 The state of the plateWhen it comes to dining out, is San Francisco becoming a Valhalla or a Vegas with hills? Josh Sens looks back on a confounding 12 months of meals and takes the measure of a region and its restaurants. |  Wang's worldDirector Wayne Wang’s films swing so abruptly between arty indies and Hollywood hokum, they can make your head spin. But his two new movies show him at his best. |
 2008 Best Chef AwardsDiscover the meat-eating chef who’s created the most intriguing vegetarian restaurant in the nation, the woman who’s making California cuisine exciting again, a pastry chef who looks to the past to make desserts like nothing we’ve ever tasted, and a bartender who’s shaking things up all over town. |  Couples on the couchWhen problems in the bedroom involve drapes, throw pillows, and shag rugs, couples call on therapist/interior designer Rachelle Goodfriend. |
So open it hurts
Web 2.0 visionaries Tara Hunt and Chris Messina blogged and twittered about their romance to all of geekdom as if it were one of their utopian open-source projects. Sharing their breakup has been a lot harder.
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
The best investment advice you'll never get
For 35 years, Bay Area finance revolutionaries have been pushing a personal investing strategy that brokers despise and hope you ignore.
FEATURE
The adventures of Marissa
The serious power and glam passions of Marissa Mayer, the gorgeously geeky Googler who’s generating a new kind of Silicon Valley notoriety.
THE PROFILE
The admissions whisperer
When it comes to applying for college, some well-connected Bay Area kids have a secret edge: a coach named Mary Clarke.
FEATURE
A new buzz
The days of dark roasts and triple soy lattes are coming to an end. Welcome to the brave new world of coffee.
