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Locals Talk
Donald Graves
Age: 38
San Francisco
- When I took the Hotel Matchmaker test these are the words I selected:
- Fun-loving/Energetic, Epicurious, Handsome/Masculine, Young-at-heart/Whimsical, Dynamic/Vibrant
- My favorite activities include:
- Cinema, Music, Weight Training, The Beach and Mountains, Cooking, Eating, Politics, Electronic gadgets.
- I was born and raised in:
- Denver, Colorado
- I currently live:
- San Francisco's Potrero Hill
- What do I do to make a buck?:
- I am an HIV Physician working with the underserved populations.
- 5 things I love about the San Francisco Bay Area:
- In the summer, it is fun to go salsa dancing at El Rio (3158 Mission St. San Francisco CA 282-3325). You can dance outside with a live band, drink margaritas and a deliciously colorful crowd. You can follow this by walking down the street to Emmy's Spaghetti Shack (18 Virginia Ave. at Mission St. 206-2086) where you can have some homestyle spaghetti while listening to a live dj spin retro tunes. Yerba Buena Park at noon or at night. Truly Mediterranean Restaurant, A veritable shawerma stand (627 Valencia, 632-2636 or 3109 16th 252-7482). The food, atmosphere and music are authentically Middle Eastern and spicy. It is a very neighborhoody joint filled with the diversity of the Mission district. Firefly (4288 24th Street, 821-7652), upscale wonderful Californian cusisin restaurant tucked away in Noe Valley. Farmers Market on the Embarcadero Saturday mornings.
- My favorite local hidden treasure you shouldn't miss:
- Balmy Alley, It is a very cool alley of murals. It is quite a magical place in the Mission District.
- My perfect day spent in the San Francisco Bay Area:
- A perfect day would take place on a sunny Sunday. I would wake up and take my dog to Fort Funston for a great run or a walk on the beach. I would meet a friend for a cozy brunch at Miss Millie's in Noe Valley (4123 24th Street, 285-5598). The rest of the day, I would get lost in some neighborhood: The Haight for a browse at Amoeba Records (1855 Haight, 831-1200) and people watching, Hayes Valley to check out shoes, the Mission to check some consignment shops, hang out in Dolores Park, or just stroll up to some hilltop neighborhood such as Russian Hill and find another unfamiliar yet stunning view of the city. I would end the afternoon at El Rio in the Mission (3158 Mission, 282-3325). And when the weather isn't so nice, I would head over to the EndUp (401 6th St. San Francisco, 6am to 8pm Sundays) where urban sounds are always alive and the worshipers of dance never stop. Afterwards, I would grab dinner down the street at Blue Plate (3218 Mission, 282-6777). Other restaurants that I might choose to complete that perfect day would be Delfina (3621 18th Street, 552-4055), Chez Spencer (82-14th Street, 864-2191), Ti Couz (3108 16th Street, 252-7373), or the Slanted Door (100 Brannan Street, 861-8032).
