what’s cookin’
Hello, earthlings. Your gurl has just barely touched down after a four-day extravaganza of music, kicking off with Soulwax performing at The Regency Ballroom last Thursday night (what a full-throttle show, they played like they stole it!), followed by three nonstop days and late nights dancing at Portola Festival inside the spaceship of my most-adored music and sound and dance experience in this lifetime, Despacio. (If you don’t want to read this, just skip ahead to the second photo of the disco ball.)
It was a gorgeous 20-hour infusion of much-needed joy (THANKS, I REALLY NEEDED THAT) and Dionysian release (I left it all on the dance floor) and disco ball stupefaction and re/connection with the most inspiring community of international dance party friends who know how to show up (and get down). I’m going to take a momentito to germinate the seedlings of my thoughts and feelings and impressions and stories into something tangible like actual words. (This was my recap from last year’s Portola, so you can see why it’s gonna take a minute.) And, your dancing queen needed to go to her appointment today for an injection in her knee—I knew 20K+ steps a day for four days would come calling. Hello, ma’am!
I loved meeting and dancing with some of you rad subscribers who told me you came because of my “rhapsodic” piece from last year. Awww. Strong work! Despuesio is a thing—and the Despacio Fan Club can help with the comedown (join the Discord and/or the r/Despacio reddit). This Despacio playlist from Portola 2025 is also tiding me over until the 2026 recordings and playlists come out because the songs will haunt you—all hail the TSOT/the spreadsheet of truth.
I started posting pics, videos, and stories on @tablehopper—including a cuuuute Despacio Fan Club Pre-Tola brunch at Side A—stand by for more disco ball moments and unbelievable dance floor postcards as soon as I send this thing! I’m so damn lucky and grateful for all the unrivaled joy and laughs and ass-shaking and cosmic downloads and connection and LOVE I just experienced. My heart. I’m soaring and feeling so much lighter. What a ride. (Get off the speakers!)
Thank you to everyone who pours their errrrrything into honoring and creating the world’s best dance floor, one that simultaneously pulls from the bins of everything I’ve ever deeply loved about dance and music and sound and party people, and yet massively transcends anything I have ever experienced before. I love you, I love you, I looovvvvvvvve!
In the meantime, I know some of you just barely finished the 8,200-word tome I wrote last week about tablehopper’s 20th anniversary and the reopening of 15 Romolo in October. (Ha-ha, sorry not sorry.) And I have a bunch of wonderful pics coming on @tablehopper about the party, too! (It’s so hard to keep up. If only I didn’t have to write, too.) Thanks to the work of summer intern Francesca Gasparini, this week we’re following up with her archivist piece on 15 Romolo history that she researched and wrote, as well as a couple other pieces.
In my previous column, I asked if any of you could join me in saying thanks for Francesca’s dedicated work and please tip our intern some “walking around money” (which is what my grandmother used to call it) as she goes back to school, and I was quite dismayed to learn there was only ONE PERSON who threw her some dough. Really? There are thousands of you. My friend (the sole person who sent her anything) suggested I mention it again, so, can you please consider sending Francesca a lil’ tip of appreciation instead of thinking someone else is gonna do it for you? (Which in the end is going to be me.) Her Venmo is @francescagasparini. Grazie mille!
All aboard! The tablehopper 20th anniversary party train keeps on chugging, wooo wooo! This week’s column has all the info you need below about the second event in the series: tablehopper’s 10/20 anniversary PrimeBird dinner with Nightbird on Thursday October 15th! If you love House of Prime Rib, then you’re going to lose your mind over this modern tribute from chef Kim Alter and co-owner/GM/beverage manager Ron Boyd, who are making this tablehopper subscriber only-dinner so extra-magical. Like the title of my life story, #therewillbeChampagne. (And Yorkshire pudding.) Don’t miss it!
More anniversary fun: I was so fired up to see tablehopper included as a Best of the Bay 2026 Editors’ Pick by 48 Hills! Awwww, great timing! (Fellow journalist Tamara Palmer wrote one heck of a thoughtful accolade, thank you!) The last time I won, it was for Best Fresh Scuttlebutt (lol) in 2007, and Best of the Bay 2011 and 2012 Readers Poll: Best Food/Drinks Blog or Site! (Hey, we can do it again, please vote for tablehopper!)
Read more Best of the Bay editorial picks here. Did you know the Bay Guardian was the first city paper to ask its readers to vote on their local favorites, all the way back in 1974?!
Tamara Palmer
You can cast your vote in the 52nd annual Bay Guardian Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll, hosted by 48 Hills. Psssst, a little birdie just told me voting has been extended through Monday October 5th at midnight (you heard it here first). Hop to it!
What’s your favorite burrito or hair salon or yoga studio? (Don’t forget to vote for tablehopper!) You don’t have to fill out every category to enter, but show as much love as you can—and don’t forget to hit the “Submit” button at the end. Get the word out to all your friends and favorite local businesses and customers!
Speaking of local businesses and haps I love: if you’re looking for something restorative yet stimulating with some very SF-community-minded programming, don’t miss First Sundays at Alchemy Springs; check out this Sunday’s lineup here. See you in the Sauna Garden!
More shindigs: a couple weekends ago, I was invited by SF New Deal to cover the third The Funky Brunch at The Nosh Box (take a peek at my pics), and fall was in the air with their Warren pear toast (which thankfully is still on the menu), DJs, sunshine, and cute vibes. This fun and funky daytime brunch returns every other month, thanks in part to Downtown ENRG, a program supporting arts, community experiences, and nightlife programming in SF (as well as this independent publication, thanks!). I’ll keep you posted on the next one!
OK, let’s jump in. Happy Rocktober!
Yours in disco and L.O.V.E.,
~Marcia
the chatterbox
10/20 Vision! The Next tablehopper Anniversary Event Is an Extra-Fabulous PrimeBird Dinner on Thursday October 15th!
Last week, I sent a teaser that I’m cohosting a tablehopper 20th anniversary version of a PrimeBird dinner with Nightbird’s Kim Alter and Ron Boyd (currently celebrating 10 years)! For our double anniversary 🥂 night, Kim and Ron are pulling out all the stops on their modern steakhouse dinner I fell in love with when they first ran it a couple years ago. It’s their homage to House of Prime Rib, with Nightbird’s Cali-soigné touch.
We had to shift the date to Thursday October 15th, but I really hope you can make it! We’ll dine together in the private dining room flanking Nightbird.
All you awesome patrons and super patron subscribers have access to a VIP reception (6pm–6:30pm), with The Caviar Co. canapés, and Champagne Telmont is back supporting my anniversary events with their elegant bubbles (merci!).
Please let me know if you have a sponsorship at the patron/super patron level when you reserve your ticket (see below for instructions). You also have priority access/first crack at tickets—thanks for your generous support.
Starting at 6:30pm, ticketed tablehopper annual subscribers (and their guests) will join the party, and everyone will be welcomed with a brilliant cocktail from the adjoining The Linden Room that’s going to be featured in the upcoming Hopper 100 (it’s a surprise—I don’t want to give it away!) while we mingle over some old-school/new-school snacks (Kim and Ron love party bites).
Once everyone arrives, we’ll start sitting down at our communal table by 7pm, beginning with the Little Gems with Green Goddess dressing (our beloved SF dressing—tarragon is my love language), plus Nightbird’s farro bread with cultured butter (so divine), and a glass of Réserve Brut from Champagne Telmont. Cin cin!
Gotta love a modern Green Goddess salad, and have you ever had the cultured butter at Nightbird? You will! First photo: Adahlia Cole Photography; second photo: © tablehopper.com.
The main event will feature a rosy slice of 45-day, dry-aged Flannery Beef prime rib (the “Jorge” cut); creamed spinach; baked potato with all the fixings; herbed horseradish, truffle, and cheddar Yorkshire pudding (whut); and demented sauces (like smoked bone marrow wagyu Hollandaise!). It’s all sooooo good.
With the prime rib course, you have the choice of a Martini or glass of red wine. (Don’t drive to this dinner, okay?) We’ll wrap up with a custom 10th/20th anniversary dessert Kim is devising, as well as a couple cute sweets.
The team is really spoiling us with this event: the entire dinner is only $150 (the three drinks mentioned above are included!), plus tax, 20% service charge, and SF mandate (6%), coming to $202.91 total. (For comparison, the regular PrimeBird meal—which doesn’t come with our special snacks, caviar, Champagne/cocktail/wine, and extra dessert treats—was $85/$115 all in, so this is a total steal. Who loves you?) Tremendous thanks to The Caviar Co. and Champagne Telmont for the generous support!
Sorry, no alterations to the menu. Additional drinks are extra. (If you prefer N/A beverages instead of what’s listed above, let Nightbird know when you buy your ticket.)
HOW TO GET A TICKET:
You must be a tablehopper annual subscriber to buy a ticket, and you can get a ticket for one guest (but encourage them to subscribe—there is even a sale right now!). If you want to bring more peeps, drop me a note and I’ll see what we can do! 🥂
Once I confirm your subscription level (annual, patron, super patron), I’ll connect you with Nightbird, who will have you pay in full ahead of the dinner. No refunds, no cancellations, no flaking.
This event has super-limited seating, so don’t delay on booking your spot! Just email me (you can also hit reply to this newsletter) and I’ll let you know very soon if you’re in (I’m going to take 24 hours to let patrons and super patrons secure their reservations first).
If we end up getting a lot of interest, we may schedule a second date, or more! So, if October 15th doesn’t work for you, but you’d still like to attend another time, please let me know! I’d love to see you. This dinner is going to be a feast and a blast!
Thursday October 15th. 6pm: reception for Patrons and Super Patrons. 6:30pm: entry for annual subscribers. Cheers! 334 Gough St. at Linden.
News Briefs: Openings and Pop-Ups and Project Changes and Closures
Here are some quick news bites for ya. I’ll be following up on a few of these stories with in-person visits soon, but for now:
The City’s First Nikkei Handroll Bar Opens in Cow Hollow
By Francesca Gasparini
Last month, another handroll bar opened its doors in Cow Hollow, but this time with a Latin twist. KAIYŌ Handroll Bar is the new sister restaurant to the KAIYŌ Resturant and KAIYŌ Rooftop in the Hyatt Place San Francisco. The trio of restaurants, spearheaded by John Park and his Brick X Brick Hospitality Group, all surround Nikkei: a culinary tradition originating from Japanese immigrants in Peru that uses Japanese cooking techniques with native Peruvian ingredients.
I was able to stop by for a preview before their grand opening to try some of their signature handrolls and get eyes on the new space. The restaurant had a hipster feel with neon signs, a ceiling of wagasa (Japanese sun umbrellas), and shoji-inspired wall designs.
The menu, brought to life by chef Alex Reccio and chef de cuisine Kenji Sawada, highlights classic Peruvian dishes like lomo saltado (stir-fried beef with onions, tomatoes, and potatoes), anticuchos (Peruvian meat skewers), as well as a variety of ceviches, small bites, and, of course, handrolls.
The cocktail menu is a fruity display curated by Danny Louie and the beverages even extend to matcha mocktails and boozy matcha soft serve.
We ordered a chicken anticucho starter that came with a side of Peruvian corn and and crispy potatoes, as well as a selection of handrolls: the chu toro tiradito (bluefin tuna tataki, leche de tigre, avocado cream, chalaquilla), hotate ceviche (Hokkaido scallop, onion, kombu, tobiko, garlic chip), the arroz con pato (roasted duck, cilantro rice, sansho pepper, unagi, and gooseberry sauce), and the torotaku (otoro fatty bluefin tuna, takuan, shiso).
The handroll bar is planning to work their way into the nightlife scene with late hours and DJs. The space will stay open past service with a limited menu of small plates to pair with craft cocktails like the shima (pisco, pandan, pineapple, coconut, pineapple amaro, lime) and the hana no Manhattan (Japanese whisky, rye whiskey, jasmine tea, cherry blossom fortified wine, angostura bitters). Hours are Tue–Thu 4pm–12am, Fri–Sat 4pm–1am, Sun 4pm–9pm. 1838 Union St. at Octavia.
the sponsor
Vote Now for Best of the Bay 2026
Best Burrito? Best Dive Bar? Best Date Restaurant? Best Coffee? Best Pizza? The 48 Hills/Bay Guardian’s 52nd Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll is open now—tell us what you love! Every year, thousands of locals weigh in with their favorites in dozens of categories.
Winners are announced in October and celebrated at the acclaimed Best of the Bay Gala. You’re the first to know that voting has been extended to midnight on Monday October 5th, so hurry and vote—and tell your friends and favorite businesses to get the word out!
the socialite
Celebrate Latine Makers at This Saturday’s Pop-Ups on the Plaza with Foodwise
By Francesca Gasparini
This Saturday October 3rd, is Foodwise’s Pop-Ups on the Plaza: Celebrating Latine Makers, presenting a day of delicious food, beverages, and artisan goods by over 12 Latine-owned local businesses in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Taking place at the Ferry Terminal Plaza and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, this makers’ market will include mouthwatering Latine culinary feats and treats, like Cuban roast pork sandwiches, Colombian pastries, conchas, and Oaxacan tlayudas, as well as fun activities, like cooking demonstrations by chef Amalia Avendano of Tonantzin Mexican Cuisine, and baker Raquel Goldman of Norte 54.
Participating vendors include Chi Chi’s Kiosko, Clandestina Cocina, Dulce Maná, Flor de Chile, MexEvents/Casa Bonampak, Mi Comedor, Norte 54, Painted Leopard, Pass the Sauced, Semilla, SoulCraft Apotheca, Tonantzin Mexican Cuisine, and Xula Guatemalan Cuisine. The event is free (food is available for purchase) and runs from 9am–2pm. 1 Ferry Plaza.
the archivist
More Than Just a Restaurant: The Basque Hotel
By Francesca Gasparini
Although the Basque Hotel Restaurant blade sign still proudly outstretches from the corner of Broadway and Romolo above the marquee lights of the Hungry I Club, the traditional Basque boarding house and its restaurant have not hosted guests for many years.
Basque boarding houses (known locally as ostatuaks) were first constructed during the Gold Rush and acted as cultural centers for young Basque men seeking solidarity within their immigrant community in San Francisco. The National Park Service notes these hotels were not only vital in upholding cultural practices like language, culinary tradition, religion, and pilota (a beloved traditional Basque sport), they also played a key role in helping Basques find work and spouses.
According to Euskal Kazeta, the first of these boarding houses was built in 1866, and many were established throughout the latter half of the 19th century. Hotel Vasco on Powell Street was among the earliest, run by Martina Aguirre and her husband. Unfortunately, most of San Francisco’s “Basque Town” was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire.
In the aftermath came the cluster of hotels and restaurants separating Chinatown and North Beach that many of you may be familiar with. These establishments thrived throughout much of the 1900s, until business began to weaken when Basques began to settle down and move out of the boarding houses around the 1960s. The Basque Hotel and Hotel des Alpes & Restaurant at 732 Broadway (which funnily enough became Rosewood, another Jon Gasparini and Greg Lindgren bar project) were among the last.
Nestled in the steep alleyway of Romolo, perched just above the bustling jazz clubs and striptease joints of Broadway, lies the remnants of the old Basque Hotel. Constructed in 1912, the hotel functioned as a boarding house for traveling Basques from 1964–1996.
This historic hotel had many ownership turnovers throughout the years, but was originally opened in 1964 by Marthe and Pierre Bigue. According to Gardeners of Identity: Basques in the San Francisco Bay Area by Pedro J. Oiarzabal, Marthe had previously owned Hotel du Midi, another Basque hotel located at 1362 Powell Street, before buying and opening The Basque Hotel and Restaurant.
A dissertation by Jerónima Echeverría at North Texas State University, titled A History of California’s Basque Hotels, identifies Joseph and Madeleine Gestas as the successors to the Bigues. The paper goes on to outline the hotel’s subsequent ownership transfers: Sauveur and Anna Anchartechahar took over in 1975, followed by Antoinette and Francisco (Daniel-Francisco) Oroz, who leased the building from the Achartechahars from 1979 to 1985. Finally, Rebecca and Jean-Emile Idiart purchased and operated the hotel and restaurant from 1985 until its closure in 1996.
The tenants who occupied this twenty-five room hotel were most commonly shepherds, fishermen, and cooks who traveled from the Basque Country in search of work and new roots. Idiart was said to have taken up five separate units all to himself to create one huge apartment during his years of operation. But beyond the upper floors of otherwise modest lodging accommodations, what this spot was really known for was its traditional French Basque dinner service at The Basque Hotel Restaurant, which occupied the first floor.
The dining experience was quintessentially Basque, with traditional family-style dinners that drew both local Basque families and tourists alike. There would be only one service nightly, starting promptly at 6:30pm, with just a few large picnic tables to seat whomever was dining that evening.
In one article remembering the establishment, Matthew Iribarne recalled that depending on the day of the week, the menu would differ between proteins like trout with lemon sauce, leg of duck, oxtail stew or chicken Basque, a traditional braised chicken dish with peppers and tomatoes (it was expected that you called ahead of time to state your preference for white or dark meat so they could prepare accordingly).
Soup was always served first in large tureens, and salad was last (in the traditional Basque style), and old patrons often reminisce over the never-ending mounds of French fries on old blog forums. Nondescript red wine was poured generously and often into the same tumbler reused for water and coffee throughout the meal, and dishes were passed communally between strangers around the table.
In the back corner of the restaurant stood a small Formica bar, and behind it, a grand, double-door, forest green 1950s refrigerator from which a bartender would be mixing up Kalimoxtos and traditional Picón Punch. On Sunday nights, the tenants who lived above would all come downstairs to enjoy a weekly feast, making the space feel more like a family dining room than a traditional restaurant.
The meals were all-inclusive, with a flat rate of around five to eight dollars for your fill of food and wine. Their unreliable system of having customers pay as they left, coupled with the unlimited wine, likely contributed to the restaurant’s losses over the years and eventually led to its closure in December 1996. Although The Basque Hotel above still operates as a boarding house for long-term renters to this day, it is no longer run by Idiart, nor is home to any Basque residents.
And as many of you likely know, the first floor of 15 Romolo Place has long been home to the cocktail bar 15 Romolo, which has made a point of incorporating elements of the building’s Basque history into its atmosphere and offerings. Opened in 1998 by Jon Gasparini and Greg Lindgren, 15 Romolo quickly became one of The City’s most cherished bars. Known for their excellent cocktails, beloved Sunday brunch, and mahogany-hued sultry ambiance, this hidden-away bar has established itself as a longtime North Beach favorite (if you read my byline, you may see why I’m partial).
After having to close their doors in summer of 2024, Gasparini couldn’t bring himself to walk away from the bar he opened at 28 and where he started his career. For the past eight months, Gasparini and his wife, Kelly Anne, have been personally remodeling the space, getting ready to launch a revamped version of 15 Romolo this October. As for what’s to come, you can read about what to expect in the upcoming remodeled 15 Romolo in last week’s tablehopper preview here.
Cheers to 20 years! Let’s celebrate! 🥂 Become an annual supporting subscriber and I’d love to see you at PrimeBird on the 15th! 🍸
