2. Louis’ restaurant, the classic Land’s End eatery which overlooks Sutro Baths, reopened on Wednesday. The restaurant first closed eight months ago to start the renovations required to extend and keep its lease. The Hontalas family, who have owned the restaurant for 73 years, completely gutted the interior and included many sustainable materials in the new dining room. Along with the décor changes, the menu underwent an upgrade. According to Inside Scoop, the menu retains most of the “classic American fare, but with cage-free eggs, fair trade coffee, locally sourced baked goods, and all natural produce.” With these changes, the Hontalas family was able to extend their lease for 10 years. So, for at least the next decade, visitors to Sutro Baths will be able to enjoy some classic comfort food amid the beauty that is Land’s End.
3. The Crème Brulee Cart is getting an upgrade. The small dessert operation is moving from modest cart to legit truck. The small cart started with a humble beginning at the Linda St. food cart gatherings in the Mission, then soon started turning up to Off The Grid. Now, the Crème Brulee Cart has seen so much business that the Crème Brulee truck will be debuting at Civic Center’s Off the Grid lunch on August 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cart, now truck, owner, Curtis Kimball, told The Feast that he’s looking forward to leaving the city more often and that, “It’s a bigger more manageable, and more fun space. Hopefully I can get an ice cream truck jingle. And a disco ball.”
4. Anthony Bourdain will be making an appearance at Zeitgeist on August 12. Though Bourdain already filmed a No Reservations episode in San Francisco in 2009, Grubstreet predicts this time he will be taping for his new show, Layover. The new show will take place over the course of 24-48 hours in one city and show some places “you might actually want to go to.” The news of Bourdain’s appearance broke in a Zeitgeist newsletter, which leaves us begging the question, since when do dive bars send out newsletters?
5. August marks the start of the month-long Muslim holiday, Ramadan. For an entire month, Muslims will be fasting from sun up until 8:15 p.m., when the sun sets and evening prayers are said. SFoodie took it upon itself to speak with a few Halal businesses in the Tenderloin to see how they are faring with fast. According to the story, many businesses are unaffected, but Pakwan on O’Farrell and Jones donates food to the local mosque for evening prayers, and Yemeni’s on Sutter and Larkin is offering special dishes only served during the holy month of Ramadan. In celebration of the Muslim holiday, The Feast SF combed Bay Area restaurants in search of the 10 best halal places. Not surprisingly, 6 out of 10 are in San Francisco and range from the Old Jerusalem Restaurant, which serves Israeli and Palestinian food side by side and Pizzeria Supremo, which features halal pepperoni.
6. In yet another action against renegade street food, Patrick Bostwick, better known as Soup for Nuts, was shut down for good on Tuesday night. Bostwick operated on the corner of 21st and Valencia, selling soup to neighbors and giving it out to the community’s homeless. Despite the fact that, according to SFoodie, neighbors and community members loved Bostwick’s soup and appreciated his actions, local business did not. Bostwick explains to SFoodie that one of the local businesses reported him to the health department, and with that, he was shut down for good. Though Bostwick’s intentions were in the right place, he prepared all the soup he sold at home, not in a commercial kitchen — and he had no proper permits. With Soup for Nuts shutdown, Bostwick is left wondering how he’s going to pay for rent and the Mission district is left without its pop up soup kitchen.
7. Bernal Heights’ International Club has been taken over and is going to be renamed Rock Bar. The space has been taken over by Kevin Cline and Josephine White, owners of The Front Porch. The new drink menu is set to include old time Southern cocktails, whiskeys, bourbons, Louisiana spirits, and a house made Southern Comfort-like cordial, according to Eater SF. There will also be a small menu that will feature boiled peanuts, Cajun hot wings, spicy popcorn, and corn dogs — and if you’re looking for a full meal, delivery from the Front Porch. Tabblehopper reports that the International Club will be closing October 1 and a projected reopening of Rock Bar will happen October 15 or even sooner.
8. The Thieves bar empire will be expanding to the space that was El Rincon on 16th and Harrison. Paul Baravo, the current owner of Thieves Tavern, Whiskey Thieves, and Dirty Thieves, is working in conjunction with two bartenders in the Thieves empire to open the not-similarly-named Dear Mom. Though no one is sure when exactly El Rincon is closing its doors, the trio have grand plans for the space. Dear Mom will feature French inspired pub food and, as Grubstreet reports, the space is intended to be a mellow neighborhood place. No dates have been released yet.
9. After losing one and a half stars and falling off the Bauer Top 100 list, the fine dining restaurant in the Ritz Carlton will be going through some major changes. The restaurant will step down from fine dining to something more casual. Tablehopper reports that the biggest change will be the inclusion of a bar and cocktail lounge predicted to serve small plates and craft cocktails. The hope is that the new restaurant will appeal to locals as well as tourists. Inside Scoop says Ron Siegal will remain on board as chef and starting August 9 and up until the closure of the restaurant on September 15, he will be serving dishes from the famed Salt and Pepper menu. The restaurant is predicted to reopen sometime before the holidays.
10. In what looks like a sobering sign of the times, San Francisco’s oldest liquor store, John Walker and Company, is gone for good. According to Eater SF, the financial district liquor store first opened its doors in 1933 and throughout the prohibition era became one of the main suppliers to San Francisco’s speakeasies. In more modern times, John Walker was known for its extensive selection of specialty liquor and bitters. The first signs of shutdown happened in June when the ABC suspended the shop’s liquor license for unlawful selling to minors, Since then, the store was shuttered, but promised to reopen. Tablehopper reports that, despite the hopes to reopen, John Walker and Company posted a note saying, “We are grateful to all our customers, employees, vendors, and friends who have supported us over the years.” And with that, we are forced to say goodbye to a piece of San Francisco history.
