Date night
Nob Hill Spa, Fat Cat, Claws of Mantis, The Valley Club, Comstock Saloon, Tales of the Cocktail, MORE
ABOUT FOUND • Help Wanted
New FOUND locales are coming. We’re seeking contributors based in Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, New Orleans, Hawaii, Barcelona, Rome, Sydney, and Melbourne. A professional writing background isn’t required — mostly, we’re looking for passion about one or more FOUND categories (real estate, restaurants, shopping, culture & leisure, getaway travel & the modern workplace) along with impeccable taste. Is that you, or a friend? Interested candidates, drop us a line at found@itsfound.com and tell us a little about yourself.
More FOUND Objects are on the way. We’re looking for contributors to write about goods & services that bring them (and their friends) joy — from sunglasses to swimsuits, watches to high-end appliances, and more. Send us your one-sentence pitches at found@itsfound.com.
We’re seeking a freelance social media manager to give life to FOUND’s accounts on Instagram and potentially other platforms. The ideal candidate has experience managing social for a media brand or creator, is fluent in Canva and/or Illustrator, can adapt newsletter content into sharp, on-brand social posts (feed, stories, reels), and understands and enjoys neighborhood-based storytelling. If you’re interested, please send your portfolio, relevant social handles, and a short note about your availability to found@itsfound.com.
ASK FOUND
Today, three new 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.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Still or sparkling
CAMPER ENGLISH • cocktails & spirits writer/educator • Alcademics
Neighborhood you live in: Mission District
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I lead bottled water tasting classes on Tuesday evenings, so Wednesdays are a bit of cleanup and recycling — we taste around 20 waters, so there are a lot of cups and bottles to deal with. My office is upstairs in the Mechanics’ Institute library building, and the library is my favorite place in all of San Francisco, so I just moved in. And yet: I have my own cocktail book collection up here that’s already a bit much.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m a full-time cocktail and spirits writer, but that means I do a lot of other things besides writing. I judged a cognac cocktail competition on Monday and I give bar history tours on Saturdays. Today, though, I’m finishing up articles I’m writing about Chartreuse in martinis, another about clear ice cubes (the thing I am most known for), and I’m really trying to work on a proposal for my next book.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I put all my attention into cocktails. Lately my regular spots have been The Valley Club and (always) Comstock Saloon, but I’ve got bartender friends coming to town, so that means we do the route of True Laurel, Trick Dog, and down to ABV or Dalva, with a meal at Lolo along the way.
How about leisure or culture?
Because I do “fun” stuff for work, I do nerd stuff for fun, like going to lectures at the SF Historical Society, Big Brain events, and Nerd Nite at Rickshaw Stop. That said, my friends have convinced me to go to Horse Meat Disco at the renovated Castro Theatre this weekend. I may stay up past 10p!
Any weekend getaways?
Not in the short term, but I use visiting friends as an excuse to take the ferry over to Jack London Square to hit Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon, maybe hit Viridian or Tallboy, and take BART back.
What was your last great vacation?
Every year I go to New Orleans for the Tales of the Cocktail convention. I love the Monteleone Hotel to stay in, and visiting the old bars like Napoleon House and Arnaud’s French 75, but my favorite spot is Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 for both food and tropical drinks. Outside of the conference I’ll go to different sets of museums and attractions each year, like the Pharmacy Museum or some sort of history tour. I’ve been meaning to visit the Audubon Insectarium for years now. I’m really getting into bugs lately.
Where are you donating your time or money?
I created CocktailSafe.org to teach bartenders about safer drinks and techniques, and to steer clear of things like nicotine infusions and homemade tonic syrup. It’s bare bones, but full of good info.
WORK LINKS: Amazon Robotics moves HQ to Showplace Square • A guide to Peter Thiel’s Dialog invite list • Why mid-career women are trading corporate jobs for entrepreneurship.
RESTAURANTS • First Word
All claws
The Skinny: After years as a pop-up, Fat Cat Wine Club moved into a brick-and-mortar home in Bernal Heights this spring. In May, another former pop-up joined the business: Vietnamese-leaning pandemic sensation Claws of Mantis, which boosted the space into one of the city’s hottest wine bars.
RESTAURANT LINKS: San Francisco Brewing Co. opens Mission Bay outpost • Bay Area restaurants embrace frozen French fries • Local fermenters cash in on MAHA pickling boom • Trending: pickled beverages.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Lake Minnetonka
USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina • World Cup, round of 32 • San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (aka Levi’s) (Santa Clara) • Wed @ 5p • Pitchside, $6750 per ($1612 lowest avail)
Purple Rain • Paramount Theatre (Oakland) • Fri @ 7p • GA, $13 per
Claypool Gold • Primus, Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Frog Brigade • Meritage Resort and Spa (Napa) • Sat @ 530p • Gold VIP, $136 per
California Classic • Chase Center (Thrive City) • Sun @ 130p • Courtside, $206 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Iconic SF wedding cake topper heads to Smithsonian • Speaking with the director of SF-set sensation Voicemails for Isabelle • Decentered Arts lands permanent home.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Spa
Spa vista
During a late April stay at the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill, I was struck by how the hotel’s upgraded lobby and rooms felt newly luxurious in a pleasingly understated way, drawing a comparison in my mind with LA’s Sunset Tower, one of my favorite hotels in the world. The Huntington’s restaurant, The Big Four (intel), reopened over just a month at that point, didn’t have an empty seat in the house the two nights I stopped in.