what’s cookin’
Happy Earth Day: go hug a tree, plant some flowers, smoke some sun-grown weed, pick up some garbage, and think about donating to our National Parks (with all the new chaos happening at the NPS, I’d consider donating to the independent National Parks Conservation Association) or the Sierra Club (donations will be triple-matched until midnight tonight!). There are so many planet-protecting charities that need our support, especially now. I have been thinking about ponying up and getting a Ridwell subscription so I don’t cringe every time I throw away a multi-layer plastic bag or bottle cap. Maybe today’s the day!
Did the weekend have you feeling springy? I was so thrilled to get outta town on Friday and jump into the pool with a dear friend at the Flamingo Resort & Spa in Santa Rosa (which just joined the Hilton portfolio), and enjoy some sun on my body for a couple precious hours. I even had a tropical cocktail (the aptly named Painkiller) while dining poolside at the Lazeaway Club—the grapow smash burger (with a fried egg!) from Turntable guest chef Amanda Maneesilasan was pow-pow (ditto the Thai spring rolls and deeeelicious pad Thai)! You can enjoy her pop-up menu there through April 27th. Our weather is so dodgy right now, so you gotta grab the sunny moments when you can.
With the (hoped-for) warming shift into springtime, folks want to eat outside more, but many restaurants and bars struggle with maintaining their parklets (the City regulations and costs are pretty intense). Check out this update in the SF Examiner about the new, modular Building Blocks parklets from urban designer John Bela and SF New Deal that businesses can rent instead of spending thousands to build one that is compliant with City regs.
On Sunday, I picked up a delicious torta pasqualina I preordered from Poesia Cafe to bring down to Easter dinner with the fam. I sure as hell didn’t use Uber courier to pick it up! Would you believe I am still battling with their customer service after two of their couriers stole my cheesecakes, two days in a row? Uber keeps archiving my complaint, and hasn’t reimbursed me for the stolen goods, nor have they confirmed that they’ve removed the driver-thieves from their platform. Zero accountability. It’s pretty gross. As a tablehopper reader noted, that company is wild. I’ll say. They just hope you’ll get so frustrated and tired that you give up fighting them. But they haven’t met me, ha! Fuckers.
How’s your week lookin’? I hope to see you at Club 181 Live! this Wednesday. I’m also finally going to check out the Jagalchi Korean food market and complex this Friday (I detest lines, so I wanted to wait a little). If you have any can’t-miss items or tips, I’m all ears.
If you want something new to watch at home, I have my sister to thank for recommending this engrossing docu-series on Apple TV+: Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson. It came out a few years ago when I didn’t have Apple TV+, so I missed it, but it’s so fun to nerd out on synths, reverb, and how music is made with modern technology. Loving it!
I hope you enjoy today’s column—it’s a bit shorter than usual because at the last minute, I pulled a big piece that I want to spend more time with (I need to visit the place in person and take some of my own pics). D’oh! All will be revealed next week!
Take care, and don’t forget to stop and smell the spring flowers. 💐
~Marcia
the chatterbox
SF’s Fluffiest English Muffin Will Return at Leadbetter’s Bake Shop in the Castro
Some great news for the Castro, and my fellow fans of English muffins: due to open in mid-May is Leadbetter’s Bake Shop, which will become your HQ for English muffin sandwiches and more in the recently closed The Castro Fountain space.
Owner and head baker Jamieson Leadbetter is a fourth-generation baker from Portland, Maine, and his grandfather is the originator of their unique English muffin recipe. Back in the ’50s and ’60s, grandpa Leadbetter noticed how popular bagels were in New York, but he didn’t have the space to boil bagels at their bakery. Instead, he developed a muffin that uses a sandwich loaf/white dough recipe that he proofed with cornmeal, and would griddle and flip the muffins by hand—it’s a finicky recipe with a lot of steps.
Leadbetter’s English muffins have a tight cell structure, and don’t have the nooks and crannies of a Thomas’ or Bays’ English muffin, which use a slack batter and are dispersed into a mold before baking on a griddle. Leadbetter’s muffins are big, fluffy, and flavorful, and have a nice amount of structural integrity, which is what I liked about making breakfast sandwiches with them.
I used to buy bags of these puffy, bready English muffins from Bi-Rite Market about a decade ago, but then they suddenly disappeared. Speaking with Leadbetter, he confirmed they started selling their English muffins back in 2009 at Bi-Rite Market, Rainbow Grocery, and Canyon Market, but stopped production in 2015 so he could fully focus on his other companies that were manufacturing gluten-free and allergen-free baking products. After selling those companies in 2019, and getting through the pandemic doing consulting and childcare while his wife Emmy worked in tech (she’s also running their social media now), he wanted to get back to his dream of having a retail outlet for the English muffins. He shared that he missed the connection to the consumer while in manufacturing, and likes to see his baked goods make people happy.
The original line included plain, whole wheat, nine grain, and cinnamon raisin, and the new shop will feature even more flavors, like cherry-chocolate, apricot-ginger, cheddar cheese, and roasted onion. You will be able to order them with a variety of toppings (including smoked salmon), and there will be a line of sandwiches, like a tuna melt on a cheddar muffin. Breakfast egg sandwiches will include options like bacon, sausage, and Canadian bacon, plus some egg alternatives to offset the current egg shortage and cost. Leadbetter doesn’t plan on offering bagged English muffins to take home since there are capacity constraints with this new location, and he wants to be able to rotate and offer different flavors.
Leadbetter is excited to rotate some baked treats in, like a couple kinds of cookies, brownies, and lemon bars—he wants to keep the lineup of goodies in the case interesting. He worked for Noe Valley Bakery in the early aughts (the bakery just turned 30!), and credits founders Michael and Mary Gassen for teaching him the importance of the element of surprise to keep staff engaged and customers coming back.
Leadbetter’s Bake Shop will be using Andytown for coffee service (Leadbetter wants to keep things local as much as possible). Since the location is pretty turnkey, he only needs to do a light refresh of the interior and pass their health inspection—he’s gunning for a mid-May opening.
The shop will be open from Wed–Sun to start, ramping up to daily in time. Hours will be something like 7am–2pm during the week, and 8am–4pm or so on the weekend. 554 Castro St. at 18th St.
Al Pastor Papi Returns with a Downtown Location This Summer
Back in March, California Eating was first to break the news that Miguel Escobedo of Al Pastor Papi was going to be opening a brick-and-mortar location of Al Pastor Papi Mexican Grill in a former Chipotle space downtown (thanks to the Vacant to Vibrant program)—he ended the run of his hot pink food trailer back in January (known for its fresh-off-the-trompo al pastor tacos and burritos).
And now, the SF Chronicle reveals the address: it’s coming to Union Square (232 O’Farrell Street at Powell). Escobedo is hoping to open in June, and he’ll be serving tacos, burritos, tortas, bowls, and salads, featuring his Mexico City—style al pastor, as well as carne asada, shrimp, chicken, and nopales off the grill, plus some vegetarian options.
California Eating also mentioned: “He plans to begin in the summer with lunch to go and eventually have weekend DJ brunches and special dinner events in the restaurant. He’s been a vital part of the local DJ world for decades and has very creative musical ideas, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for those happenings.” Stand by for opening updates. 232 O’Farrell Street at Powell.
This Month in Oakland: Understory Is Back, Baby!
by Savannah Leone Bundy
Oakland’s radically inclusive, community-driven restaurant-for-the-people Understory is back in business in the heart of the Fruitvale district. After its temporary closure last year, the worker-owned collective (soft) opened its doors on April 9th. Still committed to providing livable wages and creating space for organizing and mutual aid, Understory has expanded its culinary offerings and will operate for brunch, dinner, and café hours, and provide pay-what-you-can meals for the community.
The menus feature diasporic dishes inspired by Southeast Asian comfort foods, like tocilog (cured pork, garlic rice, garden salad, atchara, fried egg, spiced vinegar), banana heart salad (banana blossom hearts, calamansi vinaigrette, fresh herbs, fried sesame cracker), ube waffles (seasonal fruit, calamansi syrup), short rib kaldereta (braised beef short rib, tomato-pepper stew, olives, bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, mozzarella), and an assortment of desserts and N/A beverages. (Don’t miss the Understory Collective Meal for two if you’re down for chef’s choice!) You can check out the full dinner and brunch menus below.
Understory’s grand opening celebration is slated for Sunday April 27th, and it’s currently open for its regular business hours. Dinner Wed–Fri 5pm–8:30pm; brunch Sat–Sun 10am–2pm; café Tue–Fri 8:30am–12:30pm. 3340 International Blvd. at 34th Ave., Oakland.
An Affordable Chicken Outpost Has Flapped Over to West Portal
A new and spacious location of Proposition Chicken is opening in West Portal on Monday April 28th. The fast-casual chicken joint will be serving their new breakfast menu (like egg sandwiches on a toasted croissant bun) from 8am to 11am, and lunch and dinner items starting at 11am, from fried chicken entrées to rotisserie chicken salads to crispy BBQ tofu sandwiches, as well as wings, chicken strips, sides (like garlic-thyme potato wedges, spicy slaw, Brussels sprouts), bone broth, and matzo ball soup. There are gluten-free options as well (which includes the fried chicken). Open daily 8am–9pm. 16 West Portal Ave. at Ulloa.
Closures Include Luce Restaurant and Kokak Chocolates in the Castro
The SF Chronicle broke the news that Michelin-starred Luce (for 11 years) has closed at the InterContinental Hotel in SoMa. It opened in 2008, and has been helmed by notable chefs like Dominique Crenn, Melissa King, and Rogelio Garcia—the most recent chef is the creative and dynamic Dennis Efthymiou, who came on in early 2023 and crafted an elaborate chef’s degustation menu, with dishes that paid homage to his Greek heritage. (I’m curious to hear where he ends up next.) The restaurant was also known for its deep wine cellar and service, with inspired pairings. Bar 888 remains open in the hotel. 888 Howard St.
I was sorry to see that owner Carol Gancia of Kokak Chocolates was closing her Castro shop this past weekend after five years in the neighborhood (I wrote this profile on her a couple years ago about her Pride treats and incredible chocolate chip cookies). Her handcrafted, single-origin, organic chocolates that featured some Philippine ingredients were made with Arriba Naciónal (a rare and heirloom cacao variety), and will be missed by her fans. Take care, Carol! 3901 18th St. at Sanchez.
A Couple Dining Deals and New Happy Hours
Trestle in North Beach is celebrating their ten-year anniversary, and from now through May 4th, guests can enjoy a special throwback four-course menu—including pasta—for just $45. (Ciao, ricotta gnudi with English peas, ramps, and prosciutto.) Following the celebration, executive chef Jason Halverson will continue to offer a four-course, prix-fixe menu (appetizer, pasta, entrée, and dessert) for $52. You can also check out their lightly remodeled and refreshed space; the Hi Neighbor leadership team (Tai Ricci, Ryan Cole, Jason Halverson) will be on the floor on April 28th for the official anniversary day. 531 Jackson St.
With the springy weather, you should go enjoy a Friday lunch. And here's the place: Montesacro Marina is now serving lunch Friday to Sunday 11:30am–2:30pm, and there’s a $35 prix fixe, with a chef’s selection of an antipasto, plus pasta or pinsa, a dolce, and it includes an espresso! ☕️ Since they have a liquor license, you can also order a cocktail, like their Negroni Bianco. 3317 Steiner St. at Chestnut.
And this is pretty brilliant: Tia Margarita, which recently turned 60 (!), just launched a happy hour and your second drink is just $3. (I know many of us could use double Margaritas right now.) Available Tue–Thu 4pm–5:30pm. 300 19th Ave.
the socialite
Make a Plan to Eat Out with Friends on April 30th for Dining Out for Life Bay Area
Coming up on Wednesday April 30th is Dining Out For Life Bay Area, an annual dining fundraising event raising money for community-based organizations serving people living with or impacted by HIV. This year, it will be hosted by and benefit San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Project Open Hand.
Dine out at a participating restaurant (scroll down to see the list here, from State Bird Provisions, to Revival Bar & Kitchen in Berkeley) and 25 percent (or more) of your bill will be donated to support the life-saving work of these two organizations that serve over 36,000 clients locally.
The restaurants will make a donation on your behalf, so you don’t have to do anything other than enjoy a fabulous meal! There are also sweepstakes you can enter with a donation. If you’re located in another U.S. city or region, take a look here (Palm Springs is April 24th!).
