Best head spas
Cliff’s Variety, Russian River, Jazz Fest, Dining Yamamoto, best head spas, MORE
ASK FOUND
Today, three PROMPTS for which we seek your answers:
What’s your favorite specialty bookstore in the Bay Area?
I need a caterer for a casual summer party. Any ideas?
What Bay Area store or service do you love to recommend?
Hit reply or email found@itsfoundsf.com with more answers or questions.
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Unboxing match
The Skinny: Previously, SF’s boxed sushi game has left a bit to be desired, at least compared to the options on offer in New York and LA. No longer is that the case, though, with SoMa’s Dining Yamamoto as a fresh contender for your consideration.
RESTAURANT LINKS: Ballast Point tasting room shutters in Mission Bay • Tacolicious owner expands into the Lower Haight sausage game w/ Beau’s Franks • Divisadero fire closes The Mill indefinitely • How café interiors shape the way people experience a neighborhood.
GETAWAYS • Sonoma
Square up
The Skinny: The smashburger trend has made it to the town square in Sonoma, with some cheffy cred. Smash, the latest venture from Glen Ellen Star chef-owner Ari Weiswasser, is a new family-friendly (and wine-country daytrip-friendly) option in central Sonoma, with the added bonus of a high-end cocktail bar attached.
The Vibe: Previously a high-ceilinged cafe, mercantile, bar, and bottle shop on the corner of 1st and West Napa Streets, the former Taub Family Outposts space has been transformed into a relaxed burger joint, with several butcher-block-topped tables, and 18 or so seats at the bar and along the windows. Wine, beer, milkshakes, and soft drinks are available in the fast-casual dining room, but adults might prefer to grab a seat at The Beacon, the cozy and excellent upstairs cocktail bar, and order food to be delivered up there.
The Food: Smashburgers, single or double, come on soft and sweet brioche buns, with patties that are properly thin and lacy. The addition of thick bacon is almost overwhelming unless you opt for a double, and there’s also a top-notch fried chicken sandwich, and a wildly satisfying falafel smashburger option. For the potato side of things, you will and should be torn between the za’atar fries and the crispy tots (try both).
The Drink: Local beers and wine on tap, and the milkshake made with locally grown Watmaugh strawberries quite rightly has its passionate fans. The upstairs Beacon bar offers whatever’s needed in the classic cocktail realm, as well as fun house creations like the Murder on the Dance Floor, featuring cucumber vodka, falernum, chile poblano, banana, pineapple, and lime.
The Verdict: It can be tough knowing what to do in Sonoma’s town square, especially as the day is ending and the food options tend to involve more of a time commitment. Smash provides not just a new option but a highly desirable one. The word is out, so prepare for a line of people most nights, enough that the park across the street has become its second (or third, counting the Beacon) de facto dining room. –Jay Barmann
→ Smash (Sonoma, CA) • 497 1st St W • Sun & Tue-Thu 11a-8p, Fri-Sat 11a-9p.
CULTURE & LEISURE • A Boy Like That
West Side Story • film w/ live orchestra • Davies Symphony Hall (Civic Center) • Fri @ 730p • LOGE, $199 per
Chris Tucker • The Mountain Winery (Saratoga) • Sat @ 8p • Preferred, $105 per
The Employee Dharma Handbook • Lucie Stern Theatre (Palo Alto) • Sun @ 1p • ORCH, $104 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: SF’s 13-mile, landmark-linking cross-city Golden Gate Dozen trail has opened • Your summer Dolores Park bingo card • Audra McDonald, Jean-Yves Thibaudet join Michael Tilson Thomas tribute.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Next move
CHRIS MITCHELL • CEO • Fehr & Peers
Neighborhood you live in: Lower Pacific Heights
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
As the CEO of a transportation planning and engineering consulting firm, my role is less about any specific project, and more about helping each of our 400+ professionals do their best work.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’ve spent a large chunk of today working with several of our teams experimenting with AI. We’ve spent years getting better at collecting and understanding how to use the vast amounts of data now available to us. What’s exciting is the potential to use AI to uncover insights much faster (and at a scale) we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. It will fundamentally improve everything we do, from forecasting travel patterns to making roads safer.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’ve been meaning to try Sungho in the Tenderloin for a while, and I’m finally getting to go this weekend.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I went to the SF Symphony’s performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony last month.
Any weekend getaways?
I recently purchased a vacation home up on the Russian River, and in the summer, I try and get up there as much as possible. There’s something magical about being in the redwoods and just listening to the wildlife. I highly recommend the Islands in the Sky hike in Duncans Mills, followed by a burger and a beer (get the tater tots!) with live music on Sunday afternoons at the Blue Heron.
What was your last great vacation?
Jazz Fest in New Orleans in early May. Live music in every direction (favorite act this year was Neal Francis at Tipitina’s), great food (Cochon, Clancy’s, Patois, Herbsaint, and Peche), and such a unique, vibrant culture. I always come back with a full heart and stomach, if not very well-rested!
What store or service do you always recommend?
Cliff’s Variety in the Castro. It’s one of those rare stores where you can find just about anything you need, plus a few things you don’t!
WORK LINKS: Study suggests it’s corporate ego fueling RTO, not ambition • Thrifty companies throttle AI use • Why the tech industry can’t keep up with the AI backlash.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Head spas
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.
Yeoun Head Spa (San Francisco), Korean-inspired scalp sanctuary, lymphatic massage, botanical treatments, nervous system reset premise, book