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by Tamar Love Grande
Published 2001 on SFStation.com
Laurel Heights is easily one
of the most pleasant neighborhoods in San Francisco: the
atmosphere is mild, sunny and low-key, and the tree-lined
streets are flanked on either side by colorful, nicely
landscaped homes. Located just a few blocks from the Presidio,
between California and Lake to the north and south and
Arguello and Presidio to either side, Laurel Heights offers
quaint shops, fine neighborhood restaurants and abundant
professional services. Less hectic than the Fillmore or Union
and Chestnut Streets, Laurel Heights is the ideal destination
for an afternoon of low-maintenance luxury
shopping.
Although not quite as upscale as nearby
Pacific Heights, Laurel Heights residents enjoy the same sense
of peace and quietude as do residents of its more affluent
neighbor. Laurel Heights may not be filled with mansions and
sweeping views, but it has its share of gorgeous houses---the
neighborhood is an enclave of tidy single-family Victorian and
Edwardian homes with garages occupied by BMWs and SUVs. Best
characterized as more conservative than the Marina--yet
newer-monied than Pacific Heights---Laurel Heights is anything
but diverse: residents tend to be affluent, Caucasian,
professional married couples with small children and 1.2 dogs.
Or is it the other way around?
Laurel Heights may be an ethnically homogenous
place to live, but is sure is a nice place to visit. The
quiet, hilly streets are peppered with antique stores, design
studios, salons and shoe stores, and parking is slightly more
abundant than you'd expect. Residents say the neighborhood is
"upscale, a favorite with ladies who lunch" and we tend to
agree: on a recent visit, we noticed several small groups of
smartly dressed women chatting gaily with one another--when
they weren't chatting on their multicolored cell
phones.
If you'd like to emulate these ladies, start
with a trip to Fetish, where you'll find an obscenely gorgeous
collection of designer shoes that would make Sex in the City's
Carrie Bradshaw drool with lust. Bettye Muller, Emma Hope,
Jimmy Choo and Giuseppe Zanotti are all represented, as are a
few lower-priced and slightly less well-known labels. Next,
stroll down Sacramento to Baker Street and spend an hour or
two browsing through several unique house ware stores.
American Pie is a sweet little country store, stocking scented
candles, Americana crafts and a nice selection of gifts for
the home. Sue Fisher King, the second store in a small, local
chain, offers beautiful Italian linens, triple-milled French
soaps and Fortuny lamps, while Shabby Chic, a licensee of the
popular L.A. chain, sells perfectly cozy fabric, furniture and
bed linens.
When you're finally shopped out, head back
up Sacramento to Osteria, an unpretentious neighborhood
trattoria serving consistently excellent pastas and an
out-of-this-world calamari steak, or Garibaldi's Restaurant, a
more upscale (and slightly more pretentious) eatery serving a
California-Mediterranean menu highlighted by an outstanding
rack of lamb. After dinner, catch a movie at the Vogue, one of
only two single-movie theaters left in San Francisco. If
you're still standing once the movie's over, catch a drink at
the G Bar, an elite retro-lounge watering hole serving chi-chi
cocktails and pricey champagne.
Just two blocks away, Laurel Heights undergoes a
radical change, both in atmosphere and appellation. Laurel
Village, replete goods and services, is a daily paradise for
the legions of parents populating the area. Strollers are
abundant--both single and double models--as are women in their
early 30s, dressed in designer yoga togs and carrying their
obligatory Kate Spade bags. Still, Laurel Village is darned
handy, especially if you have a multitude of food-related
errands to run. Within the four-block span you will find small
chains galore: Jamba Juice, Pasta Pomodoro, Starbucks, Peet's,
A.G. Ferrari's, Noah's, Eppler's, Napa Ranch, Cal-Mart and
Bryan's Quality Meats, a gourmet grocery store and butcher
shop. You can also buy clothes for the kids at Baby Gap or
Gymboree, or do your banking at any one of four financial
institutions. If you get a little tired of all that
homogeneity, stop in at Miz Brown's Feed Bag, a nasty little
retro diner that flips a mean burger. Also recommended is the
pet-friendly Laurel Motor Inn, a decently priced hotel
appropriate for Mom and Dad or your best friend's brother, and
Ella's, one of the most delectable brunch joints north of
Market, where the daunting lines don't deter weekend brunchers
hankering for hot, scrumptious baked
goods.
Fetish
344
Presidio Avenue
(Sacramento @ Presidio)
San Francisco,
CA 94115
phone: 415-409-7429
American
Pie
3101 Sacramento Street
(Sacramento @
Baker)
San Francisco, CA 94115
phone:
415-929-8025
Sue Fisher King
3067 Sacramento
Street
(Sacramento @ Baker)
San Francisco, CA
94115
phone 415-922-7276
Shabby Chic
3075
Sacramento Street
(Sacramento @ Baker)
San Francisco, CA
94415
phone: 415-771-3881
Osteria
3277
Sacramento Street
(Sacramento @ Presidio)
San Francisco,
CA 94415
phone: 415-771-5030
Garibaldi's
Restaurant
347 Presidio Avenue
(Presidio @
Sacramento)
San Francisco, CA 94115
phone:
415-563-8841
fax: 415-563-1227
United Artist's
Vogue
3290 Sacramento Street
(Sacramento @
Presidio)
San Francisco, CA 94115
phone:
415-221-8183
The G Bar
488 Presidio
Avenue
(Presidio @ California)
San Francisco,
CA
phone: 415-409-4227
Bryan's Quality
Meats
3473 California Street
San Francisco, CA
94118
phone: 415-752-0179
Miz Brown's Feed
Bag
3401 California Street
San Francisco, CA
94118
Laurel Motor Inn
444 Presidio
Avenue
(Presidio @ California)
San Francisco, CA
94115
phone: 415-567-8467
fax:
415-928-1866
Ella's
500 Presidio
Avenue
(Presidio @ California St.)
San Francisco, CA
94115
phone: 415-441-5669
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