In the second annual survey, more than 2,000 participants voted for their favorite open spaces, beaches, and historic sites, choosing those from Monterey County to Mono County as winners in 10 out of 12 categories. That’s pretty impressive, considering there are 280 state parks across California enc

Amado is no ordinary Mexican eatery. Custom-made amber glass lamps overhead and warm brown banquettes with gold and cream-colored accents fill the modern, stylish space. The lively open bar divides the dining room from the lounge, which also serves the full menu. A large round art piece along the ba

His father had an answer for people who asked why the couple collected a particular work, he said.

Put a bow on it, and don't procrastinate: Mother’s Day is May 10th.

Grab a chai from Elaichi on Monday, margaritas at Equal Parts on Tuesday, then get ready to ogle art by Ruth Asawa, let loose at the Half Moon Bay Wine and Jazz Festival, and party with KQED. To celebrate your favorite matriarch on Sunday, treat her to tea with Little Moon Bakehouse, shopping at The

This is where ephemera comes in. Antique throwaway items like restaurant matchbooks can rekindle the flame of long-forgotten businesses and their proprietors.

If you ask us, a morning hike is best when there’s a reward to look forward to at the end.

Readers’ Books (130 E. Napa St.) is only half a block from the historic Sonoma Plaza, and the perfect starting point for a literary road trip.

Good food abounds in the Bay this week. Start with new lunch service at Roka Akor, then make your way through the Taste of Temescal on Wednesday, and a wine dinner at Oakland’s Lake Chalet on Thursday. Save room to support your local food bank by filling your bowl at a unique fundraiser on Sunday, t

Built in 1897, the nearly 10,000-square-foot Queen Anne-style Victorian at 2315 Broadway Street stands as a testament to the gilded era of Pacific Heights. Originally commissioned for the Anspacher family and designed by architect Moses J. Lyon, the residence is a touchstone for the ornate detailing

A crop of recent hotel additions is making a trip to the city all the more exciting—and not just in the trendy Roma and Condesa neighborhoods.

Known as Napa’s “Main Street,” St. Helena is near the heart of the valley, and it played a major role in putting it on the map: The region’s first ever wineries were established here, and today the area has more than 150 of them and its own appellation.

So, every year for Bay Area Dance Week, he puts on one of its highlights: Dancing in the Park in Golden Gate Park.

Earth Day gets an extension with celebrations almost every day. Check out the sustainable fashion-friendly Earth Summit, a cleanup at Stern Grove, Spoonbar’s special menu, and a citywide bioblitz. Also going big: the debut of Cookbook Week, an adults-only Mad Tea House party, the celeb-studded Napa

Of the 120 billion pieces of discarded packaging associated with makeup and skincare each year, 95 percent is destined for landfill (or, just as likely, for the world’s oceans).

Stick to your budget and like it with these 49 things to do in San Francisco for less than $20.

For spa regulars who crave more memorable experiences—quirky, offbeat ones, even—here’s a crop of distinctive wellness destinations from southern California to Mendocino.

When a DIY date is in order—solo, coupled up, or with friends—look beyond the usual suspects to SF’s funky studios, cozy spaces, and even the realm of the departed. Get off your screen and get your hands dirty at these crafty workshops.

But while heading to Tahoe, Big Sur, or the Russian River are epic must-do journeys, they’re just the tip of the road trip iceberg.

Dalida wasn’t just excellent (and still one of our favorites in the city), it showcased a side of Mediterranean cuisine seen infrequently in the Bay Area, one that nodded to Sayat’s Turkish heritage and other food traditions from the sea’s eastern side.

Making a glorious return this week: the immersive Startup Art Fair, Lord Stanley’s Turntable, Filoli’s spring tea, the Cherry Blossom Fest, SF Climate Week, the SF LGBT Center Soirée, Fort Mason's Night Market, and the SF SPCA’s birthday block party. Not enough to keep you busy? Check out New Mexica

Like arteries, the work in the new Asian Art Museum exhibition Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries pulses somewhere between the grotesque and beautiful, the unfathomable and the quotidian.

But Pacific Grove as a travel destination has generally stayed pretty quiet despite its gorgeous location and lengthy history. It’s a town that feels like a step back in time, with a quaint, Main Street kind of vibe where art, community, and longtime locally owned businesses prevail.

Operating continuously since 1903—and with Another Planet Entertainment as the exclusive promoter since 2004—the historic 8,500-person amphitheater will once again transform the Berkeley Hills into a premier destination for live music under the stars. This season’s performances include legendary and

In the 1860s four Sacramento businessmen turned their gaze towards San Francisco and determined it was the place to further their futures.

A prime example? The RT Burger. A chargrilled patty from San Francisco’s Olivier’s Butchery with 10 percent dry-aged rib-eye, layered with a Mornay sauce-style amalgam of Fiscalini cheddar and grated parmesan with the signature melt of classic American cheese but so much tastier. It is served with d

Just what’s an audiophile to do?

From artisanal marketplaces filled with cheese and charcuterie to chef-prepared baskets and on-site food trucks, these wineries make picnicking in Napa easy.

Plus, McMullen’s boutique is flush with exclusive designers and Liis Fragrance gets into the body care game.

Start off strong with outdoor flow at the Ferry Building, then wrap things up with al fresco parties in downtown SF and on the lawn at OMCA. Lots of local restaurants have you covered for Easter Sunday and the start of Passover—or you could always just escape to Lake Tahoe.

At the confluence of three AVAs, Healdsburg’s wine cred is matched only by its culinary one. Just within the last year, both scenes have witnessed an influx of new energy from big names like celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, cult favorites like Marietta Cellars, and welcome new additions like the True

From San Francisco to Monterey, Oakland to Napa, the Bay Area loves an outdoor music-food-drink situation. Live jazz, pop, reggae, punk, and classical music are warm-weather traditions that never gets old—especially when the musical acts are H-O-T.

But I had a plan to change the narrative: Escape for several days of serious self-care (with a generous side of pampering) where I’d enlist a team to help me build healthy habits that would last long after checkout.

What we know for sure is that, no matter where you peg its start, it’s taken more than a hundred years for mainstream medicine to recognize that, as physiologist and nutrition scientist Dr. Stacy Sims puts it, women are not just small men. Women’s bodies have their own distinct alchemy of anatomy, h

But with gas prices raging and plane tickets at a premium, we thought that, maybe this year, we’d stick a little closer to home. Lucky for us, it’s just a couple of hours drive to some of the best escapes Northern California has to offer.

It’s a week for the curious. Try new fare at the openings of JouJou, North Italia, and the SF outpost of Grand Lake Kitchen. Revive your senses at an art event/feast with Frida Kahlo’s family, the "finale" of Napa Valley's mustard season, and a community bean potluck in Berkeley. Then learn, listen,

While San Francisco, Oakland, and Napa each have clear food identities as fine dining capital, Wine Country playground, and culinary underdog, there’s no single thing that sets the Peninsula apart. You don’t really travel there for a meal; it’s more a place you happen to eat in because you live or w

It starts soft and pillowy—comforting—like climbing into a warm bath in which the water is velvety sawdust. Then comes the heat, ratcheting up with each passing minute.

This weekend, get outside and frolic through the flowers from the Peninsula to Point Reyes to (Little) Yosemite.

In that initial time of acclimation and settling in, it feels strange: you haven’t figured out the bike route to the gym, or which breakfast place you’ll enjoy most, or if you’ll want to face the ocean in your lounge chair or one of the pools. But by the time you check out (hopefully many days later

Even so, cuisine from around the continent, as well as the dishes into which it has diffused throughout the diaspora, is slowly finding more representation here at home. Case in point? Meski.

Get lucky at a downtown St. Patrick’s Day block party or mix things up with do-good tacos, fashion talk, or Persian New Year celebration. Catch exciting new exhibits at MoAD, CCA, and the Napa Valley Museum Yountville, and get in line early for blooms at the annual Tulip Day in Union Square.

These five California ski resorts know how to spread the spring fever with everything from pond skimming to disco tubing. With some blockbuster storms in the Sierra this winter, there will be no shortage of snow for spring skiing. Here’s how to get corny in the corn snow.

Where the Girls Were, by Kate Schatz

Choose the right restaurant—one with a prix fixe menu optimized for abundance—and you’ll get all of the joy and none of the pain of bartering over which dishes to order at the start and figuring out how exactly to divvy up the bill at the end. (If Susan only ordered a salad and water, you know you’r

Located in downtown Healdsburg, The Cottages at Little Saint is the latest venture from the team behind the gourmet vegan restaurant, wine shop, and uber-popular music venue Little Saint.

Kristina Voegele, a Bay Area transplant who moved from Florida to attend grad school at Mills College, wrote the novel during early motherhood, while grappling with the kind of identity loss many parents know well.

Celebrate Pi Day with actual pie, hit a rooftop Holi party, level up your baking game in a sourdough starter class, crash a bridal-themed pub crawl, and catch a politically-charged drag show. Bonfires, bingo, women’s history by sea, and St. Patrick’s Day mischief? The madness can only mean it’s Marc