A publication celebrating the spirit of the Bay Area. Our newsletter: https://tbi.fyi/newsletterhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr6pbij4c325Never in San Francisco have I seen someone admit they like Pier 39.21 Jul 2026 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr6pbij4c325https://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr6bui66du2mSomewhere in this city is a person who invited a friend to crash a bad date so they could 'all watch the game together.' That person is reading this. We see you. https://www.thebolditalic.com/confessions-the-worst-thing-youve-done-to-get-out-of-a-second-date/21 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr6bui66du2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr4rauigmw2yBack when the Lexington Club, the Lex, anchored every dyke dance night and Hard French ruled El Rio. A snapshot of a queer SF that style still remembers. https://www.thebolditalic.com/the-lez-look-book-the-bold-italic-san-francisco/21 Jul 2026 02:30 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr4rauigmw2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr4g2bfk422bFor people who haven't heard of The Bold Italic, they tell me something like, "Oh cute you're doing a little online blog thing." For those who remember it from the 2010s, they're like "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU OWN IT???"20 Jul 2026 23:09 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr4g2bfk422bhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr46ssf7v22yPicture dropping plates of salmon and knocking a flight of champagne onto a waiter's head, Buster Keaton style, while a chef who has worked 12 hours straight screams at you. That was the job, by the sea near Golden Gate Park. https://www.thebolditalic.com/my-hellish-stint-at-a-tourist-trap-restaurant/20 Jul 2026 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr46ssf7v22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr3y47q4q32bWaiters in white jackets and black slacks. Wood-paneled booths with curtains and stained glass. Old service buttons that haven't worked in decades. Tadich Grill doesn't update because it never needed to. https://www.thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-oldest-restaurant-tadich-grill/20 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr3y47q4q32bhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr3rfmvr3q2fThe torii gate is built from hinoki cypress with zero nails. Sounds flimsy until you learn nail-free joinery, perfected over centuries in Japan, actually holds up better in an earthquake. Meanwhile my IKEA shelf collapsed from a loud sneeze. https://www.thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-japanese-tea-garden-is-the-oldest-public-one-in-the-u-s/20 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr3rfmvr3q2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr3koxnjr52eNever in San Francisco have I seen two strangers agree on whether the Sunset or the Richmond has worse weather.20 Jul 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr3koxnjr52ehttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mr2arwe6fo2yI judged a man for owning a hot-pink hoodie and working at Google. Then he hugged me on the corner of Church and Market like a human being, and I had to sit with the fact that I was the asshole. https://www.thebolditalic.com/crystal-powers-my-date-with-a-googler/20 Jul 2026 02:30 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2arwe6fo2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqzv2g22kp2m"I told a guy my dad had died so I couldn't date. My dad had died, just 17 years earlier." Anonymous San Franciscans confess the worst things they've done to escape a date. We are all a little terrible. https://www.thebolditalic.com/confessions-the-worst-thing-youve-done-to-get-out-of-a-second-date/19 Jul 2026 23:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzv2g22kp2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqzodtx3bk2fThe Roxie has been showing movies since 1909. That makes it older than the Golden Gate Bridge, sliced bread, and your landlord's excuses for the rent. https://www.thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-oldest-movie-theater-the-roxie/19 Jul 2026 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzodtx3bk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqzhn77znf2oWhat happens when you wall off the lawn at Civic Center and turn it into a Faerie Garden? Drag, nudity, and a lip-syncing queen a stone's throw from City Hall. https://www.thebolditalic.com/radical-faeries-sf-s-fabulously-weird-progressive-queers-the-bold-italic-san-francisco/19 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzhn77znf2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqzawn5xer2mSometimes in San Francisco I wonder what the bartenders at the Tonga Room think about while the indoor thunderstorm goes off every thirty minutes.19 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzawn5xer2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqxqczpm5z2iThere's an 80-foot bar in the Financial District built for eating alone, and nobody talks about it enough. Tadich Grill has been doing solo dinners with dignity since before solo dining had a name. https://www.thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-oldest-restaurant-tadich-grill/19 Jul 2026 02:30 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqxqczpm5z2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqxfsbyvur2fI went to the Oasis reopening braced for a fire-marshal situation, the kind where you can't move and someone's elbow lives in your ribs all night. Instead it was calm. Breathable. Somehow the SoMa drag institution came back better than the panic-crush homecomings we're all used to. https://www.thebolditalic.com/sf-oasis-finally-reopens/18 Jul 2026 23:21 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqxfsbyvur2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqxelgyn3j2yQuiet detail in the Japanese Tea Garden most people miss: a small Ruth Asawa monument near the gates with frogs crawling over a boulder. A tribute to the Hagiwaras, the family who stewarded this place for decades. Go look next time instead of just hunting for matcha. https://www.thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-japanese-tea-garden-is-the-oldest-public-one-in-the-u-s/18 Jul 2026 23:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqxelgyn3j2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqwx6fa5jx2yAnyone who has done a tour of duty in an SF kitchen knows the drill: befriend the busboys, dodge the chef, survive. This one reads like prison with a brunch rush. https://www.thebolditalic.com/my-hellish-stint-at-a-tourist-trap-restaurant/18 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqwx6fa5jx2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqwqhu2yoj2mToday in San Francisco, I found a free couch on Valencia, sat on it to inspect the cushions, and three strangers asked if it was free.18 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqwqhu2yoj2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqv7u4ui4z25A purple caterpillar, a gnome in a ball gown, and a man in a blue dress and matching feather hat appeared at the top of Corona Heights. Best thing the writer ever found on a hill in this city. https://www.thebolditalic.com/radical-faeries-sf-s-fabulously-weird-progressive-queers-the-bold-italic-san-francisco/18 Jul 2026 02:30 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqv7u4ui4z25https://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mquu4jlrmm2e"When people cry, I usually have to look away, so that I don't cry." That's George, 68, talking about strangers touring his Painted Lady on Alamo Square. Two generations of wedding cake tops, a burned-city photo from 1906, and a $35 suggested donation. https://www.thebolditalic.com/you-can-tour-this-painted-lady-for-30/17 Jul 2026 23:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mquu4jlrmm2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqu7yuicvs25Today in San Francisco, I paid four dollars to use a parklet bathroom and then bought a pastry out of guilt.17 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqu7yuicvs25https://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqspf4hsmg26Parking meters, fine. Speeding tickets, sure. But a $100 fine for parking the wrong way on a curb is where one San Franciscan decided to declare war on the MTA. https://www.thebolditalic.com/i-removed-the-boot-from-my-car-the-bold-italic-san-francisco/17 Jul 2026 02:30 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqspf4hsmg26https://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqroypyrr223I am so fatigued from requests for free PR.16 Jul 2026 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqroypyrr223https://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqritbamrf2tLiving in San Francisco means the biggest little village on Earth, where you can see someone you slept with at the DMV, the gym, and a sex party in the same week and just nod.16 Jul 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqritbamrf2thttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqq6wau4cb2tYour apartment is 'historically charming,' which is SF for zero soundproofing. Combine that with buildings six inches apart and congratulations: you now know your neighbors biblically. Eight survival tactics inside. https://www.thebolditalic.com/eight-ways-to-deal-with-your-neighbors-loud-sex-the-bold-italic-san-francisco/16 Jul 2026 02:30 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqq6wau4cb2thttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqpt6plemy2pEveryone keeps telling me art is dead in this city. Meanwhile there's open mic poetry at 16th and Mission, living-room shows, and people dressed as bananas handing out PB&Js. https://www.thebolditalic.com/living-in-san-francisco-means-redux-for-2015-the-bold-italic-san-francisco/15 Jul 2026 23:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqpt6plemy2phttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqpmi4stbc2tWhat's your corner of SF? The one place that feels like it's hiding in plain sight from the demands of life. Ours is on Balboa Street, two blocks from Spreckels Lake. https://www.thebolditalic.com/my-favorite-corner-of-san-francisco-sits-in-balboa-village/15 Jul 2026 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqpmi4stbc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqpfrkuzbv2jMy daughter has banned me from one Haight Street vintage shop because once I'm inside I refuse to leave. I regret nothing. A love letter to the five blocks where I do all my damage. https://www.thebolditalic.com/why-i-love-vintage-shopping-on-haight-street/15 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqpfrkuzbv2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqp72yod3u2hToday in San Francisco, I saw a coyote on Bernal Hill at 7am and we made eye contact like two roommates who both forgot it was trash day.15 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqp72yod3u2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/thebolditalic.bsky.social/post/3mqnerbimxk2hPeople are still pitching us. It's wonderful that writers still want to publish their words amid an ocean of AI-generated content. We are bringing in revenue nowadays, but not enough to pay writers. But if you'd like to get involved in our fundraising, you could carve a little job out for yourself.14 Jul 2026 23:36 +0000at://did:plc:k4e643hypvfekhqvmvfv53mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqnerbimxk2h