Best coast
Long Weekend, Fremont listings, Maui's Royal Lahaina, Joel Kim Booster tix, best Outer Sunset restaurants, MORE
BARS • First Round
Viva Havana
The Skinny: The latest venture from the Future Bars folks, who launched a local empire with Bourbon & Branch two decades ago, Long Weekend is their 14th cocktail bar. The new North Beach spot will rotate in a fresh, globally inspired concept every nine months. The opening city of inspiration: Havana, Cuba.
The Vibe: With an interior painted Havana-pink with other bright and pastel accents, the flatiron-shaped former bank space at Broadway and Columbus is light and inviting, with plenty of circulation (and dancing!) space on its main level. (Sunday evenings, during this iteration, feature salsa dancing classes.) Suspended video screens, artwork, and a soundscape evoke Havana street scenes, and meanwhile, a graffiti’d, basement-level grotto serves as a reservation-only cocktail experience, better suited to dates and quiet conversation.
The Drink: Who doesn’t love a frozen tropical drink? First off, daiquiris can be ordered up, on the rocks, or blended, and in addition to the requisite Havana Club, there are three house rum blends to choose from: strawberry, watermelon, and tropical fruit. Those fruit-infused rums can also be turned into shaved-ice granizados, or mixed in a mojito — and here’s a rare bar where the staff won’t blink or roll an eye at a mojito order. Cuba Libres (white rum and Coke) are bottled and can come in a bucket of five, as can Cubatos (dark rum and Coke).
Other slightly dangerous (but delicious) blended options include the Princesa — like a blended mojito but made with gin, coconut, white pepper, and guava, along with mint and lime — and the Papa Doble, made with a house rum blend, a house maraschino blend, grapefruit, and lime, and comes with a limit of two per customer, as they go down a little too easily.
The Verdict: While it’s exciting to see what the next world city will be to shift the concept completely later this year, for now, the Caribbean drinks will no doubt be a surefire hit with the North Beach weekend party set, along with a menu offering plenty of sophisticated flavors for discerning palates, too. –Jay Barmann
→ Long Weekend • 270 Columbus Ave • Tue-Wed 430p-12a, Thu-Sat 430p-2a, Sun 3-11p • Reserve.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three properties that came to market in Fremont in the last 30 days.
→ 46884 Shale Cmn #140 (Mission Terrace) • 3BR/2BA, 1170 SF condo • Ask: $1.049M • corner, top-floor unit in 1986 building • Days on market: 7 • Agent: Donnie Sargent, Alliance Bay.
→ 4815 Regents Park Ln (Grimmer, above) • 3BR/2BA, 1269 SF • Ask: $1.398M • updated classic ranch w/ orange, lemon, tangerine, kumquat, Fuyu persimmon trees • Days on market: 7 • Agent: Amanda Lai, Top Travisso.
→ 4032 Doane St (Grimmer) • 6BR/5BA, 2572 SF • Ask: $3M • 1955 compound w/ 2 ADUs • Days on market: 8 • Agent: Kameron Davis, CLA.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: AI leases eschew the west side • SF/Oakland rent gap widest in years • Residential market in San Jose outpaces the rest of the Bay Area.
GETAWAYS • Hawaii
Royal treatment
I liked The Royal Lahaina when I arrived; by the time I left, I was in love. The hotel is the second oldest on the Ka’anapali Coast of Maui, built in the ’60s. While it still retains the vintage charm of that era, the hotel recently underwent updates and renovations throughout the property.
I stayed in one of the oceanfront bungalows. The little time I spent in my room, I spent on my lanai. Every morning, still in pajamas, I’d walk barefoot onto the lawn and down to the beach. For those four days, I became a firm believer in grounding.
Aside from their 127 bungalows, the main tower holds traditional hotel rooms. I was able to take a peek at one of their two-bedroom suites on the 12th floor, and the view onto the ocean from the rounded balconies was breathtaking.
I particularly enjoyed dining at their new restaurant, Lahaina Noon, helmed by local chef Vanessa Castillo. I ate all three meals there, and every dish was one I’d order again. Beyond the food’s appeal is the setting: the restaurant seamlessly flows from indoors to out, with direct views of the pool and ocean. The two pools, comically close to one another, are surrounded by ’60’s-inspired bright yellow umbrellas and cabanas.
During the Lahaina fires in 2023, the hotel closed to take in the people of Maui. Upon reopening, they debuted Branches, an outdoor music venue where wicker lanterns hang from a massive ficus tree and local musicians have a new place to share their craft. In addition, the resort offers a collection of weekly cultural options like Hawaiian language classes and lei making. I also helped plant trees with Treecovery, a local nonprofit the hotel partners with to help replace trees for homeowners who lost theirs in the fires.
A new spa debuted this summer. I received my treatment in an open-aired room that looked like it was meant to be a bridal suite. Even so, the massage was noteworthy. The masseuse used techniques from Lomi Lomi (a traditional Hawaiian massage), hot stones, and Swedish, along with aromatherapy oils of my choosing.
The Royal Lahaina is unpretentious, but full of beauty. Once you’re there, it’s hard not to get it. –Dyana Lederman
→ The Royal Lahaina (Maui) • 2780 Kekaa Dr • Bungalow rooms from $460/night.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Off-market mansions are the last resort for Super Bowl 60 visitors • Can reopened Highway 1 endure in era of climate change? • Carmel by the Sea moves one step closer to numbered street addresses.
CULTURE & LEISURE • All things
Gary Clark Jr • The Guild (Menlo Park) • Fri @ 7p • Mezz $221 per
Joel Kim Booster & Friends • Great American (Tenderloin) • Sat @ 7p • GA, $56 per
Mara Liasson • in conversation with Mina Kim • Congregation Beth Shalom (Napa) • Sun @ 4p • GA, $50 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Luxe Herz Recreation Center opens in McLaren Park • Inside SF Art Week • Painter Jonathan Crow’s first solo show kicks off at Santa Clara’s Triton Museum of Art.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Dining, Outer Sunset
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in the Bay Area and surrounds. Paid subscribers have access to the complete Nines archive.
Outerlands (Judah St), Julia Roberts’ favorite restaurant in SF, Dutch baby destination, blanketed outdoor dining, reserve
Thanh Long (Judah St), 55-year-old progenitor of Crustacean empire, garlic crab and noodles, special event destination, reserve
Galinette (Taraval St, above), all-day bistro, signature bourride, vast wine list, intel, walk-ins only
Old Mandarin Islamic (Vicente St), classic, family-owned halal Chinese, lamb stir-fried, braised, or in dumplings, clay pots and mu shu, walk-ins only
Rusty Ladle (Lawton St), wildly hip soup and grilled cheese destination for artists and surfers, penny-embedded bar, walk-ins only
Day Moon (Irving St), farmers market bread darling turned bakery and cafe, rotating baguette sandwiches, city’s best chocolate chip cookie, Monday pizza pop-ups, walk-ins only
Hook Fish Co (Irving St), west side’s freshest catch, stellar fish-and-chips, gorgeous parklet, to-go seafood market, walk-ins only
Palm City (Irving St), wine bar w/ famous hoagies, solid rotating salads, great playlist, outdoor dining ‘till the fog rolls in, walk-ins only
Toyose (Noriega St), Korean after-hours soju and snacks, stunning seafood and kimchi pancakes, chill, cozy booths, walk-ins only
LOST & FOUND • Behind the paywall
→ A handful of favorite Bay Area restaurants from new subscribers: Bon, Nene (Mission) • Barrel House Tavern (Sausalito) • Damansara (Noe Valley) • Sequoia Diner (Oakland).
Solid curation here especially Long Weekend's rotating concept model. That nine-month city refresh is smart for keeping the expereince novel without exhausting the concept. The Royal Lahaina backstory about sheltering fire victims before reopening adds meaningful context to recommendations insted of just surface-level vacation suggestions.