Spa day
Kin Khao, Pizzetta, Parkside listings, great day spas, NewTree Ranch, MORE
WORK • Friday Routine
Muffaletta man
PETERSON HARTER • owner • Sandy’s
Neighborhood you work and live in: Haight-Ashbury
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m getting everything ready for the shop, doing all the prep for the day, getting ready for the weekend, and if there are any events coming up. It’s basic restaurant stuff: build our sandwiches, cut watermelon for salads, slice the meat, roast the mushrooms, and bake off cookies — anything we need to do to open the doors at 11a.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Part of being a small business owner is finding time to sit down and respond to emails, look at your finances, and try to do projections. That’s one of the difficulties — the amount of hats you have to wear. I try to separate out my days in terms of main categories, and today is catering and events. I’ll set up my prep lists, equipment inventories, start scheduling out, and doing all the staffing.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I would recommend Kin Khao, because the food is absolutely incredible, and spicy. I went to Minnie Bell’s for the first time recently — the fried chicken was phenomenal, and I ate way too much of the mac and cheese. That menu hits home for me, the soulful, Southern cooking. And then Pizzetta kind of reminds me of a place you’d find in the Village in New York. I just really love the vibe of it. It’s so affordable and the food hits every time.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I just started surfing again after spinal surgery and messing up my shoulder — I found out I had tendonitis, and I’ve finally been doing therapy. I started doing yoga again. I’m really trying to focus on taking care of myself.
I went to see My Morning Jacket at The Greek a couple months ago. That’s my favorite band, and it was an incredible show. And I’m going to see a DJ set tonight with my buddy Joe Fro. It’s called the Texture Summit, and they have some DJs coming in from overseas. The location hasn’t been set yet, but it’s going to be downtown somewhere. It’s not normally my scene, but I’m trying to get out and explore.
Any weekend getaways?
We did an event up in Healdsburg at BloodRoot Wines, right off the main square, as part of the summer market they have. Every time I go up there, I try to eat at Noble Folk. They have pies and ice cream (and I love their pies so much).
What was your last great vacation?
The last actual vacation I took was for my 40th birthday last year. I went to Nicaragua for a surf trip with some great friends. We specifically went to a place called Playa Colorado, on the southwestern coast of the country about two hours southwest of Managua. We got a house right on the beach and all we did was surf. There were some guys that would catch spiny lobsters on the reef and walk around selling them, so I bought some of those and cooked them up, along with lots of beans and rice.
What’s a recent big ticket purchase that you love?
Honestly, there are two of them: A yoga pass for 10 sessions at Haum Studios, to be consistent in taking care of my body. And then a pass for a few sessions for body work with Jetta Moonflower in Sausalito. It’s a combination of Thai massage and stretching. She’ll find a spot and really get in there, pinpointing pressure spots and loosening them up.
WORK LINKS: Why these Silicon Valley companies insist on a 72-hour workweek • SF still has lowest office return rate in nation • Gen Z resists the work emergency • In AI world, it’s the boring middle of work that’s disappearing • Real talk: CEOs don’t actually call the shots • Hybrid sweet spot: 80/20 remote with quarterly off-sites.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Zoo station
The Parkside is often lumped in with the Sunset District, but it’s its own beast — the neighborhood nearest the SF Zoo is dominated by single-family residences and quirky surf shacks, as opposed to the mixed-use hubbub of its neighbor to the north.
Most homes were built in the ‘50s and ‘60s, which means the last decade or so has seen an uptick in sales as original owners downsize or depart. Per Compass, 87 homes changed hands in this beachside neighborhood over the past year at a median price of $1.5M — but prices can wildly vary, with the biggest sale this year clocking in at $7.1M. Ready for a life between the ocean and the animals? These recent listings might get you there:
→ 2262 47th Ave (Parkside) • 4BR/2BA, 2016 SF • Ask: $1.788M • 3 levels, full-floor primary suite • Days on market: 8 • Agent: Christine Lopatowski, Corcoran Icon.
→ 2091 31st Ave (Parkside, above) • 4BR/3BA, 2000 SF • Ask: $1.795M • living room fireplace, big back yard, fully renovated • Days on market: 7 • Agent: Jenny Wang, Compass.
→ 2042 23rd Ave (Parkside) • 3BR/3.1BA, 2718 SF • Ask: $2.599M • split-level, private decks, outdoor dining area • Days on market: 8 • Broker: Yao Hong Yang.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Academy of Art puts part of its Downtown SF portfolio on the market • Whole Earth Catalog founders historic Sausalito houseboat hits the market for $1.8M • Where home prices have changed the most over the last 130 years.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Day spas
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.
Kabuki Springs & Spa (Japantown, above), Japanese-style onsen, communal hot tub, cold plunge pool, dry sauna and salt scrub, Javanese body treatment and private bath, book
SenSpa (Presidio), best-in-town massages, hot stone treatment w/ crystals, aromatherapy, keratin hand/foot wrap, cozy fireplace lounge, book
Earthbody (Hayes Valley), Swedish massage, holistic treatments including myofascial release, lymphatic drainage, reiki and zero-waste, organic apothecary, book
Onsen (Tenderloin), Japanese-style bath and restaurant, old-growth redwood, massive skylight, communal tub, steam room, Himalayan salt sauna, intel, book
Healing Arts Center and Spa at Cavallo Point (Sausalito), massages/facials, guided meditations, shamanic journey experience, indoor and outdoor lounge, relaxation pool for après-spa cocktail or hot tea, book
International Orange (Larkspur), locally made products, outdoor roof deck, book
Asaya Spa at Rosewood Sand Hill (Menlo Park), posh spa for deluxe facials, Finnish hemlock sauna, basalt-and-limestone steam room and functional mushroom wellness teas, recent glow-up by Nicole Hollis design, book
LaBelle Day Spa and Salon (Palo Alto), wide range of facials, hair treatments, massages, male-focused services including back facial, book
Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary (Freestone), signature cedar enzyme bath, Japanese tea garden, book
CULTURE & LEISURE • More cowbell
Ghost Palace Halloween Party • Palace of Fine Arts (Marina) • Fri @ 9p • Tier 4, $188 per
Downey Mildew + Mark Eitzel • Make-Out Room (Mission) • Sat @ 7p • GA, $25 per
Blue Öyster Cult • The Guild (Menlo Park) • Sun @ 8p • Mezzanine, $249 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: New backgammon club launches in SF • Dave Eggers to open nonprofit gallery Art + Water at Pier 29 • Can AI save the local theater scene? • Travis Kelce investment could revive California’s Great America.
GETAWAYS • Healdsburg
At play
Located just a few minutes outside of Healdsburg, NewTree Ranch is an expansive, manicured luxury property perfect for slightly chaotic (but very memorable) getaways with multiple children and adults. There are two guest houses: The Estate, with four spacious bedrooms, an outdoor pool, and a nearby stable that hosts donkeys and mini horses, and The Barn, a treehouse-like newer addition to the property, featuring two bedrooms, a well-equipped gym, a Japanese tea lounge, and a beautiful garden.
Co-founder Edward Newell lives nearby, and he’s clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the project — soft sheets delight parents, and the opportunity to pick freshly laid eggs for breakfast is a kid-proof attraction. He welcomes guests with jars of homemade jam and a fridge packed with produce, but from there, meal possibilities are multiple. Guests can fend for themselves, have meals made by the staff and delivered, or even partake in a pizza party at the Barn.
During our stay, we opted for the lazy scenario, which included making the kids omelettes from fresh eggs, and having our lunch and dinner taken care of by Edward and the staff. In between feeding sessions, we lounged in the property’s multiple lavish communal spaces, chilled by the pool, explored the estate surroundings (including a lake), participated in a sound bath as our children watched with contempt and boredom, and just let the peaceful atmosphere — and the fact that our children were busy and happy — turn off the alarms of everyday life. –Flora Tsapovsky
→ NewTree Ranch (Healdsburg) • 3780 Wallace Creek Rd • From $1500/night, Nov. weekend.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Wonderful Co. owners launch Napa winery • Testing Condor Airlines’ SFO-FRA flights • National Geographic launching luxury trip spinoff • How ChatGPT is changing travel planning.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the paywall
→ A handful of favorite Bay Area restaurants from new subscribers: Lazy Bear (Mission) • House of Prime Rib (Van Ness) • Jules (Upper Haight) • Outerlands (Outer Sunset) • Moo Bong Ri (Oakland).