Match point
Ilna, Buddy, Mission Bay listings, art shows, Macaulay Culkin tix, MORE
RESTAURANTS • Pop-Ups
New layers
The Backstory: One of the best meals I’ve eaten this year wasn’t at a hot new opening, it was at Ilna, a pleasant surprise of a pop-up. Founder Maz Naba was an opening partner at Rich Table, ran operations for Osito, Mister Jiu’s, and Moongate Lounge, and consulted on the openings for Nightbird and the Matheson. Now, he’s returned to his chef roots with a weekly Lebanese dinner, sporting a name that means “for us” in Arabic.
The Experience: Ilna has a regular residence on Sunday nights at Buddy, a cool natural wine bar in the Mission. Dishes are bright, beautiful, and layered, like tabouli salad with plump figs and crispy duck, cool cucumber soup with milky sweet raw scallops, creamy labneh topped with trout flakes and roe, or dried beef dumplings cloaked in yogurt and sprinkled with za’atar. He bakes his own breads to swipe through those spreads, including a squid ink black pita, puffed like a little pillow and tucked into a scarf. Naba also owns his own winery, Augur Wine Co., so he brings in some of his own bottles inspired by the Mediterranean (but grown in California).
Why It’s FOUND: Buddy seems to be an early tastemaker for wildly successful pop-ups gone permanent (see: the pizza at Jules, the squab at Four Kings). Let’s hope and trust Ilna will continue that trend, but for now, don’t miss the first bites. –Becky Duffett
→ Ilna popping up at Buddy (Mission) • 3115 22nd Street • Sun 430–830p • Reserve.
WORK • Help Wanted
FOUND is seeking contributors based in the Bay Area’s greatest getaways — places including Napa and Sonoma, Tahoe and Truckee, and Santa Cruz and Monterey. You needn’t be a professional writer; more important are your interest in dining, hospitality, and/or shopping, as well as impeccable taste. If this intrigues, please get in touch at found@itsfoundsf.com
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three properties that came to market in Mission Bay in the last 30 days.
→ 250 King St #1304 (Mission Bay) • 1BR/1BA, 587 SF condo • Ask: $549K • Upper-story unit with downtown views in the Beacon • Days on market: 16 • Agent: Cooper Gaines, eXp.
→ 235 Berry St #417 (Mission Bay, above) • 2BR/2BA, 1070 SF condo • Ask: $1.1M • West-facing unit in doorman building • Days on market: 8 • Agent: Justin D Welch, Sotheby’s.
→ 435 China Basin St #205 (Mission Bay) • 2BR/2BA, 1185 SF condo • Ask: $1.325M (down from $1.689M on 11/11) • Chef’s kitchen and private balcony at the Madrone • Days on market: 27 • Agent: Isabel Manchester, Compass.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: 1800-home development proposed for 1335 Webster St. • AI startup Chalk takes over 55 Stockton St • Storied Sausalito restaurant site hits the market for $28M.
CULTURE & LEISURE • The Nines
Art shows
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.
Midnight March by Masako Miki (ICA SF), largest presentation to date of Masako Miki’s work, thru 12/7
The Eighth Color by Rupy C. Tut (Jessica Silverman Gallery), exploring themes of migration and diaspora psychology, on linen and handmade paper, thru 12/20
To Bright Disturbances a group show (Sfac), deep dive into contemporary conversations around land and environment, thru 12/13
What’s Left, Never Left by Auddi Dorsey (JCM), paintings challenging narratives between African Americans and aquatic life, thru 12/20
Osato / Quiet Conversations by Maya Fuji & Shingo Yamazaki (Glass Rice), paintings and VR installations taking viewer into Fuji’s reimagined grandmother’s home for meditations on heritage, identity, and memory, thru 11/29
Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition (SOMA), representing SF’s next generation of artists (and introducing them to collectors), thru 12/7
Still Still by Don Hershman (Wessling Contemporary), classic, sensible still lifes that span a 30-year career, thru 12/20
Caldwell Snyder Gallery’s latest group show (Caldwell Snyder), a little bit of everything, thru 12/31
Treasured Bearing by Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann (Dolby Chadwick Gallery), “There is room in our lives for flights of fancy,” Mann insists, thru 11/29
CULTURE & LEISURE • Keep the Change
Dana Gould • Punch Line (FiDi) • Fri @ 945p • Preferred, $51 per
Sharks v Senators • SAP Center (San Jose) • Sat @ 4p • 114, row 1 $547 per
Macaulay Culkin • Home Alone 35th anniversary • San Jose Civic (San Jose) • Sun @ 730p • 102, $95 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: A look at the lush costumes of SF Opera’s The Monkey King • Russian Hill’s Hack Temple reborn as event space • 9a is the new hot party time • Do museums need to ban selfies?
GETAWAYS • Hawaii
Lei’d back
The “lani” — heaven in Hawaiian — is in the details at the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. The 34-acre oceanfront property sits along a half mile of coastline, surrounded by volcanic peaks.
Built in the early ’80s, the hotel operated as the Mauna Lani Resort until 2018 when the property underwent a $200 million renovation and reemerged in 2020 in its reborn form.
It’s best to begin a morning here with a sunrise outrigger canoe paddle. The adventure is led by a guide who shares stories and traditional Hawaiian chants before welcoming you to jump into the Pacific as the sun rises over Mauna Kea. Later in the day, snorkeling off of white sand beaches will likely provide views of sea turtles and an array of iridescent Hawaiian tropical fish who feed on the thriving coral reef.
For a luxury resort, eating spicy tuna poke over rice, hot dogs, sandwiches, and fresh fruit smoothies while dressed in your sandy swimsuit at the surf shack or delivered to your clamshell lounge chair at the beach club: refreshingly casual. The property’s destination-worthy oceanfront restaurant, CanoeHouse, shines with Japanese-influenced dishes like spinach ohitashi topped with creamy Hokkaido uni, shaved daikon radish salad with crispy salmon skin, and roasted nori tossed in wasabi aioli along with mains like beautifully cooked Akaushi strip loin steak.
Like most hotels along the Hawaiian coast, this is a resort filled with tourists. But at every turn, there’s a sense of reverence to its origin. With hours-long historic walking tours through Kalāhuipuaʻa ancient fishponds, petroglyphs and lava tubes led by a community elder name Pi’i who is incredibly rich with knowledge of the sea turtles, the land’s history, and tradition, this place feels special. –Heather Platt
→ Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection (Big Island, Hawaii) • 68-1400 Mauna Lani Dr • Rates from $1200/wknd night.
GETAWAYS LINKS: The Phoenix Hotel’s last night will be NYE • LOT Polish Airlines adding direct SFO-WAW (Warsaw) route in May • Waymo debuts at SJC.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the paywall
→ A handful of favorite Bay Area restaurants from new subscribers: Fiorella (multiple locations) • Bix (Jackson Square) • Quince (Jackson Square) • Pizzetta 211 (Richmond District) • Milos Meze (Marina).