Turning tides
The Hall, Monterey listings, Thanksgiving reservations, Brandy & Monica tix, MORE
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 an interest in restaurants, hotels, and shops, as well as impeccable taste. If this intrigues, please get in touch at found@itsfoundsf.com.
BARS • First Round
On cue
There’s no shortage of dive bars to shoot pool in the city where sticky floors and the smell of stale beer are an authentic feature, if not the draw. There’s even a 60-year-old parlor dedicated to billiards at 2807 Geary (for now). But those places lack what The Hall Bar & Billiards is betting big on: a serious food and drink menu alongside an upscale pool experience.
New from entrepreneur-friends Joina Liao, Modi Shantharam, and Yuko Takahashi, The Hall is the latest iteration in a historic (possibly cursed?) Mission theater building that’s housed an array of failed nightclubs and live-music venues over the past two decades: 12 Galaxies, the Blue Macaw, Arena SF, ECHO, to name a few.
Similar to Alamo Drafthouse across the street (which breathed new life into the derelict New Mission Theater), The Hall team took on the unappealing, warehouse-like space with gusto. The decor in the two-story, 8,500-square-foot space is now all swagger: slate gray shagreen leather banquettes, concrete and wood-slat walls, coffered ceilings, and amorphous, golden-amber pendant lights hanging above an inky black-and-white marble bar. But for all the pomp and circumstance, the Mission’s swanky new pool hall is decidedly down to earth.
Ample seating lines the perimeter, accommodating both couples and different group sizes in varying configurations. Eight Diamond pool tables (four downstairs, four upstairs, including two nine-footers for the pros) take center stage, and each is brightly lit with its own articulated fixture, keeping the rest of the lounge dim and moody. On a recent Wednesday night, the first-floor lounge started quiet and mostly empty, but by 930p, pool tables on the main floor were at capacity. The scene was a mix of first-name-basis regulars and nerdy tech types who fit in here about as much as I did. We perched up at the wraparound gallery upstairs and played a round, without anyone hovering in wait or sneering at my lack of skill. And therein lies the beauty of this place: no one was judging.
The let’s-order-everything cocktail menu fuses the owners’ three cultures with flavor-forward spins on the classics: a bright-tart passionfruit whiskey sour made with Kikori Japanese whiskey; umami-rich Negroni made with black sesame-infused gin; subtly sweet lychee Mai Tai; and a date-tamarind old fashioned with a hint of warming spices that’s my new go-to drink for winter. The food is a tightly edited list of Brazilian-Indian-Japanese snacks, salads, and sandwiches, and it’s legit. Our Brazilian steak skewers were perfectly seasoned and cooked, served with a spicy cilantro and garlic crema for dipping. Other standouts included slow-braised chashu pork belly in a sweet-savory tamari glaze and a ponzu crunch salad with jicama, chayote squash, and crispy wild rice.
Sundays through Tuesdays are league nights (although spectators are welcome to observe from the mezzanine), and the rest of the week is reserved for walk-ins. Pool tables are first-come, first-served, and rates are fair ($25/hr for two players, $30/hr for three, $40/hr for four). Not surprisingly, the place pops off on weekends, and reservations are available for dinner if you’re keen on securing a table. During our visit, the cast of characters around us turned over in the span of an hour, so even on busy nights, the wait for a pool table seems manageable.
Curse, be damned. The Hall’s fun, fancy, casual, and unassuming all at once, overdelivering not just on pool, but also on the pure fun and joy of going out. –Allison McCarthy
→ The Hall (Mission) • 2565 Mission St • Sun-Thu 5p-12a, Fri-Sat 5p-1a • Reserve.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Jazz hands
Founded by Spanish colonizers in 1774, the Central Coast town of Monterey predates not just the state of California (est. 1850) but the entire US. It’s taken on several forms since then: as a bustling port, a gold rush boomtown, and a turn of the 20th century artists’ colony. These days, it’s a global destination for visitors drawn to its jazz fest, aquarium, and wharf.
Its two-hour drive distance from SF has also made the coastal community a desirable location for a second home — or a primary residence for Bay Area workers without a daily commute. Its market is steady, with a median sales price of $1.25M over the last year, a 7,5% uptick, Redfin reports. Here, three listings for those interested in trading the Bay Bridge for Cannery Row:
→ 486 Van Buren St (Monterey) • 5BR/3BA, 2496 SF • Ask: $1.395M • 1908 Victorian on market for first time in 50 years • Days on market: 7 • Agent: Laura Ciucci, Sotheby’s.
→ 1145 Harrison St (Monterey) • 3BR/2BA, 1638 SF • Ask: $1.485M • renovated MCM w/ vast deck and canyon view • Days on market: 10 • Agent: Ryan Melcher, Sotheby’s.
→ 502 Pierce St (Monterey, above) • 3BR/2BA, 2245 SF • Ask: $3.5M • Casa de la Torre, a historic adobe built in 1851 • Days on market: 13 • Agent: Angolee Bode, Compass.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Six-building apartment complex planned for the Presidio • 41-story office tower approved at 530 Sansome • Three years in, the 5M office tower remains vacant.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Thanksgiving, Ticketed
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.
Gold Mirror (Parkside), red sauce classic, recent deep reno, lasagne, filet mignon, jumbo prawns, reserve
Colibri (Presidio), upscale Mexican, historic officers’ quarters inside national park, mole poblano, guacamole, margaritas, reserve
House of Prime Rib (Van Ness), legendary steakhouse, prime rib, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, reserve
3rd Cousin (Bernal Heights, above), farm-to-table, 3-course tasting, herb-rubbed turkey, classic pies, reserve
John’s Grill (Union Square), century-old chop house, introed Thanksgiving last year, prix-fixe turkey dinner or surf & turf, reserve
Crustacean (FiDi), queen of garlic noodles, glam new location, roasted crab, turkey dumplings, intel, reserve
Garden Court at the Palace Hotel (SoMa), ultimate hotel buffet, under historic dome, carving stations, oysters, sparkling, reserve
International Smoke (SoMa), Michael Mina & Ayesha Curry’s barbecue collab, carving stations, mac & cheese, cornbread, reserve
Harborview (Embarcadero), upscale Cantonese, Bay and bridge views, banquet menus, whole roast duck, reserve
CULTURE & LEISURE • So Gorge
Michelle Buteau • Surviving and Thriving Tour • Fox Theater (Oakland) • Fri @ 7p • PIT row D, $214 per
Brandy & Monica • The Boy is Mine Tour • Oakland Arena (Oakland) • Sat @ 8p • B row 8, $521 per
Violet vs Gottmik • The Knockout Tour • The Midway (Dogpatch) • Sun @ 7p • VIP1, $173 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Frameline film fest will return to the revived Castro Theatre • Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco booted for Wharton School of Business • Some luxury packages for the Bay Area’s next Super Bowl are already sold out • After self-funding Megapolis, Coppola is selling watch collection • Study confirms viewing art is good for you.
GETAWAYS • Hawaii
Volcanic vista
The open-air Kona International Airport is breezy and calm, a gentle preview of what’s to come at Kona Village, Rosewood’s respectful revival of a Big Island legend. Once a fishing village at the edge of a black lava field, it became an off-the-grid resort frequented by the likes of Steve Jobs and Jim Morrison (who, legend has it, downed 21 mai tais in a single sitting) before being wiped out by a tsunami in 2011.
The property’s new incarnation honors its past with intention. Some returning guests book the same room they stayed in 40 years ago — and still place a coconut outside their door instead of a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign, just like they used to. The Shipwreck Bar, a sailboat-turned-cocktail lounge, still anchors the beach, while the Talk Story Bar remains a nightly ritual for sunset drinks.
Spread over 81 acres, the 150 free-standing hale (traditional Hawaiian villas) feature thatched roofs, outdoor showers, and views of the ocean, lagoons, or lush gardens. The interiors blend the outdoors in, layering wood, linen, lava rock, and Hawaiian artwork in a barefoot, considered style. Despite the luxury, the mood is unmistakably laid-back.
The same could be said of the food there. Kona Village’s signature restaurant Moana is an exception to hotel dining clichés. Locals came in every night when we were there. Dishes are built around Big Island bounty, and favorites included miso kanpachi, kalbi-braised beef cheeks, and abalone with brown butter sabayon. Elsewhere on the property, Kahuwai Cookhouse, a toes-in-the-sand beach spot, specializes in open-fire cooking. Their zarandeado-style whole fish, slicked in chile salsas, reminded me of Contramar’s famed pescado a la talla — bold and messy.
While there are two pools on-site, we headed straight for the beach, where whales breach offshore and the sand is salt-and-pepper from crushed volcanic rock. There’s paddleboarding, snorkeling, and tennis, while the spa offers treatments with views of the Hualālai volcano. Bikes are the best way to roam the grounds, and for kids, there’s a full club with activities rooted in local culture.
The resort is powered entirely by solar and a reverse osmosis water treatment plant, and petroglyphs etched into lava have been preserved with reverence. Here, the island isn’t just a backdrop. It’s the main character. –Victoire Loup
→ Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort (Kailua-Kona, Big Island, HI) • 72-300 Maheawalu Dr • Rooms from $1091/night, Nov. weekend.
GETAWAYS LINKS: At SFO, Alaska reportedly cutting direct routes including BOS and BUR • United expanding SFO operations, adding 28 more flights by next summer • The bifurcation of the Hawaii travel market • Dolly Parton’s new Nashville hotel opens reservations.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the paywall
→ A handful of favorite Bay Area restaurants from new subscribers: Sandy’s (Lower Haight) • AB Steak (Union Square) • The Mill (Divis Corridor) • Dragon Beaux (Outer Richmond) • Soban (Petaluma).