Never too late for splendors of early Monet

It’s too late now to see the “Monet: The Early Years” show at the Legion of Honor, which closed on Monday, May 29, but there may be time still to savor its splendors.

John Quinn was there, looking at the painting “The Magpie,” when he heard one lady say to another, “When you see it in the gift shop, it’s much nicer than that.” And then Michael and Alison Paolercio were at the exhibition when they overheard a twentysomething art lover say, “I don’t like feeling like I’m looking into the light . ... Monet got it wrong!” (Those thumps you just heard are the sounds of Claude Monet rolling over in his grave, not an easy feat when you’ve got a paintbrush clutched in your fist.)

P.S. There’s star power coming Saturday, June 3, for the opening festivities of “Revelations: Art From the African American South” at the de Young Museum. Danny Glover and Delroy Lindo are scheduled to be there presiding over a panel discussion on art and race in the Koret Auditorium from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Consuming interests: At the pharmacy at Kaiser in Redwood City, Dan Kavert overheard a patient exclaim, “My gosh, getting sick is expensive.” “No,” answered the pharmacist. “Getting sick is free. Getting well is expensive.”

Waiting to see his dentist, Stan Turnbull picked up an issue of Popular Mechanics and was interested in a story listed in the index, “The Non-Criminal’s Guide to Lock-Picking.” He turned to the story ... and discovered someone had stolen it.

Jack Buckley was mystified by the notation on his package of Peet’s French roast coffee that it tastes like “coffee forward” (the first thing you taste), then “wood smoke and burnt caramel.” “Coffee that actually tastes like coffee!” he says. “What will they think of next?”

Mariah Carey, four guests and two bodyguards had dinner in the full-service restaurant at Bistro Boudin on Fisherman’s Wharf on Memorial Day. They left through a back stairway to avoid the crowd.

Sign spotted by Ken Maley at the Bagelry on Polk Street: “If you fear change, leave it in this jar.”

The New Orleans mayoral race is heating up ... in San Francisco. Mayor Ed Lee, former Mayor Willie Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom are hosting a fundraiser Monday, June 5, at Zuni Cafe for New Orleans City Council member LaToya Cantrell, who is running for mayor of that city.

Cantrell represented the Broadmoor neighborhood, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and came back with citizens’ efforts aided by a team of people from San Francisco. She’s also known in New Orleans as an advocate of a recently passed smoking ban in bars, hotels and gambling halls, which was vigorously opposed by hotel and entertainment industry interests.

Dick Warner was watching the French Open on TV, with Jennifer Brady playing Kristina Mladenovic. According to the scroll with commentator’s remarks, Lindsay Davenport said, “Now is the time for Brady to knuckle down and make love.”

The San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, and San Francisco Opera (which has long allowed patrons in boxes to sip Champagne while soaking up arias), agreed to a six-month trial in which the hoi polloi would be allowed the same privilege. For the Ballet and the Symphony, the trial started in January; because the opera season is in the fall, its experiment begins with summer opera. Drinks in enclosed containers can be toted into the hall to be slugged at will. What with tweeting and slurping, the culture connoisseur has nary a chance to nap.

The program has yet to be formally assessed, but the Symphony’s Oliver

Theil says patrons have been enjoying the perk, especially liking that its trial period is a joint project of the three cultural institutions. The ballet’s Kyra Jablonsky says any theoretical objections were nullified when patrons “saw how unobtrusive the cups with lids are.” The opera will weigh in after its summer season.

Meanwhile, Gar Smith was at the Shattuck Cinemas to see “Citizen Jane.” A staff greeter welcomed the audience by mentioning the theater’s bar, the Lot 68 Lounge, and suggested, “Why not visit the Lot and watch the film drunk?” Smith is envisioning a whole new profession: The cinema sommelier will suggest which drinks go with which movies.

“No, Kevin, it’s not heaven. Sometimes you just need a Walmart.” Man on cell phone, overheard at Berkeley Marina by Judy Dater