Bar crawl
Left Door, The New Bar, Yerba Buena & Treasure Islands, White Caps Beach Club, the big stay, best taprooms, Besharam, Bodega, MORE
BARS • First Round
Speakeasy vibes
After Joseph Wallace bought the Cow Hollow building that’s home to longstanding, hard-partying bar Bus Stop, he decided to develop a second bar upstairs. Left Door, an upscale cocktail lounge, opened late last year.
The hardest part is finding the door, which looks like the entrance to any Victorian flat in San Francisco. Once upstairs, it gets easy, settling into what feels like a glam living room. Designer Sean Carino usually does homes — this was his first bar/restaurant. He placed a deep couch in the bay window, cushy armchairs by the fireplace, and a different wallpaper pattern in every room. Even on a Tuesday night, it was packed, but with plenty of quiet corners.
The team just introduced a few fresh cocktails for summer, including a clarified colada and raspberry sour. There’s a bona fide chef in the kitchen — Paul Toxqui, with a pedigree including Acquerello, SingleThread, and Saison — and he’s into high-low snacks like caviar bumps and tater tots. You may also choose to eat an entire ribeye on a couch (no shame). –Becky Duffett
→ Left Door (Cow Hollow) • 1905 Union St • Tues-Wed 5p-12a, Thurs-Sat 5p-2a • Reserve.
Photo: Erin Ng
SF RESTAURANT LINKS: At Ferry Building, Sorrel team plans new restaurant and bakery in former Slanted Door space • Momofuku alum will helm all-day cafe The Mess Hall to open at Presidio Tunnel Tops in 2025 • Is it actually cool to eat at the Wharf now? • Top five season alert: peak anchovy.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Island time
Accessible only by Bay Bridge or ferry, Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island were both real estate backwaters for decades. A massive redevelopment project kicked off about 15 years ago, however, and now the former military base is a sought-after address whose appeal is only growing. Move-in ready, luxury-level new construction is a rarity in most of SF, but not in these causeway-linked archipelagos. Killer views on all sides — the city’s skyline to the west, Marin to the north, and the Bay everywhere in between — don’t hurt, either.
Four condos have traded on Yerba Buena and TI in the last year, with a median price of $1.66M. Here, three current listings of note:
→ 37 Meadow Dr #1 (Yerba Buena Island) • 3BR/3.1BA, 2304 SF townhouse • Ask: $3.59M, increased from $3.49 on 5/31 • 3-level new construction with roof deck and Angel Island views • Days on market: 100 • Agent: Thomas M. Gasbarre, Compass.
→ 1 Bristol Ct #504 (Yerba Buena Island, above) • 3BR/2.1BA, 1863 SF condo • Ask: $2.94M • amenity-packed building with Edmonds & Lee-designed interiors • Days on market: 58 • Agent: Thomas M. Gasbarre, Compass.
→ 38 Meadow Dr #7 (Yerba Buena Island) • 2BR/2,1BA, 2370 SF townhouse • Ask: $3.095M • 11-ft ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and sunrise and sunset views • Days on market: 104 • Agent: Thomas M. Gasbarre, Compass.
SF WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Summer slowdown: SF home sales drop by 15 percent month over month • Mission Bay data analysis startup LatchBio brings back the six-day workweek • Venture capitalists now charging founders for meetings • ‘Leisure sickness’ is real and how to avoid it.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Planting roots
HEENA PATEL • chef/co-owner • Besharam
Neighborhood you live in: Potrero Hill
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I arrive at Besharam around 8:30 a.m. I turn up the lights and relish that moment of quiet before the front-of-house team arrives, by preparing my special recipe for chai — a proprietary blend of spices that brings my senses to life. As the chai simmers, I begin setting up the station for lunch service. I make the dough for parathas, slice mango for our mango salad, chop veggies, and prep dressings.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I'm excited about the new seasonal ingredients. I have corn, tomatoes, and pea shoots on my mind today, so I'm experimenting with two new dishes, a sabudana khichdi and dapka. The dapka is going to be a pasta that's essentially a cross between a dry dhokli and chakri (typically, a snack served with chai). I always test dishes a few times before adding them to the menu, but this first batch turned out great.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I'm a life-long vegetarian, so always love checking out restaurants that have exciting plant-based options crafted with intention. I'm excited to visit Matthew Ho's Bodega in the Tenderloin soon. So far, I've enjoyed their dishes at home, but can’t wait to visit in person. His interpretation of Vietnamese cuisine is so vibrant and delicious, and light — but also, so soulful.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Every summer, my partner (and Besharam co-owner) Paresh and I take a week off to travel somewhere new. Last year, we traveled to Costa Rica and stayed at the Hotel Three Sixty in Ojochal on the South West coast. This July, we’re visiting Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Madrid. We're still planning out all our restaurants, so we can eat through each city, but will be visiting Spaccanapoli Balmes and Morgentau in Barcelona.
Any weekend getaways?
Because weekends are the busiest days at Besharam, our "weekend" day falls on a Monday when the restaurant is closed. Paresh and I take it easy to rest and recover, and love staying in to enjoy our new home in Potrero Hill. On special occasions, we plan day trips on Mondays. In the fall, we took an excursion to Napa for wine tasting. One of our favorites is Naidu Wines & Vineyards. The owner and founder Raghni Naidu is from Punjab and they produce the most beautiful wines. We're planning to visit Stonestreet Wines in Sonoma soon.
What was your last great vacation?
Aside from our Costa Rica trip, a few years ago we had a wonderful time visiting Singapore, Bali, and India. India is home for me, so it involves a lot of quality time with family. In Singapore, we stayed in the downtown area and used the subway to visit the Little India area of the city. In Bali we spent two nights in the rainforest at a village resort, and two nights closer to the water, so we could experience all the region has to offer.
Photo: Sarah Felker
WORK • Happiness
The big stay
The “great resignation” of the pandemic years, when workers quit en masse in search of life’s meaning, has reportedly given way to something much less fun: the “big stay.”
Per a Robert Half survey from the spring, only 35% of U.S. adults plan to look for a new job this year. Last year, 49% were looking. Gen Z workers, particularly, are sheltering in place: Only 44% are on the hunt this year, down from 74% last year.
The WSJ offers a number of reasons for the inertia: more job satisfaction (Robert Half says 77% are happy at work), fewer job postings, a more laborious search process, and diminished prospects for big comp bumps.
All seem plausible (but 77%!). Another anecdotal explanation that tracks: Employees in flexible environments don’t want to risk giving them up. It’s an interesting turn in the RTO-hybrid-remote conversation. Maybe the best way for employers to hold on is to let go after all. –Josh Albertson
CULTURE & LEISURE • No Dumping
The Dump Show, Hosfelt Gallery (SoMa), Thurs @ 5p, Free
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Big Bash, Palace of Fine Arts (Marina), Thurs @ 9p, GA, $75 per
Hiatus Kaiyote, Fox (Oakland), Sat @ 7p, LOGE Row A, $174 per
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
Bottle shop talk
The New Bar, just opened in May in Cow Hollow, is a totally non-alcoholic bottle shop. Owner Brianda Lopez opened her first location in Venice Beach, and has since partnered with Coachella and Stagecoach, so there’s plenty of cool girl cred to go around here.
Strolling up to the bright red exterior, I stepped through to browse the color-pop shelves. The shopkeeper immediately offered me a taste of an interesting red blend, which I sipped while browsing the array of wines, spirits, and cocktails. She explained how some are made as wine before the alcohol gets removed, while others imitate spirits with tea, bitters, and other ingredients.
I picked out a pretty bottle of sparkling rosé for my friend who’s pregnant. And I’m already going back, soon — to snag one for myself. –Becky Duffett
→ Shop: The New Bar (Cow Hollow) • 2181 Union St • Mon-Thurs 12-7p, Fri & Sat 11a-8p, Sun 11a-7p.
GETAWAYS • Summerland
Beach town chic
Summerland is no longer the kid sister of Santa Barbara. It’s officially a proper destination as of last month, when the White Caps Beach Club’s opening on Memorial Day weekend exponentially grew the curb appeal of the town’s main drag, Lillie Avenue.
Set just back from the buzz of the 101, this terraced, outdoor-focused property begins with a restaurant operating out of a 16-foot-long custom-made trailer. Get the lobster roll made, as it should be, with Maine lobster, and served on Röckenwagner Bakery rolls. There are plenty of other food and drink options, and plenty of picnic tables to spread out, play games, socialize, and generally soak in the California coastline.
Hanging out with a bottle of wine and some snacks here makes for a great day trip, but anyone driving all the way up from LA should check out the three casitas crowning the top of the hill. Casually decorated by proprietor Michael Haber, a local photographer who recently began the trek into hospitality, these airy one- and two- bedrooms read more like your artsy friend’s beach apartment than formal hotel rooms.
All three of the Summerland bungalows come equipped with kitchens, separate living spaces, and ocean views, along with private fire pits and decks for stargazing. Haber calls his decorative style “eclectic modern farmhouse,” and insists that White Caps Beach Club is a place where “everyone’s a member.”
What it lacks in exclusivity it more than makes up for in character, set here in what’s still decidedly a beach town, just five or so miles from Santa Barbara. White Caps Beach Club might not fit neatly into the luxury category, but it’s firmly luxurious on its own terms. –Caitlin White
→ White Caps Beach Club (Summerland) • 120 Hollister St • Weekend rates from $887.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Michelin Bib Gourmand destination A16 opens Oakland Airport outpost • New tasting menu restaurant Solstice launches in The Village Big Sur • Tahoe trails open to ebikes • On the Big Island, long-awaited runway upgrades coming to LIH.
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BARS • The Nines
Local brewery taprooms
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the Bay Area’s best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundsf.com. For the full archives, click here.
Cellarmaker House of Pizza (Mission/Bernal), barrel-aged brews and Detroit-style pizza