what’s cookin’
Sit back and get comfortable, someone hit over 5,000 words with this issue, oof! Woohoo, it has been great to be back out and socializing and hitting up the new spots and tasting allllll the things. Friday evening, I went to check out the new tasting menu for Gilda’s Salon Dinners: An Artful Affair with Ashes & Diamonds Wines from chef Jason Fox at the SF Proper Hotel. It’s a fun, chic, communal dining experience in the gorgeous Gilda’s, a stylish private dining room designed by Kelly Wearstler, outfitted in custom wallpaper, with a pair of 1960s Italian chandeliers and an Art Deco cabinet.
Each creative dish is inspired by featured artworks in the nearby Asian Art Museum’s exhibitions. The 10-course menu (here) is as beautiful to look at as it is to eat, with courses like wild foraged flowers and greens with nasturtium sorbet, white chocolate, and hazelnut, topped with chilled spiced broth (inspired by “100 Flowers Vase” from 1736), while “The Demon Prince Indarjit”, a scroll from 1900 with gold on cloth from Cambodia or Thailand is represented by a course of fiery pork sausage, pork belly, chile cracker, cucumber, chile relish, and coconut milk (I loved how flavor-forward and punchy these dishes were). The dinner is $150, and you should definitely opt for the Ashes & Diamonds wine pairing ($60)—you’ll enjoy some exclusive pours, and I wish I could get their Crémant No. 1 (from winemaker Michael Cruse) in my wine fridge, stat.
It feels like a fun dinner party for 12, with guests who may become friends by the end of the meal. Diners are seated communally at 6:45pm, unless you book the entire 12-seat room for a private party. Held every other Friday, reserve here. I’ll be posting pics from the dinner on @tablehopper soon! A local museum will inspire the next menu, so check this one out soon.
On Sunday, I visited the spacious and new Pasta Supply Co. Mission (it just opened on Saturday), and it’s such a looker! The lineup of fresh pasta (38!) and sauces (over 20) in their impressive retail case is a particular kind of pasta heaven. Watch my Reel on Instagram (or Facebook) for a sneak peek, and hear three of chef-owner Anthony Strong’s pasta and sauce picks to bring home (two words for you: fava pesto). I’ll keep you posted about dine-in, launching in a couple weeks.
Since I was in the neighborhood, I also swung by Humphry Slocombe to pick up a pint of their collaboration flavor with Saffron restaurants: rose and candied fennel. It’s gorgeous, and so refreshing (perfect on this warm day)—get it while you can at the shop or restaurants. And I can’t wait for the return of their Rosé All Day ice cream this week, made in partnership with Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé, with a hint of lemon. Yes way rosé all day.
More Mission love: there’s a new tablehopper video on my homepage you should check out! When I relaunched tablehopper back in February 2023, the website video featured me traipsing around North Beach and Chinatown (you can see the old one if you scroll down the page), and for this latest video by New Chapter Creative Studio, I’m meeting up with friends all over the Mission at my fave spots, like Al Carajo, 20 Spot, and Loló! I’ll be doing a post of what all the locations are that are featured in the video, and what I like to order, but in the meantime, check out the beautiful work from New Chapter Creative Studio! Co-founders Saul Santell and Jeff Pizzo were wonderful to work with—they really cared about showcasing the craft and people behind everything we were shooting, as well as capturing the special vibe at each place, and on the street! They just finished some work for Bi-Rite’s 18 Reasons— if you’re a restaurant or bar or brand with a story to tell, you should check New Chapter out. Such thoughtful, quality work—thanks guys!
I think most SF residents were raising their beer mug with the wonderful news last week that Turkish billionaire Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani yogurt bought Anchor Brewing Co. and “all of Anchor’s assets: the iconic steam beer recipes, the 2.1-acre Potrero Hill campus and all the brewing equipment in the De Haro Street warehouses.” It sounds like the original logo will return, and Ulukaya plans to hire back as many original employees as possible, with the goal of getting the annual Christmas ale in production in time for the holidays. Here’s to someone with a heart (and deep pockets) bringing back this treasured 127-year-old brand and iconic SF brewing company. Onward, upward.
Cheers! 🍻
~Marcia
the chatterbox
The Marina’s New Little Original Joe’s Isn’t Exactly Little
Last week, the Marina welcomed the stylish and second location of Little Original Joe’s from siblings Elena and John Duggan (Original Joe’s, and the recently opened Elena’s Mexican Restaurant in West Portal). I don’t know how they’re managing two massive restaurant openings within months of each other, but it stands testament to their decades of deep operational skills and their incredible team (here’s to the multiple generations of their family’s 87-year legacy in San Francisco).
During this extremely challenging time for restaurants, there’s something so uplifting and optimistic about walking into a grand, brand-new, 100-seat restaurant on day four, and seeing it absolutely packed. I had the same feeling when I dined at Elena’s: the Duggans are all in on San Francisco, creating expansive, welcoming, and energetic spaces to host their deep-rooted (but ever-growing) customer following all over the city. Love to see it.
In the dining room, you’ll see a six-foot black-and-white photograph of their grandfather, Tony Rodin, who opened Original Joe’s in 1937 on Taylor Street, and he was a Marina resident for 50 years. Elena and John grew up in West Portal, and when they opened Little Original Joe’s at 393 West Portal Avenue in 2020, they tweaked their original restaurant concept to provide their local neighborhood with what it actually needed during the pandemic: a specialty retail market with extensive and comforting takeout offerings.
But with this Marina location—after three long years of construction—they’re launching their original and fully fledged restaurant concept, with a gleaming Calacutta Oro marble bar (12 seats) and lounge area, their trademark open kitchen line with polished brass details, and flexible banquette seating (outfitted in black vinyl) that can handle big family dinners and groups of friends. You’ll see couples on a pizza date in the shiny, upholstered, retro-styled chairs that match the oxblood color of the booths at Original Joe’s in North Beach (and if I remember correctly, the stools at the counter of Original Joe’s on Taylor Street were that same burgundy color as well).
The corner location is something special: it was previously a Lucky Brand Jeans store, and now the Deco building has huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows on both sides, looking out on Chestnut and Scott Streets. You can see pedestrians walking by, pausing to look inside—it’s that impressive. Elena Duggan did a great job of melding the Deco architectural features and 1930’s design elements with contemporary touches, so it doesn’t feel like a total throwback, like the modern-yet-classic custom chandeliers from Malder Lighting and pendant lights, the dining room chairs that take inspiration from classic club chairs, and checkered terrazzo floors that pay homage to the Original Joe’s locations in North Beach and Westlake. The white brick walls keep things light and bright, and the high ceilings also give the room an airy feeling. It’s a handsome, swanky, modern-classic style that also translates easily for diners who may be in a casual mode, to those who are feeling a little more snazzy for dinner.
And boy, is it busy. On Sunday evening, the bar was a few people deep, all socializing and waiting for tables (my dining partner and marinara brother Andy Samwick literally rubbed elbows with SF Giants president and CEO Larry Baer—the game was on the big-screen TV above the bar), and the lounge seating with curving banquettes facing the bar is a clever use of space.
The Italian-American menu is meant to be lighter and a bit more modern than Original Joe’s, but still classic. It’s centered around pasta, parmigiana, and pizza, with their classic Joe’s housemade meat ravioli or spaghetti and meatballs (both $28), to a new school dish of mafalde cacio e macha ($28), a cacio e pepe sauce that is given a feisty kick with salsa macha from Elena’s Mexican Restaurant (it’s delicious).
With the parms, you can order the Joe’s classic, with a perfectly and lightly breaded chicken cutlet (with golden and crisp edges), topped with Joe’s marinara and mozzarella ($28), or try a prosciutto spicy vodka version ($36), and vegetarians will find a portobello parmigiana ($26), with spinach and ricotta-stuffed portobello mushrooms, Joe’s signature marinara sauce, mozzarella, and toasted breadcrumbs.
The pizza section features 10 combinations, with some fun throwback styles, like the California Dreamin’ (a version of the classic CPK BBQ chicken pizza), and the Hawaiian Punch features pineapple, pickled jalapeño, and rosemary Italian ham (both $32). We went for the eggplant parmizza ($30), which was a lighter style of an eggplant parm, with roasted cherry tomatoes (red and yellow), ricotta, and freshly cut basil—it embodies the updated way they’re doing things here, but the old school part of me wants to do a special request next time and try it with their marinara sauce to compare. (You can build your own pizza.)
I was asking about the crisp, light, and fluffy pizza crust (with its blistered cheesy cornicone), because it’s not like the other fermented doughs around town, and it ends up it has a similar provenance to the Zanze’s cheesecake on the menu, and features a longtime SF recipe that the Duggans have painstakingly replicated so it lives on. Little Original Joe’s in West Portal opened in the former Paradise Pizza, a local spot that the siblings went to for 30 years. After it closed in 2018, they worked with owner Sal Alioto to use his pizza dough recipe in order to keep it going in the neighborhood, and that’s why there’s the Ultimate Paradise Pizza on the menu there, and here as well.
Starters include an excellent beef carpaccio ($20), covered with a hay bale of arugula, fried capers, and a cloud of Parmigiano Reggiano, so it’s almost more of a salad, but with a dream foundation of thinly sliced filet. Get it, and don’t miss the opportunity to have the massive pepper grinder come to the table. We enjoyed a well-executed Little Gem Caesar salad ($16), and you could turn it into a main dish salad with the addition of rotisserie chicken ($6), sautéed shrimp ($8), or skirt steak ($12). There’s a pizza salad ($20), along with zucchini fries ($16), and a new creation of marinated and crushed Castelvetrano olives with whipped ricotta, sliced almonds, fried capers, LOJ hot honey, and LOJ pizza cracker ($18).
Some timeless dishes on the menu include half of a rotisserie chicken with a side and two sauces ($34), filet of sole piccata ($34), pan-seared skirt steak ($42), and we tried the LOJ cheeseburger...
The lunch menu includes four panini on housemade flatbread (including a chicken parm saltimbocca), a chicken Caesar wrap, a chopped salad, and a Chinese chicken salad (all $18–$22).
Dessert features an amaretto flavor of Zanze’s cheesecake (the fluffiest cheesecake ever!), and a nostalgic chocolate espresso pudding pie, which is built for those of you with a sweet tooth (both $14).
I started my evening with the frothy and refreshing The Sour (Aviation gin, Campari, Carpano Antica, St. Germain, egg white, lemon, black cherry), and noted a number of Italian Margaritas around the room (both $16). I absolutely adored...
Open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch Mon–Thu 11:30am–10pm, Fri 11:30am–11pm, Sat 10:30am–11pm, and Sun 10:30am–10pm. Limited reservations will become available via OpenTable later this summer. 2301 Chestnut St. at Scott.
Knees Up Cakery, a New Business That’s All About Celebration Cakes, Is Launching in SF (Soon!)
It was pretty funny to have a longtime SF friend send me the Instagram page for @kneesupcakery, since he used to come to my Knees Up happy hour 20-something years ago (more on that in a moment). Which is why I’m thrilled to break the news about this upcoming business, Knees Up Cakery, that is all about celebration cakes. Celebration cakes are a bit of a phenomenon in London, which are colorful cakes personalized with cheeky messages that form quite the centerpiece for birthday parties, office gatherings, Mother’s Day, and all kinds of celebrations. Founders and married couple Laura and Sean Myles noticed this isn’t something that is part of our local pastry scene, so they’re excited to bring something new and fun to SF.
Laura is originally from Colombia, but was working as a pastry chef for the Connaught Hotel and Harrod’s in London when she met Sean (who is from London), while he was on a trip home from SF three and a half years ago. Laura and Sean fell in love, and are now married and live here in San Francisco. For the past one and a half years, Laura has been a pastry chef at Benu, while Sean started working at Harmonic Brewing in Dogpatch when he moved to SF in 2019 (until it closed in October 2023), and now the couple has joined forces to launch Knees Up Cakery.
They were originally looking at opening a brick-and-mortar location with a café, but after witnessing San Francisco’s costly real estate and nightmarish permitting hell, they decided to start online (they’re working out of Eclectic Cookery) and will build their audience first. It’s important to them to make quality patisserie available to customers, and they eventually hope to be able to offer classes and corporate events, with cake decorating classes and more.
When their online site goes live (they’re targeting next week!), you’ll be able to choose from six designs that you can personalize, from the flavors to the colors to the fillings and toppings. Flavors will be chocolate, vanilla, raspberry ripple, lemon, and gluten-free chocolate, with fillings like caramel sauce or strawberry jam, and toppings like maraschino. They hope to launch actual ordering by the end of June.
The opulent two-layer cakes come in six-inch and eight-inch sizes, and there’s also a two-tier option (six or nine inches). They will also have two-person cakes (which they call “bento”), and they can be booked for custom cakes and wedding cakes as well. Laura has a French approach (she was professionally trained in Europe), and has a fresh, modern take, so her cakes are less sweet (she makes a unique buttercream). And they aren’t just beautiful to look at—they reportedly taste delicious. She’s excited to make cakes that people will talk about! Fun fact: Laura was a contestant and semi-finalist on the Great British Baking Show (the professional one) in 2020 in London. And Sean’s grandfather was a baker in London, so it feels full-circle.
Once they officially launch, they’ll be able to take and make cake orders with 48 hours advance notice. I will keep you posted on @tablehopper on Instagram and in the newsletter once their site is live. You can follow them at @kneesupcakery for updates!
So, what does knees up mean? A knees up is a charming British phrase for a lively party or gathering, whether it’s a celebration or you’re just meeting pals at the pub (here’s a visual so you get the picture).
A Knees Up flyer when our happy hour was at Milk, circa 2003. Design by Hilary Read.
Did you come to Knees Up? (I made so many friends at that party—my rule was to only flyer cute and nice people!) It was a biweekly happy hour that I started with three friends in 2002 in response to the dot bomb recession of the early aughts—we got laid off from our jobs and were totally broke, but we still wanted to go out and listen to DJs and drink with our friends. Our party was infamous for its .25 cent pints of Pabst Blue Ribbon when we were at the Hush Hush Lounge (people would buy themselves individual pitchers for $2), and we offered $3 drinks, and free Slim Jims and string cheese. All the bike messengers would come after work and drink all the beer (we’d go through three kegs in four hours, it was crazy) and they’d complain about our house music, ha-ha. One night, we brought a box of records and let them choose what they wanted to hear.
Knees Up continued for a couple years (until 2004) at three locations: it started at the Hush Hush Lounge, then Milk bar in Upper Haight, and then Vertigo on Polk, and was the beginning of my party hosting and promoting days. So many fun, blurry, hilarious memories. I always love spotting a Knees Up pin in the wild—I think I need Knees Up Cakery to make me a custom cake that looks like the old pin and I should have a reunion party! Stand by. It’s time for a knees up, gang!
The Bump Bar Reopens at California Caviar Company in Sausalito
Just before lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic four years ago, my last meal out was at The Bump Bar at California Caviar Company in Sausalito. It was such an elegant mic drop of a meal, and the memory of sitting in such close proximity to fellow guests doing caviar bumps at the chic bar seemed like another world and lifetime as the pandemic dragged on. Which is why I’m so happy to see The Bump Bar has returned, now offering four nights of à la carte dishes or a tasting menu, if you plan ahead (more on that below).
Chef Lance Dillard—who has been cooking for 34 years, and in the Bay Area for 8—describes his style of cooking as “if I was a Japanese fisherman on the West Coast.” His 10-course menu features local seafood, foraged and seasonal ingredients, and house-fermented items and vinegars (he even makes his own soy milk). His dishes are seafood and vegetable-centric, with no butter or dairy.
The tasting menu includes dishes like sashimi of Pacific halibut; yuba and caviar; Kombu? (wide, flat udon noodles made with phytoplankton that look like seaweed, served with local Dungeness, Nantes carrots, and braised daikon in a light vegetable broth); and nigiri of spot prawn, halibut, and sea urchin. You’ll need to reserve by Wednesday the week prior for the tasting menu, which is available on Saturdays only, with extremely limited seating (just six seats!). Since chef Lance does everything himself, he needs time to source and prepare all the ingredients for the menu. So, for example, you can reserve by Wednesday June 5th for dinner on Saturday June 15th. 7pm seating, $195 (plus 20% service charge); wine and sake pairing available for $125.
You can also come in Thu–Sat 4pm–9pm for the à la carte menu, with caviar and blini service (there’s a larger format tasting if you feel like splashing out), and five–six dishes, like crudo, non-traditional makizushi (sushi rolls), lettuce and herbs salad, and a McFarland trout dish from the tasting menu (with dashi and ginger). You can book The Bump Bar for private events, and chefs can do their own takeovers as well. 1403 Bridgeway, Sausalito.
PRIDE Month Is Coming in Hawt and Colorful
PRIDE season is here, and I had the best early kickoff at the Tenderloin Museum last Thursday evening for “Sylvester, the Queen of San Francisco,” where guests got to screen Unsung: Sylvester, a rare 2010 documentary, along with live singing from LZ Love and Jeanie Tracy, Sylvester’s former singers/collaborators (I almost died right there), plus a panel with incredible storytelling from friends and fans. Thank you to TLM, The Transgender District, GLBT Historical Society, Glide, and Dark Entries Records for the uplifting and inspiring evening. Now, what’s it going to take to have someone make a FABULOUS documentary of Sylvester? Does anyone know Ryan Murphy’s people? We need him to give Sylvester the deep-dive documentary treatment, and have Billy Porter do the reenactments! It’s one of my dream wishes! In the meantime, don’t miss the Tenderloin Museum’s official Pride kickoff event this Friday June 7th.
At a Rainbow Railroad fundraiser with Juanita MORE!, Jay Jeffers and Cory Schisler, and Rachel Ryan of The Stud. Photos: Bradley Roberge Photography.
A few weekends ago, I was invited to attend a special fund- and awareness-raising event with Cory Schisler at Jay Jeffers’ chic design studio in support of Rainbow Railroad, an incredible non-profit organization that helps at-risk, LGBTQI+ people get to safety worldwide. They have helped over 13,000 LGBTQI+ individuals find safety through emergency relocation, crisis response, and cash (and other forms of assistance) since their founding in 2006. Just so you know, they received over 15,000 requests for help in 2023 from LGBTQI+ people whose lives are in danger, so if you’d like to show them some much-needed support, this is the perfect time of the year to do so.
Special thanks to queer-owned OLGA Vodka for inviting me, and for their support of the event—did you know that every bottle you buy of this California-made vodka helps benefit Rainbow Railroad? And this isn’t just a PRIDE month promotion—year-round, every bottle sold helps benefit RR. You’ll probably be seeing OLGA listed as a sponsor on a number of PRIDE party flyers this month, including the 20th anniversary of the JM! Pride Party, so now you know they’re a brand that truly walks the walk!
Speaking of Juanita MORE!, I’m thrilled to have a reservation for her upcoming MORE! Stories From Home dinner party and show at the queer-owned Merkado in SoMa on Tuesday June 18th. Book your table and order off the menu of specials, including the MOREburger (an 8-oz. grilled ground beef patty on a toasted bolillo with her mother’s poblano chile relleno; $22) and decadent tres leches cake ($12). There will be performances by ¡Xismes! cofounders Persia, Dulce De Leche, and DJ Stanley Frank Sensation, and the evening will benefit LYRIC (Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center) for LGBTQQ (queer-questioning) youth.
Book your table from 6pm–9pm (no prix-fixe menu restrictions!), enjoy a fabulous drag show dinner cabaret, and order four custom cocktails from Briana Santiago (bar manager at Blondie’s on Valencia), including Lipstick: 21Seeds grapefruit-hibiscus tequila, hibiscus tea syrup, with Mexican Squirt soda ($14), and Loads of ♥️: Olga vodka, peche de vigne, cranberry, guava cordial, orange bitters, and citrus ($14). See you there for Merkado’s third Stories from Home! (ALSO: be sure to read this wonderful piece by Miss MORE! in Walker on queer nightlife in San Francisco, it’s a fantastic look back!)
Taco Tuesday at Merkado is going to be extra colorful for the month of PRIDE, with six rainbow-colored tacos 🌈🌮 that are handmade by Merkado’s resident “tortilla lady,” Olga Dzul May. For $38 (a portion of proceeds will be donated to LYRIC), you get a platter of six tacos: chicken taco on beet tortilla; barbacoa taco on achiote-chile CA tortilla; al pastor pork on yellow corn tortilla; jardin taco on spinach-chile poblano tortilla; camarón taco on dragonfruit tortilla; and nabo taco on ube tortilla. Taste the rainbow! Available on Taco Tuesdays for the month of June, starting June 4th (and available at MORE! Stories from Home), and on Saturday June 15th for Pride Day at Oracle Park. 130 Townsend St. at 2nd St.
Monsieur Benjamin Is Serving Its Last Frites at the End of June
I’ve been hearing rumors that chef-owner Corey Lee’s Monsieur Benjamin in Hayes Valley was closing, and over the weekend, the 10-year-old restaurant confirmed on Instagram that it’s going to be closing when its lease expires at the end of June (the last service is Saturday June 29th). Known and loved for its refined bistro classics of escargots, duck confit, steak frites, and their brilliant palmier ice cream, their big base of regulars will be sad to say “adieu,” but at least there’s time to pop in for a final meal or two. (Just FYI, talented chef George Dingle is doing his third Dingles pop-up at Casements on June 10th, with pigs in blankets, his English beef pies, and pints.) 451 Gough St. at Grove.
Banán, a New Banana-Based Soft-Serve Shop With Aloha Vibes Is Now Open in Noe Valley
On Friday afternoon, I headed over to Noe Valley for a preview tasting at Banán, a new, banana-based, dairy-free, soft-serve shop that just opened in Noe Valley. Founded by four childhood friends as a food truck (in 2014), who grew up in Hawaii playing soccer together, Banán grew to multiple locations across O’ahu, and this is their first U.S. mainland store. Co-founders Matt Hong and Zak Barry have some refreshing aloha spirit, and tasted me through their unique creations.
The frozen banana soft-serve base (with no added sugar) currently comes in a rotating menu of flavors and combos: there’s the Chunkadelic (banana Banán topped with macadamia nut honey butter, dark chocolate chips, granola, shaved coconut, and honey), Strawberry Lilikoi (strawberry Banán topped with lilikoi/passionfruit pulp, strawberries, pineapple, and shaved coconut), Amazon (açai Banán topped with strawberries, blueberries, sliced banana, granola, puffed quinoa, and honey), and my favorite, Chocolate Haupia (chocolate Banán topped with whipped coconut cream, chocolate almond butter, and shaved coconut, with b. Patisserie brownie bites, mmmmhmmmm!)—if you love choco-bananas (hola, PV!), you will absolutely love this combo. The whipped coconut cream is delightful, ditto the chewy brownie bites (they’re also using b. Patisserie shortbread in their Strawberry Shortcake Banán combo).
Base flavors will also include matcha and passionfruit. It has a thicker consistency than dairy soft-serve, and it seemed to melt more slowly, too. They say it’s like a love child of a smoothie bowl and frozen yogurt. You can treat it like a healthy açai bowl with fruit and granola for breakfast after your workout, or a sweet treat in the afternoon with brownie bites. The cups cost $7 (kid’s), $9 (medium), $14 bowl.
You can also create your own cup or bowl, with your choice of toppings, fresh fruit, sauces, and nut butters (let me tell you...
They really care about their sourcing (they worked with Hawaii Banana Source to grow organic bananas for their menus), and now that they’re in California, they’re using local honey, almonds, and will be adding some local fruits too (all their fruit is beautifully ripened and nicely presented).
Their location is ideal—it’s directly across from Noe Valley Town Square—and there are plenty of kids in the neighborhood (and parents) who will be pretty thrilled with this plant-based, frozen treat. Open Sun–Fri 10am–8pm, and Sat 8am–8pm. 3662 24th St. at Vicksburg.
