June 27, 2017 - This week's tablehopper: sun chaser.

This week's tablehopper: sun chaser.                    

SF, I’m blowing you the biggest kiss from a fantastic Pink Saturday—and of course Karl the Fog came to celebrate Pride. Photo: © tablehopper.com.

Hey San Francisco, that was one hell of a Pride celebration this year, well done. Strong community, strong messages, big support, kindness, laughter, connection, coming together, remembrance, resistance, rallying, and, of course, rocking it. Love you all, don’t change a thing.

I know some of us are already eyeing the calendar and the upcoming weekend, which many of you are turning into a long 4th of July break. Smart. I’m planning a little holiday break next week as well—I hate working on the 4th. I’m going to take a pause from the news, but I’ll be running a summertime Healdsburg feature for you. Stand by. (And if any of you Sonoma folks want to advertise your many summer events in next week’s column, drop me a line!)

Speaking of the calendar, there’s a good chance I’m going to be hosting a tablehopper rooftop whiskey party on the evening of Thursday July 20th or Friday the 21st. Fun, right? Save the date—it may move to August, but I thought I’d give you a heads up! Details coming asap. Would love to see you, mwah.

Today’s news includes a 707 Scout—I thought in case some of you are heading to Wine Country this weekend, you’d like a little reminder of what’s new up there.

Have fun, chase the sun, and cheers! Marcia Gagliardi

the chatterbox

Gossip & News (the word on the street)

The Pesto Thickens Over at Farina

Last week, I reported on the strange goings-on at FARINA: the extended closure, the mysterious “technical problems” and “construction,” and now a Mission tipster sends in a picture of a notice posted by the landlord about unpaid water and garbage collection bills to the tune of $5,491. The notice says the bills had to be paid by the end of last week. Let’s see what the next note says…I’m going to guess it’s a notice of eviction.

Farina            - 3560 18th St. San Francisco - 415-565-0360

Temporary Closures at State Bird Provisions and Belcampo for Renovations

Anyone planning to travel to San Francisco and stand in line for a spot at STATE BIRD PROVISIONS in late August will need to adjust their dates: the five-year-old restaurant is temporarily closing starting on Monday August 21st to make some updates to the space. I spoke with chef-owner Stuart Brioza, and he said it should be a couple of weeks, with plans to reopen the week after Labor Day. They’re going to be doing some freshening up and refurbishing, like new paint and tabletops and putting a polish on things. They will be making an announcement to newsletter subscribers when September reservations (and beyond) will be released. In the meantime, there’s always that fabulous bar menu at THE PROGRESS you can enjoy.

Over on Russian Hill, BELCAMPO has closed for a revamp and plans to reopen Tuesday August 1st. The restaurant will soon feature a streamlined and casual menu (and service) based around their burger, daily butcher specials, and charcuterie. The expanded butcher shop will offer more grab-and-go items (including more salads). And please note: the butcher shop will remain open during the remodel, so come by 10am-8pm as your meaty needs dictate.

BBQ Tuesdays at Hog & Rocks and Back Porch BBQ at One Market

It’s summer, which makes it barbecue o’clock for some of you. Over at HOG & ROCKS, BBQ Tuesdays are back, which means a $45 BBQ special for two that includes a tray with barbecued meats (like beef brisket, spare ribs, pulled pork), cornbread, pickles, and choice of two sides (like braised greens, potato salad, baked beans, and more). You can roll deep with The Chief for $65 and get a meat of the week, too, like hot links, quail, tri-tip, wings, and other specials. Available starting at 5pm (until the meats run out). Tip (not tri-tip): you can make a reservation.

Over at ONE MARKET, they’re in soft-launch mode of their Back Porch BBQ Pop-Up Series. Chef Mark Dommen has put together a menu of St. Louis-style spare ribs, spit-roasted Mary’s chicken, 12-hour beef brisket, and a pulled chicken sandwich, with sides like Patti’s Parker House rolls, potato salad, coleslaw, salads, and desserts (Bradley’s butterscotch pudding, duh). Available Tue-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm until sold out. You can dine in, get it for takeout, and there are large-party Pitmaster Packages as well.

Also for your radar: One Market’s annual half-price wine month launches July 1st, with half off their bottle list of 300-plus wines (note wines from the Old and Rare section of the menu are not valid for this promotion). Come by for their new weekend three-course seasonal menu, The Downtown Social, just $45 every Friday and Saturday night. There’s also live jazz during dinner service, 5:30pm-9pm.

One Market            - 1 Market Plaza San Francisco - 415-777-5577

Cala Extends Hours to Sunday Dinner and More

Some quick updates over at CALA: you can now come by for Sunday dinner, and with these long days right now, I can’t imagine a better place to get into a Mexico City frame of mind. Love the skylights and airy look over there. Enjoy. 5pm-10pm.

More good news: Tacos Cala, their alley-side taqueria, is now open on the weekends. So you can stumble out of bed and head over for tacos de guisado on housemade corn tortillas. Hours are now daily 11am-2pm. 50 Hickory St. (between Franklin and Van Ness).

Cala            - 149 Fell St. San Francisco - 415-660-7701

Fun Summertime Events, from a French Fry Festival to Guest Chef Tacos

Summertime is in full swing, with Karl the Fog frolicking in the early evening more than some of us would like. So that’s when the Summer Movie Nights at TOP OF THE MARK come in handy, since they’re indoors. On Tuesday evenings through August 29th, come by for films from the Summer of Love, like Easy Rider and The Odd Couple. Check out the lineup here. The screenings are complimentary and seating is first come, first served. No reservations required. Bonus: the 19th-floor sky lounge features complimentary wine tastings (including Etude, Cloudfall Wines, and Domaine Chandon) prior to each film from 5:30pm-7pm. Movie at 7pm. InterContinental Mark Hopkins, One Nob Hill (California at Mason).

The Tacolicious annual guest chef series kicks off Thursday June 29th at their Ferry Plaza Farmers Market stand, and this year includes Aaron London of Al’s Place, Kim Alter of Nightbird, Telmo Faria of Uma Casa, and even more chefs slinging their own taco variations on the weekly lineup. All the proceeds from the sales of each chef’s taco benefits CUESA (the Center for Urban Education and Sustainable Agriculture). This week is Arthur Wall of Bayou. Check the lineup here. 10am-2pm.

On Tuesday July 4th, it’s the second annual Eat Trill Festival, dedicated to “real people, real food, real music, and real community.” It’s going to have food (including Wing Wings, Craftsman & Wolves, Minnie Bell’s, and more), music, art, vendors, and it’s kid- and dog-friendly. Plus you can see the fireworks. And it’s free.

There is a real charitable component too: last year they raised more than $4,000 for the Homeless Youth Alliance to help them move into a new space, and this year they’re raising money for Support for Families, an organization that provides support and resources to families with children that have disabilities or special health care needs. Spark Social, 601 Mission Bay Blvd. at 4th St.

The party doesn’t stop: on Saturday July 8th, Broke-Ass Stuart and the SOMA STREAT FOOD PARK are teaming up for the French Fry Fest, with food trucks doing up french fry specials, DJs spinning funk and disco, and the option to buy a ticket for all-you-can-drink beer (and sangria) for five hours (11am-4pm) for $30, including admission (which is just $5). 428 11th St. at Division.

Sometimes you need to escape the city completely for any sense that it’s summertime, and this special experience in West Marin would be one way to do it: SOLIS from Julia Adam Dance. Each evening starts with a multicourse, farm-to-table, family-style alfresco feast featuring Marin and Sonoma purveyors like Big Mesa Farm, Gospel Flat, Star Route Farms, True Grass Farms pork and lamb, and Aaron Lucich’s Holistic Ag Beef. Wines, beers, and nonalcoholic options will be served. After dinner, guests will walk (sipping chocolate in hand) to the open-air stage for the world premiere of the latest ballet from Julia Adam Dance. SOLIS is held the weekends of July 14th-16th and July 21st-23rd. Tickets are $200. 5pm-10pm. Big Mesa Farm, 280 Mesa Rd., West Marin.

the lush

Bar News & Reviews (put it on my tab)

Cocktail School at Beretta, Kickstarter for Stookey's Neon Sign

If you’re going to get schooled, it may as well be something fun like booze school. Over at BERETTA, their hands-on cocktail classes have returned, with bar manager Cali Gold running the show. The three-part series is featuring the history of the American cocktail: Tuesday June 27th (tonight!) is The Shepard Act (Pre-Prohibition); Tuesday July 25th is Suffragettes and the 19th Amendment (Prohibition—The Great, Failed Experiment); and Tuesday August 29th is The 21st Amendment (The Aftermath). I highly recommend reading the class synopsis of each, they all sound fascinating! There will be discussion, some hands-on cocktail-making (and drinking, natch), and bites, plus prizes and more. 7pm. Tickets: $85 (inclusive of tax and tip).

Our friends over at STOOKEY’S CLUB MODERNE are in the home stretch (just five days left!) of their Neon Sign Kickstarter to create an authentic Art Deco/Streamline Moderne neon sign for the outside of the bar, and they’re really close! No pledge is too small, and every donation gets a reward. The only thing missing from their bar’s swanky vibe is a glowing “cocktails” sign, which will be more apropos than the current sign, let’s make it happen for them!

707 scout

Wine Country Buzz (it’s what happens there)

New Wine Country Dining to Check Out This Summer

It’s that time of the year when San Franciscans escape to Wine Country for the weekend if we hope to encounter any chance of sun (at least that’s my M.O.). I thought you could all use a little roundup of what’s new and happening in the 707, so let’s review.

In St. Helena, chef Christopher Kostow and Nathaniel Dorn of Restaurant at Meadowood have opened THE CHARTER OAK in the former Tra Vigne. Chef Katianna Hong leads the kitchen, and the family-style menu highlights simple and seasonal presentations like grilled meats (beef rib grilled over cabernet barrels with beets dressed in the rendered fat) and vegetables from their farm, with the hearth figuring prominently. To go along with the family-style dining, you can also order cocktails for the table (they serve six), but you can also go solo too, don’t worry. It’s all meant to be celebratory and casual. And let’s not forget the terraces and the courtyard. Open for lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, dinner nightly 5:30pm-10pm, brunch Sat-Sun 10:30am-2:30pm. 1050 Charter Oak Ave., St. Helena.

St. Helena’s other big opening is ACACIA HOUSE at the newly opened Las Alcobas Napa Valley hotel (an offshoot of the original luxury property in Mexico City), with chef Chris Cosentino and Oliver Wharton (Cockscomb, San Francisco; Jackrabbit, Portland). The 50-seat restaurant is located in a historic property that dates back to 1907, so expect a unique Wine Country atmosphere. The dinner menu includes dishes like local radishes with sea urchin, butter, and local sea vegetables; Napa Valley lamb tartare with green harissa, mint, and chickpea cracker; and porcini rigatoni with nettles, pine nuts, and hemp oil. There are cocktails, a house-brewed beer, and guests can also order picnic baskets with cold fried chicken, or musette bags for cyclists. Open daily for breakfast (7am-10am), lunch (11:30am-3pm), dinner (5pm-10pm), with the bar and lounge open until 11pm. 1915 Main Street, St. Helena.

Don’t want to deal with the lines at MODEL BAKERY to get your English muffin fix? There’s a Mini Model now open in Yountville in the former Coffee Caboose location. You’ll also find Stumptown Coffee drinks, breakfast sandwiches, grab-and-go sandwiches, and more. Open daily 7am-2pm. 6523 Washington St., Yountville.

Over in Napa at Oxbow Public Market, LIVEFIRE PIZZA is now open, serving California-style wood-fired pizzas, along with Italian sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. Partners Michael Levine, Scott Rodrick, and Ervan Lim brought on consulting chef Liza Shaw (Merigan, A16), so you know those pizzas and sandwiches are the business. Breakfast is also available, with full breakfast on the weekend. Open Sun-Thu 8am-9pm and Fri-Sat 8am-10pm.

Need to perk up after that meatball sandwich and wine? RITUAL COFFEE has a new coffee bar open in Oxbow, The Cup & Star. There’s a dedicated bar featuring a special menu and brew methods that aren’t available at the main coffee bar or SF locations—it’s kind of like going to an exclusive bar, but with coffee.

Up in Healdsburg, THE BRASS RABBIT has opened in the former Bistro Ralph. Chef Shane McAnelly’s (also executive chef at Chalkboard in Healdsburg) menu highlights supper club classics like lamb Wellington and lobster thermidor, plus farm-fresh produce from Chalk Hill’s organic vegetable farm. There’s an Argentinean-style wood-burning grill, plancha, and rotisserie in the open kitchen. Pre-Prohibition cocktails are also on offer, plus martinis with add-ins like foie gras-stuffed olives. Dinner nightly 5:30pm-10pm. 109 Plaza St., Healdsburg.

In downtown Petaluma, Travis Day (Commonwealth, Salumeria, Central Kitchen, The Fatted Calf) has taken over THISTLE MEATS as owner-butcher. Grass-fed, pasture-raised meats will continue to be the focus, along with charcuterie and an expanded menu of prepared foods including sandwiches, salads, and soups. Kyle Itani (Hopscotch and Itani Ramen) is also helping out with operations. Look for upcoming Sunday suppers with guest chefs, and a beer and wine license this summer. The shop has 13 seats and a new bar in the window with seating, plus a backyard. Open Wed-Mon 10am-7pm. 160 Petaluma Boulevard N. at Washington, Petaluma.

While you’re in Petaluma, you should also swing by BREWSTERS BEER GARDEN and plunk down in one of the more than 350 open-air seats. You’ll find former chef of Citizen’s Band Chris Beerman overseeing a menu of Southern Carolina barbecue with some California touches (you know, salads), perfect with the 30 craft beers on tap, plus wine and cocktails. There are also heat lamps, a fire pit, a bocce court, a children’s playground, and a live music stage—all the bases are covered. Open Tue-Fri 11:30am-close, Sat-Sun 11am-close. 229 Water St., North Petaluma.