Cover Story
Dennis Herrera, now in his third term as city attorney,could be a contender in San Francisco’s next mayoral race
Dennis Herrera, San Francisco’s city attorney, grabbed quite a few headlines last year. It was mostly good news for his office, though he concedes the financial problems of the city, and the state, remain formidable as we enter 2010.
   
“The deficit will be a major challenge to anyone who wants to be this city’s next mayor,” says Herrera. Though circumspect, it’s no secret to any political observer that he might like to be considered for that job.
   
Herrera was born 47 years ago in Bay Shore, Long Island, N.Y. He went to Villanova and got his law degree at George Washington School of Law. He was chief of staff to the U.S. Maritime Administration in Washington D.C., practiced maritime law in San Francisco, and was appointed to the S.F. Transportation Commission by Willie Brown. Herrera served as a police commissioner and was elected...read more


Andrea Marcovicci brings her acclaimed Johnny Mercer show to the Rrazz Room
Andrea Marcovicci, a longtime San Francisco favorite, is bringing her tribute to composer Johnny Mercer to the Rrazz Room on Jan. 19–31. It’s called Skylark: Marcovicci Sings Mercer.
   
Her review was a big hit at New York’s Algonquin Hotel over the holidays. It was a six-week sell-out. The New York Times’s Stephen Holden, who can be dyspeptic and disagreeable, was  completely charmed. He wrote that Marcovicci “worked her wiles as a show-business medium channeling Olympian spirits with emotional intensity.”
   
The Savannah Music Festival originally commissioned Skylark in Mercer’s hometown, where Marcovicci’s show was a great success. She manages to weave all sorts of stories about the composer into her selection of well-known and not-so-well-known songs, co-written with geniuses of the Great American Songbook, such as … read more


A lighter but still satisfying cassoulet
I recently returned from my first journey to Paris with my wife, Elizabeth, and being good tourists, we ventured to Pére-Lachaise cemetery to visit the final resting place of Jim Morrison. And, as tourists, we were not properly dressed for the weather, which is a polite way of saying we were freezing our butts off. So as we were exiting the graveyard, our first goal was finding somewhere warm and something warm and comforting to fill our bellies. Luckily for us, there was a very inviting brasserie right across the boulevard. Elizabeth wanted to be warmed by the memories of her first visit to Paris and ordered mussels with frites. I was looking for something a little more filling and ordered the cassoulet. As I dug into the steaming bowl of white beans... read more


Forestville and Healdsburg: Wine country neighbors
When visiting wine country, you can choose your destination based on any number of factors – want to explore the area driving the countryside or walking the streets of downtown? Recently, my husband and I visited Forestville and Healdsburg, two Sonoma neighbors that show the contrasts in wine country towns. What they have in common, however, is great wine, delicious food, superb accommodations, and gracious people.
  
We started our adventure in Forestville, nestled in the Russian River Valley. Not more than 70 miles from the Northside, this easygoing town has a lot going on, although it seems to happen around the town, not as much in the center. Our sites were set a few miles outside of town at the luxurious Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant... read more