Full sail
Bar Brucato, Outer Richmond listings, SailGP F50, Whoop, best brunch, FOUND anniversaries, MORE
RESTAURANTS & BARS • First Word
Clark bar
The Skinny: Brucato Amaro founders James and Sierra Clark opened Bar Brucato earlier this month in the Mission, featuring their full line of liqueurs and a menu of California-Mediterranean cuisine.
The Vibe: The second-story bar and restaurant tops the brand’s street-facing tasting room. Even if you’re not dining, venture upstairs for a retail space stocked with Brucato bottles, other specialty items, and housewares.
The Food: Overseen by former Merchant Roots chef de cuisine Chip King, the menu is playful but refined, and includes some terrific bar snacks: like “cheese pennies,” nicely spiced crackers with paprika and cayenne; gribenes (fried chicken skins) with fried onions and a bright, tangy house-made habanero hot sauce; and made-to-order pita bread with cacio e pepe butter. On the list of rotating pastas, the current white wine gnocchetti with crispy morels, alliums, and asparagus is seasonally bright and satisfying. There’s also a tender, sliced, harissa-rubbed hanger steak with salsa verde, as well as a sunchoke toast with pecorino, pickled shallots, and sunflower seeds that could be a meal unto itself.
The Drink: The Brucato brand — which I’m told will soon expand with a few more products — currently consists of a trio of amari, dubbed Orchards, Woodlands, and Chaparral, and here, you can sample the full flight. In reductive shorthand, Orchards falls somewhere between an Aperol and a more dark-fruited Italian amaro; Woodlands edges into Fernet territory but with more chocolate than eucalyptus; and Chaparral is akin to a Chartreuse, using an array of local botanicals.
These liqueurs fittingly shine in house cocktails — like the Friend Place, with Chaparral, gin, orgeat, and lime — but work especially well in the bar’s spins on classics, like an Old Pal using Orchards in place of Campari.
The Verdict: A decade into the Aperol spritz craze and a century or so after Fernet Branca became a late-night San Francisco dive bar staple, it’s time that San Francisco had an amaro brand to call their own. Bar Bruncato provides an excellent showcase for the company, but also serves as a brand-agnostic spot for a happy hour cocktail, cozy dinner, or nightcap. –Jay Barmann
→ Bar Brucato (Mission) • 275 S Van Ness Ave • Wed-Sun 4-10p • Reserve.
RESTAURANT LINKS: Japanese steakhouse Soba Dining Sora headed to Japantown this summer • Sorrel owners announce names of new Ferry Building bakery and restaurant • Mission Rock Flour + Water Pizza now open • Swan-inspired Clark’s Oyster Bar launching fourth outpost in Menlo Park • 4a last call proposed again • Natural wine isn’t over.
WORK • About FOUND
Birthday party
Two years ago this week, we launched FOUND NY (04/18/23), and one year ago, we debuted FOUND SF (04/17/24) and FOUND Miami (04/18/24). Time flies when you’re building a global lifestyle media brand.
Building the way we do — send by send, city by city — requires diligence and patience. The road to media success is paved with well-intentioned enterprises that flame out in a six-month flurry of content creation, or worse, a sustained, venture-fueled spending binge.
So we’re celebrating the anniversaries, but just for a minute, because there’s much more to build even as we’re poised to cross 100K FOUND subscribers any moment now. Deeper coverage of our current markets? Definitely. New cities? Very likely. Heightened utility for all our subscribers? It’s why we get up every morning.
To make all this happen, we’ve got some immediate projects worthy of your attention:
With thanks to the thousands of you that are already paid FOUND subscribers, we’re adding new paid subscriber benefits as we turn two. First, we’re introducing Quarterly Reports, punchy and actionable roundups of our top recommendations for SF plus Los Angeles, NYC, and Miami. Paid subscribers will receive the inaugural Q1 ‘25 Quarterly Reports — perfect travel cheat sheets — for each of these locales this month, then add FOUND’s newest haunts, London and Paris, starting in Q2 ‘25.
And beginning next week, FOUND SF will publish twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays. As part of this change, the Wednesday edition of FOUND SF will be for paid subscribers only. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, we hope you’ll choose to join us on the other side of the paywall. It’s delightful over here.
We’re hiring sales people (full- and/or part-time). If you’re a creative seller with entrepreneurial instincts, especially if you have experience in luxury or real estate advertising, we’d love to chat.
Finally, we’re adding contributors with good taste and sharp pens in all of our markets. That’s NY, LA, SF, Miami, London, and Paris. Interested? Email us with a very quick pitch about the joy you’re going to bring to the FOUND universe.
Thanks for being part of FOUND: The Early Years. Keep sending us feedback and tips (found@itsfoundsf.com). More good times ahead. –Josh & Lock
WORK & PLAY LINKS: Downtown shops migrate from mall to Union Square • Zara plots SF flagship • Donors revive Fillmore Jazz Fest • Robocabs to take over Market Street • Was Steve Jobs our last beloved tech leader? • Why flexible work is the new standard in hourly jobs • In tight labor market, ‘the idea of working with my dad is becoming way more appealing
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Way out west
With its abundance of single-family residences and tenancies in common, the Outer Richmond is the city’s secret real estate powerhouse, with 61 homes and 24 condos changing hands in the past year, at respective median prices of $1.8M and $1.06M, per Compass. Bordered by Clement and Fulton Streets to the north and south and 32nd Ave. to the east, the Ocean Beach-adjacent area is rich in buzzy restaurants and bars, with the refurbished Balboa Theater and quirky businesses like coffee and wood shop Butterfly Joint keeping its population of cool singletons and young families diverted. Three recent listings for those who might want to join them:
→ 121 Seal Rock Dr (Outer Richmond) • 2BR/1BA, 1826 SF house • Ask: $1.499M • ocean views and perfectly preserved 1940s bathroom • Days on market: 16 • Agent: Sharon Bacigalupi, Compass.
→ 4535 Balboa St (Outer Richmond) • 5BR/2BA, 2650 SF house • Ask: $2.195M • fully-detached 3-floor French Provincial • Days on market: 12 • Agent: Robert Moffatt, Sotheby’s.
→ 778 34th Ave (Outer Richmond, above) • 5BR/5BA, 3071 SF townhouse • Ask: $3.295M • 1926 build, fully remodeled in 2018 • Days on market: 28 • Agent: Anna Lew, Compass.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: SF fourplexes stall • Full House house sells for $6M • de Young heir decamps to TX, lists Pac Heights mansion for $15.5M • Hillsborough’s Koshland Estate lists for $17.8M.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Yacht talk
HANS HENKEN • flight controller • U.S. SailGP
Neighborhood you live in: Castro
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m heading to Pier 80 to begin work on the SailGP F50, a nation-versus-nation, close-to-shore, high-speed, high-tech racing series that combines cutting-edge tech, iconic global venues, elite athletes, and record-breaking speeds. Today we’re working with a large team of engineers, designers, shore team riggers, technicians, and data analysts to prepare, rig, and launch our hydrofoiling race yacht. I’m ensuring all hydrofoil systems are ready to go while physically and mentally preparing for the day’s training.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Our sailing team will hit the water for four hours of training on San Francisco Bay. Our coach has prepped a list of skills and drills for us to run through. As a sailing team, we’re looking to polish our execution and adaptability with our speed and maneuverability around the race course.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’ll be hitting up the Wooden Spoon on Market Street at some point this weekend for breakfast or brunch.
Any weekend getaways?
I love packing a lunch and driving up the coast to Fort Bragg. The rugged coastline has some awesome viewpoints of the Pacific, and nothing beats a California sunset — especially during the summer. It’s an easy weekend trip and a great way to change your perspective.
What was your last great vacation?
Auckland, New Zealand. I recommend visiting the Sky Tower for 360-degree views of the entire city. It’s also a great place to get out on the water for kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding. If you’re the adventurous type, hike to the volcano on Rangitoto Island.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
My Whoop tracker. The year-long subscription is well worth it for the high-level insights that will help take your fitness to the next level.
What store or service do you always recommend?
If you haven't tried Waymo yet, SF is the place to dive in and take a ride into the future.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Tahoe’s Homewood Mountain Resort reopening for 2025-2026 ski season • Checking in at the remade Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui • Clear’s hack for the 05/07 Real ID deadline • American joining free wi-fi race, eyes 2026 debut for 90% of fleet.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Mirror in the bathroom
Kraftwerk • Multimedia tour 2025 • Greek Theatre (Berkeley) • Fri @ 8p • LEFT, row 4, $175 per
The English Beat • Guild Theatre (Menlo Park) • Sat @ 8p • GA, $50 per
Jeff Bridges/The Big Lebowski • An Evening with The Dude • Masonic Center (Nob Hill) • Sun @ 630p • balcony 3, $135 per
ASK FOUND
First, a quick primer on how this works: You send us the pressing questions of the day (on dining, services, living in the Bay Area). We all put our heads together (us, FOUND, + you, FOUND subscribers, who are also FOUND) in search of truth and beauty.
Today, one FOUND subscriber PROMPT for which we seek your input:
What Bay Area specialty food shop has the most intriguing nibbles?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundsf.com.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Brunch
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.
Lucho’s (Lakeside), chilaquiles, pineapple pancakes, bright flatiron space, walk-ins only