Food and Drink

News Flash: Argus Lounge Closing (Then Reopening)

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

We just received an important communique here in the Bernalwood newsroom: The Argus Lounge, the beloved dive bar on Mission near Valencia, will soon close. Thereafter it will undergo a rapid metamorphosis to become a new bar called Iron and Gold. Says general manager and “beer and shot dude” Andrew Marks:

We are sad to announce that we will be closing the Argus Lounge permanently as of Nov 1, 2011. As many, or perhaps none of you have known, Amy and Spencer Murray opened up the Argus Lounge in 1998. They retired from the bar business in February of 2011. Since then there has been a lot of planning in to the direction of this place, and finally we are ready to move forward. With that, I hope that you will join us at our newly revamped bar at the same location Iron & Gold. We will be open (hopefully) November 18, 2011. We will be having a kick ass Halloween closing party Monday October 31, please join us in saying good bye to 13 years as the Argus Lounge!

A little about us and our future: I am Andrew Marks, the General Manager and Operator. I have been in the food and beverage industry for 17 years, it is all I have known since I was 14 besides school, and a once upon a time career as a musician. I have been bartending for 11 years, 6 of which have been here in San Francisco. My first job here in The City was at Blowfish Sushi, where I bartended at for 5 years. I also bartended at Madrone for a few years, Salt House, and I still continue to moonlight at Laszlo/Foreign Cinema where I have worked for the last 3 years. I enjoy cocktailing, cocktails, but primarily I am a beer and a shot dude, which will be reflected a lot in the general concept of Iron & Gold.

As for the bar itself, much will be the same as far as atmosphere, staff, and products. We will still have awesome and edgy music provided by several of talented friends and neighbors most nights of the week. Our Happy Hour will still be from open until 9pm where you can enjoy $6 house cocktails, and $3 drafts (all of which are local) everyday. The name itself is a reflection of our great city, San Francisco. Its motto was founded in 1900 on our flag ‘Gold in peace, iron in war’ as a symbol of prosperity and solidarity.

Bonus points for the historical allusion in the name. And here’s the proof:

PHOTO: Michael Calore

Lotus Garden Vietnamese Restaurant Set to Reopen

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

And now for some tasty news.

Remember that terrible three-alarm fire that devastated a building on Mission Street near Valencia last April? And how the damage forced the closure of the much-loved Lotus Garden Vietnamese restaurant?

At the time, if you recall, Lotus Garden owner Kathy Tang was very worried about the future:

The great amount of fire burned my restaurant and will take a few months for them to just rebuild the whole building. oh my god how can my family and i survive. My restaurant is my and my husband’s only income.

Six months later, things are looking up. Neighbor Amanda from the Bernalwood Intelligence Agency recently heard word that Lotus Garden was poised to reopen, and she gave our hotline a ring-a-ding-ding to share the news. Then we called Kathy Tang to confirm.

Kathy tells Bernalwood that Lotus Garden hopes to reopen on October 18, in the same location. She said the restaurant “maybe will look better” (cute!) with new paint and lighting.

“We hope our old customers who used to love us will still come see us,” she said. It’s been a rough six months, she admitted, but she had a special message for the Citizens of Bernalwood:

“Thank you to everyone who was so concerned about us,” she said.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Bernal Supper Club Finds New Home (Still Not in Bernal)

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Okay, I’ll start with the bad news: The Bernal Supper Club is not coming to Bernal Heights anytime soon.

I say this with sadness, because I ate at the Bernal Supper Club again last night, and it was crazy-delicious. Highlight: Between courses, the fellas brought out a special, off-menu plate of tortellini stuffed with a sweet corn puree that was absolutely heavenly. Really, mind-blowing — I know I’m going to be dreaming about it for weeks. Wow.

Overall, things have been going well with their ad hoc pop-up restaurant, and as co-chef Antonio Ferrari explained in an email, the Bernal Supper Club will soon pop up even more often:

Wanted to give you an update. BSC is doing very well and growing fast. We did a pop up at the Coffee Bar that was a great turn out. We have another on Oct 4th there. This Monday [was] our last Monday at The Corner, as we are taking over the space on Valencia between 22nd and 23rd called the Winemakers Speakeasy. We will start there Monday Oct. 17th, with the eventual intention to operate 5 days a week as if it were our place!!

I know we’re not in Bernal yet but, but we’re getting there!

On the bright side, at least they’re now a few blocks closer. After dinner last night, I took a crappy low-light photo of the BSC crew in front of a blackboard announcing their imminent move:

Catch them there. You’ll be glad you did.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

The Plywood Comes Off the New Precita Park Cafe

/ Todd_Lappin / 11 Comments

After many months of construction and veiled mystery, the plywood has been removed from the facade of the forthcoming Precita Park Cafe at the eastern end of the park. As Bernalwood previously reported:

The former Riteway Market will soon be home to the Precita Park Cafe. What will that be like? The precise details are unknown, but the new restaurant will serve food and light drink. It’s a project of Rachel Herbert, who also operates the Dolores Park Cafe and the Duboce Park Cafe, so it’s safe to assume the Precita Park Cafe will be a classy joint. There’s been talk that Precita Park Cafe may have a kid-friendly emphasis, which would be swell, because the cafe is just across the street from the uber-chic Precita Park playground.

Our friend Tim Dickinson poked his head in at the Precita Park Cafe today to do some sleuthing, and he shared these particulars:

Precita Park Cafe opening in “3-4 weeks” per dude inside — promised beer on tap: “they have the license and everything”

Sounds good. But as I drove home tonight, I was able to snap this spycam shot of the interior. Looks promising, but still much work to be done!

PHOTOS: Exterior, Bernal Journal. Interior, Telstar Logistics

Two Videos and New Book Explore the Artistry of Avedano’s

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Woa. Check out this gorgeous mini-documentary about the Avedano’s butcher shop on Cortland, created by Tribute SF:

Started by three friends, Avedano’s butcher shop pursues the purest forms of butchery while providing the Bernal Heights neighborhood with sustainably raised meat and fish.

It is easy to be inspired and educated by the cleaver-wielding bunch behind the counter. Avedano’s is a place of business where craftsmen (and women) are “perserving the art of butchery.”

But wait, that’s not all! Avedano’s also features prominently in The Cook & The Butcher, a new book by Brigit Binns:

In this innovative look at a favorite subject, author Brigit Binns draws on tips and tricks learned from renowned butchers and expert steak-house chefs to show you the best­—and most delicious—ways to cook beef, pork, lamb, and veal at home. Meat is the star in this collection of over 100 modern recipes, which use fresh, seasonal ingredients and a wide range of cooking methods—stir-frying, sautÉing, panfrying, grilling, roasting, braising, smoking—to create irresistible dishes. Binns introduces us to such flavor-boosting cooking practices as residual-heat roasting, which slowly cooks large cuts to perfection in the lingering heat of a turned-off oven; double-searing steaks and chops on both ends of a long resting period to develop a tempting crust and melt-in-your-mouth texture; and seasoning meat before and during cooking.

But wait, that’s not all! There’s also a promo video for The Cook & The Butcher that just happened to be filmed at… Avedano’s:

Sandbox Bakery Opening New Restaurant Just Down the Street

/ Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

There a new food fashion sweeping Cortland: Existing restaurants opening new restaurants just a stones-throw away. Vega started the trend by buying up the Liberty Cafe right across the street, and now the fabulous Sandbox Bakery is getting in on the trend with plans to open a new restaurant Eat at 903… right down the street (in the former Maggie Mudd space). SF Weekly tells it:

​Bernal Heights’ popular Sandbox Bakery is planning to expand next month with a new restaurant to be called Eat at 903.

The restaurant — named after the address, 903 Cortland — is just across the street from owner Mutsumi Takehara’s Sandbox. Takehara, a former pastry chef at the Slanted Door, opened the bakery last year. We’re huge fans of its croissants and Japanese-style curry bread.

Plans call for the restaurant to be open for breakfast and lunch, and to sell takeout dinners.

No word yet in the menu, but creativity and yum are no doubt assured.

PHOTO: via Google Maps

Alemany Farmer’s Market Report: New Neighbor Edition

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

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SF Farmers Market 008Our new neighbor, photojournalist Adrian Mendoza, explored the Alemany Farmer’s Market last weekend:

Made my first walk down to the farmers market – which was easy – the walk back up was the hard part (haha, I’d better get used to it).

Yeah, that walk back up the hill is a beast. But because Adrian is a newbie in our neighborhood, I’m glad he brought his camera during his trip to Alemany, since its always great to see familiar sights through fresh eyes. That helps explain how you get amazing photos like this:

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Or like this:

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Or like this:

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Oh, and by the way, the 2011 peppers have come in:

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PHOTOS: All photos by Adrian Mendoza

New Candy Shoppe Opens on Cortland

/ Todd_Lappin / 25 Comments

This will come as exciting news to the children of Bernal Heights and underemployed dentists throughout San Francisco: A new candy shop has opened at 521 Cortland, right across from the library.

Called the Rock Candy Snack Shop, the store is co-owned by a very friendly woman named Heather Young who looks exactly like Mother Mary See — if Mother Mary See was a lot less grandmotherly, and a lot more of a younger, tattooed, 21st century urban mom who could potentially moonlight as the lead singer for a post-punk rockabilly band. (I mean that in a good way.)

Heather said the Rock Candy Snack Shop will emphasize artisanal and organic candies made in the good ol’ USA.

I brought the Cub Reporter for some taste-testing, and she chose a lovely, three-dollar bag of fruit-flavored jelly beans.

The kid loved ’em, and I did too — they were delicious, and tasted exceptionally fresh (if there is such a thing as a fresh jelly bean).

So welcome to the neighborhood, Rock Candy Snack Shop… and rock on.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

2011 Bernal Hill Blackberry Crop a Sorry Sight

/ Bronwyn Ximm / 10 Comments

For months we’ve been hungrily eyeing that prodigious patch of blackberry bushes near the parking lot at the entrance of Bernal Hill Park. After all, what says “It’s summer on Bernal Hill” more than picking and munching your own blackberries while admiring the view of the bay?

But alas, it’s been the same thing since June: lots of unripe red berries, plus a smattering of still-unripe black ones. A recent visit revealed that a considerable percentage of the fruits have shriveled up. We’ve been hoping against hope that for some wacky reason, this year’s crop is simply taking its own sweet time. But the above shot was taken on Labor Day, so our hope is withering on the vine. Whither shall we go?

PHOTO: Aaron Ximm

Liberty Cafe on Cortland Sold to Owners of Vega (Also of Cortland)

/ Todd_Lappin / 19 Comments

Liberty Cafe

Remember when we told you that the Liberty Cafe on Cortland was up for sale? It’s now been sold… to the owners of Vega, the Italian restaurant that’s also on Cortland (and practically across the street). Our friends at Inside Scoop have the, uh, scoop:

“It’s the pillar of the neighborhood,” [Vega co-owner Vega Freeman-Brady] says. “It really needs some TLC, so we’re going to clean it up, bring it back to life.”

She adds: “We’re keeping it the Liberty Cafe.”

For now, she doesn’t plan on going dark, hoping that they can transition into a new era — revised menu, local ingredients, revised service practices, etc. — over the next few months. She says that the restaurant hasn’t had an on-site operator in years, so everything needs to be refreshed. They’ll make changes slowly, and hopefully, they’ll have an official reopening shindig later this year.

Can’t wait. All in all, a very Bernal, very all-in-the-family resolution, eh? Love that.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Bernal Residents Create World’s Largest Strawberry Pancake of 2011 Without Any Flax Seed Using Only Organic Eggs

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

What is Bernalamo? Quite honestly, I have no idea. Regardless, they live in Bernal, they seem like nice young men, and they have a SkeeBall game in their kitchen (!!), so they are obviously gentlemen of distinction and taste. In this episode, we watch them create the world’s largest strawberry pancake of 2011 that uses no flax seed and only organic egg. The competition in this category is intense, and the suspense is gripping, but as you’ll see — Bernalio delivers. Whatever it is.

You Have Another Month to Taste the Bernal Supper Club

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

Last week, I finally made it to the Bernal Supper Club, that Monday night pop-up restaurant created by a close-knit group of Bernal Heights foodies.

It was delicious. I started with the roasted beet salad, served with ricotta stuffed blossoms, basil puree, and pine nuts:

For my main, I chose the duck leg with wild rice, pickled cherries, and fennel salad. Also great:

No less great were the big smiles on the faces of chefs Tony Ferrari, Jonathan Sutton, and Miles Carnahan. “I spend all week looking forward to Monday!” Ferrari said when I grabbed him for a moment to say hello. The restaurant had a healthy crowd, and the gents were clearly having a blast in the kitchen. Their enthusiasm was palpable.

Indeed, they’re having so much fun, they’ve decided to extend the Bernal Supper Club for another month. So every Monday evening from now through the end of September, you can dine BSC-style in their pop-up home in The Corner, on Mission Street at 18th.

And after that? With a little luck, they could end up in a restaurant spot back home in Bernal Heights. They’ve already started looking…

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Bernal Supper Club (because my pics really sucked)

New New Mural at Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Remember when that loose-screw-guy defaced the new mural at Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack back in May? The whole incident was unfortunate, but there’s now a replacement mural to fill the void. Several readers notified Bernalwood that the new mural was up (thankyouverymuch!), and Laura Muhlhammer sent us a few great snaps. Laura says:

I just walked by Emmy’s and got a look at her colorful new mural.  It’s gorgeous if I do say so myself!

Nice. The folks at Emmy’s told Bernalwood the mural was painted by Nathan Tan, aka Nate1 MPC, who sells some of his sporty duds via Secession Art and Design just a few doors south. Poking around, I found this sweet little video of Nate1 in action. Visualize it:

PHOTO: Laura Muhlhammer