Despite these culinary and scenic landmines, North Beach still possesses a deep-rooted neighborhood scene, where locals know each other by name and people still slow down to get to know one another over a round of afternoon cocktails. Full disclosure: North Beach will always have a special place in my heart; it's where I stumbled into adulthood and met my husband along the way. I'm sharing a few of my neighborhood gems, but know that there are many more to explore.

These achievements would be more than enough to put Ferlinghetti on the map of American scholarship, but his legacy as a free speech supporter, champion of original writing, and proponent of radical political thought have spread his influence beyond the beat poets that he nurtured. Christopher Felver’s Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder is a jazzy tapestry of a documentary, tracing the man’s life from his chaotic beginnings to his World War II experiences to his patronage of the counterculture and beyond. 

While other independent bookstores have closed their doors in recent years, and even as big chain stores have gone under (i.e., Borders) and continue to downsize (i.e., Barnes & Noble), City Lights has remained (not without some difficulties – at times the bookstore has borrowed from the publishing company, and vice versa, to ensure sustainability and the company bounced back from near financial ruin in 1984) and has even expanded several times over the years.