Sublime escape
Montecito Country Mart, Crestline, Nopa listings, live music venues, San Ysidro Ranch, MORE
CULTURE & LEISURE • The Nines
Live music venues
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in the Bay Area and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundsf.com. For the full archives, click here.
Castro Theatre (Castro), historic movie palace relaunches as multipurpose concert venue in Feb 2026
The Fillmore (Fillmore), ground zero for Bill Graham’s rock empire, legendary poster room
Davies Symphony Hall (Hayes Valley), state-of-the-art home to SF Symphony
Great American Music Hall (Tenderloin), longest running independently operated concert venue in SF
Palace of Fine Arts (Marina), Greco-Roman wonder hosts music, comedy, podcasts in seated theater
The Regency Ballroom (Lower Nob Hill), Scottish Rite temple hosts buzzing artists, all genres
SF Masonic (Nob Hill), 3000-person venue, private events welcomed
The Warfield (Mid-Market), 2250-person concert space, kicked off in 1979 w/ famed Bob Dylan shows
Bimbo’s 365 (North Beach, above), Columbus Ave staple, bow-tie wearing bartenders, 700-person shows
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Dinner bell
What came first, Nopa the neighborhood, or Nopa the restaurant? The blocks just north of The Panhandle (the narrowest point of Golden Gate Park) were considered part of the Western Addition for years, but around the time Laurence Jossel’s 19-year-old venue opened a couple blocks away from the easternmost tip of the park, the moniker for the neighborhood also fell into use. The area is an appealing mix of gigantic Victorians and Edwardians, some subdivided, some intact.
As a result, 19 homes have changed hands in the last year, at a median price of $2.85M. Condo sales are also brisk: 35 in the past year, at a median of $1.125M, per Compass. Ready for a little park life? If so, here are three listings to consider:
→ 1936 Grove St (Nopa) • 2BR/1BA, 1811 SF condo • Ask: $1.495M • top-floor flat with large backyard • Days on market: 6 • Agent: Dylan Hunter, Compass.
→ 726 Lyon St (Nopa) • 3BR/2BA, 1543 SF condo • Ask: $1.585M (down from $1.7M on 09/15) • 1 of 3 units in well-maintained Victorian • Days on market: 55 • Agent: Jeff Taisch, Compass.
→ 560 Lyon St (Nopa, above) • 4BR/2.1BA, 2469 SF condo • Ask: $2.3M • Painted Lady with detached dwelling unit • Days on market: 44 • Agent: Katherine Stoll, Sotheby’s.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Inside the SF housing pricing game • Gardner Dailey-designed townhouse on Telegraph Hill hits market at $12.5M • Wells Fargo HQ sold for $55M.
GETAWAYS • Friday Routine
Lobsters & pickles
SHIBANI MONE • senior chef de cuisine • Caruso’s at Rosewood Miramar Beach Monteceito
Neighborhood you live in: Santa Barbara
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
At Caruso’s, we begin the day by collecting and receiving our weekly produce from the farmer’s market. During this time, the team works together to make sure all the fresh ingredients have been handled with care and put away properly. It’s our way of respecting the farmers and the growers for their hard work.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We curate the menus day by day based off the ingredients we have at our fingertips. This approach keeps our team feeling creative, collaborative, and focused on sustainability and seasonality when crafting our dishes. Now that it is lobster season, we were excited to introduce a new dish on the Ocean Tasting menu: Santa Barbara Spiny Lobster Girasoli. We developed this recipe to compliment the delicate flavors of our locally sourced spiny lobster.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight I plan on heading over to the Montecito Country Mart (which is just a short drive away from Caruso’s) to grab a delicious dinner at Bettina. Their menu is seasonal, and I fell in love with their carrot pizza when it made an appearance. For my day off, I’ll venture over to the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara for some cocktails and then dinner at Loquita. Their chicken paella is a must try.
How about a little leisure or culture?
When I’m not in the kitchen at Caruso’s, I spend my time cooking on the barbecue in my backyard. My golden retriever, Mr. Pickles, plays and runs around while I whip up different recipes. On sunny afternoons, I love to sip margaritas on the porch with a good book in hand. I also enjoy making my way to the Santa Barbara Farmers Market to pick up weekly produce. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming friends with many of the local vendors, so it’s always a fun opportunity to catch up and learn more about the ingredients they grow.
Any weekend getaways?
Two of my favorite getaways are Carmel-by-the-Sea up north or Crestline in Lake Arrowhead. They are both beautiful scenic drives and very dog friendly places.
While in Carmel I love to do the 14-mile drive and take in the seagulls, otters, and other wildlife that is abundant along the coast. Highway 1 itself is part of the escape, the scenic drive leads up to Carmel. There is a small coffee shop that I always stop at on my way there, Carmel Coffee House, which has the best croissants and Boulanger in town. We love strolling around the quaint little shops in town. Last time we discovered this little chocolate shop tucked away in the back called The Xocolatl Garden offering a hundred different types of chocolate bars and a chocolate tasting which we did as a group.
While in Crestline I like to go fishing and kayaking on Lake Arrowhead. It’s a mountain town that has this little Mexican restaurant right on the cliff called Hortencia’s with a thousand-foot drop protected just by a glass panel! Super unique and incredibly scenic. Usually dogs are a no-go but the owner now recognizes Pickles (since he has been there several times since being a puppy) and makes an exception.
What was your last great vacation?
My last great vacation was in Pattaya in Thailand. We were staying at the Rosewood Phukat and the food on property was phenomenal.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I just recently bought and fell in love with an Audio-Technica record player. I have always wanted to have a vinyl collection for my home.
WORK LINKS: 50 Bay Area founders explain themselves • The tech jester who pranks San Francisco • A24 Labs head views creativity as a system • Trendwatch: septuagenarian entrepreneurs.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Boo
Hexed • SF Mint (SoMa) • Fri @ 6p • VIP, $117 per
Morrissey • Greek Theatre (Berkeley) • Sat @ 7p • platinum, $240 per
Carlos Mencia • San Jose Improv (San Jose) • Sun @ 6p • VIP, $114 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Levi’s Plaza museum reopens after 5-year shutter • Top Litquake picks • Chinatown has become street party central • Fleet Week might be muted, but it’s happening.
GETAWAYS • Santa Barbara
Paper chase
Nothing could be more sublime than an escape to the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara. Recently, I was fortunate enough to experience three nights of bliss there during the holiday season. Now, I daydream about long summer nights on the grounds.
It’s easy to settle in at The Ranch. All rooms are private bungalows, dotted around the lush property, each featuring a stone fireplace, clawfoot tub, outdoor shower, hot tub, and spacious patio covered in bougainvillea. But what really got me were the wallpapers, a woven floral design with delicate fringed flowers in the main living area, and an exquisite, hand-painted floral design in the bathroom.
To alleviate sticker shock when booking a stay, it helps to know that the room rate includes three meals a day at any of the hotel’s restaurants or through in-room dining. We loved easing into the day by having breakfast delivered to our patio each morning. The menus are well done, but not extensive, so if you plan to take advantage of the all-inclusive dining, three nights feels like a sweet spot. (Yes, the seafood tower and the caviar service are included.) For a special dinner, reserve the Old Adobe private room, the resort’s oldest property structure, dating back to 1825.
The landscaping and grounds are the hotel’s best feature, and nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. Hummingbirds are everywhere, constantly darting between rosemary lawns, big beautiful trees, famous rose garden set against the mountain vista, and the gorgeous herb garden frequented by the chefs. The pool has views of the Pacific Ocean and also features an impressive mini golf course, bocce court, and a lovely open-air restaurant, perfect for a late leisurely lunch.
The salon and spa are charming but intimate, so book treatments in advance (and note that the spa doesn’t have a sauna or private relaxation lounges to wait before or after your service).
To make an incredible situation even better, the hotel is extremely dog-friendly. They offer a “Pampered Pets Program,” which will ensure that your cottage has the proper pet bedding, bowls, and a peanut-butter-adorned welcome treat (to say nothing of the special in-room dining menu specifically designed for pets). The Ranch is also connected to more than 17 miles of dog-friendly hiking trails up the San Ysidro Canyon, which our pampered pup, Scout, made the most of every day. –Sarah Jackson
→ San Ysidro Ranch (Santa Barbara) • 900 San Ysidro Ln • Rooms from $3395/night Oct weekend.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Snow season begins in Tahoe • SF chef takes over mountaintop restaurant in Jackson Hole • The only bar in California where you can buy a gun and a beer • Rosewood planning Rosewood Calistoga for 2027 opening • Hard Rock Casino to open south of Bakersfield this November • Crowded but fabulous: inside the new Centurion Lounge at HND (Tokyo) • ChatGPT travel apps are now a thing.