Attention fashionistas! 31 RAX is a new vintage store at 3309 Mission Street, in the Bernalwood/La Lengua Liminal Zone. The place is very cute, and it’s off to a charming start:
My name’s Stephanie and I recently opened a Vintage/Thrift store on Mission at 29th called 31 RAX. I handpick, clean, tag each piece myself. The clothes are funky and one of a kind. My space is beautiful and I plan to host events — live art, music, dance, and more. If you have free time, come by the store and take a look around.
Or better yet, let’s let Stephanie introduce herself in person:
Cats are cute, but cliche. Dogs are delightful, but a dime a dozen. If you keep chickens or goats on your property in Bernal Heights (it happens!), you may be glad to know that Jena Valdez is part of a small team of veterinarians who stand ready to help with all your livestock health-care needs. In a note to Bernalwood, she writes:
As a veterinarian here in Bernal, I was very excited to hear about the chicken/goat venture over on Folsom. Two other fellow veterinarians and I are in the early stages of forming a non-profit group which would serve the needs of backyard farmers here (by providing advice on husbandry, basic medicine, etc). Although we all currently see small animals at our “real jobs,” we all have livestock backgrounds, and are looking for a way to provide a service and get our hands on some barnyard critters! We realize there are a growing number of backyard farmers who might need a hand, and we want to put our skills to good use. We plan to start with Bernal, but eventually we’d like to work with livestock city-wide.
If your chickens or goats need some attention, contact Veterinarian Jena & Co. via email at <byvets AT gmail DOT com> — that’s short for “Backyard Vets” until they figure out a snazzier name.
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:
In the Bay Area section of today’s New York Times, astute readers will find an article about author Peter Orner, a member of the Bernalwood literati glitterati:
Among writers, Mr. Orner is a boldface name. Since his debut collection, “Esther Stories,” was published in 2001 to rave reviews, he has continued to rack up plaudits: a Guggenheim fellowship, two Pushcart Prizes, and space in esteemed publications like Granta, The Atlantic and Ploughshares. He has also done two oral histories for McSweeney’s Voice of Witness series; Harper’s called “Hope Deferred,” his 2010 book about life in Zimbabwe, one of the most important books about that country in 30 years.
Compared with other Bay Area literary stars, “Peter’s name is overlooked by the general reading public,” said Oscar Villalon, managing editor of Zyzzyva, a literary journal that will be publishing one of Mr. Orner’s stories this spring. “If he lived in Brooklyn, he’d be the type of guy who’d be feted by The Paris Review, The New Yorker. His work is that good.”
Since we don’t want Peter Orner to leave Bernal and move to Brooklyn, perhaps he could get a similar career boost by simply *pretending* he lives in Brooklyn; say, by wearing trucker’s caps and riding a fixie. But his best hope probably lies in the new book he has coming out:
Things could change with his latest novel, “Love and Shame and Love,” which is scheduled to arrive in stores next week. Publishers Weekly called the book “vibrant and captivating.” In a nod to current publishing realities, Mr. Orner is working with a social media consultant, has put out a video trailer that stars Ed Asner and has garnered blurbs from literary stars like Daniel Handler to promote his book.
“It was a book that I had to write, knew I would always write, in some ways resisted writing, “ Mr. Orner said, clutching a ceramic cup at a local coffee shop near his home in the Bernal Heights section of San Francisco. “I definitely put everything I had into it.”
On Saturday morning, while you [may have been] out trying to pick up a few tipsy sailors where in town for Fleet Week, some of your neighbors in the Precitaville Administrative Zone were hard at work planting a new butterfly garden in the traffic bulb on the corner of Precita and Folsom. Led by the intrepid Demece Garepis of the Precita Valley Neighbors group, much earth was tilled and many plantings were lovingly placed in the ground. Beautiful!
On behalf of all the Citizens of Bernalwood, we say: Thank You!
Bernal Heights Home Decor Trend: Is stencil street art the new white picket fence?
Our post about the homeowner on the west slope who invited street artist Get Up to do an SF Giants-themed installation on the side of his house attracted a lot of attention — both in the media and (apparently) among other Bernal homeowners.
One byproduct is that Neighbor Mason, owner of the Chalkboard House on Mullen, also reached out to Get Up to get a piece of the street art action , so there’s now a brand new stencil on those famous garage doors as well. Mason quips:
The true pain of the fall season is that Brian Wilson should be spending his time warming up, not tagging.
UPDATE: Neighbor Becky sends along a photo of ANOTHER installation in Bernal Heights. Three makes it official: Brian Wilson street art by Get Up! is definitely a home-decor trend.
Becky says:
This went up last night on the northwest slope of the hill — Coleridge St. at Powers Ave. This one was Bernalwood inspired for sure.
And to make it even more interesting, the Bernal neighbor across the street is actually a Brian Wilson lookalike!
Wish we had a photo of the two of them together. Oh well.
We like to buy local here in Bernalwood. We’ve got local bread, local meat, local pickles, and even a local debit card. But lest anyone accuse us of being t0o rustic and old-fashioned, it’s nice to know that we also grow our own iPad apps here too:
@Bernalwood i live (& work) on the 'south side' of bernal. Thought i'd share i just released my 1st iPad app for kids! http://t.co/H4maYqs
Scribblebeard is a coloring and drawing app, with extremely high production values, clever animation, and a cheerful musical soundtrack. The Cub Reporter loves these kinds of things — she’s long been a fan of Learnl’s Finger Paint, which was created in The Mission District — and she took to Scribblebeard instantly. The user-interface is simple and intuitive, and it took her about 0.05 seconds to master it. And then she was immersed:
Here’s a drawing she made, which she then emailed to me via the app (which automatically added a glamorous frame to the image):
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.
Last week’s post about that new, modern house at 3407 Folsom generated a lot of spicy commentary and armchair architectural criticism. Some folks love the design of the new house, and others just don’t really dig this whole “modernism” thing. Among the latter group, there was plenty of concern about the overall look of the neighborhood, while some expressed pity for the residents of 3401 Folsom — the traditional-style house that’s right next door.
Happily, however, the residents of 3401 don’t need any pity, because they’re quite pleased with the new house next door, and they’re looking forward to welcoming their new neighbors. We know this because Mark, who lives in 3401, added his voice to the comment thread, where he wrote:
We are the neighbors next door, and naturally have followed the discussions and on-again/off-again planning around this site for many years. Around four years ago the previous owners presented construction plans to the East Bernal Design Review Board, a voluntary neighborhood group that I was a member of at the time. This was for a two-unit building that neighbors found pretty objectionable. Planning stalled for awhile, and new plans for a single family home were presented at a public meeting of the Board some two years later. Feedback was provided and incorporated into the current design.
We and a number of others in the neighborhood would have loved for the site to be made part of Bernal Hill Park, and made initial headway with a non-profit interested in helping the Rec and Parks Dept acquire it. For complicated reasons having to do with the fact that the Dept of Public Works and not Rec and Parks owns the public land to the left of the sidewalk going up the hill, this was not to be. The site was sold to a small construction company who built the house and sold it to our new neighbors.
There are a few things worth mentioning about this whole process. The original owners and developers of the land went out of their way to take into account our perspectives and those of others in the neighborhood. Larry and the crew who bought the project from them and actually built the house over the last eight months worked hard to get the construction over with quickly and with minimal disruption. It’s never easy having a building like this go up over your back fence, but really, everything went much more smoothly than we could have expected, and Larry and his crew (who agreed to make use of our house’s water and electricity so a loud and obnoxious generator wouldn’t be needed) were accommodating and friendly thoughout.
As for our new neighbors Scott and his family? They want to be part of the chicken raising project we’ve had going for two years now with the other neighbors adjoining our properties. They want to do us all one better (and thrill our kids) with the idea of bringing goats into the mix. They have a young child who is age-perfect for my 14 year old daughter-with-baby-sitting-certificate to take care of while all readers of this excellent blog join them on their heli-deck for cocktails every Friday evening (I think that’s what Scott wrote). And we now have yet another enthusiastic Bernal family joining this great community of ours, in the best neighborhood in San Francisco
Welcome Scott!
I love that in so many ways, but not least because it is a pitch-perfect expression of neighborly warmth, patient adaptability, and YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) open-mindedness. Bravo to Mark for the sentiment, and thanks for weighing in.
This week, workers are putting the finishing touches on one of Bernalwood’s most high-profile construction projects: 3407 Folsom, that all-new, all-modern house perched at the top of Folsom, just below the north entrance to the park on Bernal Hill. You can’t miss it; it’s the very conspicuous, very last house before you hit the park, and you practically traverse the living room as you scoot down the hill from Bernal Heights Boulevard.
But what’s it like inside this 4BR/3.5 Bath Mod Mansion? Let’s take a look…
Most of the bedrooms are above the garage. This one faces west:
Here’s an interior view of the stairway that’s visible from the street. It takes you from the bedrooms below to the glamorous living level above…
At the top of the stairs, there’s a dining zone with a slammin’ view of the hillside:
The kitchen is just to your right:
Do a 180, and you’re in the living zone, with gas fireplace and plug-n’- play hookups for a flat-panel TV:
Wander out the sliding glass doors to find a deck with spiral staircase leading up to the HELIPAD on the roof!
Actually, it’s not a helipad (though it really wants to be one). Instead, there’s a very schwank roof deck with killer views of The Mission and downtown:
Looking back toward Bernal Hill, this is the view you see:
The sign outside indicates that 3407 Folsom has been sold, though it appears the sale hasn’t closed yet. (Realtor readers, can you confirm?) No word on the sales price, either.
But soon, it seems, this home will be occupied by another new Bernal neighbor. And someday, mmmmmaybe, they might invite you over for cocktails on their rooftop helipad. But if not, rest secure in the knowledge that at least you got to savor the view, albeit vicariously.
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:
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.
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.
Bernalwood 