Let’s start with some good news, right? After some permit approval snags, LE MARAIS in the Castro is now open! You can read my in-depth piece from last month about the menu, dishes, concept, and more. Bring on the almond croissants and key lime pie cream puffs and baguettes and rotisserie chicken. The bakery will be open 7am-7pm daily (although for the next week it’s opening at 8am), while the bistro portion is until 3pm—dinner will come later this summer. 498 Sanchez St. at 18th St.
There’s a new pop-up over at Chile Pies Baking Co. in Nopa. During the week, you can come by for a really healthy lunch by Booster Foods, a creation of GCK owner Trevor Logan and natural chef Wesley Monahan. Look for nutrient-dense food like spreads, salads, bowls, and pizzas that are gluten-free, locally sourced, non-GMO, and clean and whole, plus they come with boosters that are a mixture of seaweed, nutritional yeast, spices, and algae. Boost it, yo!
There’s a beet hummus with a curried coconut and turmeric booster served with housemade turmeric flax crackers; or you can chomp on a seaweed salad with kale romaine mix, sea palm, daikon, cilantro, Bragg liquid aminos, toasted sesame oil, and dulse gomasio booster. Balanced bowls come with ancient grains, fermented vegetables, roasted sweet potato, seasonal greens, herbed Greek yogurt, and a choice of protein (grass-fed beef meatball, tempeh falafel, gingered turkey meatball). There’s even a pizza with grass-fed beef, New Mexican green chile, Gouda, and seasonal greens on a signature cauliflower, quinoa, hemp, and almond meal crust with chile pepper booster. Open Mon-Fri 10am-2pm. At Chile Pies Baking Co. 601 Baker St. at Fulton.
Just in time for the gorg weather, Ghirardelli Square is opening an outdoor beer garden with San Francisco Brewing Co. this Friday June 23rd in the West Plaza (although don’t worry, there are heat lamps as well—you are not a clueless tourist and know how things go here). You’ll find five of SF Brewing Co.’s craft beers, along with two Bluxome Street wines and two local ciders. Hungry? You can order food from nearby Waxman’s and The Pub to bring back to the space and dine at the communal tables. The Stu Tails will perform daily from 1pm-3pm and 4pm-6pm, plus there’s ping-pong, corn hole, Jenga, and a life-size Connect Four. Thu-Sat 11am-10pm and Sun 11am-6pm.
And now, the sad/bad news. After trying to make things work over the past five years and dodging three nearby fires, ~LOS SHUCOS~ is sadly calling it quits, although owner Sofia Keck will keep up her catering business. According to Mission Local, she’s closing on June 25th. We loved your Dirty Dogs, Sofia!
Also in the Mission, according to some folks in the neighborhood, ~FARINA~ has been closed for at least a month, and a tipster sends in this pic mentioning the closure is due to “a technical problem.” A call in to their number connected me to someone at Farina Pizza, who said it’s because of construction and they’ll reopen in a couple of weeks, and why don’t I come over to Farina Pizza instead? But considering the news last year involving unpaid workers and services and shifting LLCs, one has to wonder what’s really going on…
Meanwhile, up on Potrero Hill, GOAT HILL PIZZA is taking a summer break for some legit construction and upgrades (after 42 years, it’s time to make some updates!). They will be adding additional ovens and reorganizing the interior, plus developing a mobile app. Delivery and pickup from the SoMa and West Portal locations will continue daily from 11am-10pm.
The welcoming and timeless space at Le Marais Bakery Castro. Photo: © tablehopper.com.
