This week’s tablehopper: lift off. (free)

what’s cookin’

Wooooooooo, your tablehopper is set to hella turbo right now. On Monday, I was up in Geyserville at Francis Ford Coppola Winery to be a judge for the annual Perfect Your Pizza cook-off, which featured four fabulously creative pizzas and pairings, check my Instagram stories soon to see the winning pie (three words: pignoli chile crisp!). It’s always a treat to have Razza’s Dan Richer in town, and our Check Please! goddess Leslie Sbrocco as the emcee. 

I drove back home in that torrential rainstorm, and made it just in time to catch the stellar peachy sunset and epic double rainbow over the City. Thanks, we all needed that. The City got seriously power-washed—everything is looking sparkly and smelling much better.

This past week was a packed one, with visits to the sexy-chic ama by Brad Kilgore, the grand opening party at Via Aurelia, as well as a friends-and-family dinner at the upscale Wolfsbane, which I have an in-depth preview of in today’s column. It’s exciting to see so many new places opening right now, but it also makes it hard to write thoughtfully about each project. Stand by for more from me on ama after I return from Miami (which seems fitting since it’s where chef Brad Kilgore is from).

Wait, Miami? As I mentioned last week, I’m flying to Miami to attend the III Points music festival this weekend, where I’ll be losing myself in the intergalactic Despacio experience yet again. I’m so damn excited, I just can’t stand it. I’m now going to be staying at a friend of a friend’s place in South Beach (near 4th and Euclid), so if you have any recos, I’m all ears! I’ll be spending almost all of my evenings/nights at the festival, but am planning on hitting up the nearby Las Olas for a medianoche or cubano for lunch, and the burgers at Le Rond look pretty sick! Joe’s Stone Crab is just blocks away, and it’s reopening the day I arrive, so I may need to revisit that classic spot for a late lunch (and Key lime pie). I also see some recovery time happening on the beach. 🏖️

Since I’m going to be out of town, there won’t be a hopper newsletter next week—your girl is taking a much-needed break! (I will be off email until next Wednesday the 22nd, just FYI.)

If I wasn’t going to be away this weekend (October 18th–19th), I would be hitting up Hunters Point Shipyard Open Studios, with more than 130 artists opening their doors to the public. There’s also a biergarten hosted by Enterprise Brewing (love their pilsner!); food from Radio Afrika Kitchen, J&D’s BBQ, Creative Ideas Café, and Kahnfections; and live music. 11am–6pm; admission and parking are free with RSVP.

Thanks to all of you who entered the sponsored giveaway for tickets and to be a sous chef on-stage at MasterChef All-Stars Live! on Sunday October 26th at the Curran Theatre. The winner has been contacted, but you can still get tickets to the show!

And next Saturday October 25th, A16 Napa is hosting a very special evening with Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live). It will be the ultimate dinner and a show, with a three-course Southern Italian dinner, followed by an up-close musical performance by Ana and her band. A portion of proceeds will support Broadway and Vine’s mission to nurture and showcase the next generation of artists in the Bay Area.

I really need to get packin’—my flight is early tomorrow morning—so ciao for now, and I’ll catch you on the flip side! (My current soundtrack: this Patrick Cowley at 69 mix by Josh Cheon of Dark Entries Records.)

Yours in disco 🪩,
~Marcia

the chatterbox

An In-Depth Preview of Wolfsbane, Bringing Fine Dining and a Dramatic, Natural-Chic Oasis to Dogpatch

Back in May, I was first to write about the new fine-dining project from Carrie and Rupert Blease of the former Lord Stanley with Tommy Halvorson (The Fire Society), coming to the former Serpentine space in Dogpatch, which Halvorson bought in 2016. The trio met while working catering gigs years ago, and have now partnered up on this next-level project—after a major transformation of the space, Wolfsbane is opening its doors tonight, October 15th.

I was invited to a friends-and-family test service over the weekend, and while they are still installing shelves and the finishing touches, it was exciting to step into the latest incarnation of this corner location—I remember when Erin Rooney opened Serpentine in 2007 after a massive remodel to the quirky space (it was great to see Rooney in the dining room at the test dinner as well).

Walking into the space, you’ll note the dark cork walls, the soft sage green walls, live-edge reclaimed redwood tables, a curving upholstered banquette in warm tobacco that runs along the perimeter of the dining room, glowing box lanterns suspended from the incredibly tall ceilings, wild floral displays left to extend their branches and natural shapes, with a large segment of a manzanita bush climbing along the back wall of the dining room, which Halvorson tells me will become a much larger installation in time. 

The space now has a more expansive and open feeling—the bar and former dividing wall for the dining room were removed (Seth Boor of Boor Architects did a nice job moving and installing a new arched wall placed before the kitchen and restrooms). I also love how much the natural materials and colors and painted brick have softened the space’s concrete and industrial elements (the building is part of the American Industrial Center, a historic old factory dating back to 1915), but also contrast and complement them (the pillars are so cool).

Where the former bar was located along the east wall, there is now a live-edge redwood slab acting as a communal counter with standard-height seating for six guests. This table will be reserved for walk-ins and offer a special à la carte snacks menu. The team wanted to offer some communal space for folks in the neighborhood to come by for a bite and enjoy a cocktail or get turned on to some new wine. Since the Chase Center is just five blocks away, the counter could also be a sexy spot to swing by before a show.

There’s a spacious private dining room, with flexible tables for groups (20–24 seated, 30 standing), and when it isn’t booked out, there will be four four-tops you can reserve; the space will also offer spillover seating for à la carte and drop-in diners. The room’s style is a continuation of the main dining room, with suspended lanterns and cork walls, with a moody painted ceiling from Caroline Lizarraga (she also painted the entryway), and there’s a new window in the room as well. Check out the fun, semi-private nook with a curving banquette and room for seven, the perfect birthday party table.

The contemporary space feels like a calming refuge (are you in Japan, or Copenhagen?), with a just-right note of California ease and elegance (plus a touch of romantic atmosphere with all the flickering candlelight), so it’s a dream fit if you’re on a date, or having a special dinner with your friends who love to dine out. You will leave the outside world at the door—it’s like entering a forest fairytale at dusk.

Chef Rupert Blease took a break from running the kitchen at Lord Stanley so chef de cuisine Nathan Matkowsky could spread his wings (he has since flown east), and now, at Wolfsbane, Rupert is excited and inspired to be back in executive chef mode. It’s time for the next chapter of what he started at Lord Stanley ten years ago, and this new tasting menu is designed to be an experience that is sophisticated and elegant, but not stuffy or too serious (you’ll be eating with your hands for a couple courses). It’s not a precious tasting menu of little bites that will leave you unsated, nor an overly decadent meal that will have you popping Tums when you get home. It’s going to be about a three-hour experience, so don’t be in a rush, and be sure to dine with someone you want to catch up with.

When the wave of snacks hits the table, you’ll be eating with your hands (they give you an oshibori to clean your paws), whether you’re plucking a whimsical confited artichoke heart with calendula petals from a bouquet of sunflowers, or scooping up whipped salt cod brandade topped with trout roe onto a chicharrón-like, crackly cod skin chip dusted with nori powder.

Lord Stanley’s trademark glass oil lamps on the tables add a dreamy luminescence to the shellfish presentation, a trio of bites perched in their shells like they just washed up on a block of ice draped with seaweed, including razor clam ceviche and mussel escabeche.

Rupert’s French training and refined culinary background (from his line cook days at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, England—where he met Carrie—to Per Se in New York, and Texture in London) are on full display in all the technique that is behind every single element in the elegant presentations. But no caviar or flashy flourishes here—the luxury lies in all of the quality ingredients and their true flavors presented with sophisticated simplicity, like the beautiful duck course, or the note of vanilla singing from the celery root and black chestnut purée as the base for the dry-aged and seared striped bass.

The couple’s 15 years in San Francisco inform their hyper-seasonal approach, so the menu will be always in flux, and highlights an international palate that brings together a Spanish-leaning grilled lobster tail dish with red bell pepper, potato, and Espelette, draped in an exquisite bisque, and a tare with guajillo, tamari, sake, ginger, and mirin, while the lobster claw nestled in a leaf of red oak lettuce featured a zip of shiso; or the unexpected presence of chestnut and apple cider vinegar with a raw oyster (who knew you could make an oyster taste like fall?), or a tempura of enoki mushrooms with preserved lemon. Uni bottarga, bring it on.

Desserts from Calvin Rudy (who was with Lord Stanley when it first opened, and has returned to the team) bring in more Asian notes, like a palate-cleansing milk oolong sno-ball with plum sorbet, and wait until you see the artful layered gelatin on the mignardises platter (based off his grandmother’s Jell-O recipe!), designed to mimic the tones of the dining room, in flavors of melon, pear, mandarin, goji berry, and pomegranate, with layers of condensed milk. You can’t stop looking at it—it looks like layers of resin. The sesame tuile on the autumn fruit course took me back to eating Bit-O-Honey in my childhood, but the sophisticated strawberry albariño broth reminded me of the grown-ass woman I am.

There is a cocktail list from bar lead Carlos Cabral (who I recognized from the opening of Fisch & Flore). I tried the The Long Ships (akvavit, sunchoke vodka, lemon, honey, beet), which was like a sunset captured in a glass, with the clearest ice cube, and offered a quenching punch-y way to ease into the evening. Halvorson, a Kentucky native, has been curating some very rare, single-bottle, and highly allocated bourbons, and he also has a barrel of Peerless Distilling Co. bourbon that will be featured. There are a variety of N/A options and pairings as well.

Lord Stanley’s wine director Louisa Smith continues her focus on natural, biodynamic, and organic wines, but at Wolfsbane, she is going to offer more Californian and fewer French wines (while adding a special focus on the Savoie and Jura). The beverage pairing is $135, and they customized my pours after I shared my penchant for bubbles and whites (due to my unfortunate inability to drink red wine). It’s like they knew how much I love Ramí from COS, and the team totally wowed me with the biodynamic De Fermo Don Carlino pecorino. Wine lovers, I could totally see coming by the counter to drop in for some discovery pours and small plate pairings.

Carrie Blease started her culinary career as back of house (she was a line cook at Blue Hill New York), but her transition to front of house at Lord Stanley was integral to the warm hospitality and personal style of service that is a big draw for the couple’s dedicated community of diners. The Bleases love their regulars, and want to have a space to host you, whether it’s for the full tasting menu, or you have a craving to return for the kicky and aromatic wild mussel escabeche and pain au jus (that’s me). Down the road, the team plans to continue the tradition of the Turntable concept the Bleases launched during the pandemic, hosting and collaborating with chefs from around the world. Congratulations on this new nest perched a few levels up.

Dinner Tue–Sat, last seating is 9pm. $248 per person (not inclusive of beverages), $383 with beverage pairing; plus 20 percent service charge (shared amongst the team), sales tax, and 6 percent SF mandate. Reserve here. 2495 3rd St. at 22nd St.

Scoop: What’s Coming to the Former Ragazza on Divisadero

Thanks to my lovely (former) NoPa neighbor, I got this hot tip about who’s taking over the Ragazza space on Divisadero, and I’m so glad it’s going to be another female-owned restaurant!

311 Divisadero St. at Page.

Notes from a Party at the New Via Aurelia

Last week, chef David Nayfeld and partner Matt Brewer of Back Home Hospitality (Che Fico) hosted the grand opening party for their newest project, Via Aurelia at Mission Rock. It’s located in Visa’s new building developed by Mission Rock Partners (a collaboration between the San Francisco Giants, Tishman Speyer, and the Port of San Francisco), and a dough ball throw away from the new Flour + Water Pizza Shop. 

It felt like a bit of an adventure to visit this new development—the restaurant has an expansive patio on a plaza (the new China Basin Park), with the ballpark in the distance. You will overlook the plaza from a seat at the fabulous horseshoe bar, or at a table on the fully weatherized and heated patio. There are 216 seats total, with a 68-seat dining room, and two large private dining rooms. I got to take a peek at the gleaming new kitchen, the kind chefs dream of. It’s money, baby.

The party was so generous, and the staff was exceedingly hospitable considering what a packed house it was. There were opera singers, abundant plates and pours, a fun crowd with some industry folks in the mix, and I got to have a quick moment with Mayor Lurie. There’s a lot of funding behind this project—one that has been in the works for five years—and it’s offering a new, upscale experience by the ballpark, as well as a buzzy place for business dining (they opened just in time for Dreamforce).

The contemporary-classic space...

Open Tue–Thu 5pm–9pm, and until 10pm Fri–Sat. 300 Toni Stone Xing, Suite A.

Arquet Opens Friday at the Ferry Building

A few weeks ago, I was picking up a box of stunning pastries (more on those buttery babies very soon) at Parachute Bakery from the team behind Sorrel (chef Alex Hong and director of operations Joel Wilkerson, with co-owner and pastry chef Nasir Armar) at the Ferry Building and I took a look through the windows of the former Slanted Door at their about-to-open Arquet.

It has a big and elegant open kitchen, and the airy room is full of light woods, glowing recessed lighting, arches (true to its name), and desert shades of sand, beige, and cream—have a quick peek here. I’ll try to write this one up after I return from Miami, but for now, it’s opening on Friday October 17th (reservations open today/on the 15th). Dinner Wed–Sun 5pm–9pm. 1 Ferry Building.

the socialite

La Cocina’s SF Street Food Festival Returns After Five-Year Hiatus

by Savannah Leone Bundy

On Saturday and Sunday November 8th and 9th, La Cocina will continue to celebrate its 20th anniversary by hosting its critically acclaimed SF Street Food Festival for the first time in five years. Named “Best Food Festival in the Country” by CNN, the two-day event will highlight the award-winning and delicious work of over 25 La Cocina participants and graduates. The list of vendors includes Bay Area darlings like Reem’s California, Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, Peaches Patties, Besharam, De La Creamery, and many more. 

Since this year’s Street Food Festival is partnering with Noise Pop, there will be live music, along with cocktails, cooking demos, kid-friendly activities, and other special programming at China Basin Park in Mission Rock. 

General admission tickets are $12/person, with VIP packages (which include food and beverage credits) ranging from $75–$125, and they’re all available here. Saturday November 8th from 11am–8pm and Sunday November 9th from 11am–6pm. 1 China Basin Park at Dr. Maya Angelou Paseo. 

the archivist

Here’s a peek at the back of this week’s postcard from 1910. Your subscription would help me continue to add to the tablehopper vintage ephemera collection, and share the stories of amazing places from days gone by.

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