Works of art
Works of art
Four Kings, Telegraph Hill, art galleries, Lapatas, Starlite at the Beacon Grand, Parliament Funkadelic, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Person
We four kings
Four Kings, which opened in Chinatown in March after a year as a pop-up, has quickly established itself as a Restaurant of the Summer contender. It’s run by a couple of cool kids from the Mister Jiu’s alumni club, chef buddies Franky Ho and Mike Long, plus their partners Millie Boonkokua and Lucy Li. They’re into new school Cantonese inspired by Hong Kong street food, alongside a solid bar scene (and vibes to spare).
From the outside, it looks like a standard Chinatown storefront: double windows, gold lettering, and a bobbing red lantern. But even on a recent Monday, ’90s Cantopop blasted from the speakers in the cozy wood-lined space, which was packed with friends, couples, and a rogue baby up past its bedtime. My companion surreptitiously popped in her earplugs like she was at a Beyoncé concert.
Regardless, it was the best time we’ve had in a while. Seated at the counter — arguably, the best seats in the house — we watched whole squabs swing like a curtain in the kitchen, already smoked until succulent, ready to fry until crackly. Butter-bomb escargots get a kick from XO sauce and come with milk bread to jam into the shells and soak up all the juices. Mapo spaghetti features the fiery sauce slicking al dente noodles and crumbled beef. A jellyfish salad pops between your teeth, and tender pea shoots rock whole cloves of garlic confit.
Flip over the cheeky, illustrated menu for a visual rundown of the bottle list, which covers sake, sochu, and wine, as well as a selection of three highballs, with flavor twists like sour plum and almond milk. For dessert, you can opt for the mango pudding shaped like a fish, but the showstopper is a snowy volcano of shaved ice holding a crater of red beans.
We slipped out into the fog with our ears ringing and our minds racing. Four Kings might be loud, but it’s also making the right kind of noise. –Becky Duffett
→ Four Kings (Chinatown) • 710 Commercial St • Thurs–Mon 6–11p • Reserve.
SF RESTAURANT LINKS: Reservation cancellations are burying San Francisco restaurants • Bay Area Cambodian pioneer returns with new Ferry Building spot, Lunette • Inner Richmond’s Pasta Supply Co. opens new location in Mission, retailing fresh pasta with restaurant to follow • Monsieur Benjamin closing in Hayes Valley after 10 years • Wise Sons Delicatessen opening in SF Jewish Community Center • The case for the teeny-tiny tini.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Head for the hills
Fewer than two dozen houses have traded in the last 12 months in Russian, Nob, and Telegraph Hills. Those that have sold fetched a median price of $3.55M. Today, inventory still remains tight, with only a handful of houses listed across the neighborhoods, and none priced under $1.5M.
Behold, three of those rare dots are on the for-sale map, listed below — each comes with a unit with that has its own separate entrance, one new to market this week:
→ 1756 Leavenworth St (Russian Hill) • 4BR/4BA, 2921 SF house • Ask: $2.65M • stylish rebuild private unit down below • Days on market: 52 • Agent: Craig Epstein, Compass.
→ 69 Telegraph Pl (Telegraph Hill, above) • 4BR/3.1BA, 3835 SF house • Ask: $5.655M • Bay views on cul-de-sac block with guest/flex cottage • Days on market: 5 • Agent: Caroline Kahn Werboff, Sotheby’s.
→ 2502 Leavenworth St (Russian Hill) • 5BR/4.1BA, 4500 SF house • Ask: $5.589M • 1900 Victorian rebuilt in 2006 with ground floor separate entrance • Days on market: 48 • Agent: Wayne Gomes & Colette Gomes-Gardella, Coldwell Banker.
SF WORK AND PLAY LINKS: On Presido’s Billionaires Row, new $38M listing hits market • Downtown revival: half a dozen businesses go from pop-up to permanent • But new downtown condos are seeing deep discounts and sitting empty • Shuttered since pandemic, Union Square blues club Biscuits and Blues reopens • Proposed four-tower development at former Sunset Magazine headquarters in Menlo Park would be Silicon Valley’s tallest • Trending in Zoom prep: professional makeup artists • Older women rule.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Under a Groove
Bill Burr, Greek Theatre (Berkeley), Sat @630p, section D, $212 per
Wanda Sykes, The Masonic (Nob Hill), Sat @ 7p, floor 4, $122 per
Parliament Funkadelic feat. George Clinton, Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions (Napa), Sun @ 7p, silver seated, $110 per
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Studio city
JONATHAN CARVER MOORE • founding director • Jonathan Carver Moore Gallery
Neighborhood you live in: Tenderloin
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m usually up by 5:30 a.m. and take the dogs out for a walk. Then, early mornings are best for me to connect with artists who live in Africa or Europe over the phone or Zoom. After that, my days are filled with a lot of studio visits. Seeing an artist's work in person, or virtually connecting with them to hear them talk about their work and their process, is the best way for me to understand the stories they want to tell.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I have a few meetings back to back. I just wrapped up a meeting with Bay Area artist Victoria Mara Heilweil. She has her first solo show at the gallery opening in mid-June. Her works are mostly photo-based, and there will also be video installations in the show as well.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I have a few business meetings this week starting with a luncheon at Rotunda with other members of the arts community here. We're getting together to talk in more detail about how we can positively work to shape the culture of creativity in neighborhoods like Mid-Market, the Tenderloin, and Downtown. I’m also meeting a curator from London for a drink at The Line SF’s Dark Bar — they have great cocktails and delicious snacks. Rise Over Run is also a favorite of mine at that hotel — their burger is one of my favorites and it has a great rooftop. Finally, I love Thai food — one of my favorite spots is Lapats in the Tenderloin on Larkin Street. (Make sure to ask for Thai spicy.)
How about a little leisure or culture?
I love to go to concerts at The Warfield. They're two doors down from the gallery and they have a great lineup of acts. I've seen SZA, Ella Mai, Summer Walker, and Emotional Oranges in concert there.
Any weekend getaways?
My escape is to Palm Springs or Napa/Sonoma for a weekend getaway. They’re the perfect quick trips. One of my favorite restaurants in Palm Springs is Bar Cecil — be sure to make reservations far in advance. In Sonoma, I can see beautiful art and drink wine at the Donum Estate. You can’t beat that.
What was your last great vacation?
I went to Cape Town earlier this year for the Cape Town Art Fair, and then stayed a few days to enjoy their summer. There’s a restaurant there, Die Standloper, that’s not to be missed. It's on the beach in Langebaan where you can sit and have a seafood feast for hours while soaking in the sun with the breeze of winds. Visiting the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa at the Waterfront in Cape Town and then afterwards, grabbing a drink on the roof at The Silo Hotel: totally worth it as well. Also, be sure to visit AKJP Studio, a hip clothing boutique on Kloof Street. You can do damage there without breaking the bank.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A few months ago I acquired a work from Stacey Gillian Abe and I love it more each day.
What store or service do you always recommend to people?
I love my dry cleaner, Peninou. Use them, you’ll thank me.
Photo: Kari Orvik
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Art galleries, San Francisco
Gallery 181 (FiDi), penthouse gallery w/extensive permanent collection, currently showing works by Sharon Stone
Heron Arts (SoMa), technologically-minded gallery with multisensory, multidisciplinary installations
Jonathan Carver Moore (Mid-Market/Tenderloin), scene-shaking gallery amplifying underrepresented voices
Glass Rice (Nob Hill), contemporary arts space focused on emerging Bay Area talent
COL Gallery (North Beach), project-based gallery heightening sense of exhibits (and a unique view of Alcatraz)
Foster Gwin Gallery (Jackson Square), specializing in Bay Area abstract expressionist and figurative painting from 1945-75
Canessa Gallery (Jackson Square), 50 year neighborhood fixture in historic brick building
Minnesota Street Project (Dogpatch), collection of distinguished galleries sharing sweeping three-warehouse space
Schlomer Haus (Castro), showcasing next-gen and mid-career queer artists in Upper Market location
BARS • First Round
Starlite, star bright
The cocktail bar at the top of the Beacon Grand hotel has lived a few lives — first as the classic red velvet booth-lined Starlight Room, followed by the short-lived Lizzie’s Starlight, which was more of a white-washed bachelorette party. As of 2024, it’s simply Starlite. Designer Alice Crumeyrolle (previously of award-winning designer Ken Fulk’s team) arrived at the party and installed soignée green velvets, gold accents, and wild prints to go alongside the (still terrific) 360-degree views of Union Square.
On a recent Friday night, I rode the elevator up and settled into a prime couch. The dirty ’90s martini arrived with a sidecar on ice and three juicy blue-cheese stuffed olives. We begged our server for more, and they obliged — and also, charged us for them. What’s a dollar per olive among friends? A small price to pay for the vodka-soaked dream that is Starlite restored to its deserving glory. –Becky Duffett
→ Starlite (Union Square) • The Beacon Grand, 450 Powell St, 21st Fl • Thurs-Sat 4p-1a, Sun 2-11p • Reserve • photo: Mark Mediana.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Runway work at SFO should wrap by June 21, easing delays • Big Sur’s Rocky Point to open to public after deal struck with billionaire owner • Paul’s Slide section of Route 1 at Big Sur closed since 2023 sees July reopening • Marriott’s march: Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach becoming St. Regis… and Oahu’s Turtle Bay Resort transforming into Ritz Carlton • Kīlauea Volcano on Big Island erupting again in area quiet since 1974.
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