News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
SALOONS | Chris Barnett You rarely see a gin and tonic slide across the bar at Dosa, the Southern Indian restaurant on Fillmore at Post, no matter how many times you belly up to that stylish 50-foot slab of recycled glass, mirror chips and mother-of-pearl. But you’ll see plenty of Princetons, Bengali gimlets and other…
[nggallery id=4] Restaurateurs Lori Baker and Jeff Banker have upped their culinary cachet by adding a takeout bakery. It’s been part of their plan since the couple opened their neighborhood hot spot, Baker & Banker, a few months ago at 1701 Octavia. “It was just very hard to make it all happen at once,” says…
By TESSA WILLIAMS Now that Bumzy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies is finally open on Fillmore near O’Farrell, the neighborhood will get to sample a recipe that’s been baked and savored by three generations of cookie lovers. Sheila Harris-Young’s mother taught her to bake when she was growing up in Washington, D.C., and she remembers first making…
SALOONS | Chris Barnett Barely 48 hours after seasoned drinkmeister Reza Esmaili took over the helm of the listing and listless Long Bar and Bistro on the corner of Fillmore and Clay on June 29, he started shaking up the joint. He whacked one to four bucks off most of the drink and food prices,…
By Chris Barnett If you’re looking for a hideout to brainstorm the next Google, hammer out a multibillion dollar merger or tryst the night away, the Hotel Drisco on the hilltop corner at 2901 Pacific and Broderick might fit your bill. A bastion of secrecy since its opening more than a century ago, there…
By Anne Paprocki A t the Curbside Cafe, the longtime local favorite on California just west of Fillmore, Olivier Perrier greets regulars with kisses on both cheeks and recites the daily specials in his inimitable French accent. He’s the only server in the room and seems to be everywhere at once, yet everyone receives his personal…
By Chris Barnett Owners of the 58-room, 116-year-old Edwardian style Hotel Majestic at Sutter and Gough have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy to keep creditors from checking in and padlocking its ornate, cut glass front doors. Under Chapter 11, the hotel and its Uptown Joe’s restaurant and Butterfly Bar remain open for business. There is…
SALOONS | Chris Barnett Theyyy’re baaaack . . . The two crystal and brass lamps circa 1938 vanished last summer, plunging the west end of the Elite Cafe’s bar into darkness. Regulars missed the elegant touch and the lumins; the faux candle replacements never cut it. Ace servers Abby, Jenna and Kate practically needed miner’s…
UPDATE: Tacobar is now open, serving lunch and dinner daily. By Chris Barnett Locals have been clamoring for better and more authentic Mexican food on Fillmore Street even before La Posada said adios a few years ago and the fast food chain La Salsa shuttered its shop at the end of last year. They may…