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Love at the Golden Gate Bridge

Annie Scudder — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:05:05 PDT

If you left your heart in San Francisco, it might have had something to do with the Golden Gate Bridge. The iconic span celebrates its 75th anniversary this weekend. Over the years, people from across the world have visited the bridge often sapping shots to capture the magic mix of man-made and natural beauty.

With its grainy and glowing filters, Instagram can make anyone feel nostalgic. Pair that with lovers at the Golden Gate Bridge and you have a recipe for a romantic photo, as you'll see in this slideshow. This weekend, San Francisco will mark the bridge's birthday with various parties and events. To get in on the festivities from wherever you are, take a look at these photos from Instagram showing love at the Golden Gate Bridge.

7 5-Star San Francisco Dishes to Ring in the Golden Gate's 75th Anniversary

Susannah Chen — Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:44 PDT

Along with the picnicking and the grilling that goes along with most Memorial Day weekends, this coming weekend, residents of San Francisco will be celebrating something else: the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Whether or not you're near the City by the Bay this long weekend, pay homage to the world's most photographed bridge in the world. Celebrate the iconic dishes of the food lover's paradise known as San Francisco, when you keep clicking.

Source: Getty

The Next Addition to The Shops at Target Revealed

Angela Swinderman Elias — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:28:38 PDT

San Francisco dwellers might already be familiar with the Curiosity Shoppe, but come Sept. 9, Target will be adding the San Francisco-based store as its second flight of The Shops at Target. Curiosity Shoppe founders, Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom, will curate the 60-plus-piece collection, including entertaining accessories, stationery, kitchenware, games, crafts, and curiosities, ranging from $3 to $25.

Before opening the Curiosity Shoppe in 2007, Lauren worked in Todd Oldham's design studio and Derek was a magazine editor at publications like Esquire and Interview. The couple ditched their East Coast gigs to try their hand at the retail business and landed in San Francisco's Mission District. Known for its eclectic mix of crafts, kits, books, unusual gift ideas, home decor, and quirky art, we're anxious to see how San Francisco's Curiosity Shoppe will fit into Target's innovative shops series.

11 Eco-Friendly Cars We Love

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:25:19 PDT

Spring is in the air, so let's keep that air smelling fresh, shall we? If you aren't able to use public transportation for your daily commute, and biking is out of the question, these electric, hybrid, and small cars are able to step in when all other earth-friendly options are exhausted. We love them all for various reasons, but mostly it's because they make us feel like we're giving mother earth a little hug every day they're on the road.

Design Field Trip: Ferry Building

Angela Swinderman Elias — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:00:17 PST

Sometimes inspiration for the next design project or blog post can be found right outside the door. So we at CasaSugar decided to challenge ourselves by kicking off a new recurring feature that focuses on just that. With iPhones in hand, we'll be Instagram-ing our way through different San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods, snapping photos, tweeting our finds, and posting our favorite shots in our new series, Design Field Trip. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages to see which San Francisco neighborhood we'll hit up next, or follow us on Instagram to check out all of our field-trip finds under the hashtag #designfieldtrip.

Last week, Elka and I headed to the San Francisco Ferry Building to have breakfast at Boulette's Larder with our buddy, eco-lifestyle expert Danny Seo. After many laughs and cups of coffee, Elka and I finished in time to enjoy a design field trip, iPhones in hand, of course. Keep reading to see what we stumbled upon during our design field trip in the San Francisco Ferry Building!

Design Field Trip: San Francisco's Cow Hollow Neighborhood

Angela Swinderman Elias — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:00:49 PST

Sometimes inspiration for the next design project or blog post can be found right outside the door. So, we at CasaSugar decided to challenge ourselves by kicking off a new reoccurring feature that focuses on just that. With iPhones in hand, we'll be Instagram-ing our way through different San Francisco neighborhoods, snapping photos, tweeting our finds, and posting our favorite shots in our new series, Design Field Trip. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages to see which San Francisco neighborhood we'll hit up next, or follow us on Instagram to check out all of our field-trip finds under the hashtag #designfieldtrip. For now, click to see which Cow Hollow spots caught our lens!

Design Field Trip: San Francisco's North Beach Neighborhood

CasaSugar — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:20:13 PST

Sometimes inspiration for the next design project or post can be found right outside the door. So, we at CasaSugar decided to challenge ourselves by kicking off a new reoccurring feature that focuses on just that. With iPhones in hand, we'll be Instagram-ing our way through different San Francisco neighborhoods, snapping photos, tweeting our finds, and posting our favorite shots in our new series, Design Field Trip. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages to see which San Francisco neighborhood we'll hit up next, or follow us on Instagram to check out all of our field-trip finds under the hashtag #designfieldtrip. For now, click to see which North Beach spots caught our lens!

A Look Back at the Second Annual Good Food Awards

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:05:17 PST

Food artisans from around the country were honored at the second annual Good Food Awards, which celebrate American food producers, who enhance the country's agricultural landscape and help to build community. On Friday, we hit up the awards ceremony, where a veritable who's who of the food industry, from Alice Waters to Ruth Reichl, spoke to the importance of heirloom products, and where we had a chance to taste some of the best heirloom products being made in this country right now. For a few snapshots from the event, keep reading.

Judging a Culinary Competition: It's Not as Easy as You Think

Susannah Chen — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:15:11 PDT

I've always envied the chairman and all the judges on Iron Chef America. After all, who doesn't want to sit down to live entertainment and not one, but two, incredible dinners made by star chefs?

Naturally, when I was recently approached to judge the Macy's Mystery Basket Battle in San Francisco, I couldn't say no. The event featured two local celebrity chefs, Staffan Terje from Perbacco and Hoss Zaré from Zaré at Fly Trap, facing off in a 45-minute battle to create at least one dish that incorporated the following six ingredients: kabocha, mint, fennel, cocoa powder, anchovies, and animal crackers.

The event wouldn't have been complete without a live audience of about 50 and a judging panel (which included myself, Masterchef finalist Alejandra Schrader, blogger Carolyn Jung of Food Gal, and SF City Dish founder Kevin Blum). But judging a competition wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Read more for some surprising postcompetition observations.

Star Chef Craig Stoll on Expansion, Favorite Eateries, and the State of Dining

Susannah Chen — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:16:57 PDT

It's hard to keep a restaurant that's been open over a decade perennially packed, but Craig Stoll makes it look easy. The chef-owner's flagship restaurant, Delfina, has been open for 13 years, yet remains one of San Francisco's top dining destinations. Stoll and his wife, Annie, have a new Roman restaurant, Locanda, as well as two locations of the absurdly popular Pizzeria Delfina, which was named one of the 25 best pizzas in America.

I talked to the James Beard Award winner about what keeps his restaurants interesting, upcoming projects, and the controversial state of fine dining today.

YumSugar: Delfina's been open for 13 years. How do you continue to move forward?
Craig Stoll: It's just hard work. What we need right now, in order for our restaurants to continue to thrive and grow, is talent. We have a brand-new chef coming in here; you're the first to know. Matt Gandin, our chef de cuisine who's been with us nine years, is leaving; he doesn't know where he's going, but he wants to pursue his own thing, possibly Mexican food. Dylan Montano is coming in; I'm super excited for this. He's been the chef at Manzanita, Traci Des Jardins's restaurant in Lake Tahoe, and has worked at Quince.

Keep reading after the jump to learn about what Craig Stoll has planned next.