List 13

Love: The Portland and Seattle restaurant scenes. Really good food and lots of places with the industrial-yet-warm, sophisticated-but-informal design that I always like (and that so few San Francisco places nail, in my opinion.) Worth checking out: Seattle gastropub Quinn's, and Portland's Clyde Commons, Olympic Provisions, and the modern locavore steakhouse/butcher shop Laurelhurst Market.

Like: Public places where kids (and adults) can cool off on hot summer days: the wading pools in a number of Seattle parks, and the waterfall wall at Jamison Square in Portland.

Discovery: Salmon is the Northwest's fish. And star chef Grant Achatz's recipe for perfect pan-seared salmon (from GQ, of course - see List 13) will never let you down: Heat 2 T olive oil in a saute pan over high heat. Season 2 1.5" thick skinless salmon filets liberally with kosher salt. When the oil begins to smoke, add the fish and shake gently for second so they won't stick. Cook for 6 minutes without moving the fish, turning the heat down to Medium after the first 4 minutes. Flip and cook 2 more minutes on the second side. I like to put a spoonful of pesto on top.

Obsession: With apologies to Sub Pop, Twin Peaks will always be the Pacific Northwest's greatest contribution to popular culture. Watch it again (or for the first time if you missed it) - it casts its spell within 5 minutes and completely holds up after all these years.

Complaint: Why don't we have a Powell's Books in San Francisco? It's the best bookstore ever (so big you need a map), and the Bay Area deserves one too. I always try to give Powell's my online book buying business, because if the lights were ever to go out in "The City of Books," it would be a tragedy of epic proportions.

List 12

Love: While I have a girlie side, I am often drawn to guy stuff. Like the vintage-Pendleton-blankets-and-dead-animals hunting lodge vibe of Freemans Restaurant in New York. And the great Peckinpah movie Straw Dogs (which, by the way, is currently being remade with James Marsden taking over the Dustin Hoffman role. Ugh.) And the Timex vintage field army watch from J Crew.

Like: My Uncle Chris' super simple but always good grilled tri-tip recipe. Make a rub using 1.5 T McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning and .75 T smoked paprika. (It has to be smoked - not just any paprika will do). Rub the roast with olive oil then apply the spice mixture. Let it sit in the fridge for about 6 hours. Then grill over indirect heat for 16 minutes (flipping at 5 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes and 3 minutes - this is bbq science, my friends), then tent it for 10 minutes. Slice and serve. Perfect every time.

Discovery: Cask, the liquor store from the Bourbon & Branch people. It makes you want to drink brown liquor. (Or at least buy some sexy new bottles to display on your bar.)

Obsession: World War II. HBO's Band of Brothers and The Pacific and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line bring to life what the men who fought experienced. And Ken Burns' amazing documentary The War looks at it through the lens of four American towns - their boys who fought but also the home front and all that was wonderful (the way everyone sacrificed and rallied together)and shameful(the internment of Japanese Americans) about it.

Complaint: Women's magazines. I can not read them. They suck. Instead I read GQ and Esquire. They have really good articles on politics, pop culture, technology, even food and wine, and good writers like Chuck Klosterman.

List 11

Love: Futura - and how Wes Anderson uses it everywhere as a signature design element.

Like: Eric Anderson's illustrations, both the work he does inside his brother's films and the work he does for the Critereon DVD versions. Plus, who doesn't covet the luggage from Darjeeling Limited?

Discovery: Wes Anderson knows how to put together a soundtrack, but what I've loved most was the stuff I'd never heard anywhere else before - especially Peter Sarstedt's "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" from Hotel Chevalier and Seu Jorge's Bowie covers in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou."

Obsession: Wes Anderson's aesthetic (surprise). Particularly his intense focus on a thousand little details and his love of things vintage, analog and handmade. From the kids' rooms in "the house on Archer Avenue" to the train cars in The Darjeeling Limited to Badger's office in "Fantastic Mr. Fox," it all feels a bit like a crafted diorama writ large.

Complaint: A painting of Margot and Richie Tenenbaum that we bought off Etsy, still rolled in a cardboard tube, accidentally went out with the recycling.

List 10

Love: A summer farmers' market dinner. This peach and tomato salad was unique and delicious. Just add some Brentwood corn and grilled halibut or salmon. Here's a link to the salad recipe:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1988538

Like: There's a guy at the Alameda Flea Market who sells these cool tote bags he makes from vintage tent and deck chair fabric.

Discovery: Christopher Lee of the (sadly) shuttered Eccolo has (happily) reemerged. Lee and a bunch of ex-Chez Panisse types are running the Pop Up General Store in Oakland. Sign up to get on the email list, then pre-order hand-cut pastas, small-batch sausages and lots more that you pick up when they pop up. http://popupgeneralstore.blogspot.com/

Obsession: Pizza Politana at the Temescal Farmers' Market. Their seasonal market pizza, with a cracked egg on top, baked in a mobile wood oven, is the Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Complaint: The weird/judgmental looks you often get at the grocery store from other people in line when you check out and are not buying any fruit or vegetables. Because you already bought them at the Farmers' Market earlier that day. But no one in line knows that. (Quite possibly this is just a Berkeley phenomenon.)

List 9

Love: The Talented Mr. Ripley. For many reasons. Not the least of them being Jude Law's Dickie Greenleaf in all his reckless, entitled, golden glory.

Like: Castelvetrano olives are the current go to.

Discovery: Campari who? Once you've had Gran Classico Bitters, you'll never go back. (Thanks to KJ for the introduction). Excellent for Negronis or just over ice.

Obsession: Salumi. Away from home, the massive selection of house-made salumi at Adesso in Oakland is always an adventure. They use a lot of different herbs and spices to cure their selections. At home, a platter of Fra' Mani sopressata, along with some sea salt breadsticks and a plate of the olives above make for a very nice beginning.

http://www.dopoadesso.com/adesso/menu

Complaint: It's been far too long since we lounged on the Amalfi Coast and pretended to be Dickie and Marge.

List 8

Love: Venn Diagrams. They are a great - and often amusing - way of looking at things.

Like: Elvis Mitchell's The Treatment on KCRW (podcast on iTunes). A film geek's interview show that bypasses the superficial questions for a more interesting conversation about the crafts of filmmaking and storytelling.

Discovery: Legend has it that the Imperial Walkers (AT-ATs to the big geeks out there)in The Empire Strikes Back were inspired by the cranes at the Port of Oakland. This t-shirt, sold at the Temescal Farmers' Market in Oakland, sums it up nicely.

Obsession: BSG. Watch it people. Everyone I've browbeat into watching it has reported a 100% satisfaction rate. And before you decide it's not for you, read creator Ron Moore's manifesto for the show. http://galacticasitrep.blogspot.com/2006/03/manifesto.html

Complaint: That the Kindle doesn't get enough respect. It may not be AS sexy as the iPad (the Moleskine cover helps), but the paper-like reading experience is great, there's a free, lightening fast connection to the store, and I really like getting to download free samples to start a book and decide if I want to buy the rest to continue.