Steph (right) and her husband, Alan. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Steph Miller got her first dog in New Orleans.

In this podcast, Steph picks up where she left off in Part 1. She returned home from New Orleans with her dog, Ruby, who joined two other dogs at Steph's parents' house. You could say that the pack ... got into some trouble. But luck related to Steph's adopting Ruby eventually led her to a career training and working with dogs.

She got a job at Mission Pet Hospital, and a vet there turned her on to a dog-training program at the SPCA. The rest is history.

Bernal Beast's shop is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For info on their weekend puppy classes, follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

We recorded this podcast at Bernal Beast in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Steph Miller used to have dreams of playing professional baseball.

Her parents met out east, where they're from. But their families weren't so keen on their respective different backgrounds, so the young couple came to the West Coast. Steph's dad got a job in a San Francisco law firm while her mom taught French.

Steph talks about her childhood, and she and Jeff start to realize how much they have in common. She goes on to describe her life in Atherton in the 1980s, before tech really took over the Peninsula culture. She was a latchkey kid who played a lot of baseball.

She shares stories of her family dogs and going to Giants games at Candlestick Park. Then Steph ends this episode with a recount of her college days in New Orleans and eventual return to the Bay Area.

We're excited to announce the launch of the BFF.fm Podcast Network! Storied: SF joins a handful of shows as the network gets off the ground. Please visit BFF.fm/podcasts to learn more.

We recorded this podcast at Bernal Beast in Bernal Heights in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Del Seymour's arrival in San Francisco was one wild ride.

In this podcast, Del describes his literal first hours in The City. He touches on nearly two decades of drug addiction and sets the scene at a park in the Tenderloin where he was inspired to sober up a little more than a decade ago.

Around that time, he started Tenderloin Walking Tours, inspired in part by Del's time driving cabs in San Francisco. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they've shifted their focus to developing a virtual version of the tour, which they hope to have ready for folks soon. Please see the clip below.

Del also talks about launching Code Tenderloin, and lets us know ways to get involved.

He ends this episode with his love letter, not to San Francisco, but to the Tenderloin.

We recorded this podcast on Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle KIlfeather

Del Seymour got interested in politics early in his life, in the 1960s in Chicago.

In this podcast, Del walks us through the early years of his life. He attended a Catholic school in Chicago and went to seminary to be a priest. But that didn't last long, and he soon became a medic in the military.

After that, he moved to Los Angeles to get away from the snow and cold weather. Within his first year, he became a firefighter/paramedic with LAFD, one of the first several dozen in a program that was new at the time.

When he became a single parent, his sister in Oakland helped with his kids, and Del soon moved up to the Bay Area to be with them.

Del ends this episode with a strange twist, at least for this podcast.

Please join us Thursday for Part 2, when Del will describe his move to San Francisco and what he's done here since then, especially in and around the Tenderloin.

This podcast was produced in partnership with an exciting new project that launches today. It's called Represent Collaborative, and it's a storytelling platform that covers issues of racial and social justice.

We recorded this episode on Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Yuka picks up where she left off in Part 1, with her and her husband Kris's arrival in San Francisco. She worked a number of bartending jobs in The City before the couple decided to open their own place in 2012.

She talks about lessons she learned at those bartending gigs and how, along with observations she had made of how her parents ran in their business back in Japan, she has worked hard to do things right at her own restaurant.

Yuka talks about shifting Cassava into what it is now, scaled back due to the pandemic. She ends the episode reflecting on what it is about San Francisco, and especially the Outer Richmond, that she loves.

Unfortunately, Cassava had to close temporarily, but they hope to reopen next week. They also hope to start taking reservations for their new parklet soon.

We recorded this podcast at Cassava in the Outer Richmond in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Yuka Ioroi's family name dates back to the 700s.

She grew up in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan with Mt. Fuji nearby. Her parents ran a business, and Yuka sees some of their ways of operating reflected in her own running of Cassava.

She moved to Los Angeles when she was 15. In the podcast, she describes some culture shock she experienced as well as a diversity she didn't see at home. After college, she worked an office job but got burnt out on that. From strip club bartending to waiting tables at a country club, she moved on to manager at a new restaurant. And that's where she met her future husband, Kris.

Yuka ends this episode talking about what brought the couple north to San Francisco in 2008.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Yuka will share the story of opening Cassava on Balboa.

Unfortunately, Cassava is closed temporarily. Please follow them on social media or check their website to learn about their reopening.

We recorded this podcast at Cassava in the Outer Richmond in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Eskender picks up where he left off in Part 1. After working for Joyce Goldstein at Square One, he went to Campton Place, where he worked with and learned a lot from chef Daniel Humm. He started doing an underground restaurant in his home, and that became his full-time gig starting in 2005. It was the birth of Radio Africa Kitchen.

The owner of Velo Rogue suggested that Eskender bring his food to her cafe as a pop-up. On the heels of success there, he moved over to a coffee shop near his home in the Mission, and that eventually led to opening his own restaurant on Third Street.

Eskender ends the podcast describing both his food and his philosophy of food.

Radio Africa Kitchen is open for pickup every Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. If you've never eaten there, please consider it. There's really nothing quite like it in The City or the Bay Area.

We recorded this podcast at Radio Africa in July 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

When he was a teenager, Eskender Aseged fled his home country on foot.

In this podcast, the Radio Africa owner shares the story of walking from Communist Ethiopia to Sudan in the early 1980s. He found work in Khartoum and learned English, and he and his brother eventually got refugee status from the U.S. They arrived in Newark, New Jersey in 1986, and Eskender soon moved to New York City, where he worked as a busboy at the UN building.

He first visited San Francisco in 1986, when he came out here with his girlfriend at the time. He fell in love with The City immediately, as it reminded him of his hometown of Gondar. His first San Francisco home was in Bernal Heights, but he started spending more and more time in the nearby Mission, mostly in coffee shops. He found work in various San Francisco restaurants, including Cafe Majestic, Jeremiah Tower's Stars, and Joyce Goldstein's Square One.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Eskender will take us on the journey of his own culinary adventures, leading up to the opening of Radio Africa on Third Street. The restaurant is open for pickup every Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m.

We recorded this podcast at Radio Africa in the Bayview in July 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

First it was punk rock. Then, dogs saved Pali Boucher's life.

In this podcast, Pali picks up where she left off in Part 1, with her return to San Francisco after a short time in LA. A teenager with bright red hair, she fell in with the SF punk scene, then in its very early days (see S2E36's Penelope Houston for more stories from this time!).

Pali describes a wild ride through addiction and eventually, getting sober. It was a rather circuitous route that led her back to dogs, but it happened, and out of that reconnection, Rocket Dog Rescue was born.

Like so many businesses these days, Rocket Dog could use your help. Please consider donating to this non-profit dog rescue today.

We recorded this podcast at Avedano's Meats in Bernal Heights in August 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Pali Boucher had what many would consider a wild childhood.

In this podcast, the Rocket Dog Rescue founder takes us on a colorful journey through her early years. Let's just say that her parents liked to party. Pali spent her first 10 years with her mom, moving all around the greater Bay Area (and even Mexico). After her mom died, she and her brother were separated when she went to live with her dad in Corte Madera. It was there that Pali started to realize her love of animals ... and especially, dogs.

She ends this episode talking about a short stint in LA, where she discovered punk rock and it saved her life.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Pali will talk about the nascent punk scene in San Francisco in the 1970s and starting her dog rescue non-profit.

We recorded this podcast at Avedano's Meats in Bernal Heights in August 2020.