where to – san francisco
where to – san francisco
my crush on muni + la's coffee shop moment
san francisco gets a bad rep and i don’t think they deserve it one bit. karl the fog may be a bummer, but at this point la is just a bunch of may gray june gloom too. san francisco has that california laid back feel, but also walkable and city gritty like new york. plus, a chunk of california’s finest natural winemakers are a stone's throw away. i don’t know, i guess i’m just a big sf fan.
i love getting my steps while in sf, but their public transit’s also so convenient. not to mention, i have a huge crush on the muni logo, and think of it often. like would buy merch / mad i don’t have a muni shirt or hat now to be honest…
where to – san francisco:
i have yet to find a good hotel in san francisco for a decent price in a good area so go the airbnb or kindred route. neighborhood-wise: i’m a big mission head, or cross the bridge into oakland.
there’s no shortage of coffee shops to pick from in sf, but let’s stick with the mission area for now, so let’s start with linea. for lunch, get a mission burrito at el farolito and stroll through and post up in mission dolores park. pop your head in dog eared books and needles & pens for a little shop moment. you deserve a drink so hit up buddy for an afternoon glass of a nat wine + bar nuts. the original mission chinese is still killer, just a little more lowkey (order the vegan tofu skin rice cakes!). you’ll find subject to change wine on every menu so follow suit, and get a glass to wash down all the szechuan pepper. at that point, there’s a high probability of a dj getting started over at my other crush, bar part time, where you’ll continue on the natural wine train. should hunger strike, night cap at abv for a martini + octopus fries (!!!). my friend mac brought me to abv for the octo fries and really haven’t been the same since. sidenote, mac works with sf’s flour & water group with alllll the good spots when you’re craving pasta + pizza (+ wine!) in sf.
if you’re in san francisco and skip oakland, we can’t be friends. oakland is an absoluteee must. when in oakland, you must have lunch at mujiri for some of the best quality sushi for the price. check out ordinaire bottle shop, dinner at tacos oscar and have sips at daytrip and snail bar.
yeah there’s sonoma and napa, but you heard me go on about richmond as the california wine country that i’m actually interested in via my substack all about nat wine. you can take a quick ferry ride from san francisco to richmond to visit noel + barrie at purity’s wine collective, where some of the most innovative wines are being made from up and coming winemakers.
la happenings + openings:
la grocery + cafe - really allll about this new cookbook-erewhon-farmers-market-esque grocer and cafe opening in (hot!) melrose hill. competitive prices and a lovely pastry, cafe + bev program. i had the tahini banana bread and want to come back asap for the steelhead combo plate, polenta olive oil cake, coffee shake, housemade almond milk, the list goes on.
barnsdall art park friday wine tastings - curated by silverlake wine at barnsdall art park every friday this summer with djs + triple beam pizza + hollyhock house tours (frank lloyd wright!). i went to go shoot (slw + tbp are new clients!) this past friday and it was bumpinnnn’
how’s it going to end? - coffee shop in montrose near descanso gardens (just a quick 14 min from echo park!).
higte’s part of la’s highly caffeinated moment: lil east, cafe tropical 2.0, ondo, korean camel, berlin concierge, flow good at slow jamz + tokyo inspired loop all opened la coffee shops recently
sogo’s summer kickoff - food + drink specials + dj on sogo’s patio on sun june 9th 5pm to launch their new bev program. i got to shoot the new menu last week and it’s a very solid natural wine list
good boy & friends - already snagged my early bird tickets for the third annual (+ my fave!) alt wine fest sat july 13th 4pm at homage chinatown. good boy knows how to throw a party and they’ll have the best winemakers pouring
hi dozo - ny’s sushi nakazawa (i had a religious solo lunch there in the snow once…) is opening in la later this year, but in the meantime, their sushi’s avail as hi dozo for delivery via doordash, and i’m one hundred percent ordering this week
now playing:
lobster telephone by peggy gou
kcrw played it one night this week and both bryan and i both were like oh wow
complimentary sf guide for alllll my paid (+ free!) subscribers this time:
you can view + download sf google map bookmarks here + my full sf guide here