respected AIDS advocate, Lee Hawn continued to write the electronic letters detailing his mourning process. As he started to plan for Allgaier’s public memorial service in late January, several friends suggested that Hawn publish his often visceral, emotionally searing messages about his coping with the death of his partner of 22 years. Somewhat surprisingly, for the self-described “couch potato” who was the more private individual in their relationship, Hawn decided to go public with his grief. See page 15 >>
he Castro’s dining scene has long been known more for its puns, think Sausage Factory or Orphan Andy’s, than for serving gourmet fare. But that has slowly changed in recent years. Joining well regarded neighborhood stalwarts such as Anchor Oyster Bar on Castro and Chow on Church have been two restaurants that quickly gained loyal followings: Market Street’s Woodhouse Fish Co., with its Tuesday $1 oyster nights, and Frances on 17th Street, where it can take up to three months to secure a table. Newer entrants such as Starbelly and Criolla Kitchen, both at the intersection of 16th and Market streets, have also won praise from local diners and critics. The Michelin Guide named Starbelly one of its “Bib Gourmand” eateries this year, meaning its food inspectors found it a great place to dine for under $40. The opening this summer of Criolla Kitchen, whose southern-style fried chicken and waffles has been a crowd favorite, prompted San Francisco Examiner food critic Patricia Unterman to declare that the Castro’s culinary scene had reached a boiling point. “Friends who live in the Castro are counting their blessings these days. In a neighborhood that once settled for quantity over quality, a new generation of restaurants is turning out San Francisco-worthy food,” Unterman wrote this month.
Rick Gerharter
Laureen Rossi places a pie on display at Chile Pies (Savory and Sweet) on Church Street.
Michael Bauer, a gay man who is the San Francisco Chronicle’s executive food and wine editor and restaurant critic, agrees that the gayborhood’s palate is growing more sophisticated. “I do think the Castro food scene is starting to look up, but it has a ways to go before it becomes
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a true foodie destination,” Bauer told the Bay Area Reporter. “For all the density of the area and the demographics, the food scene should be stronger. However, there are some bright spots such as Frances and Starbelly; Woodhouse is also a great neighborhood restaurant and See page 16 >>