The heat is real
Augie's French, Walnut Creek listings, Foreign Cinema, Marin County Mart, MORE
GETAWAYS • Sonoma
No fuss French
The Backstory: Part of beloved Napa restaurant group Stark Reality Restaurants (Bird & the Bottle, Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar, Bravas Bar de Tapas), two-year-old bistro Augie’s French in Santa Rosa celebrates the classically continental.
The Experience: Patio seating features French bistro chairs, but that’s where the Parisian cafe vibes end. Inside the historic 1904 brick Maugg Building, the design is decidedly modern. There are soaring ceilings, an all-zinc bar with statement lighting, and jewel-toned banquettes, but it’s whimsical details like butterfly tapestry walls and a brass rabbit with the cheeky quote “hare today, rillette tomorrow” that really underline Augie’s charm.
Billed as “French without the fuss,” the restaurant serves a French-only wine list and traditional dishes (frog legs, salad Lyonnaise, beef bourguignon), plus a weekday happy hour of drink specials and small plates. Standouts include an exquisitely cheesy onion soup; escargot swimming in a deliciously rich sauce of garlic butter, parsley, and Pernod; and the coquilles St. Jacques gratinée of sea scallops, mushroom, gruyère, and crispy jambon beautifully plated on the half shell. For mains, the salmon paillard a la plancha with lemon-tarragon beurre blanc was a surprise favorite.
Why It’s FOUND: Ask any local about the best food in Santa Rosa, and they’ll likely tell you Augie’s French: It’s where Jordan winemaker Maggie Kruse takes her family — her 10-year-old daughter loves the duck confit — and the place Bricoleur Vineyard’s director of hospitality Taylor Bolton-Harvey, always recommends to visitors. Though reservations are recommended, walk-ins are always welcome, because it’s Augie’s MO to find a oui. –Allison McCarthy
→ Augie’s French (Santa Rosa, CA) • 535 Fourth St • Mon-Fri 1130a-9p, Sat-Sun 4-9p • Reserve.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Chef Traci Des Jardin returns to the restaurant game, opens Yarrow at Tahoe’s Sugar Bowl Resort • Geyserville’s tasting menu destination Cyrus kicks off ramen pop-up • Highway 1 in Big Sur reopens after three years • Ojai’s most expensive listing is ‘surprisingly low-key’ • The land is shifting underneath Kauai Coffee.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three properties that came to market in Walnut Creek in the last 30 days.
→ 2114 Londonderry Ct (Rudgear Estates) • 3BR/2BA, 1810 SF • Ask: $1.25M • 1978 build w/ original fireplace • Days on market: 8 • Agent: Renee White, Keller Williams.
→ 2463 Aarles Ct (Carriage Square) • 4BR/2BA, 2003 SF • Ask: $1.3M • Single-level w/ original hardwood, paved patio • Days on market: 9 • Agent: Marina Petrosov, Real Marina.
→ 411 La Vista Rd (Lakewood, above) • 4BR/3BA, 2603 SF • Ask: $1.798M • Classic MCM w/ owned solar, 3 Tesla backup batteries • Days on market: 11 • Agent: Marisa Cox, Dudum.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: 180 Sutter and 222 Kearny sell for $5M in package deal • Larry Ellison’s Billionaire’s Row home changes hands for $45M • Residential development to replace West Portal’s Empire Theatre.
WORK • Friday Routine
True blue
CATHERINE WAGNER • artist • Catherine Wagner Studio
Neighborhood you work in: Dogpatch
Neighborhood you live in: Bernal Heights
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I work from my studio at the Minnesota Street Project, a campus of studios with about 30 other artists. We’re a pretty serious group in that we’re all working on projects daily. When I’m in the studio, my two assistants are usually with me, and we divide up work from making final prints, to running proofs of new work, to working with my on-staff designer.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today, we’re pulling a final print for a collector working with my SF gallery rep Jessica Silverman. Her gallery is very active, and she’s the hardest-working dealer I know. Her space is also beautifully designed, and I love showing work there.
At the studio, we’re uncovering work from my 2017 series, In Situ: Traces of Morandi. I haven’t looked at this work since it came back from the Museum of Modern Art, Bologna. It’s exciting to look at past work and see how it continues to inform me — I find there’s always a strong link to newer projects. My most important days, though, are the quiet ones that go toward conceiving new ideas and experimenting.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Foreign Cinema is a go-to for meeting up with friends and other artists. My partner and I love Cotogna for special occasions. Our lives are busy — I’m at the studio, she’s working from her landscape architecture office — and we often meet up for meals out at the end of the day.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I have a Saturday ritual of going to the farmers’ market at Marin County Mart. If I have a free day, my partner and I take our dog Ronan to his favorite spot at Stinson Beach, where he can run all the way to Bolinas. I really enjoy walking a few miles near the ocean — there’s something about being near water, with long views out to the horizon line, that I find both inspirational and healing.
Any weekend getaways?
We often go to Los Angeles to visit friends and look at art at the Hammer Museum, LACMA, and MOCA. I also have a gallery there called Gallery Luisotti. I’ve been with Theresa Luisotti for years — she’s the person responsible for several of my museum shows in Japan in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. We love to stay downtown or at the Proper Hotel in Santa Monica.
What was your last great vacation?
We were in Mallorca last summer, celebrating our friend Phil Mercado’s 60th birthday. He invited 60 people from different places around the world, and I think everyone attended. We all stayed at Hotel Es Moli. Before the birthday celebration, we spent three days on Menorca at the Menorca Experimental Hotel with a small group of gals. We visited Hauser & Wirth and spent time on a special boat, where we swam into sea caves. I was stung by a jellyfish, which was terrifying at first, but the crew on the boat took care of it by scraping my arm with a credit card and then forced me back into the saltwater to wash away the sting. Now, I’m not afraid of jellyfish anymore!
Photo: Phil Bond
WORK LINKS: John Ternus floated as Apple’s next CEO • Is AI’s Ice Age overstated? Jeff Bezos on decision fatigue • The lost art of the work happy hour.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Spread Game
Ramy Youssef • Palace of Fine Arts (Marina) • Fri @ 7p • VIP, $168 per
Black Flag • The Ritz (San Jose) • Sat @ 7p • VIP, $250 per
Harlem Globetrotters • 100 Year Tour • Chase Center (Thrive City) • Sun @ 3p • VIP AA, $245 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: SF Sketchfest announces shows on BART • San Francisco Bay Ferry launches commute hour concert series • Burning Man’s Sunrise Sale kicks off 02/04 • The most beautiful home libraries • The cult of social media kitchens • Design city of the year: Detroit.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Saunas, Bay Area
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.
