In This Issue

COVER STORY
The Marina’s Eddie Savino uses a little block party to raise big money
for breast cancer research
Eddie Savino has been in the Marina District for nearly four decades, and has left an indelible mark on the neighborhood – a very good one. These days he owns Liverpool Lil’s, near the Presidio Gate, and the venerable Brazen Head restaurant on Buchanan at Greenwich Streets. But within and beyond the region, he and his wife, Marcella, are also known for their annual Brazen Head Block Party for Breast Cancer, held every year in September for the past nine years. It is now a Marina tradition.... read more


The Global Affairs Desk in North Beach
Are we getting the big picture from Iraq?
by Matt McFetridgeThe only time we get on the air is when we get in the middle of a firefight, lamented a veteran Baghdad cameraman. “We were at a firebase in Sadr City [Baghdad’s Shiite slum and home to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia] and took RPG [rocket-propelled grenades] and well-placed small arms fire.... read more

Sommelier's Chat
George Passot: The Americanization of a French sommelier
It’s not easy being second banana, especially when the top banana is your younger brother. George Passot, wine sommelier at the four-star La Folie restaurant in San Francisco, is two years older than his brother, chef Roland Passot, owner of La Folie.
Even though, they are both in their fifties, as long as I have known them, there’s always been an undercurrent of sibling rivalry. But despite the occasional skirmish, you know there is great love and respect between these two....read more

S.F. Opera’s opening weekend includes concert by
world-class diva Angela Gheorghiu
Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu – one of the hottest and coolest opera stars in the world – will give a special recital at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. She’ll perform with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra with conductor Marco Armiliato.... read more