Cathy Fiorello, resident
Now Open in the Ferry Building
Cowgirl Creamery expanded this week with Sidekick, a dairy bar, next door to their retail store (in the former LuLu Petite space). This is a counter service eatery offering an array of dairy-based goodies to go.
Mornings begin with challah rolls with sweet or savory fillings, gougeres, (fresh-baked cheese puffs), cottage cheese with melon, and yogurt bowls with fresh figs or peaches, or with grated Moroccan carrot salad, diced cucumbers and sesame crackers.
At 11 am the afternoon kitchen opens with a fresh mozzarella bar, a daily artisan cheese plate, cheese soup with cheese dumplings, raclette, and cheese toasties. For the faint of heart, there’s a green salad or two. My cholesterol shot up just writing this article
Hours: Mon-Sat: 7 am-3 pm; Sun: 10 am-6 pm. (Saturday hours will extend to 7 pm in a few weeks.)
New “Grounded Series” brings the underground dining experience to guests and kicks off with a special corn-and-tomatoes menu paired with cocktails by Clear Creek Distillery.
Starting Sunday, August 22, Chef Russell Jackson brings the style of underground dining he made popular in San Francisco to Lafitte with his new “Grounded Series.”
Boriana Foods recently closed shop in the Ferry Building. With this news, bomboloni lovers didn't know where to turn. These easy-to-pick-up-and plop-in-your-mouth Italian donut delicacies have been wildly successful with locals and visitors alike. But have faith: The company is now expanding and moving over to the Embarcadero, next to La Mar.
Norman Patrick Doyle
Resident, The Commons
Lovers of good Korean cuisine—or those who would like to try it for the first time—will really enjoy Stone Korean Kitchen, recently opened on the ground floor of 4 Embarcadero Center.
Cathy Fiorello, resident
The Gateway
It’s been written that San Francisco is unique. So much so that it’s become a cliché—overdone, but in this case true. We love the fact that we’re different.
Viva la difference is our battle cry. Sometimes that difference becomes a paradox. Take, for example, the fact that one of The City’s most authentic French cafés is in Italian North Beach. Barbary Coasters who start out with a yen for pizza may find themselves eating
pate on
fougasse instead, lured by the aromas flowing out of the bakery’s open door.
Adrienne Roche, business member
Barbary Coast Neighborhood Assn.
Hey folks, the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club will debut their new chefs, wine and awesome menu. Prior reservations are required so contact
events@sfiac.org. You can't beat this price! Bring your friends!
This event is open to the neighbors. Check it out!
Lafitte restaurant at Pier 5 on The Embarcadero opened officially on Tuesday, April 6, 2010, but a few neighbors and press were treated to a special dinner several nights earlier. With this long-awaited opening Lafitte not only enlivens the street but also adds its romantic menu to the San Francisco food mystique.
by Norman Patrick Doyle
Resident, The Commons
The Waterfront Restaurant, an Embarcadero landmark located at the foot of Broadway, celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. When Al Falchi and his brother bought the place in 1969 (then known as Pier 7 Café, a longshoreman's bar), the neighborhood bore little resemblance to its present-day appearance.
Cathy Fiorello, resident
The Gateway
Not much, really. When it comes to restaurants, it’s what’s on the plate that counts. At 5A5, a sophisticated steak lounge new to the Barbary Coast, there’s much on the plate that will make you want to remember its name.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: The Red and the Green
Cathy Fiorello, resident
The Gateway
Restaurant openings are always a cause for celebration in our culinary-crazed city. In the past few weeks, two new places have joined the Barbary Coast casual dining scene, one in the Ferry Building, the other a short walk down on Pier 3. I haven’t had time to try much of what they offer, but wanting to alert Barbary Coasters to their presence and their promise, I’m forging ahead with this announcement.
Visit Piperade for the Fourth!
OFFICAL GRAND OPENING OF 5A5* STEAK LOUNGE
You may have seen signs of increased activity at 244 Jackson Street—the old Frisson Restaurant location. Yes, opening day is almost here. In fact, it’s just days away.
“CAN YOU RECOMMEND A RESTAURANT?”
Cathy Fiorello, resident
The Gateway
Chaya BrasserieHow often have you been asked that question? I was sitting at a sidewalk café on one of these recent glorious days, and began chatting with the couple at the next table—one of the things I most enjoy about San Francisco life: how the simple act of having a cup of coffee side by side starts conversation flowing between strangers.
Early Reviews of a Not-Yet-Open
Alex (now A5) Steakhouse
The not-yet-open local restaurant, Alex Steakhouse, in the old Frisson location at 244 Jackson Street, offered a five-course “Neighborhood Dinner” for $35 on Wednesday evening, February 11. Some opinions from the neighbors:
Theo Armour Certainly the staff was helpful and friendly. Both the owner and chef recognized the three of us from a very brief meeting at the Entertainment Committee hearing at City Hall, and they made us feel welcome. I did, however, find our waiter to be somewhat over solicitous. At one point the waiter wandered over to our table and just abruptly broke into our conversation.
BRIOCHE BAKERY
Cathy Fiorello, resident
The Gateway
If you’ve walked right by the Brioche Bakery, unaware of the wonders within, you're not alone. That’s why, when circumstance (the need of a coffee fix, perhaps?) finally propels you through the unassuming door of this very French bakery and cafe, you're completely unprepared for the treats in store.
Brioche Bakery: 210 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, (415)765-0142
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mon-Thurs, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri-Sat, closed Sun
Prices: Moderate, Cash Only
A Great Breakfast After A Nice Walk
What Could Be Better?
Bill Sauro, resident
The Commons
Breakfast after a walk in The City. Has a nice ring to it, and that's what we do on Sundays starting out at our condo at Golden Gateway Commons.
A WORD FROM THE OWNER OF ALEX’S STEAK & LOUNGE
First off, thank you all for your comments and feedback regarding our new steak lounge located at the former Frisson restaurant and lounge.
Let me begin by saying that we have no intention of being a nightclub, nor do we intend to be open after hours either. During these preliminary days of preparation before opening our restaurant, we applied for the same permits and licenses that the former Frisson space had during their prior three and a half years of operation.
OPINION: Want a Barbary Coast Steak House with Late, Late, Late Hours?
A sign in the window at 244 Jackson Street tells us that someone named Alex plans to open Alex’s Steak & Lounge. The signage reports that Alex has asked the Entertainment Commission for an Extended-Hours Entertainment Permit.
We remember this spot as Frisson, a quiet, elegant restaurant near the south-western edge of the Barbary Coast. Here’s the rub according to locals:
TO VOICE YOUR OPINION, EMAIL:
Bob Davis, Executive Director
Entertainment Commission
bob.davis@sfgov.org
Hearing: January 20 at 5 pm
PIPERADE & BOCADILLO
Gerald Hirigoyen
Exectuive Chef/Owner
Piperade/Bocadillos
CHEF'S LETTER
It looks like we'll be hanging around the neighborhood for another few years to come...Piperade's lease has successfully been renewed. The building our business calls home is a meaningful spot, both as a historic piece of waterfront architecture and as a welcoming restaurant space at the heart of San Francisco's friendliest financial neighborhood—the Barbary Coast.
Sneak Peek at Lafitte
December 6, 2008 The Embarcadero—— Last night some of the press cognoscente arrived at Lafitte's restaurant at Pier 5 along The Embarcadero to get the latest word on an opening date and to enjoy some of chef/owner Russell Jackson's tasty treats.
RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Dive into Peru at La Mar
by Dan Beltramo
Resident, Barbary Coast
There was Greek food in San Francisco before Kokkari, there was Vietnamese food in San Francisco before Slanted Door, and there was Peruvian food in San Francisco before the recent arrival of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana. But just as its predecessors did, La Mar has elevated the game in town and turned traditional regional fare into a fine dining experience with a California aesthetic.
Barbary Coast Restaurant Scene Improving
—by Bill Sauro*
After half a dozen closings of restaurants in the Barbary Coast neighborhood of The City, the tide is starting to turn with a number of new eating establishments opening—or poised to do so—in the next few months.
New La Mar Restaurant
A Pre-Opening Hit for VIPs
By Bill Sauro
San Francisco’s newest restaurant, La Mar Cebichería Peruana at Pier 1 ½ served up a pre-opening dinner to VIP guests of Pacific Waterfront Partners last night (Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008) and from this first gastronomic effort, this place is going to be a winner.
LAFITTE OPENS IN LATE FALL
A treat at Pier 5
The space sits empty at the north corner of Pier 5—for now—awaiting the opening at the end of the year of Dissident Chef Russell Jackson’s restaurant, Lafitte. But just wait (lots of people can’t—they’ve already made reservations!), when it happens, we’ll all be in for a treat.
Gooey Goodness
at Embarcadero 3
Barbary Coaster Bill Sauro noticed the long line in front of a tiny new corner shop on the street level of Embarcadero 3 and passed the good news along to
Barbary Coast News.
I Visit a Local Wine Bar
It's fun to do a lot of things at the same time. OK, not always.
But on occasion life come at you on multiple levels all at one time. I’m sitting at the end of a long bar. In front on me is a glass of Malbec. This is the nicely rough grape from Argentina—one of the
WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR
HIGH-END RESTAURANTS?
by Bill Sauro
.
According to the on-line restaurant site
www.tablehopper.com, Frisson has closed but is being re-incarnated. Sean O’Brien, the former executive chef of Myth, will be the head man of the newly-remodeled Frisson.
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT:
Café Insalata
They want to be your friends. And they make their own pesto! (And a lot more.)
Café Insalata is far, far more than a salad bar.
A handy standby
A SECRET SHOPPER VISITS OASIS GRILL
Often if it’s getting late and I only want a fast, affordable meal, I’ll head over to Oasis Grill for some take out. Other times when I want a really tasty, healthy meal, I also head over to Oasis Grill at 91 Drumm Street near the corner of Sacramento.
And sometimes when the guys in the office have a hankering for Mediterranean food, we’ll walk an extra five blocks, just to get a tasty falafel or shawarma and visit
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS: Kokkari Estiatorio
We’re neighbors...so we’ll give priority on reservations to people who live in Barbary Coast.
—Robin Hart, Kokkari
We’re lucky to have a number of excellent restaurants in the Barbary Coast. One of everybody’s favorites is Kokkari Estiatorio located across the street from Walton Square on Front Street.
Recently I met with Robin Hart, Kokkari’s marketing and
NOT-SO-SECRET SHOPPER VISITS BI-RITE CREAMERY & BAKESHOP
You’ll probably see the line from down the block as you walk up to Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop. This is where your emotional journey will begin.
After a brief feeling of dejection at the sight of the line, you’ll quicken your stride down the block to secure your place in line. Upon approaching the shop, you’ll note with relief that part of what appeared to be the line ahead of you are merely contented souls loitering about in a state of ice-cream-induced bliss.
With your place in line secure, your feeling of relief will quickly
Secret Shoppers
A VISIT TO THE SUSHI FACTORY
We met them for cocktails to get acquainted because we Secret Shoppers had never met Alice and Martie Young before. Then we all trooped down Jackson Street the few blocks headed toward the Sushi Factory—a new place in town. Well, sort of new—they’ve been there about two months.
Golden Gateway apartment dwellers Martie and Alice Young love to find great restaurants—particularly ones that aren’t “white tablecloth” places. They like to find the little gems hidden here and there that serve really good food at reasonable prices. They found Sushi Factory and thought it
PIPERADE RESTAURANT AND WILLIAMS-SONOMA TEAM UP
"A new year means new beginnings," says Gerald Hirigoyen, chef and owner of Piperade, a Barbary Coast restaurant, "and we're starting this one off with some exciting news." Williams-Sonoma Inc., the San Francisco-based gourmet kitchen and home furnishings retailer, entered into an agreement with Hirigoyen, to oversee the corporate dining facility at Williams-Sonoma's headquarters in Aquatic Park.
PIPERADE RESTAURANT NOMINATED FOR BEST CHEF
Gerald Hirigoyen, chef at our own Barbary Coast restaurant, Piperade, was among four San Francisco chefs nominated in the Best Chef category for the James Beard Foundation award.
Piperade
NOUVELLE BASQUE CUISINE
"Before God was God and boulders were boulders, Basques were already Basques."
So goes an old saying about Europe’s most ancient ethnic group: the Basques. As you step into Piperade, a small gem of a Basque restaurant hidden away among the historic buildings on Battery Street in the Barbary Coast, you're greeted by a large, colorful picture of a man in typical Basque costume. The picture sets the scene for this charming, out-of-the-way restaurant..
The sun was low in the sky the day I walked in to meet chef-owner, Gerald Hirigoyen,
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