Stephen Curry: What Others Are Saying

The Warriors have been on the road for what seems like forever. What Stephen Curry did Saturday night during the team’s improbable come from behind win against the Thunder in Oklahoma City was just ridiculous.

When he hit that three point shot to win the game with less than a second before the final buzzer in overtime, Curry tied the record for the most 3-pointers in a game (12) and broke his own record for most in a season (he has 288 with 24 games left to play).

Athletes, commentators and sports talk shows across the country were talking about that performance and the game on Sunday.

To read what the New York Times had to say about Curry and the game, click here.

Better yet, to see a video compilation of all twelve of his three point shots, click here. Or to see an ESPN video recap of the entire game, click here.

Weekend Events and The Weekly Real Estate Update

This weekend will see the 2016 Oscars® taking place in Los Angeles. If your looking to watch the Oscars here in San Francisco why not head to A Gathering of Royals, a fundraiser hosted by the Academy of Friends from 5-10pm. It’s guaranteed to be one of the best parties of the year!

Also happening this weekend is the 28th annual Russian Festival in Pacific Heights, which runs all weekend. It’s sure to be a great day out with a huge variety of activities. Details can be found here.

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On the “Homes for Sale in San Francisco” front, here’s our report for this week, 2/21/15 – 2/27/15:

Timing the housing market is not an easy thing to do. You may be asking yourself, is this the right time to sell my place? Financial columnist Nicole Goodkind says sell only when you need to sell – but adds, if you’re going to sell, this may be the best time of year to do so.

Home sales reach their peak in late June, but in order to be in the thick of that you need to start planning now. You’ll want to list your house by mid-March at the latest, because nationwide homes sold from March to mid-April sell 15% faster and for 2% more than the average listing.

Bringing a home to market can take some time, for staging and photography and such. So if you’re thinking about selling your home in the spring, now is the time to get started.

 

The Financial District’s Secret Gardens

 

With the wonderful sunshine throughout San Francisco in recent days, you may be looking to catch some rays and get some fresh air on your lunch hour this week. We have the perfect solution for you thanks to some Privately Owned Public Open Spaces or POPOS as the cool kids say.

The last place most San Franciscans think of when looking to explore the outdoors is the Financial District; however there are some wonderful gardens and outdoor areas scattered throughout the concrete towers of FiDi that you may not be aware of. Here are a few that are certainly worth checking out:

• Transamerica Redwood Park
• City Group Centre Plaza at 1 Sansome Street
• 1 Kearny Street
• 101 California Street
• 100 First Street

Let us know which one your favorite is!

The 36th Annual Academy Awards Night Gala

The Academy of Friends hosts A GATHERING OF ROYALS this Sunday at the San Francisco Design Center from 5 to 10PM. Ticket sales for the Annual Academy Awards Night Gala benefit HIV/AIDS Services in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This is traditionally one of the best parties of the year. Tickets run from $220 to $750 each. There’s also a silent auction. This though is fundraising at its best, with an emphasis on fun. You’ll enjoy food provided by the Bay Area’s finest restaurants and caterers, along with wine and champagne served up by amazing vintners.

Part of the fun of course is watching the 2016 Oscars® with others, and you’ll be able see the show from virtually every conceivable angle in the Galleria.  Following the broadcast there will be live entertainment, dj dancing and even an after party at a second site.

Who needs to be in L.A. for the Awards, when one of the best parties that night is right here in San Francisco.

Japan’s Influence on the San Francisco Food Scene

Move over France and Italy, today’s chefs are more interested in Japan’s cuisine. You are starting to see the result of this influence everywhere. Sara Deseran, writing for San Francisco Magazine, says that local chefs have always taken foreign culinary traditions and given them a California twist. Today, many chefs have now turned their attention to Japan.

Evidently, that country’s focus on exceptional quality in the fish and dishes it serves appeals to many San Francisco chefs intent on coming up with more healthy, vegetable-centric menus. Always up for a challenge, these same chefs also like the exacting process of food preparation in Japan, which can test a chef’s skill and patience. The writer says as a result, “on both fine-dining and smart-casual menus you’re as likely to see dashi and umeboshi as you are olive oil and capers.” This is a trend we’re happy to embrace!

28 Games to Go

The Warriors split two games over the weekend. In the first one, they looked terrible and lost to the Trailblazers 105-137 in Portland. They redeemed themselves the very next night by beating the Clippers in Los Angeles 115-112.

No team has gone through an NBA season without losing back-to-back games. That’s just one of the many feats still within reach for this Warriors team. The big one of course is putting together a better record than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. The Bulls record of 72 wins and 10 losses once seemed unobtainable. According to Mercury News sports columnist Tim Kawakami, there is good reason to believe that the Warriors have a good chance to tie the record, and even beat it.

They go into tonight’s game against the Hawks in Atlanta ahead of the pace established by the Chicago Bulls during their historic run. The Warriors are 49-5, while Chicago at this point in the schedule was 49-6. The NBA has jumped on the bandwagon, and has published a page comparing the win and loss records of the two clubs, game by game. You just look at it and shake your head in disbelief at both clubs.

The way the Warriors play basketball is a revelation, and unbelievably exciting. The way the team is toying with NBA history is just as astonishing.

Weekend Events and The Weekly Real Estate Update

This weekend the Noise Pop Festival opens – it’s the Bay Area’s premiere indie music and arts festival, and it’s returning for its 24th year. It runs through Sunday, February 28. Of course, Chinatown may be the place to be this weekend, with the Chinese Culture Center Spring Festival taking place both Saturday and Sunday, and the Chinese New Year Parade set to start at 5:15PM on Saturday evening.

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On the “Homes for Sale in San Francisco” front, here’s our report for this week, 2/14/15 – 2/20/15:

Stock market volatility and economic concerns abroad will likely result in a choppy real estate market, according to industry consultant Carole Rodoni, who spoke with Hill & Co. agents last week. While San Francisco is always the last in and the first out of any real estate downturn, Carole seems to sense that the market is shifting a bit. It seems it’s no longer an indisputable sellers market, particularly when it comes to higher priced homes.

This isn’t a bad thing. We’ve been hoping for a more balanced market for a long time. According to Carole, sellers need to be more realistic about their asking prices, and understand that they don’t push appreciation, buyers do.

At the same time, buyers need to take advantage of this potential purchase opportunity while it lasts. Some may be waiting to see what’s next. Buyers who employed this same strategy not so long ago were shut out when home prices rebounded in a big way. Would-be buyers were simply unable to catch up to the pace of appreciation.

San Francisco’s Only Frank Lloyd Wright’s Building

Frank Lloyd Wright has been called America’s greatest architect. If you’re not entirely familiar with his work, think the Marin County Civic Center or the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan.

Wright designed exactly one building in San Francisco, and it’s currently vacant. The building is located at 140 Maiden Lane, and the American Institute of Architects declared it to be one of his 17 essential works. The brick facade is beautiful without being imposing, however it’s what you find inside that truly dazzles – a spiral ramp that predates the Guggenheim and a sky-lit ceiling with 120 acrylic domes.

The building is a designated landmark, and according to the Chronicle’s architecture critic John King, the planning department wants to go even further.  The department intends to spell out in detail what can and can not be changed going forward.

This way, prospective occupants will have a clear understanding of what they can do with the space, and what can’t be touched. There is, after all, no other building like this in all of San Francisco.

Celebrate the New Year This Weekend!

This weekend it’s all about Chinatown, as the Chinese New Year Parade takes place Saturday from 5:15 to 8PM, and the Chinese Community Street Fair runs Saturday from 10AM to 4:30PM, and Sunday from 9AM to 5PM.

Named one of the world’s top ten parades, the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco is the largest celebration of its kind outside of Asia. It originated in the 1860s. The parade route runs along Market, wraps around Union Square, follows Post to Kearny, and ends just beyond Portsmouth Square.

In case you haven’t heard, this is the Year of the Monkey, and it’s supposed to be a good year for innovation and improvisation, and businesses should thrive. Sounds good to us.

What’s Old Is New Again: Alfred’s Steakhouse Reopens Thursday

A City favorite is reopening on Thursday, and according to food critic Ali Wunderman with SFWeekly, it could very well be better than ever. That’s saying something because, before it closed, the writer believed Alfred’s was home to the best steak in San Francisco.

According to the report, the acclaimed restaurant group DPG purchased Alfred’s last year and has made every effort to preserve this piece of San Francisco history. They have restored the restaurant to its original glory. The menu too will be familiar, but somewhat updated to reflect new sensibilities. The meat will be locally-sourced, the wine selection expanded.

Perhaps most amazing of all, even the prices aren’t expected to go up by much. We can’t wait to get in there!

Alfred’s Steakhouse, 659 Merchant, 415.781.7058