RESTAURANTS • Intel
→ SWEET VALLEY: The long-dormant upstairs bar at Union Square’s Hotel G is now the The Valley Club, from longtime barman Mitch Lagneaux (previously of Horsefeather and Brass Tacks). The decor marries The Hunger and The Eyes of Laura Mars (Helmut Newton would be right at home), while cocktails like a chocolate-raspberry Negroni escalate the camp to dangerous levels. “Dress how you want to be remembered,” its website warns in all-caps, suggesting that the Hunger comparison might be especially apt. Tue-Thu 6p-12a, Fri-Sat 6p-1a, 398 Geary St (Union Square), walk-ins only.
→ GLUTEN FULL: Like everyone else, bartender Matthew Reyes picked up baking during the pandemic. Unlike the rest of us, he kept at it once the world opened back up. Now he’s the founder of Leaven Worth, a micro operation selling buzzy loaves from inside the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot experience at the Tenderloin Museum. Sourdough arrives in a big, round country-style loaf, while toast-appropriate sandwich bread is popped from tins. The Thai iced tea bread (cinnamon butter, condensed milk swirl) is a French toast dream. Right now, Reyes’s bread is only available on Sundays 3-6p, but things are going so well, a permanent storefront is likely in the cards. 835 Larkin St (Tenderloin), walk-ins only. –Eve Batey
RESTAURANT LINKS: Buffet chain Fire + Ice lands splashy Wharf location • Laughing Monk Brewing plots NoPa outpost • The Shutter: Mission’s WesBurger ’N’ More on 07/15… Sushi Zone on Market 07/12 … SanDai and Kopi Bar leave Walnut Creek • Marufuku Ramen to open in Serramonte Center • Inside America’s first capybara cafe.
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Pizza paradigm
Chef and pizzaiolo Max Blachman-Gentile’s two-year-old pop-up Jules seemed to do the impossible, blending the thin crispiness and easy chew of New York pizza with the char of a Neapolitan pie, and the funky wheat flavor and breadiness of sourdough. He built enough of a following to graduate to a brick-and-mortar home in the Lower Haight in May. Reservations are now booked weeks in advance. Here’s how to get in and what to order.