Here we have articles on topics the HipMonster team wants to share. This is anything from our favorite pizza restaurant to a really interesting website.
Here is a teaser trailer for the film Henry Waltz by Emil Goodman. The animation looks innovative and the world is promising (with a steam punk edge that I appreciate) but the devil is in the plot. Hopefully we will see the full film soon.
HENRY WALTZ – VISUAL TEASER from Emil Goodman on Vimeo.
Read more about this upcoming film here: henrywaltz.com
Cute, clever and just beautiful to look at a Hip Monster will dig the art from The Black Apple. Her work has a timeless quality yet is thoroughly in the now. Mostly portraits of young woman, her art has symbolism hiding in every brush stroke. A blend of big eye art, folk art and Symbolism a Black Apple painting is a work to be explored.
Squirrel Girl Print shown on the left at first seems simple, a girl dressed up as a squirrel. But soon questions begin to arise. Why does her poise seem defiant yet defeated? Was she forced to wear the costume or is it her defense against the world?
Bubblegum Betty, shown below, is one of our favorite pieces. A sassy young girl staring back at you using her bubble as a mask.
Monster Recommended for Art
Web site
Rating for cheesecake: 
Rating for restaurant: 
Kid-friendly! 
Monsters love to travel, especially to large cities with a dense population, skyscrapers and monuments where a Monster can pose like Godzilla or King Kong. This week Monster is in New York City, and aside from attending a TV show taping and catching a hot-listed play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the thought of food is front and foremost on Monster’s mind!
New York City, in addition to being the capital of the world, is also a top foodie destination. The variety rivals the quality in just about everything, and all throughout town, residents and visitors alike will argue over the best bagel, the best hot dog, the best deli, the best pizza, the best chef-of-the-moment… It is the debate over the best cheesecake that brought Monster to Junior’s, a cheesecake bakery and restaurant that has grown from a single Brooklyn location in the 1950s to four store locations today.
May I make a suggestion? Don’t let the many flavors dazzle you to the point of confusion or indecision. Choose a long-time favorite or a classic, and avoid anything so fancy you can’t repeat the name without reading it off the menu, or combines so many ingredients you can’t taste the cheese in the cake. All the flavors are good: rich, decadent, and creamy, with a think crust for contrast. Monster’s favorite, though, is the strawberry cheesecake topped with so many fresh strawberries Monster would challenge you to try to squeeze one more in without the whole layer starting to slide down its base! The combination is just perfect: the tartness and juiciness of the fruit completes the creamy sweetness of the cheese, and the result is the universe in harmony, a balance between yin and yang.
Should you really want a full meal, Junior’s restaurant offers everything a you’d expect a diner to offer: breakfast, soup, salad, sandwiches, and more: from buffalo wings to homemade chili, from Hungarian beef goulash to Southern style fried catfish, from BBQ baby back ribs to Caribbean style lobster tails. Something must catch your fancy here. Serving size is generous, though quality is only average.
Additional Information
Great for families and groups. Not nearby? No problem. Juniors offers online ordering of their famous cheesecakes and two-day and overnight shipping, so that you can get your cheesecake fix without leaving your home.
Check out Rawtoast Design for some interesting and fun limited edition prints and cool greeting cards. From revolutionary tofu to rainbow sprouting toilets to robot pirates the imagery excites a monster’s mind.
The departure is a prime example of work from Rawtoast Design. The style is influenced by folk Americana with sparing use of color and simple landscapes. Cute and sentimental the characters are deceptively simple, able to inspire hours of musing. The scenes are imaginative and fun often evoking memories from a seemingly shared childhood with the artist, Jesse Kuhn. He is available for commissioned work.
Recommended for Artsy Prints
Web site
Cute, quirky and fun Dorkland is a monster’s favorite. They have lots of crocheted creatures and monsters sure to be the favorite toys in the lair. Colorful and soft they warm a monsters heart. One problem is keeping the tempting creations away from your cat.
The merchandise changes frequently so be sure to check Dorklandia out on a regular biases. Their scarfs are a must to venture out on a cold San Francisco night.
Recommended for Cute Crocheted Creatures
Web site
Store site
A store with a Hip Monster in mind, Revolver SF (now closed) has the latest fashion and wears. Want a black leather jacket that will make your friends jealous? Need that trendy little cat to fend off the cold night San Francisco wind? Revolver SF is the place to go. Before daring the fashion police in the Mission District it is a must to at least window shop at.
Designs are modern and perfect for a night out on the town. Typical of their style is the Denham Spy Plus – Womens’ Biker Jacket shown left.
Address
Revolver San Francisco
136 Fillmore St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
Store Hours: 12 to 8pm
If looking for trendy and quirky t-shirts Binary Winter is a good place to begin with lots of limited edition designs that will make other T-Shirt adorning Monsters jealous. (Monsters are suckers for t-shirts involving armed squirrels.)
Most designs by Binary Winter are mono-colored and subtle -all the best to hide their twisted sense of reality. With cool shirt styles and colors to choose from you are sure to find one that matches your inner monster.
Recommended for Trendy T-Shirt
Web site
Store site
All too rare today is a neighborhood bookstore. Alas, online giants like Amazon, along with ubiquitous brick-and-mortar chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble, have almost eliminated them all. The few left are often struggling with an air of defiant desperation you can smell from their outdated and disappointing selection.
Not Borderlands. This fine San Francisco institution, located conveniently in the Mission, is not only open 7 days a week from noon until 8 pm, but thriving with author signings, guest speakers, and other events. And did Monster mention it specializes in new and used genre literature: science fiction, horror, and fantasy? How cool is that? Not only can you keep up with new releases here, but also purchase periodicals or DVDs domestic and imported, find out-of-print or rare books, or at a bargain price, a sci-fi classic you’ve been yearning to curl up with!
Monster loves sci-fi and horror, especially those featuring Monsters! The selection is large and excellent, and Borderlands is so much more than a bookstore. Read their mission statement, and you’ll realize that they strive to be a “social and professional center for readers, writers, publishers, reviewers, artists and other individuals with a strong interest in the fields of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Macabre Fiction,” and succeed they did.
The staff is knowledgeable and helpful, and should you be looking for something specific, they will happily search for it for you, along with the Borderlands hairless cats, who may regally rest on top of the computer monitor or strike a pose next to the author/speaker. Either way, they bring a casual sense of community and family to the store. Monster thinks they feel like heated fuzzy peaches, odd but in a comforting way.
Visit Borderlands if you haven’t already, and please, if you find something you like, purchase it here! By helping to support it as a business, you also support it as a great neighborhood place for readers, authors, and even cats, to hang out.
There’s something about a macaron that renders it irresistible to almost everyone — especially Monsters! (What, aren’t you familiar with the Cookie Monster? Monsters are obsessed with dessert!) Is it the fluffy-as-cloud almond batter? Or the intense flavor of the melts-in-your-mouth filling? Or perhaps it’s the cute sandwich forms in a rainbow range of colors? It certainly doesn’t hurt that it is rarely spotted in a U.S. bakery that each discovery carries with it a special hint of decadent pleasure!
San Francisco foodies have been coveting those lucky enough to reside near Beverly Hills, where Paulette Macarons has been a Mecca for macaron worshipers. Well, great news! Paulette has opened a store in the trendy Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco! Yay!
Hand-made daily with care by master pastry chef Christophe Michalak and air-transported from Beverly Hills, these little cookies come in a dozen flavors, from the traditional Vanilla and Pistachio to the less common Rose and Violet. Load up on your favorite flavor or try one of each. What’s your favorite flavor?
Additional Info
The Hayes Valley store offers limited indoor and outdoor seating, perfect if you can’t make it out the door without sampling a delicious macaron…or a dozen. Or, order online in case they run out of your favorite flavor!
Just when you think these little desserts couldn’t possibly be dressed up any prettier, Paulette comes through with cute gift boxes perfectly sized for two, six, twelve, or twenty-four macarons. Guaranteed to delight any friend, hostess, or birthday girl/guy/monster!
Blue Plate, a place for high caliber, organic, free-range comfort food, popular among the San Francisco hipster foodies who whisper its name in reverence. An understated front with an old-fashioned neon EAT sign underlines its coolness: business is good enough that no advertising is necessary. A place to see and be seen, its tight seating arrangement especially in the front section is not conducive for Monster gatherings (or even human parties with kids); luckily, the back dining section over-looking a backyard offers a few tables for large groups. Reservation is essential, as there is no waiting area, and one can only look cool and hip and nonchalant for so long while shivering in the cold outside its entrance, shooting longing glances at the clipboard wait list on the wall.
Food quality is definitely very good, though perhaps menu options are not what one may consider fine dining: think meatloaf instead of foie gras.
Highlights
Additional Info
Save room for dessert: chocolate cake with melted caramel, creme brulee, etc. Excellent wine list. Service is a bit hit & miss. The place is positively hopping and requests for more water or another glass of wine may take a while to get fulfilled. Can get loud.