Radio Habana Social Club Review

Radio Habana Social Club is a small but busy social club that happens to offer food and sangria. This place is full of Spanish speakers, from the charismatic owner who mingles with the customers, to the mellow waitress, who despite working alone, taking orders, heating up food and serving every table, seems to have all the time in the world to chat away with you. Many of the other patrons were also speaking Spanish or a mixture of Spanish and English.
The decoration is, well, unique! You could spend the entire evening looking at all the images, trinkets and oddities on display. Some very authentic and others just plain interesting.
The food, which was reasonably priced, is pre-prepared and heated (when needed) on the spot in a minute little kitchen. Don't be put off by this though, as their food is very authentic, made by local Mexicans and Salvadoreans. It won't blow your mind but it will be enough to tide you over and allow you to focus on what you are there to do: Socialize :)
The drinks list is limited: beer, sangria and coffee and some other non-alcoholic beverages but for such a small place, the focus is definitely on the atmosphere. This is a place to enjoy in small groups, with great music that is not so loud to limit conversation. If you are lucky you might show up for an impromptu musical performance!

This definitely deserves 3 pomegranates:



1109 Valencia St
(between 22nd St & 23rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-7659


Hours:
Mon.:7:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Wed-Sat.: 7:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Please note this is a cash only place!

Restaurant, Bar and Venue Reviews

As time permits, we will be reviewing restaurants, bars and other hang outs to help you choose authentic places to try food, drink and hear the Spanish language. Despite my many years of working in the Restaurant industry and having grown up in that environment, my parents opened one of the first night clubs on the Island of Mallorca and the Spanish Royals have been patrons of many of their restaurants, our aim here is not to give you a traditional critique of each location, but rather, give you an idea of the authenticity of the food, the staff and overall atmosphere. We will be assigning 1, 2 or 3 pomegranates (granadas in Spanish) based on the following criteria:

1. Authenticity of the food
2. Authenticity and selection of wine/drinks list.
3. Overall atmosphere - including decoration, language knowledge of the staff

We will, where appropriate, give you an idea of the price range, how environmentally friendly their practices are and the quality of the service and food but authenticity is our main goal: ¡Qué disfruten!

Carnaval San Francisco

Image by sfmission.com via Flickr

Come join California's largest multi-cultural celebration. Enjoy food, music, arts and crafts and a lot of dancing as you celebrate Latin American and Caribbean culture! Events are set up on various stages so you can watch the amazing floats and performers and participate in many other activities too!

The Carnaval San Francisco Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Located on Harrison Street, between 16th and 22nd streets.

The world famous Carnaval Grand Parade is on Sunday, May 24 starts 9:30 a.m. at the corner of 24th and Bryant streets where it will proceed west to Mission Street. From there, the parade heads north on Mission down to 17th Street, where it will turn east and flow into the festival area.

Call the Carnaval San Francisco hotline at (415) 651-1811 or, for current updates about Carnaval San Francisco, please visit www.carnavalsf.com.

Little Ashes

Released as ¡Al límite! in Spain and coming to the U.S. this weekend, Little Ashes revolves around the young Dali who arrives at university in the early 20s at the age of 18 and attracts the attention of Lorca and Bunel. Dali is absorbed into their youthfully decadent group and "feels and increasingly strong pull towards the charismatic Federico - who is himself oblivious of the attentions he is getting from his beautiful writer friend, Magdalena. In the face of his friends' preoccupations - and Federico's growing renown as a poet - Luis sets off for Paris in search of his own artistic success. Federico and Salvador spend the holiday in the sea-side town of Cadaques. Both the idyllic surroundings and the warmth of the Dali family sweep Federico off his feet. Salvador and Frederico draw closer, sharing their deepest beliefs, inspirations and secrets, convinced that they have found a kind of friendship not dreamed of by others. It is more that a meeting of the minds; it is a fusion of souls." Written by Anonymous

With Javier Beltrán, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell & Arly Jover
Directed by Paul Morrison and written by Philippa Goslett

http://www.littleashes-themovie.com/

Watch it at:

CLAY THEATRE
2261 FILLMORE STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115
415-346-1124
2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30

SHATTUCK CINEMAS
2230 SHATTUCK AVE.
BERKELEY, CA 94704
510-644-2992
1:50, 4:25, 7:00, 9:35

GUILD THEATRE
949 EL CAMINO REAL
MENLO PARK, CA 94025
650-323-6583

CAMERA 3 CINEMA
288 S. Second Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-294-3334

Rudo y Cursi

From the Makers of "Y Tu Mamá También" Rudo y Cursi is a Mexican film starring Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón (Alfonso Cuaron's brother) and produced by Cha Cha Cha Producciones (production company created by Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu).
From IMDb: "A chance encounter with a talent scout affords half-brothers Tato (Bernal) and Beto (Luna) the opportunity to play professional soccer in Mexico City. The catch: the scout can only bring one of the boys, which kickstarts an intense sibling rivalry, though fate will not keep the brothers apart for long."
First released in the US at the San Francisco Film Festival, it is out on limited release on the 8th of May and a wider release on the 15th of May.

http://www.rudoycursilapelicula.com/