what’s cookin’
Good day, sunshine! More of this, please! I hope you had a very Hoppy Easter (if you celebrate). I had a lovely visit with my folks, and made this delicious spinach and cheese strata for brunch. If you’re looking for something for a group brunch (or Mother’s Day), it’s delicious and vegetarian and you can totally riff on it: I used tarragon mustard, whole milk instead of half-and-half, and shook some Aleppo chile on. You gotta let it soak overnight so it’s all custardy and puffs up. We also raised the temp to 450 degrees for the last 10 minutes to get a nice browning on top. Enjoy! The Gagliardi family gave it a thumbs up.
Things are really getting REAL with this tablehopper event coming up on Sunday April 14th (4pm–7pm), A Bohemian Sunday at the Savoy Tivoli: A Renewal Party from tablehopper. It’s going to be a North Beach Sunday soirée with boho-aperitivo vibes: burlesque, SF cocktails, antipasti, disco-psychedelia, and a colorful crowd! Tickets are flying with supporting subscribers, so I really hope you’ll consider getting a subscription so you can score a ticket and join us. This party is to thank everyone for their support for my column!
We have an incredible addition to the VIP hour, which now includes caviar from Tsar Nicoulai Caviar (to pair with two sparklers from Domaine Carneros). 🥂I’m currently dreaming up some diabolical pairings, like burrata and caviar, so if you’ve been thinking about becoming a Patron or Super Patron, now is the time to upgrade (I’ll send you the VIP ticket code)!
If you’re a local brand, packaged good, or business, and want to be part of our VIP bag (75 total), reach out to me to discuss (just hit reply)! Because more is more, especially with gift bags.
I always need volunteers, both prior to and during the event! Please reach out if you have some bandwidth to lend a helping hand, I’m juggling a LOT with this event. Appreciate you!
In order to keep myself healthy and rona-free before this event, I’m going to be masking and socially distancing myself for the next two weeks, which is such a crazy component to modern event planning. It’s partly why I haven’t thrown any events since the pandemic—keeping yourself in a bubble for two weeks is such a pain! And, of course, the one event I participated in a couple years ago got me sick! Anyway, I have plenty to be over-working on over here, and the cat is happy to have mom home, even if she’s on the computer and phone 15 hours a day.
I hope to see you on Sunday the 14th! Here’s to keeping SF’s bohemian spirit alive and kickin’!
Today’s column is a hefty fish fest, with a first look at the new Fisch & Flore, and my early visit to Broad Street Oyster Co. Enjoy!
🧜♀️
~Marcia
the chatterbox
An Iconic Castro Location Blooms Once Again: a First Look at Fisch & Flore, Soft-Opening Wednesday
One of the Castro’s most iconic spaces, Café Flore (later Flore), is about to unveil its latest incarnation under new owner Serhat Zorlu, and you, dear readers, get a first look at the massive renovation and all the details. This Wednesday April 3rd is the soft-opening for Fisch & Flore, a casual, seafood-focused restaurant and wine bar, with cocktails and (eventually) a sidewalk café window.
Café Flore, and later just Flore, was the social heart of the neighborhood for 51 years: “The place to be since 1973,” as the sign said—and thanks to Hoodline for the history lesson here about the original owners, the Finnila family, who ran the nearby Finnila’s Finnish Baths. Also from Hoodline: “In 1977, it was sold to Mahmood and Ahmad Ghazi, who ran it for more than two decades before selling it to JD Petras in 2002.” I remember when my good friend Stu Gerry (and Brett Klinker) joined owner JD Petras as managing partners in 2014, and all the plans they had to update the space and programming. I also remember when previous owners Terrance Alan and Aaron Silverman took it over in 2017, with the dream of converting it into a cannabis café (I mean, come on, the name is “flower!”), but it was too far ahead as a vision—Alan is also an owner of Flore dispensary across the street. Everyone adores this special venue, but it was going to require so much investment to be able to properly escort the wilting Flore into a new era. (You can do a full dive on Café Flore’s past ownership and history in this piece on SF Gay History.)
Café Flore has been a kind of family room, meeting point, and gathering space for the queer community for decades—it’s a place of countless memories and stories, from locals and visitors alike. It has been a queer touchstone for generations—from the hippie ’60s to the AIDS activist ’80s and club kid ’90s—and a key place to visit when in the Castro. Whether swinging by for brunch, an afternoon coffee, a quirky event (trivia night!), or for a live music act, Café Flore was known for being a crossroads of community activity for years.
On a sunny day, the patio and sidewalk tables were the closest thing to being our City’s version of Café Flore in Paris, with tables of all ages of (mostly) queer customers tucked in between all the plants and surveying the passing street scene like a peanut gallery. Almost every time I’d walk by, I’d see someone I knew. Which is why it has been so hard to see it closed for four long years; after flagging sales and business, Alan and Silverman closed it over the holidays in 2019—they were going to convert Flore into a private events space, until the pandemic changed that plan.
Well, a new era for the Castro institution is here. The plywood came down on Monday (the Heklina mural by Josh Katz was amazing, thank you for that), and wait until you see this chic and sparkling new and thoughtfully renovated space—it’s exactly the major update the historic location deserved, the poor dear was falling apart.
The main space still has its original roof and basic layout, but it’s a whole new world in there. The airy and light-filled space is so clean and contemporary, it’s wonderful to see it all fresh and clean and new! The floor is tiled in white hex tiles, and the walnut-topped bar has a live edge and punchy Kelly green base, which will eventually feature artwork in the oval frames underneath. The stained glass globes above the bar are lovely, reminiscent of Flore’s flowers and SF’s omnipresent stained glass, while the two back bar niches feature smoky glass. There’s also a raw bar that will display seafood, just across from the end of the bar.
The dining area will have a very indoor-outdoor feeling, with windows that open onto the patio. There are a variety of wood-topped tables, from two-tops to four-tops, plus counter seating, and some high-tops, too. The space still has its industrial touches, but it’s warmed up with all the wood elements and pops of color, and there’s a plan to potentially add rugs in the dining room.
It’s been a long time coming, and we’re so fortunate the new owner, Serhat Zorlu, stuck with his vision and managed to navigate a typical SF nightmare of permits, delays, setbacks, and sign-offs over the past two years (he worked with Dajani Construction on the reno). Two of the major structural upgrades are that crazy triangular bathroom that always made me feel like I was on a spaceship has been replaced by a new and so spiffy ADA-compliant bathroom, and the kitchen was remodeled and expanded (they will still utilize the off-site prep kitchen space across the street).
Zorlu was a regular customer at Flore, and is so proud to be the next guardian of the space (he’s a straight ally, and tells me most of his friends are queer). He has lived in SF on and off for 17 years, but does seasonal work in Turkey, where his family has businesses in Bodrum, from a beach club to seafood restaurants. He was telling me there are fishmongers who sell their daily catch right across from one of their tavernas, and guests can pick out their seafood and the restaurant will prepare it for them. While he dreams of being able to offer that same experience here in SF, he is still going to provide their guests with access to fresh and sustainable seafood with this new restaurant and wine bar.
In case you’re wondering about the German “fisch” in the name, while Zorlu is Turkish (he was born in Urfa), he grew up in Germany. He speaks four languages (this is what happens when you work in a hostel), and has an affinity for German culture and language—he also notes the word reminds him of home. (The team has thought of every detail, and one thing you’ll notice is the small fish engraved on the wine glasses.) One more item to note: they are pronouncing flore like “flor-ay,” but we’ll just have to see how that goes, LOL.
Zorlu has brought on local culinary director Tim Luym, formerly executive chef and co-owner at Poleng Lounge, who moved into consulting. He’s collaborating with a young Turkish chef, Efe Topçuoğlu, who has been working in Florida for the past year at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach at Mauro Colagreco’s Florie, the first restaurant in the U.S. to partner with the three-Michelin-star chef. Izmir-born Topçuoğlu has been working in kitchens since he was 15, and studied culinary arts and gastronomy while at university. A number of his French techniques he has been taught along the way will be showing up on the menu, from some of the sauces to various presentations (I see you, mousseline).
The menu will be seafood-centric (with a few vegetables), and dishes will primarily be served tapas-style, in a highly shareable format (even the larger plates will come with shareable portions). It’s designed to be fun—served on some whimsical European plateware with oceanic vibes and an array of colors—and although seafood is known for being expensive, they’re really trying to keep pricing accessible, with the quality set to high. It’s also interesting to note that the neighborhood has recently lost two seafood restaurants (Catch and Woodhouse Fish Co.), and Anchor Oyster Bar remains closed during their retrofit, so Fisch and Flore will help fill the Castro’s seafood tank back up.
While the team is primarily Turkish, there won’t be that much Turkish influence on the menu—it’s more international in style, with seasonal and California products. Topçuoğlu is passionate about global cuisines, and will be highlighting seafood dishes from around the world, including crudos, carpaccios, tartares, and ceviches. Dishes will be simple and tasty, but also highly executed and creative.
The raw bar will have oysters on the half shell (6 for $23, 12 for $45), or you can get them grilled ($5 each). Baked clams ($15) will feature lime, pistachio, orange, vanilla beans, cardamom, and tarragon vinegar, while a branzino ceviche ($13) will be served with cucumber gazpacho and plantain chips; smoked tuna tartare ($13) comes with red onion, green apple, green oil, and is served with tapioca crackers, while steamed mussels ($15) will come with bao buns.
Classic dishes like fried calamari ($13) and fried smelt ($9) will be available, and if you don’t want seafood, there’s hummus, local burrata, and a larger plate of stuffed zucchini blossoms ($21), with rice and artichoke stuffing, dill, cauliflower sauce, and brown butter. Some of the larger share plates include octopus ($25), which is steamed until tender with red wine, cinnamon, star anise, grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, and onion, served with carrot mousseline, beurre rouge sauce, pearl couscous, and buckwheat. They’ll start with dinner service, and lunch will come next.
Whether you’re coming in for dinner, or you just want a glass of wine with a few bites, there’s an impressive and intriguing wine list from beverage director Irem Sahin (also Izmir-born). She has had a unique professional journey (including studying environmental engineering and having her own shoe design company) before she started pursuing her passion for wine (she got the Level 3 WSET certification in 2017). Sahin came to California to study enology and wine marketing, and worked at a small winery in Suisun Valley—she then started working in the restaurant industry, and is now a sommelier.
The extensive list reflects Sahin’s values and respect for nature: her global wine program is 90 percent biodynamic and organic producers, and focuses on lesser-known regions, varieties, and experimental wines. Many of the wines are Eastern European, and her French selections are from the Jura or Savoie, while her Italian wines go south to Etna. Look for light, chillable reds and cool-climate whites, and the bottle list is broken up into categories like Elegant & Delicate or Robust & Aromatic. So many of the bottles are priced in the $55–$60 range, which has me excited to meet up with friends who love wine and explore the list together. Sahin says their service style will be very non-intimidating, and approachable while being informative.
The cocktail program is from lead bartender Carlos Cabral (previously at Cotogna and a lead bartender at Mister Jiu’s), and is focused on artisanal and craft spirits, with housemade syrups and a culinary POV. The refreshing Scarlet Hour features muddled strawberry, bourbon, yuzu liqueur, shiso syrup, rice syrup (which adds more texture instead of simple), and red vermouth, while L’Etude d’Or features a housemade chamomile honey made with acacia honey and tea, brandy, Benedictine, pomegranate liqueur, egg white, and lemon (I j’adored this cocktail). They’ve been developing a signature Martini, infusing vodka with dried anchovy, and expect Turkish olives and pistachios at the bar.
There are plans to have a coffee window on the Noe side so people can enjoy their coffee at the sidewalk tables (eventually on both Noe and Market Street), while dine-in guests will find Turkish coffee on the menu. The patio and sidewalk seating will be open for walk-ins, while reservations will be primarily reserved for indoor seating.
The new concrete patio is going to have redwood benches, planter boxes full of native plants (Zerhat said he wants a jungle!), and there are wraparound clear window panels on both sides that will protect the patio from wind. There are two fire pits that were installed, and heaters are forthcoming, once they work things out with the City. I love the hot pink trimmed doors into the dining room, and was happy to see the wisteria vine just starting to bloom, it feels so fortuitous.
Zorlu emphasizes that since the space was such a community hub, he wants it to feel open and accessible to everyone, while also being elevated and fun. He adds, “We’re trying so hard to have quality that is accessible.” The team is keenly aware of how much this space means to San Francisco, and will be capturing stories on a stand they’re installing where people can type in their Café Flore stories and memories (“Florestalgia”), and they will be shared on their social media. They’re interested in working with local artists with a connection to the space (one artist is adding a drawing to the mirror in the bathroom), and they will be bringing in live music, book readings, and other kinds of programming in time. They can’t wait to see you.
Hours will be Wed–Sun 5pm–9pm (weekends until 10pm), and wine and cocktails will be available until 11pm, and 12am on weekends. Congrats to the team for getting this important project through the finish line, both the neighborhood and SF really needed this. It’s time to throw the space her missed 50th birthday party! 2298 Market St. at Noe.
An Early Visit to the New Broad Street Oyster Co. at Ghirardelli Square (Where There’s Much More Than Lobster Rolls)
On Saturday, I was thrilled to play tourist and head over to Ghirardelli Square to check out the new Broad Street Oyster Co., an import from Southern California that is going to give locals a reason to head on over! The popular seafood spot opened in the former The Cheese School of San Francisco location, right by the mermaid fountain, with nice views of Aquatic Park.
It’s like walking into a vintage Chris-Craft boat—the main raw bar has glossy wood at the curving bar, with captain’s chair barstools, and punches of retro teal throughout the space that reminded me of the seats of my grandpa’s boat (“Finally”) when I was a kid. The ceiling and base of the raw bar have white planks reminiscent of a seafood shack, with suspended dock lights, a neon sign, and boxes of Old Bay behind the counter.
The dining room feels like a cheerful solarium, with yellow booths that face the water, and spacious tables along the windowed room, with suspended buoy lights and a playlist of vintage soul and new wave and songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The upstairs will eventually be used for private events and overflow for dining during peak season.
Founder/owner Christopher Tompkins—who my friend noted looks like a long-lost Allman brother—is excited to have this be his first location that they designed and built out based on their vision of what they wanted. He’s been collecting retro items for the space for the past couple years, from a shark’s head to vintage ads and postcards of Fisherman’s Wharf. He’s so excited to open his first business in Northern California right on the wharf.
The menu is primarily full of their Broad Street classics (they are known for their lobster rolls), with some San Francisco dishes added on, like Dungeness crab and cioppino. Tompkins’s personal favorite is the chilled lobster roll with mayo (with a touch of lemon juice, pepper, and chives), which is what he started with as a pop-up raw bar at a couple folding tables seven-and-a-half years ago, along with oysters on the half shell. He has since expanded with five restaurant locations: Huntington Beach Pier (the original location), Malibu, downtown LA, Santa Barbara, and now SF.
Tompkins has been working with the same lobster wholesalers from the beginning days of his business, out of Trenton, Maine, who are at the forefront of employing sustainable practices. We talked about the challenges of climate change and how they need to be adaptable with their menu since things can change on the dime, whether it’s a heat wave affecting an oyster farm, or domoic acid levels affecting crabs.
They’re ramping up local seafood sourcing, and have received a warm welcome from the neighborhood: Nick La Rocca of A. La Rocca Seafood is making introductions for local Dungeness (which is sadly leaving us when the local season closes on April 8th, since “humpback whale numbers are increasing as they return to forage off the coast of California, elevating entanglement risk”), but there are always northern waters. Tompkins is also looking into carrying local oysters.
We started with some beautifully shucked Beausoleil and West Island oysters (from Island Creek Oyster Co., based in Duxbury, Mass.; six for $26, 12 for $48), and when I saw the stone crab claws (three for $39, six for $74), I couldn’t believe my eyes. What a treat! Tompkins tells me he gets them from the one and only Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami, and serves them with the classic Dijon sauce. I honesty can’t think of any place in SF that serves stone crab, so this was pretty awesome, even if they are the smaller claws. Additional items from the raw bar include tuna tartare, shrimp cocktail, ceviche, a daily crudo, and Dungeness crab. (There’s also a seafood tower for $185.)
It was time for the main event: the “world famous lobster roll,” which you can order chilled with mayo or warm with butter for $27, which is pretty damn affordable when you consider some of the pricing you see around town (it helps that they have multiple locations ordering thousands of lobsters every year). The bun is from Röckenwagner in LA (which is another one of their original vendors). I wanted to try the original way (chilled), which was so pristine and dressed just right, but I think I’d try it warm with butter next time because of the way the butter soaks into the bun—come on, warm butter makes everything better.
Now, you should know I’m not into stunt food and “eating for the ’gram”, and we’re seeing caviar bumps on everrrrrrything. But I’m here to report that the addition of uni ($14) and caviar ($15) to your lobstah roll is not a bad move. In fact, it’s kind of fabulous if you’re up for springing for it (it comes to $56). The uni is from Santa Barbara, and the caviar is Regiis Ova Caviar (Thomas Keller’s brand of sustainable caviar), and it all comes together like a luxurious dream.
The menu is pretty extensive! You can order more seafood classics like fried oysters, fish and chips, Baja tacos (fish or shrimp), a shrimp roll, linguine and clams, steamed mussels, cioppino, and sea urchin spaghetti. Again, the pricing is really approachable, take a look at the menu above (unless you decide to go for caviar service). The only clunker we had was the crab Louie, which had the crab all chopped up with the dressing and served like a lunch-lady scoop of tuna salad—I prefer whole and undressed pieces of crab, and adding Louie dressing over the whole shebang of lettuce, hard-boiled egg, avocado, and tomato.
And now for the complete surprise menu star:
They’re still building out the wine list (there’s a focus on natural wines). I hope to see a sparkling by the glass and some more-affordable bottles besides the biodynamic Fleury at $180, but it sure is a gorgeous bottle. An array of local beers are available, and I saw someone get a michelada with pepperoncini, which looked deeeeelicious.
This place should be a hit—it’s fast-casual service, but everything is so well-considered, and hello, stone crab claws! Open daily 11am–8pm. 900 North Point St. at Larkin.
Quick Updates
Some quick notes for you: I received an email from a tablehopper reader who let me know that AsiaSF has pushed their closure date to the end of April due to the overwhelming response to their upcoming closure. Make a reservation and enjoy the dinner show one last time. The reader added this: “In talking with Skip Young, the co-founder of the place who was milling about and checking in with people at their tables, we learned that he is open to finding some way of reincarnating the place if the circumstances allow for it. He invites any ‘angel’ investors or potential collaborators to reach out to him. They are planning to do some sort of pop-up events after the restaurant closes, but he would love to find some way to restore a permanent restaurant with the Asia SF vision again in the future.”
And wow, the Castro is really percolating with good eats: I was thrilled to learn that Tacos El Tućan from Richmond will be moving into the recently closed Bonita Taqueria y Rotisserie space just below The Lookout bar, bringing their badass Tijuana-style birria quesatacos, mulitas, and more. 3600 16th St. at Market and Noe. [Via Hoodline]
Don’t forget: the GGRA’s San Francisco Restaurant Week kicks off this Friday April 5th, running through Sunday April 14th. Over 200 participants (27 are new!) will offer prix-fixe lunch, brunch, and dinner menus for takeout, delivery, indoor, and outdoor dining. You’ll find brunch or lunch menus (2+ items or courses) for $10, $15, $25, $30, $40; and dinner (3+ items or courses) for $30, $45, $65, $75, $90). A complete list of participating restaurants and menus can be found here: www.sfrestaurantweek.com. I’ll be updating my @tablehopper Instagram stories with some menus that catch my eye, and follow @eatdrinksf for more.
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the archivist
by Savannah Leone Bundy
In less than two weeks, tablehopper will be taking over North Beach’s legendary Savoy Tivoli for a party, and we have some fun vintage menus and cool history to get you in the mood…
