what’s cookin’
Hi, it’s your tired hopper. I know, I’m usually pretty upbeat over here, but between dealing with my busted laptop for a week (would you believe I had to have the Apple Store wipe it for a factory reset, UGH, and it’s still crawling back?), and after being on day six of what bloomed into a rotten cold, I am spent.
So much for getting some rest before getting ready to head down to LA today with my dad and sis for a World Cup match this Thursday (Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina), and then we’re back up for Turkey vs. Paraguay at Levi’s Stadium on Friday. Whooosh. It was such a blast watching the USA vs. Paraguay match on Friday from my couch (with Fortuna in my lap, she’s a new soccer fan)—USA is back in action at noon this Friday vs. Australia. I love seeing all the organic watch parties happening at neighborhood places like Leopold’s and El Chato!
Since World Cup and Father’s Day are intersecting this year, I thought it would be fun to share this vintage pic of my dad (Carmen) with his girls picking out some Halloween pumpkins after what looks like some weekend soccer practice. (Carm is wearing a T-shirt commemorating when Spain hosted the World Cup in 1982, which Italy won that year, so this pic is giving some early ’80s realness.) I’m wishing all you dads and father figures a happy Father’s Day this Sunday (you’ll find some ideas on where to bring Pops in this week’s column), and much love to all who are missed.
While I was stuck home this past weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Earth Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World) documentary by Questlove on HBOMax. This doc goes deep, and is so immersive. Anyone who grew up in the ’70s will dig learning the backstory of a visionary band that was the soundtrack to so many moments of our lives. It tells an incredible story, one that spans so many years, and there are some fun and unexpected reveals, too. It would be a good one to watch this Friday on Juneteenth.
Congrats to all the winners of the 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards and Media Awards. Locally, we had chef Michael Tusk of Quince win Outstanding Chef, and Kevin Diedrich of Pacific Cocktail Haven won Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. Way to get SF back in the game. The full list of winners can be found on the James Beard Foundation website.
Over the weekend, I gave a big, sad sigh after seeing a couple in remembrance posts from Vesuvio and Specs in honor of Jeannette Etheredge, our salty grand dame of North Beach and an absolute LEGEND, who has reportedly left us for the smoky, cash-only cocktail bar in the sky. I haven’t seen an obituary yet, so I’ve been stalling on sending this while trying to get confirmation from people close to her. I reached out to Janet Clyde, owner of Vesuvio, who said several close friends have confirmed Jeannette’s passing, and a post on Facebook from her friend Leslie Kaye shares, “Dear friends, in case you have not heard the sad news, Jeannette Etheredge, legendary owner of Tosca Caffe, died peacefully yesterday morning with her son Devin holding her hand.” North Beach Citizens posted this heartfelt tribute and wonderful pics of Jeannette. Deep condolences to her family and vast circle of friends and fans.
Jeannette descended from North Beach bohemian royalty (with a jaw-dropping dramatic family history): her mother, Armen Baliantz, AKA Madam Bali, was the elder icon known for cultivating and hosting an artistic and fascinating milieu while holding court at Bali’s, her restaurant in Jackson Square. Francis Ford Coppola told me Madam Bali made the most exquisite, Armenian-style rack of lamb in pomegranate juice—you’ll even see it mentioned on the inside of this vintage book of Bali’s matches as sedlo (I still haven’t been able to find a vintage menu of Bali’s for my collection).
Etheredge wrote the subsequent chapter of the badass businesswoman legacy her mother started when she became the owner of the Tosca (from 1980 until 2013)—she made it the most authentically cool hangout in the City, the scene for the best stories (and many we’ll never know in the back room), the stuff SF late nights and foggy memories are made of. All were welcome, just don’t be a jerk (but that’s when you’d hear her withering one-liners).
Jeannette would keep an eye on things and who was coming in through the door with quick glances from behind her tinted gradient glasses while perched at her end of the bar (oh, those eyes that had seen everything). I would breathlessly wait for her to (hopefully, maybe) open the door to her office at some point so I could peer at all the remarkable cinematic memorabilia on the walls. It was like looking into the Lost Ark, or what was in Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase.
When Tosca was tragically teetering on the brink of closing (and Sean Penn helped broker a deal to save it), I wrote: “I love the moody ambiance, the opera on the jukebox, the white-jacketed waiters, the utterly hilarious Edith Head graffiti in the pink women’s bathroom, the occasional peek into Jeannette’s amazing and memorabilia-covered office (which needs to be shellacked and left exactly as it is). And let’s not forget the always entertaining cast of characters who wander in there. It was one of the last bars where I could still surreptitiously smoke after the ban (mind you, I quit over 10 years ago, but still).”
Jeannette cut and polished one of San Francisco’s most treasured and rare jewels, and we’ll always be grateful for that moment in time that felt like an indie film with the most unexpected ensemble cast. Raise your glass to this absolute icon of our city, the consummate host and storyteller (who intrinsically understood what to keep private). Share your stories of her widely, because Jeannette gave us a surfeit of quality material. A true character. If you want to send in any stories or memories or bon mots for me to read or share, please do.
For now, I’m signing off—see you next week.
~Marcia
the chatterbox
Some Changes (Already) at the Newly Opened Golden Focaccia in Lower Nob Hill
Wow, well, that was fast. On Sunday afternoon, I was excited to bring my sister over to the new Golden Focaccia shop I wrote about last week so she could try a focaccia panino with me after our yin yoga class at nearby Alchemy Springs. It ends up that baker Marco Scabin has already left the project, and owner Omar Barkache is running the shop with his wife and other family members. Fortunately, they have the focaccia recipe, so the focaccia panini will continue, but they have made some changes to the original menu (the porchetta dip is gone, and they also changed the Boscaiolo I shared last week into another panino with different ingredients, FYI).
Another change: they swapped out the focaccia pizza al taglio and are now serving six kinds of pinsa romana instead.
Open 11am–8pm daily (until 8:30pm Fri–Sat). 881 Post St. at Hyde.
A Coming Soon Report and News Bites
Bar Brucato Is Unfortunately Closing This Weekend
The fine folks at Brucato Spirits (Sierra and James Clark) sent this update that they are sadly closing Bar Brucato this weekend, after opening it a little over a year ago: “We have made the difficult decision to close Bar Brucato. Our last day of service will be Saturday, June 20th. The goal of Bar Brucato has always been to showcase our lineup of amaros, liqueurs and craft spirits in a beautiful bar and restaurant setting. We could not be prouder of what we built! To that end, we want to expressly thank our General Manager, Rye Tondreault, for their incredible expertise and hard work overseeing our operations from day one, Executive Chef Mitchell Reichert for his calm and dedicated leadership of our kitchen, and Leila Malikyar for developing one of most inspired cocktail programs in San Francisco.
We are closing the bar and restaurant so that we can refocus our energy and passion on the Brucato Spirits Distillery, where we will continue to produce our amaros and other spirits in the same Mission District location. We are committed to keeping our distillery doors open and welcoming you into our space.
We are particularly excited to share the news that we hired Adam Hall as our Distillery Director. Adam previously worked as the distillery operations and facilities manager of the Hotaling & Co. Distillery on San Francisco’s Pier 50. He has already become an invaluable member of our team, bringing passion, knowledge, and humor to everything he does. Welcome, Adam!
While we will cancel this weekend’s Distillery Day, we are excited to continue to offer our distillery tours, our monthly open-house distillery days, and retail sales during distillery hours to our San Francisco community starting in July. And online sales of bottles and merch across the country remain. This is goodbye to Bar Brucato for now, but not forever. Bar Brucato will return at some point in the future, bolder and better than ever!”
This is such a bummer, because I really dug Bar Brucato’s talented, queer bar team (who made some damn good cocktails!), and I don’t want to imagine our lives without the cheese-paprika crackers. But, honestly speaking, I always thought the place would make the perfect hideout bar with a little reformatting—it’s so hard to run a successful small restaurant in SF. We’ll have to see what’s next for the space. 275 South Van Ness Ave.
Calling All Independent Restaurants, Food Trucks, and Caterers: You Have Two Weeks to Apply for a $5K Grant
Just making sure all you industry folks see this update from the San Francisco SBDC (Small Business Development Center): “The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is offering $5,000 grants to independent restaurants and commercial caterers in select California counties to invest in kitchen equipment, technology upgrades, employee training, and unexpected hardships.
“Supported by PG&E and administered by the California Restaurant Foundation, these grants are designed to help restaurants strengthen their business, support their teams, and prepare for the future. To learn more about this grant and the application process from the PG&E community outreach representative, you can watch our webinar (minutes 11–25).” You can apply here (until June 30th). Go get that money, honey.
Some Ideas on Where to Take Your Pops for Father’s Day
There are all kinds of dads: the ones who love a good steak, while another may live for roast duck, or pizza, or lumpia. (Or, in the case of me and my sister: soccer.) Father’s Day is coming up this Sunday June 21st (the same day as our summer solstice), and here are some quick ideas for you.
Italian is always a hit, from the old-school Tommaso’s in North Beach (don’t miss the Coo Coo clams); as well as the updated North Beach Restaurant (with housemade tortellini in brodo); the all-day hours at A16 make it easy to visit for braised meatballs, springtime gnocchi with English peas, and a Berkshire pork chop; and 54 Mint is running a $65 family-style, prix-fixe menu, featuring zeppole di San Giuseppe (a cream-filled pastry traditionally made in honor of fathers and family).
the lush
The Upper Haight Will Be Swingin’ with Live Music and Shakin’ Cocktails Once Again with the Opening of The DeLuxe This Thursday
I’m so bummed I wasn’t feeling well enough to attend one of the pre-opening parties for The DeLuxe this week, which, pending a final permit, should be opening this Thursday June 18th—the classic neon sign inside the bar is lit and ready for you! Last fall, I wrote about the new owners restoring the legacy bar after it sadly closed in 2023: former Club Deluxe bartender and now co-owner Christian Beaulieu with Jay Bordeleau (Mr. Tipple’s Recording Studio).
The bar dates back to the 1920s, and the duo have made many improvements, including a new sound system and lighting, and take a look at the updated murals by artist and musician Jon Weiss here (the old ones were sadly gone). I look forward to sharing details once I have a chance to swing by for some live jazz and a couple cocktails. Here’s to many more good times in that legendary space. Follow @thedeluxesf for updates. 1511 Haight St. at Ashbury.
sponsored event
Think & Drink at UNFILTERED, July 25th–26th at Donkey & Goat Winery in Berkeley
Join more than 60 of California’s most compelling, independent winemakers for UNFILTERED, a weekend of extraordinary wine, food, music, and conversation at Donkey & Goat Winery in Berkeley. From legendary pioneers like Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon), Gideon Beinstock (Clos Saron), Angela Osborne (A Tribute to Grace), Ian Brand, Craig Haarmeyer, and Joe Davis (Arcadian), to a new generation of producers like Matt Crutchfield, Samuel Louis Smith, Justin Trabue (Ward Four), Coral Wang (Maison des Plaisances), Evan Lewandowski (Ruth Lewandowski), Sabrina Tamayo (Ruby Blanca), Cole Thomas (Madson), Brent Mayeaux (Stagiaire), and more, UNFILTERED offers a rare opportunity to really connect with the people behind some of California’s most distinctive wines.
At its heart, UNFILTERED is a gathering of winemakers, artists, farmers, chefs, and curious drinkers exploring the ideas and values shaping contemporary wine culture. Throughout the weekend, guests engage directly with winemakers through tastings, conversations, and panel discussions exploring farming, food, art, climate, culture, and the evolving identity of California wine.
Taste wines rarely found outside winery mailing lists, enjoy food pairings from local chefs, and experience the rich personalities and vibrant community of our independent winemakers. UNFILTERED takes place in a relaxed, intimate setting with easy access and ample parking.
For tickets, participating wineries, and the full schedule, visit: donkeyandgoat.com/unfiltered
Tickets 🎟️: Day pass, $65; Weekend pass $95.
July 25th–26th, 2026
Donkey & Goat Winery: 1340 5th Street Berkeley
the matchmaker
Restaurant & Café Equipment Sale
2565 3rd Street, San Francisco
Stop by on Monday July 6th for a massive sale of food service equipment, including kitchen tools, baking pans, culinary machinery, drinkware, and much more. Front of the house and back of the house materials on sale, for a variety of operations. Open house–style from the hours of 11am–4pm, pricing individually listed but discounts provided for encouraged bulk purchases. Ranging from brand new to lightly used.
Larger equipment such as refrigerators, microwaves, and water heaters are also available. Enough equipment to open up a new café tomorrow. Reach out to (415) 602-4102 with any questions (please fill out this interest form).
the starlet
That’s all, folks! See you next week.
