San Francisco Chronicle:

Pastry chef-entrepreneur Gary Rulli has to be the stealthiest operator in the Bay Area. Without any fanfare, he's begun construction on a large cafe-bakery at 2300 Chestnut St. (at Scott Street) in San Francisco's Marina District.

"I have always wanted to open a cafe-bakery in the Marina,'' he says. "So when Gourmet Greetings closed, I found the right-size space in the right place. "

For more than a decade, he's run his Emporio Rulli in Larkspur at 464 Magnolia Ave. (at Cane Street). ... Rulli draws patrons from all over the Bay Area to his Italian marble and mahogany-appointed cafe-store in Marin. And why not? It's home to all manner of Italian cakes and pastries, gelati, panini sandwiches, wine and imported candies.

Rulli plans a November opening for the Marina Emporio, which will seat 70 both indoors and outdoors.

As sad as we are to see Gourmet Greetings go, Emporio Rulli sounds like a great addition to Chestnut Street.

-Tim

P.S. For those of you who can't wait, check out the Emporio Rulli in Union Square.

As we sat outside Peet's Coffee at Fillmore and Sacramento this morning enjoying our morning coffee, I told Jennifer that I felt 100% over the nasty head cold which I had had for the past two weeks. She suggested that it must be the result of starting to take fish oil again. "Actually, I said, "I think it's the glass of Scotch that I indulged in last night."

The UPS truck in front of us just pulled away. The little plaque on the side of the big brown truck said, "Jimmy O'Sullivan. 16 years of Safe Driving." No mean feat here in San Francisco. Congratulations Jimmy!

It's been an unusually rainy April here in the City by the Bay. This morning, however, has been beautiful and sunny, although I see some clouds starting to creep in from the south.

The weather here in San Francisco takes some getting used to, even though I've lived here for 15 years. I grew up in Wisconsin where we had distinct seasons -- winter and the 4th of July. In San Francisco, the seasons are much different. For one, it doesn't rain from late April until late October. Summers are cold and foggy. September and October are spectacular and the best time to visit. The period from April through June is the second best time to visit because the weather is good and everything is green from the winter rains. November through March is the rainy season and we can get some incredible storms.

After putting considerable thought into this, I've come to the following conclusions about the Seasons of San Francisco:

• Summer is Winter.

• Fall is Summer.

• Winter is Spring.

• Spring is Summer.

If you want Winter, you need to drive to Tahoe.