This morning at 11am, Rugged Elegance and the Noe Valley Merchants Association will unveil The Official Noe Valley Neighborhood Guide at Fattoush Restaurant.

The guide is sponsored by the Noe Valley Merchants and Professional Association and produced by Rugged Elegance, LLC -- publishers of the citywide RE: Companion...Places of Taste guides, the aerial map of San Francisco, the SF.RuggedElegance.com destination site and RuggedElegantLiving.com online publication.

In their July/August 2004 Edition the Noe Valley Voice wrote:

The Noe Valley Merchants and Professionals Association is so pleased to have produced an official guide to Noe Valley that the organization, along with publisher Rugged Elegance, is holding a launch party for the guide on Thursday, July 15, from 11 am to 2 pm. It will take place at Fattoush Restaurant, 1361 Church Street, between Clipper and 26th streets.

"Our members and neighbors have been asking for something like this for years--a map to show where things are. It's just gorgeous, very upscale and classy," says Carol Yenne, the association's president. "Rugged Elegance already had a guide for Noe Valley with about 20 people on it. We expanded that to include everybody from Café XO, at 30th and Church, to the Noe Valley Ministry to Firefly, and all of our members in between," she adds.

Abed Amas, owner of Fattoush, will offer attendees a taste of his unique Middle-Eastern dishes on the restaurant's patio, and publisher Rugged Elegance will present each merchant member with a copy of the Noe Valley guide.

Others can purchase a guide at the event for $4.95.

Subsequently, the guide is expected to be available at businesses throughout the neighborhood.

Sponsors of the Noe Valley Official Neighborhood Guide include: The entire real estate brokerage team at BJ Droubi & Company, Kathy Zucchi of Edward Jones Investments, Abed Amas of Fattoush Restaurant, J Thrupp Painting Incorporated, La Coterie Style Studio (which opens today on 24th at Noe), Jennifer King & Tim Fredel of Rugged Elegance, Carol Yenne of Small Frys Children's Clothes, Toys & Gifts, and Dr. Lee Bender of Zephyr Real Estate & Investments.

Rugged Elegance has also invited Select Establishment owners and managers to celebrate the launch of their Rugged Elegance Companion Summer edition of guides. Included in the collection are twelve neighborhood guides, as well as a guide to the Hidden Treasures of the city.

The Rugged Elegance Companion...Your Guide to Places of Taste

The twelve neighborhoods Rugged Elegance has initially selected to promote include:

Cow Hollow

Hayes Valley & The Civic Center

Jackson Square

Noe Valley

North Beach

Pacific Heights

Presidio Heights

Russian Hill

The Financial District

The Marina

The Theatre District / Nob Hill

Union Square

Whereas the Official Noe Valley guide will be distributed via the merchants within the Noe Valley neighborhood, the Rugged Elegance collection / hotel concierge edition is currently being distributed online through SF.RuggedElegance.com, as well as through Select "Rugged Elegant" Establishments and San Francisco's luxury property real estate brokers such as Gil Fleitas and Steven Mavromihalis of Pacific Union who are currently using the guides and San Francisco aerial map to market The Hills Residence on Broadway.

The primary distribution channel Rugged Elegance has established, however, is through many of the best hotel concierges in the city.

The Official Noe Valley guide and the Rugged Elegance Companions were published for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as for tourists.

Since the collection edition was designed to fit into the glove compartment of a car or truck, Rugged Elegance will also begin targeting high-end automotive dealerships and luxury rental car agencies this fall.

The current collection / hotel concierge edition retails for $34.95.

Illustrator/Designer, Samuel Leshnick

Thanks go to our sponsors, our host, Abed Amas from Fattoush, and Rugged Elegance designer/illustrator, Samuel Leshnick for redesigning the Noe Valley map to include St. Philips Church & School, Noe Valley Ministry, James Lick School, Noe Park, the Post Office, 24th Street Parking and the J Line on Church.

Special thanks go to Carol Yenne, owner of Small Frys and President of the Noe Valley Merchants Association, for her vision and leadership in this production.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

~ Jennifer King

Foreign Cinema Before The Sunday Brunch Crowd Arrives

According to a National Restaurant Association survey, nearly 4 out of 10 Americans will dine out on Mother's Day, which falls on May 9 this year.

Mother's Day is the second most popular holiday or occasion to dine out, following only birthdays. The study was conducted in February 2004 by the National Restaurant Association.

With this news in mind, it is imperative to start planning your Mother's Day dining experience. Since Mother's Day falls on Sunday, brunch is a very popular choice. The staff of Rugged Elegance has compiled the following suggestions to get you started. In each case, we have create a link to the restaurant's profile within RuggedElegance.com, which provides location, contact information and further detail.

Absinthe, located in Hayes Valley, offers French cuisine in an atmosphere that is sleek and sophisticated without being "stuffy." After brunch, you may want to consider attending the San Francisco Symphony's 2 p.m. performance featuring cellist Lynn Harrell.

Café Andrée, located in the Theatre District, serves Franco-Latino cuisine created by Executive Chef, Jim Jardine. Café Andrée is part of the Hotel Rex, which features a literary theme. Café Andrée is named for Andrée Dutcher, wife of Kenneth Rexroth, an author who led a "poetry renaissance" in San Francisco in the early '50's.

The Elite Café features Cajun and Creole cuisine providing a touch of New Orleans right here in San Francisco. The Elite Café does not accept reservations, so your mother will need to be flexible.

Foreign Cinema, located in the Mission, offers a great brunch menu in a fun, festive setting. The interior of the restaurant is dominated by a large fireplace, which makes for a warm, cozy atmosphere. A tented, exterior courtyard heated by gas lamps gives you a taste of al fresco dining. Whether you choose to eat indoors or outdoors, you'll find the food to be fabulous. A special a la carte, celebratory menu will be offered for Mother's Day -- the restaurant will be open from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Le Zinc, located in Noe Valley, is a French-style bistro which combines elements of casual and romantic dining. On a sunny day, the rear courtyard offers a splendid venue for outdoor dining.

Happy Mother's Day!