Jasmine Tea House Shuts Down, Business Put Up For Sale

August 22, 2011August 22, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 22 Comments

Quietly, and without explanation, the venerable Jasmine Tea House on Mission Street has shut down and the windows are covered with newspaper. Ex-POTUS Bill Clinton used to love the place:

From November, 2002:

Bill Clinton wasn’t going to fall victim to famine. In his room in the Fairmont Hotel, the former president had an aide call the Jasmine Tea House in the Mission for dinner one day and lunch two days later.

Owner Frank Xu, who got the first call, told TIC that when he was asked “Do you deliver to the Fairmont Hotel?” he refused, saying it was too far, “an hour round trip.” When he was asked if he’d do it for an ex-president, he changed his mind, although he was sure at first the call was a prank.

Xu, who came from China to the United States in 1986, owns the restaurant (with a few partners), voted for Clinton and delivered the meal personally. He was so surprised when he found Clinton waiting for the food in the presidential suite that he didn’t get to take a picture when the former president quickly shook his hand and accept the food. He returned a day after he delivered the second meal to take a snapshot and gave Clinton an antique Chinese teapot, a gift no doubt appreciated but not as much as the meals.

As to the menu, the president ate crispy beef, not spicy, and soup with fried wonton; his security guards were partial to the sesame chicken.

(Clinton Question: Is “crispy beef, not spicy” code for something smutty?)

Anyhow, Jasmine’s closure seems sudden, as the presence of some recent posters (“Run Ed, Run!”) in the windows suggest ongoing civic engagement and vitality. Rumor on the street was that Jasmine had shut down for a remodel, but there’s no explanatory sign on the door to tell what’s up.

Yet a posting on Craigslist confirms the business is for sale:

Fully Equipped Restaurant For Sale. – $120000 (bernal heights)

Date: 2011-08-18, 12:52PM PDT
Reply to: sale-bkj6g-2553787728@craigslist.org

Fully Equipped Restaurant For Sale.

LOCATION : 3253 MISSION STREET Cross St: 29th Street – Lots of Foot Traffic

FEATURES : 1,500 SQ FEET — WELL ESTABLISHED RESTUARANT

LEASE : $3,200.00 PER MONTH (APPX.)

TERM : NEGOTIABLE

UPDATE: I put in a call to the realtors listed in the Jasmine Tea House post on Craigslist this morning, and they confirmed that the restaurant is permanently closed and the owners have put the business up for sale. So it goes.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Last Night I Visited the Silver Crest Bar

August 19, 2011September 2, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

Hoo boy. Last night I gathered with a bunch of fellas for a hearty dinner at The (New) Old Clam House. The gents loved the food, and the drink flowed freely, but when dinner was done, one of our men looked across Bayshore at the shimmering neon martini glass floating above the Silver Crest. “Anyone up for just one more?” he asked.

And so we went. Yes, we entered the mysterious Silver Crest!

Inside we found four or five regulars hunched over the bar, a pool table, a battered jukebox, and a strong smell of cleaning agents permeating the air. A few of the regulars looked pretty buzzed, but they warmed to us soon enough. One of my friends took to the jukebox, where he found a collection of singles dominated by hits from the 1980s. (His first selection: “Miami Vice Theme.”)

The pool table costs only $0.25 a game, and the drinks poured by George, the owner, were generous and stiff. Eventually, and inevitably, George began cheerfully pouring glasses of Ouzo, which were used to wash down several large donuts procured from the diner side of the joint.

It was a surreal and otherworldly experience, in a Quentin Tarantino sort of way, and a very good time was had by all. One of our number was heard to say, “The Silver Crest is AWESOME!” I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but it was very fun. Plus, we’ve now notched one-half of the Silver Crest experience: Late night. Still to come is a daytime/breakfast excursion, but we’lll try to organize that soon with the Bernalwood Explorer’s Club.

In the meantime, though, I heartily recommend this excellent profile of the Silver Crest written in 2009 by Bernal Heights writer Chris Colin.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Confirmed: Palace Steak House Will Open Next Week as Palace Steak House. BONUS: Our Agents Conduct Early Taste Test!

August 17, 2011August 16, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 19 Comments

After Bernalwood wrote about the in-progress remodel of the former Palace Family Steak House restaurant on Mission and Cesar Chavez, much confusion ensued. When exactly would it open? What’s the food concept? And what of those scary rumors that the name was going to change to something awful like “Mission Gastropub.”

All this caused much gnashing of teeth from from fans of the old Palace Steak House, and not least from Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable, a regular reader of this blog and an authority on historic-but-obscure dive restaurants in the Dominion of Bernalwood and Our Surrounding Territories.

So it was with much interest and gratitude that we received a tip from Herr Doktor on Monday, to the effect that a firm opening date for the Palace Steak House has been established. Eager to verify this tidbit, Bernalwood rushed to the Palace Steak House, where we had the good fortune to encounter the proprietor and his nascent serving staff, just as they were setting up to test-cook a few of the entrees on the menu.

Quickly, we were able to establish these facts:

The new restaurant will indeed retain its former name: the Palace Steak House.
The classic old sign will remain, but a new awning is on the way.
The menu will consist of comforting middle-American favorites, such as steaks (duh), pasta, burgers, and sandwiches. For the morbidly curious, here is the full menu.
All entrees will cost less than $15.
The original PFSH sign in the window for New York Cut Steak will remain, but now with an updated price of $13.75.
For the disco crowd, the restaurant plans to remain open until 3 am on most nights.
The official opening will take place next week. Probably Wednesday, give or take a day or two.

But wait! There’s more inside scoop!

Last night Herr Doktor received the Golden Ticket: He scored a table at the Palace Steak House when the restaurant tentatively opened its doors for a soft-launch evening of kitchen testing and staff training. Here is his Herr Doktor’s exclusive pre-opening taste test report:

Decor is a bit odd, in that they essentially just put a coat of white paint on the foam ceiling tiles and ceramic wall tiles. But, y’know? That’s ok with me, too. Keeps a little bit of the weirdo atmosphere I so treasure in my dining establishments!

Salad was more or less what it used to be… That is to say, a pile of shredded iceberg lettuce with a few strips of carrot mixed in. Could DEFINITELY stand improvement, but, seriously, how much can you expect for a $14 inclusive steak dinner? Still, Any other kind of lettuce besides iceberg (re: Crunchy Water), would be nicer. Even the option of a few different additions, like chick peas (as the old Palace did) or Beets (as Geneva Steak House does) would be great.

The Garlic bread was great, definitely an improvement over the garlic bread they used to do. Smaller piece, but it had bits of actual garlic on it! Score!

Baked potato was a baked potato. It is what it is, not a whole lot of variation you can get there.

I got the Ribeye steak, medium-rare. Meat was very tender, which was nice, but it was an extraordinarily fatty piece, which was less nice. But, y’know, sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, as it were. I look forward to trying the other cuts, hopefully they’ll be less fatty. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Two other operatives from the Bernalwood Intelligence Agency also sampled the New York steak last night, and each of them loved it.]

As I mentioned, staff was very much in beta mode, and my waiter seemed very nervous but attentive. There was a bit of a mess-up with my order (it didn’t make it to the chef correctly, I guess), so it was delayed for a while. They were extremely apologetic, but no big deal. It’s their first night, and I was like the third customer to walk in. Teething Pains are to be expected and forgiven.

All in all: No, it’s not the old Palace Family Steak House. But it seems like it could be a reasonable successor. I’ll definitely be back.

So there we have it. DJ, put that Palace Family Steak House theme song on the turntable, and let it play:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Closing Time for Pizza Express on Cortland?

August 15, 2011August 16, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 19 Comments

Reader Angel (aka @TheAnorexicSumo) snapped this photo for us; it’s a property listing for 919-921 Cortland, advertising both the residential unit upstairs and the restaurant space downstair, with a “month-to-month lease.” (Online listing here.) Thing is, however… that restaurant space is currently occupied by Pizza Express. So does that mean Pizza Express will soon face extinction?

If so, alas, I can only shrug indifferently. The folks at Pizza Express are friendly and the vibe inside is old skool, but in my taste tests the pizza itself has been undistinguished — with overinflated dough and underflavored sauce. Others may differ, of course, but I grew up in New Jersey, so take that for what you will.

PHOTO: TheAnorexicSumo

Listen to Tia Harrison from Avedano’s on KQED’s Forum

August 10, 2011August 10, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

More media coverage for another one of our Bernalwood celebrities: Tia Harrison from Avedano’s Meat Market on Cortland was a guest on KQED’s Forum radio program this morning, talking about “Sustainable Meat and the Art of Butchery.” If you missed it, you can listen to the program right now via our spiffy little audio player:

PHOTO: Tia Harrison of Avedanos, by Claudine

Bernal Supper Club Morphs into Tasty Pop-Up Restaurant

August 4, 2011August 4, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

Check this out: A trio of very dedicated amateur chefs from Bernal Heights have decided to go semi-pro. Called the Bernal Supper Club, they’re taking their kitchen game up a notch by launching a pop-up restaurant that will be open just one night a week. Their pal Theresa brings the deets:

Bernal Supper Club started out as a group of friends who got together at least once a week for dinner. The menu was usually decided around 1 pm, depending on who was inspired to cook and what was fresh. The guest list was never finalized until all the food was gone. People gathered through shouts over the back fence, word of mouth, and last minute calls. The core group all lived in Bernal Heights and, like the neighborhood, they included young and old, professionals and artists, gay and straight, and a whole heck of a lot of dogs.

Miles Carnahan gradually became the focal point of the group as he developed as a chef and introduced a farmer’s market focus. The festivities deserved commemoration, so Tamara Radler became the archivist and created the name Bernal Supper Club. She posted photos of the food and “framily” (friends who are family and family who are friends) recording the culinary development of the event.

What started as a framily affair has now entered a new era. The next generation, the children of our friends (and now an integral part of the framily), Tony Ferrari, Jonathan Sutton, and their foody friends, are phenomenal chefs. They’ve brought Bernal Supper Club to a level we never imagined– Bernal Supper Club is going pop-up!

Every Monday night in August, Bernal Supper Club will be serving farmer’s market inspired cuisine at The Corner (18th & Mission) from 5:30 – 10:00. Branching out to the larger community, our dream is to keep the framily spirit, embrace the larger community, and eat amazing, seasonal food. We hope to see you there.

Check out the menu from the first installment of the Bernal Supper Club, last weekend:

Yum. The only obvious flaw here is that the Bernal Supper Club is actually happening in The Mission. (WTF?!) Happily, Bernalwood has been assured that an effort to find a suitable Bernal location is in the works. So the meantime, get your visa renewed for a Monday night visit to The Mission this month, park your fixie outside, and check out the Bernal Supper Club at The Corner during a Monday night in August.

Find out more on the Bernal Supper Club blog or on the Facebook.

PHOTOS: Top, Bernal Supper Club Chefs. Bottom, Corn Tortellini from the August 1 BSC. Photos courtesy of Jon Hope

Is Paulie’s Pickling the Best Jewish Deli in San Francisco?

August 3, 2011April 23, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 29 Comments

Lately, one of my favorite things to do is to head over to Cortland just as I’m getting hungry. Once there, I like to wander up and down the street while allowing the fantastic variety of foodie delights to tempt my palate. Recently I find myself gravitating toward Paulie’s Pickling in the gourmet marketplace at 331 Cortland, and for a very good reason: Paulie’s may be the best Jewish deli in San Francisco.

You’d hardly know it from the name, which highlights Paulie’s roots as a glamorous purveyor of fine gourmet pickles. And indeed, the pickles are super-delicious. But since they set up shop on Cortland, Paulie’s menu has expanded to include some of the finest Jewish deli sandwiches and sides one is likely to find this side of Crown Heights.

There are no bagels, mind you. (Not yet, at least.) But the beef brisket sandwich is juicy perfection squeezed between two slices of rye — and you can even get it with chopped liver if you’re feeling extra-adventurous. There’s also corned beef, house-cured lox, and that rarest-of-rare treats on the West Coast: kick-ass whitefish salad.

This was my brisket sandwich, which came stuffed with yummy homemade cole slaw:

And this was a lox sandwich served open-faced on a baguette:

They’ll even make you a gen-u-ine old-school egg cream:

All of it is superb, and it’s a shame that more people aren’t clued in to this hidden gem. My hunch is that name may be part of the problem: Though pickles remain Paulie’s signature product, the business has expanded to become much, much more, as proprietors Paul and Elizabeth Ashby have curated a simple but perfectly executed collection of house-made Jewish foods. Yum!

My advice: Stop calling it Paulie’s Pickling. Start calling it Paulie’s Pickling and Deli, visit often. Savor every bite.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Bernal’s Best 24 Hour Donut Shop and Cocktail Bar Invades FiDi

August 2, 2011August 2, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 26 Comments

Reader Sarah snapped this photo of a painting that hangs inside the lobby of 555 California — aka The Bank of America Building. Perhaps it was put there to remind the suits who work in 555 Cali what life is like on the gritty side of the tracks? Meanwhile, I confess that the Silver Crest is sufficiently gritty that I have yet to cross it off my “Meaning to Try Someday” list. Stay tuned.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Reader Sarah

Coming Soon? The Return of the Palace Family Steak House

July 26, 2011July 26, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 37 Comments

Though from the outside it looks pretty much the same as it has since it closed in 2009, there’s lots happening behind the sheets of brown paper that cover the windows of the venerable Palace Steak House at the corner of Mission and Cesar Chavez. Four decades worth of accumulated kitch and grunge have been removed, and based on these exclusive photographs captured by the Bernalwood Spybot, it seems the interior of the Palace Steak House has been throughly remodeled to look retro-shabby-chic.

Meanwhile, the big white sign outside still looks worn and weathered, but astute observers will notice that all the tags and handbills have been neatly painted over.

Yes, the Palace Family Steak House is poised for rebirth as… The Palace Family Steak House. It seems the new owners seek to maintain the spirit of the classic original, which served tasty iceberg-lettuce salads and Sizzler-style steaks at prices that were easy on the pocket. I ate there twice, and both times I felt like I’d gotten a fair value for my money. The place had its fans, including a band called (… wait for it…) Palace Family Steak House. They even created a hipster “Palace Family Steak House” theme song. Listen:

The look of the remodel suggests that the new Palace Steak House is poised to continue this quasi-earnest tradition… somehow. Bernalwood hasn’t been able to contact any of the folks involved with the new Palace Steak House — we tried stopping by a few times, but the gates were closed. And we haven’t seen a menu. But rumors are flying around the street. One of our sources heard from a guy who heard from someone who knows someone connected with the project that the Palace Family Steak House may reopen as soon as next week. We’ll see…

So practice singing that theme song, watch the space, and if you know any more details, feel free to share them with us here.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Foodie Entrepreneur Wanted for Glamorous New Space on Cortland

July 25, 2011July 24, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 11 Comments

I ran into the owner of the newly-renovated property at 420 Cortland last week. The joint is freshly spiffed-up and the For Lease sign is up, and the owner told me he’d love to find a veteran restauranteur or established local chef to hang a shingle on this prime piece of Cortland real estate, which sits smack between the Good Life Market and the Liberty Cafe. (The latter is for sale, if you recall.) Here’s the interior view:

Here’s the property listing:

Just completed remodel of historic building into mixed use (two commercial units and one residential unit). Historic facade has been preserved with the rest of the property entirely rebuilt. You have to see it to understand the tremendous upside of locating your business at 420 Cortland. The property is located on Cortland’s anchor block/side of the street in terms of foot traffic, etc. The primary front retail unit is accessible directly from Cortland and the Courtyard Unit is accessible through the alley on the right side of the property. This is the only commercial property on all of Cortland that has a front patio (finished in beautiful slate–see pics) as a part of the property creating an extremely desirable space that in the hands of the right tenant could be become the anchor commercial space in all of Bernal.

Note that last point: 420 Cortland does indeed have a new front patio which has ample potential to become the most glamorous brunching spot in all of Bernal Heights for seeing and being seen.

Interested? Dial the number on your screen.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

In Praise of the New Old Clam House on Bayshore

July 19, 2011July 19, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 15 Comments

So, it was Friday night, and we wanted to find a family-friendly restaurant where daddy could get a stiff cocktail to accompany his dinner. The thought of battling swarms of Mission hipsters at a place like Beretta or Flour and Water seemed nightmarish, and for a few minutes I felt stuck. And then it hit me: What about the New Old Clam House on Bayshore? They’ve got a full bar! They serve food! And change is afoot, so an updated taste-test seemed to be in order.

Indeed, much has changed. For one, there’s a new glassed-in patio area on the south side of the building that affords an outstanding view of passing traffic. The whole place got a new coat of paint. There’s also a Moderne-style neon sign that looks 80 years old — even though it was just installed a few weeks ago. The front doors are new and inviting, and the interior has been given a thorough spiffing-up.

In short, it looks pretty good, inside and out. But what of the food? And my drink?

The menu has been thoroughly revised, and while many of the old stand-bys remain — paging Mr. Cioppino, to the white courtesy phone! — there are some new surprises that bring the joint up-to-date. One very nice touch is that all guests — including my four year-old — are served a glass of warm clam broth just as soon as they are seated.

Yum! With some broth in my belly, I decided to satisfy my cocktail urge. I ordered a Tom Collins, which was made in with traditional craftsmanship — which is to say from scratch, without any high-fructose cornshite. Double yum!

For my main, I ordered the sand dabs with spicy tomato bacon sauce. It was baconlicious, and overall deeply satisfying. Triple yum!

We also got a half-crab, which arrived on a cast-iron pan sizzling with garlic butter. Quadruple yum in the pike position!

All in all, I’m a fan. Though I sure some old-timers will protest, I think the new Old Clam House fills an important niche in the Bernal restaurant ecosystem, in that there is a place in our little world for a reasonably-priced establishment where you can get a table without too much fuss, along with a stiff drink and a good piece of fish in an atmosphere that feels an awful lot like the kind of restaurant one might find expect to find somewhere along Route 46 in Clifton, New Jersey… and I mean that as high praise.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Alemany Farmer’s Market Report: “Berry Hip” July Edition

July 11, 2011July 11, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

It’s grey, cold, and cloudy today in Bernalwood, but (lest we forget) it’s sunny and hot outside the City. And that means it’s prime season for mid-summer produce at the Alemany Farmer’s Market. Woo-hoo!

I dropped by Alemany on Saturday to survey the merchandise, and the inventory was looking good. Of course, heirloom tomatoes were de rigeur:

It looks like regular tomatoes are still a few weeks away from their peak (spelling errors notwithstanding):

Juicy peaches were generating significant transactional volume:

For the budget-conscious, one guy was selling flats of “cosmetically challenged” peaches off the back of a truck:

Our Asian friends swarmed around the vendor selling tiny ears of yellow sticky corn.

I’d never tried sticky corn before, but fortunately they were giving away cooked samples. It is noticeably less sweet — and yes, more sticky — than the stuff I typically associate with summer. I liked it, and so did this kid:

For Francophiles, there was enough lavander on hand to induce Proustian reveries of Aix en Provence:

And of course, the berries were off the hook:

Executive Summary: Get thee to Alemany ASAP in the weeks ahead, while the gettin’ is still so so good!

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

For Sale: One (1) Liberty Cafe, Beloved by Bernalwood

July 6, 2011July 6, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

Woa. The sleuths at InsideScooped have uncovered some unsettling news: The Liberty Cafe on Cortland is for sale:

Bernal Heights mainstay and all-American charmer Liberty Cafe is for sale and looking for a buyer.

Liberty Cafe first opened in 1994, with Zuni vet Cathie Guntli at the helm. It soon earned three stars and Top 100 status for years to come. Michael Bauer even remarked, in 2001, that diners should “consider it like driving to Grandma’s for dinner; it’s worth the trip even if you have to pay.” Guntli passed away in 2009, at which point Stuart Bai of Sally’s and Tony Hua of Hard Knox Cafe bought the place.

But now, it’s back on the market. Some stats from the listing: 2000 square feet, 66 Total Seats (34 in cafe, 12 in bakery and 20 on the patio), comes with a Type 41 liquor license (beer/wine only), “excellent feng shui” and a current rent of $3K/month. The pricetag appears to be $275K.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics