ethical question of the week

Im thinking about writing an article about the recent laws that have come into place regarding Medical Marijuana Dispensaries. Is that article something the Foghorn should publish?

Ethical Problem of the week

Was it ethical for the ump to issue warnings to both benches during the World Series when Alex Rodriguez got hit? I think that it was kind of obnoxious. Who wouldn't want to hit A-Rod, the steroid man? But I digress

random ethical thoughts

is it ethical to steal to work to feed your family?

I'd say yes- family > work

Robertson misspelled my last name in an e-mail

Should he sent out a correction e-mail to everyone or is it one of those things no one really cares about?You would never send out a group e-mail to people and copy your source and spell there name wrong, but this setting is more personal so other rules apply. However, this is the 3rd semester in a row I've have with Robertson and you'd think he'd know it by now! :P

Slam Poety Haiku

Rhythm style and beats

Words with meaning, dignity

Enlightening you

I was nostalgic for the good ol' j1 reporting days so here's my 'Big Story' on transfer students at USF

Inside the Mind of a Transfer Student

Jared Frazer recalls his freshman year at San Francisco State. He did not get along with his roommate, he was in overcrowded classes, and he was forced to take elective classes that he didn’t want because all the classes he wanted were already full. Since then he has bounced around to three other colleges, including The New York Film Academy and Santa Monica Community College. Now, six years later, Frazier, a 24-year-old media studies major, says he has finally found a home at USF. As opposed to his other schools, Frazer says he loves the quiet community, the small college and the intimate classroom setting.

Every year, students transfer to USF. They might have finished their general education at a community college and are ready to make the transition into a four-year university, or they may be switching colleges because it wasn’t quite the right fit for them. 

Out of the six transfer students interviewed, USF’s location and small class sizes were among the most common reasons transfer students chose to come to USF.

Melissa Baron, a transfer student from Northeastern University in Boston says, “I knew I wanted a school in the city. More importantly, I knew I wanted a small school in a big city.” She says she liked the fact that USF had all the advantages of the small school setting, but was in the big city, where everything was at her fingertips. She was very excited about the fact that she could “explore things outside of USF.”

However, even though the campus is in the heart of San Francisco and the college is relatively small, “transfer students feel left out,” says Alexandra Platt, ASUSF Senate President.

“Although we do a special transfer orientation, it’s not at the same scale with the Freshman Orientation” says Platt, “starting out as a Freshman, you come into the college experience with 1000 other people in the same place; all learning the same things about the school and getting into the groove at the same time. For transfer students, they don’t get a chance to go through that learning curve with their class.”

Terry Leigh, a transfer student from Marymount College, feels that USF didn’t make a great effort to make new transfer students feel welcomed. Leigh, 20, says, “The community wasn’t that welcoming. It [was] rough coming in as a transfer student, especially [living] off-campus.”

Christina Hammill, a transfer student from De Anza College, agrees. Hammill, 21, lives in the Pedro Arupe resident halls off-campus and says “Pedro Arupe is not very transfer friendly. The people are all nice but it’s very cliquey and not like the freshman dorms where everyone wants to make new friends.” However, Hammill admits that there is really nothing USF can do to fix this problem. “Pedro Arupe did offer one dinner specifically for transfer students, but I was in class.”

Jared Frazer also lives off-campus but feels differently. “The transfer orientation was very helpful in helping me get a feel for the school.” He said he liked the fact “the it [made] [him] feel comfortable in the presence of USF… it was nice to feel included in activities that were apart of USF.” When told how his opinions greatly differed from his fellow transfer students, he had no sympathy; he said that first and foremost, “college is about doing things for yourself.”

As part of the ASUSF Senate, Jo Wieneck, a transfer student from community college in Santa Cruz, wants the school to take more initiative welcoming transfer students. Wieneck, a 20-year-old business major, is trying to add a new position to the Senate, where someone would be named the “Transfer Representative” for the school.

She also has plans in the works for a mentor program specifically for transfer students, where they would be able to talk to a fellow student if they had any questions about the school.  

Aside from the problems transfer students had integrating into the USF community, another problem has lingered for transfers and non-transfers alike. Many students on campus feel there is a severe shortage of school spirit.

Wieneck says she wants “for people to be excited to be at USF.” However, she says that the total lack of school spirit within the student body deters students from getting involved.

Wieneck says that students just don’t care about representing their school; “when you talk to students about our school, it tends to be more negative than positive.”

She says one reason for this is because of how spread out the campus is. She also says that there are no incentive for students who live off-campus to come to main campus to participate because there are never enough activities happening to make it worth their while.

Charles Skinner, a transfer student counselor and the admissions coordinator for USF, says that USF is appealing to transfer students because of the small classes sizes and fact that every class is taught by a “real professor” and not a grad student, as is the case in many UC and CSU classes.

According to Skinner, the process for transferring to USF is a “fairly easy process.” He says that USF requires students trying to transfer in to have completed at least 24 semester credits or 36-quarter credits completed at a separate college and to have maintained a 2.75 GPA during that time.

Skinner says that USF’s process for transfer students is much more flexible than other California State Universities (CSU) or UC’s, and that the transfer staff is very accessible to potential students if they have questions.

And it shows too. Looking at the statistics from last year, over sixty percent of transfer students who applied were accepted, which is comparable to the sixty-six percent of freshman admitted, according to U-Can, a university and college accountability network on the web.  

As opposed to other CSU’s and UC’s, Skinner says that many of the classes transfer students take at other colleges count for same general education or major courses at USF. 

But, Melissa Baron disagrees with Skinner. “The university makes it difficult to fill requirements with transferred courses. They have very specific ideas of what a class syllabus must contain to fill a university requirement.” She says as a result, “I’ve had to retake classes like college writing. This makes it very difficult to graduate on time.”

One of the classes Baron is talking about is Writing 250, which is a requirement for all transfer students. Frazer, sums up the general attitude transfer students have towards having to take 250 when he says that he “doesn’t mind taking it, but it has set [him] back in my [major].”

For Melissa Baron, it was what USF offered in terms of education that drew her attention. She says she applied to USF because they “promised small class sizes and intimate education. It’s very important to me to be in small programs where I can develop relationships with professors.”

Another aspect that Baron liked was the richness of the Media Studies department. “I liked that the program covered a variety of ways to look at media- theory, criticism, research, and creation,” she says. “I also wanted to be in the program because instead of creating separate programs for film and journalism, [USF] puts all the programs together allowing students to pick and choose their skill set.”

Baron says she felt too constrained in her major at Northeastern and felt “the major was too specific and didn’t allow me to develop a wide array of skills for the job market.”  She says that after she graduates from USF, she is confident that she will be prepared to find a job in the media field.

The Media Studies department was a dealmaker for Christina Hammill. She says” [USF] is one of the few schools that offers Media Studies as a major instead of just Communications, which is too broad and vague than what I want.”

Most students say they have had much better experiences with their professors here at USF than their previous colleges. Baron has nothing but praises for the professors in the Media Studies Department, “The Media Studies professors have a wealth of knowledge and resources that they make available to students. They teach engaging and difficult classes. My professors have made themselves available to me for help and their classes have actually challenged me; a first in my college experience.”

Baron has particularly liked Professor David Silver in the Media Studies Department. She says that he taught his Introduction to Media Studies “in a way that got you really excited about media and the different individual interests you can pursue in media.”

On the other hand, Baron said she’s “had mixed feelings about [the] professors for the [general education] classes. Some have been great and others have not.”

Brandon Martinez, a transfer student from USC, agrees that it can be hit or miss with many of the teachers. But he says some of the courses are a “joke. It’s too easy.” He feels that some teachers “spoon feed the students… and make it a little too easy to skate through USF.”

Contrasting Baron, Martinez says, “I don’t think USF has given me the same education that USC did. USF hasn’t challenged me so far and I only have one semester left.” Yet, Martinez made it clear that he was only at USF to finish up his remaining units and graduate; he wasn’t interested in the political aspect of the school.

However, Baron doesn’t feel that the professors are solely at fault. Nonetheless, she does agree that courses outside her major do not measure up. She says, “I’m unsatisfied with the classroom experience. I often feel my classmates don’t feel compelled to do the work and it detracts from classroom discussion.”

Despite all of the negative things said about USF, all of the transfer students mentioned that they plan on staying and graduating from USF. Christina Hammill knows USF is the place she wants to be, “being a transfer [student] is pretty hard, academically and socially, but it’s completely worth the troubles to be a school you enjoy.” She says “when you transfer, you start out behind and there’s a lot of work to catch up. But it’s better than stewing in a college you don’t like.”

Jared Frazer believes that coming to USF was the best possible choice he could have made. He says “I admire the commitment to excellence the faculty and school exhibits, [which] makes me want to mirror that excellence in my work so I can adequately represent USF in the future.”

Dust

USF is not known to put on big theatre arts productions. Nor are the plays known to be well received by the college student body. Sufficient to say, USF’s track record has been very hit or miss. Last year’s production of Necromancers and last semester’s Woyzeck left something to be desired (both plays were too experimental to the point where the characters were undeveloped and the plot was nonsensical), while last month’s Vagina Monologues was very popular, especially among the women. Last weekend brought the new and experimental play Dust, written entirely by the cast and crew. What would be the verdict?

            Dust derives their plot from the bible of the story of Adam and Eve. From a biblical standpoint, Dust doesn’t do it justice, as God does not have an overbearing role in the play. However, they were still able to portray of sin, but in other ways. The play is divided up into eleven different skits, where each skit gives a potential reason why Eve took a bite from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the bible version of Adam and Eve, Eve bites the apple out of temptation. Conversely in Dust, they aren’t satisfied with the simplicity of temptation and thus believe that there could have been different/more motives behind Eve’s defiant act towards God.

            The first half of the play is set in various classrooms (incorporating third graders through college students), acting as the metaphorical Garden of Eden. In the six different classroom skits, passion, fame, love, fear, pride and free will are given as reasons why Eve bit from the apple.

            The play transitions when the ensemble rips apart the set, removing the overhead light fixtures, chairs, chalkboard, poster and carpet. Throughout the classroom skits, the lighting is bright, creating an amiable setting. After the removal of the classroom objects, the mood changes from light and upbeat to dark and desolate. The second half of the show takes place in this black setting, utilizing shadows, lighters, and the supernatural.

            Although presented on a small stage, the ensemble was able to make great use of the limited space they were given. There were 4 holes in the stage, and actors would periodically appear and disappear through them, adding more depth and possibly to the seemingly bland stage. The ensemble was also faced with the challenge of having to face 3 different areas where the audience was seated. However, the blocking was arranged beautifully, to the point that no part of the audience was ever being neglected.

            The most impressive aspect of the show was that there was no script to work from. Instead, the actors used structured improvisation throughout the performance; the same ideas were used during each show and the wording only changed slightly from night to night.  I also enjoyed the play on words and puns that were sprinkled in throughout the play. My favorite line was when Eve was talking about her life after Eden and said she was a “God damned, God forsaken mother.”

            After going to see Dust opening night and then again on closing night, I was impressed by the actors’ ability to keep up their energy throughout the entire show. It was clear that they were having fun on-stage. On closing night, I noticed that the actors’ were a lot more comfortable on-stage because they had far more off-the-cuff quips and side comments than they did on opening night.

            One closing night, the show was sold out. It was obvious that the crowd had enjoyed it and told their friends. People were even sitting in the aisle because no seats were left; clearly Dust was a hit.

 

 4.5/5 apples

 

Documentary Review

 

            Taxi to the Dark Side (2007), written and directed by Alex Gibney, presents a somber and dark look at the cruel and unusual punishment prisoners were subjected to while being held in captivity by the United States in the Bagram Air Base, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay in 2003-2004. This academy award-winning documentary includes interviews with some of the soldiers (who didn’t ‘know any better’), as well as their lawyers, and also, according to Gibney, a look at the Bush Administration’s gross incompetence while trying to handle these situations.

            The documentary begins by focusing on an Afghan taxi driver, named Dilawar. While he was working, he was arrested with the three passengers in his taxi on suspicion of being behind a terrorist attack on a nearby American base. Only five days after he was arrested he was found dead in his cell. The cause? Beatings he received while being interrogated by U.S. soldiers. His story segues into an examination of the sadistic and abusive treatment prisoners received while in captivity at Bagram, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Gibney breaks his documentary up into different segments that focus on specific details pertaining to the interrogation techniques used and allowed, consequent deaths, and the soldiers involved. 

            Gibney uses interviews with soldiers who took part in these events, photographs from the different bases and archival footage to tell his story. He has the soldiers explain, from their perspective, what happened and why. I thought it was a strange but interesting technique that he used the soldiers, who were accused of the inhumane treatment, to explain the events and give the audience some understanding that they are not the only ones at fault. It is obvious to the viewers that the soldiers feel remorse and guilt from their actions. However, it was off-putting that some of the soldiers tried to make excuses for what happened by saying that they were under pressure to such indecency.           

            To take it one step further, I think it would be impossible to try to convince anyone that what those soldiers did was not outright wrong. Gibney keeps true to the role of the documentary in that he is able to tell his story without forcing his views onto the audience. He lets the story speak for itself.

            Although the images shown of the camps and testimony given by the soldiers is grave and all together horrendous, Gibney still manages to add at least one amusing element: the Bush Administration. The way they acted during these incidents is just funny in a very sad way. For example, Gibney uses Donald Rumsfeld to prove his point. He shows an instance where Rumsfeld had signed off on an interrogation methods memo and at the bottom he left a note. He comments on the interrogation technique to force the person in question to stand for four hours straight. In this note he says that he stands for eight hours a day behind his desk, implying that four hours is something to wave your feather at. Twisted, I thought. Gibney is able to use these facts effectively to convince even the most conservative viewer that these incidents could have been handled in a more sensitive way.

            Gibney also uses a series of cuts to portray the government, Bush in particular, as either completely incompetent or just simply ignoring the situation facing them. This is a technique often used by filmmakers and the news networks- to create a certain image or representation of a person by using clips out of context. Gibney, and so many other filmmakers and broadcasters have done does this, portraying the Bush Administration as a bunch of bungling idiots (i.e. ALL of Michael Moore’s films, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, etc.) that I’m beginning to think that you could take anything they did during his presidency and make it look like an event that they lacked the necessary skill to carry it out properly. 

            Gibney’s documentary is very similar to Errol Morris’ new documentary Standard Operating Procedure (2008), which chronicles the events at Abu Ghraib and the atrocities committed there. After seeing numerous clips from SOP and watching Taxi to the Dark Side, I recommend that people interested in this subject pick one to watch. They both basically tell the same story, and have equally haunting images. Both use recreations to help the viewer start to fathom what happened; however the recreations are more prevalent in SOP. If you’re looking for a little more information about the different torture camps, then I recommend Gibney’s piece. If you’re mainly looking for the stories of the reasons why the certain perverse photographs were taken, then SOP is the better choice.

            Either way, prepare yourself for an emotional rollercoaster with daunting images and facts that will make your insides squirm and your outsides cringe.

3 Government Blunders out of 5

 

(After seeing parts from SOP, I wasn’t that affected by Taxi. I remember first found about these events when I first watched SOP and that it made me sick. But, after being subjected to SOP already, honestly, it was hard to sit through Taxi because I had already seen the terrible images and wasn’t that keen on seeing them again.)

A second look at VCB

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona is Woody Allen’s sexy, comedic film about two American tourists that prove it is impossible to turn down a gorgeous Spaniard...” – (? I don’t’ know her name, L)

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona is: one hottie and one wannabe rubbing up against a smoldering Hispano hunk and his crazy fire-cracker ex. Who doesn’t love a three-way?”- The Doctor

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Scarlett Johansson: hot. Penelope Cruz: hot. Rebecca Hall: hot. Javier Bardem: hot. The movie: not.” - Jonny

            I think our journalism class hit the nail on the head. As a class, I think we all agreed that Vicky Cristina Barcelona is full of beautiful people but missed the mark with the plot. In effect, this movie, written and directed by Woody Allen is a self-indulgent fantasy a

I mean come-on. A movie about two friends’ trip to Barcelona for the summer, and the tales of the love they encounter. Vicky and Cristina (played by the beautiful Rebecca Hall and the voluptuous Scarlett Johansson) have two very different ideas about love. Vicky is engaged and ready to settle down with a man she knows is reliable and routine. Cristina on the other hand, is more adventurous and risky with her love, accepting heartbreak as part of the game.

            While in Barcelona, Vicky and Cristina are approached by a handsome eccentric painter, named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem; this part is a dramatic role change for him, who was last seen in the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men as a psychotic serial killer), and turns both Vicky and Cristina’s world upside down.

            I felt this movie was for pure entertainment value only. Although the plot had some twists and turns, I really couldn’t find any meaning within the story.  I feel this movie is meant to be watched once. Watching the movie for a second time (to refresh my memory to write this review), I found myself bored and impatient. I knew what was going to happen (obviously), but I knew none of it mattered because in the end, because everyone ends back in the same place. The subtle suspense that kept the movie exciting to watch the first time, was gone on the second viewing and although the actresses were beautiful and fun to watch, but I felt they didn’t add much substance to the movie. Directions: Watch once. Take it for what it is. Do not repeat.

3 Stars out of 5

 

P.S. If you like Creed's character

Check out: http://blog.nbc.com/CreedThoughts/

The Office on NBC

 You know that feeling you get when you tell that special person you love them for the first time and they respond with an awkward ‘thank you’? Or when you go to greet someone by putting your hand out to shake while they are going in for a hug? Or think about this scenario: you give a lecture to your office colleagues to inform them of the correct procedures to follow in case of a fire, but you get the feeling they aren’t listening. So you decide to create a small, contained fire in the office, and disconnect the phones, lock and heat up some of the handles of doors and shout instructions of what to do in this situation. After your scared office colleagues have successfully ripped apart the office trying to find an exit, you inform them that it was just a drill and they look at you in disbelief. Can you say uuuuncomfortable!

And I know what your thinking. “I DO know that feeling.”

            Well, if you enjoy watching other people put in very similar situations, then The Office is the show for you! Although not a fan of these scenes, I can see why so many people enjoy it. The shear humility, as well as the absurdity of it all, draws in viewers because they get to see people put in awkward situations. I think that this type of entertainment is an easy way for people to escape reality, if only for a short period.

            It is not this uncomfortable feeling does not draw me to The Office. In fact, this type of humor makes me squirm with discomfort. And although much of the show is based on this humor, perhaps the best aspects of the show are all the subtle nuances sprinkled in.

            What I enjoy most are the underlying jokes because it is very close to my own personal humor. My favorite nuances are the sharp sarcastic looks from Jim (John Krasinski), and the practical jokes Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) play on Dwight (Rainn Wilson), which are classic (the one where they put everything on Dwight’s desk into the vending machine killed me). These subtle things don’t play a large role but really make the show.

            The show, which first aired midseason of 2005 to replace the series Committed, a romantic comedy that was cancelled midway through its first season, has taken off since and become one of the highest rated shows on television (9.1 out of 10), along side Heroes (9.1), Lost (9.1), and Grey’s Anatomy (8.9). It has won numerous awards including a Golden Globe in 2006 and Emmy awards in 2006/2007.

            The character that ties the whole show together is Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), the boss. He is ego-eccentric and portrays himself as a lovable goofball, but usually rubs people the wrong way(In the episode Stress Relief, it is found that he is the source of the office’s high stress levels). His main goal is for everyone in the office to like him, however, almost everyone in the office seems to dislike but feel sorry for Michael (always referred to as Michael, not his last name) because of his social ineptness. Only Dwight, who plays the brown-nosing boss’s pet, respects Michael and follows his word as law. Michael has a great ability at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and has been known to be racist, sexist and homophobic.

            My favorite character is Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton), a salesman at the office. I think the writer’s included Creed in the show just for fun, as Creed really has no bearing on the show. He is completely unabashed: he is a kleptomaniac (he steals poker chips in Casino Night to win the grand prize), marijuana smoker (he sometimes introduces himself to people in the office who have worked there for years), and is fighting homelessness (he sleeps at the office a few nights a week). Also, he always seems to ‘know a guy’ (one time he tells a colleague he can get him the “amazing coffee that you snort”).

            Overall, The Office is one of the few quality shows on television. It has its pitfalls, but you have to hand the writer’s credit, as they are able to turn a normally boring office setting into an interesting, awkward, and fun thirty-minute sitcom. (YES, I called the office setting boring. I myself work in an office and it is QUITE dull.)

You can catch The Office on NBC Thursday nights at 9/8c.

8.5/10 Coffee Mugs

 

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is witty, charming and sexy, but lacks that really deep, defining moment. This movie portrays two friends’ trip to Barcelona for the summer, and the tales of the love they encounter. Vicky and Christina (played by the beautiful Rebecca Hall and the voluptuous Scarlett Johansson) have two very different ideas about love. Vicky is engaged and ready to settle down with a man she knows is reliable and routine. Cristina on the other hand, is more adventurous and risky with her love, accepting heartbreak as part of the game.

            While in Barcelona, Vicky and Cristina are approached by a handsome eccentric painter, named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem; this part is a dramatic role change for him, who was last seen in the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men as a psychotic serial killer), who asks them to join him in Oviedo for the weekend, where he wants to study a sculpture that inspires him, show the women the sites, and sleep with them. Although this type of rash activity is not Vicky’s idea of a good time, Cristina jumps at the opportunity. During their stay however, Cristina falls ill, and is required to rest. Meanwhile, Juan Antonio takes Vicky to a Latin guitarist, whose music greatly moves Vicky. What follows is a night of passion between the two, which greatly confuses Vicky for the remainder of the movie.

            When the three return to Barcelona, Juan Antonio and Cristina begin dating and move in together. Vicky’s fiancé, who is portrayed as a businessman and an extreme tool, arrives shortly after and purposes they marry in Barcelona, as it would be a great story to tell their kids one day. He greatly differs from Juan Antonio’s character, which is spontaneous and unstructured. Vicky, whose whole world was turned around by the one night in Oviedo, reluctantly agrees.

            Meanwhile, Christina is settling in with Juan Antonio, and thinking she has finally found the relationship she has been looking for. However, Juan Antonio’s ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) re-enters his life after a suicide attempt. Juan Antonio insists that she stay with them while she is recovering. Although Maria Elena is moody and a tad bit crazy, the three began a relationship, a ménage à trios of sorts. Although the movie lacks nudity, it makes up for it with a short scene where Cristina and Maria Elena proceed to make out.

            Soon though, Cristina tires of her relationship and leaves Juan Antonio and Maria Elena, who, consequently break up shortly after. Vicky and Cristina return to America, seemingly in the same place they started: Vicky in a stable relationship and Cristina looking for love.

            I felt this movie was for pure entertainment value only. Although the plot had some twists and turns, I really couldn’t find any meaning within the story.  I feel this movie is meant to be watched once. Watching the movie for a second time (to refresh my memory to write this review), I found myself bored and impatient. I knew what was going to happen (obviously), but I knew none of it mattered because in the end, because everyone ends back in the same place. The subtle suspense that kept the movie exciting to watch the first time, was gone on the second viewing and although the actresses were beautiful and fun to watch, but I felt they didn’t add much substance to the movie. Overall, I think this movie was entertaining but lacked meaning.

Directions: Watch once. Take it for what it is. Do not repeat.

3 Stars out of 5

 

The Q Review

A few weeks ago on a crisp Friday evening around 7:30pm, Ellora and I were walking down Clement Street looking for a place to eat. This is where we stumbled across the restaurant Q. It almost looked like a nightclub from the outside: there was music playing, people waiting outside sipping drinks, and a curtain blocking your entrance. The wait was about an hour and we decided to head elsewhere. Last Sunday, around 8:30, we decided to try again. This time, Q was much less chaotic, proving that the weekend really does end after Saturday night. We passed through the curtain, revealing that Q wasn’t like a nightclub at all, but rather a very eclectic diner with a very lively atmosphere, upbeat workers and fascinating wall decorations.  

            The walls of Q are unlike anything I have ever seen before in a restaurant. For starters, there is a giant half moon on the ceiling, adding some mood lighting to the restaurant. Below the moon and on all the walls, is new age art hanging on the walls. There are some very abstract pieces and sculptures hanging as well as drawn art. In the back of the restaurant is a table for a bigger party that has a tree growing through the middle of it. Christmas lights and bicycle chains hang from the tree. Somehow the tree table fits right in and does not seem at all out of place because after your mind has taken in the unique artwork, you’re ready for anything (A ninja could come to your table and prepare sushi for you with his ninja blades of death and you would accept it as the norm.). My favorite oddity was the magnetic letters next to each table with which you make words with while you wait for the food.

            The wait staff is very friendly, and our server Alex was very upbeat. I even caught him flirting with the female bartender and waitress and singing along to some of the indie songs playing over the speakers. When we sat down, he started us with almost shot glass-sized cups of water. Knowing I wouldn’t be ordering a soft drink or alcoholic beverage (still no fake I.D), I asked if I could upgrade my shot of water. Alex returned with pint sized beer glasses.

            The menu of has a little of everything. Alex described their diverse menu as “American funky comfort food” with a touch of the Southwest.  They also had a very extensive wine list which, sadly, all I could do was admire.

            I decided to be adventurous and try something I had never eaten before- the “Slammin’ Loch Duart Salmon Burger on Potato Eocaccia with chili-lime aioli and garlic Kennebec fries,” priced at $9.75. The chili-lime sauce put a spin on the salmon that was new and different, however I felt that it left something to be desired; it was missing that one sauce or ingredient that would really put everything together perfectly. On the other hand, the garlic fries were out of this world and rivaled the infamous garlic fries sold at the San Francisco Giants baseball games.

            Ellora ordered the “Macaroni & Cheezy with tater tots, valued at $9.50.  She said that she had had this dish before here when she was down and it helped lift her mood. This made me worry a bit when she ordered it again, but our lively activity of making dirty words on the walls pushed my worries aside. The macaroni dish wasn’t the usual bland macaroni and cheese that you would expect. It includes herbs and spices that add an extra kick you are not ready for on the first bite. The dish works perfectly with the tater tots making it, as Ellora so elegantly put it, the “comfort food for all comfort food.”

            Following suit with the comfort food theme, the desert menu offers ice cream, apple pie, and milk and cookies. Unfortunately we were too full to try to desert, but it sounded delicious from the descriptions on the menu. For example, “Pipers pipn hot chocolate cookies, ($5.00), comes with a glass of milk or two scoops of Double Rainbow vanilla bean ice cream. (Add $2.00)

            Because the kitchen is in the same room as all the diners, it both adds and detracts from Q’s overall appeal. The sizzling sounds from what’s cooking while you wait for your food make you anxious and excited for what is to come; however, the clanking of the dirty dishes and the dishwasher can get a it loud.

            Overall, it was an exciting experience, which provided artwork to make you wonder, and comfort food for the soul.

 

4 Stars out of 5

 

Q

225 Clement Street

San Francisco, CA 94118

415-752-2298

Credit Cards: All major

Hours- M-F- 11:00am-3pm, 5-11pm

            Saturday- 10am-11pm

            Sunday 10am-10pm

Entrees: $9.50-17

Drinks: Soda: $2.25

Atmosphere: Good music but can get a bit loud.

Service: Very Friendly            

 

             

Restaurant Reviews

I'm thinking I'm going to need an expense account!

Geritol

Geritol, the venerable iron and vitamin tonic that was a hugely popular,
heavily advertised brand during that decade, is portrayed in "Quiz Show"
almost as negatively as the human miscreants who fixed the NBC program
"Twenty-One," which Geritol sponsored.

Thank you Robertson!