Banquet style

Little Saint, Healdsburg listings, Nari, Mensho, Turnbull, MORE

GETAWAYS • Healdsburg

Plant-powered

The Backstory: Inside a giant modern industrial barn in Healdsburg, the plant-based Little Saint opened in 2022, taking over the former Shed. First the couple behind legendary Healdsburg restaurant SingleThread collaborated on a restaurant there. Then, a Noma chef attempted a fine dining experience. Both departed after less than a year. At that point, owners Laurie and Jeff Ubben transitioned the business to a more casual — and still vegan — all-day cafe, featuring produce from their own farm. But not too casual: award-winning designer Ken Fulk is behind the building’s latest look, and famous musicians like Beck regularly swing by (and played an intimate show there last summer).

The Experience: I brought a vegan friend to brunch to get to the bottom of the mushroom pozole (so good). We dug into a trio of colorful dips with artfully arranged purple broccoli and daikon, a play on florentine with carrot lox and avocado hollandaise, and fried lion’s mane with waffles. One can chase those with a mushroom latte or ashwagandha cocoa, or an old-fashioned glass of sparkling rosé. We admired the homegrown produce and gave them points for creativity. Dishes definitely are healthyish, and there were a couple moments I missed butter.

Why it’s FOUND: The star is still the space. While Shed was more minimalist, the current iteration of Little Saint is wild and bohemian, with vintage rugs, green velvet barstools, a crystal chandelier, and rolling library ladder. There’s a lot going on, and I’d happily swing back for a black bean burger before an afternoon of pinot tasting. – Becky Duffett

→ Little Saint (Healdsburg, CA) • 25 North St • Daily 8a-9p • Walk-ins only.

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GETAWAYS LINKS: Jean-Charles Boisset shutters Napa, Yountville tasting rooms • Yosemite campsite bookings just launched • LA Olympics opens ticket lottery • Brightline West now targeting late 2029 opening.

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REAL ESTATE • First Mover

Three properties that came to market in Healdsburg in the last 30 days.

→ 511 Hidden Acres Rd (Healdsburg, above) • 3BR/4BA, 2003 SF • Ask: $4.95M • new construction on private half-acre • Days on market: 15 • Agent: Kellie Larson, Luxe Places International.

→ 991 Grove St (Healdsburg) • 5BR/4.1BA, 5629 SF • Ask: $5.7M • two-level 2021 build w/ ADU • Days on market: 6 • Agent: Sheri Morgensen, Sotheby’s.

→ 9110 Chalk Hill Rd (Healdsburg) • 6BR/5.1BA, 5132 SF • Ask: $6.495M • gated estate w/ Mt. St. Helena • Days on market: 19 • Agent: Brooklyn Nordby, Sotheby’s.

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REAL ESTATE LINKS: New owner for Embarcadero tower 101 California • Mission District Hibernia Bank and Social Security building to become restaurant and bookstore • Napa’s di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art hits market for $10.9M.

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WORK • Friday Routine

Extra spicy

BILLIE WANNAJARO (above, center right) • owner • Hed11 & Hed VeryThai
Neighborhood you work in: FiDi & Japantown
Neighborhood you live in: Embarcadero

It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’ll wake up at around 730a, check emails, review sales, then report to my investor. I get ready and make my first stop at Hed VeryThai. My personal office is there, so it’s a good place to work on administration and marketing. When 12 o’clock hits, we have a big flood of customers from the FiDi, so I’m helping my staff if needed. We close that restaurant at 2p, and I move over to Hed11 at 3p, and we start service at 5p. I’m on the floor every evening until 9 or 10p.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Last night, after I finished my shift, I went to Nari. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in town. I like Thai because I’m Thai, but also it’s really interesting to see upscale Thai food refined by a professional chef, with fine knife skills and complex sauces. It’s a beautiful thing. And it’s upscale enough for a special occasion, but still also casual enough to visit every week.

After a long shift, I usually grab ramen at Mensho. Every single time, I order the same dish, the G.K.O. Extra Spicy, with extra kale on top, spicy fried carrot on the side, and spicy corn wings. I love spicy stuff. It’s the creamy toripaitan broth, but a little bit more heavy on the garlic and spice. It’s just so perfect when the temperature drops.

How about a little leisure or culture?
I love concerts. I love pop music. I went to see Blackpink in New York, Doja Cat at Outside Lands, and Lady Gaga. This year, I’m thinking about going to Coachella. I went to Stagecoach last year to see Lana Del Rey, when she switched to country. It’s an amazing music festival in the desert, giving so much California vibe.

Any weekend getaways?
My weekend getaway is always to go wine tasting in Napa. We’ve taken the whole team to one of our suppliers, Hendry, that’s really nice, family owned, very welcoming. But I also go with my husband, and hop around to wineries like Turnbull. I’m still young, and want to see how far I can go, but I have a dream that if I ever retire, I’m going to retire in Napa.

What was your last great vacation?
We took a holiday to New York in May, and stayed at The Carlyle the night before the Met Gala. You need to book one year ahead, and make a reservation at Bemelmans, the jazz bar in the hotel. That night we saw celebrities; I met some of the cast of White Lotus. I also went to Atomix, the Korean restaurant ranked one of the best in the US. And I went to Eleven Madison Park twice, first when they were doing the vegan menu, and then when they added meat, I rushed to go back.

What’s a recent big ticket purchase that you love?
I love my Chanel watch, which cost about $6000. It’s very simple and goes with every outfit. I talk with a lot of successful business and restaurant owners, and most of them are men, and they love to invest in watches. They recommended buying a Rolex, so I bought one for $18,000, and it’s amazing, with Mother of Pearl and diamonds. But when a woman wears a Rolex, I’m not really getting that many compliments. I love my Chanel more than my Rolex. It’s a signature chain with a black strap and white gold. At first I wanted yellow gold, but it turns out white gold is more outstanding on my skin tone.

What store or service do you always recommend?
I love to go to Neiman Marcus in Union Square. It’s one stop, and you get everything. The service is so much better, and it’s close to my restaurant.

Where are you donating your time or money?
I’m really religious in Buddhism, so every first day of the New Year, we go to the Thai temple for a blessing. It’s called Wat Mongkolratanaram in Berkeley. Thai people will gather in the morning, offer donations to the monk, and get luck for the rest of the year. My Thai friends always go to Tanzie’s afterward for brunch, and we have Northern Thai style sausage with lava eggs and rice.

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CULTURE & LEISURE • As You Wish

• An Evening with Arooj Aftab • Palace of Fine Arts (Marina) • Fri @ 830p • ORCH,S $60 per

• The Princess Bride • An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes • Golden State Theater (Monterey) • Sat @ 730p • VIP, $185 per

• The Flop House • Cobb’s Comedy Club (North Beach) • Sun @ 4p • GA, $37 per

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CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Deadheads flock to Haight for Bob Weir tributes • Documentarians start rolling on Bottom of the Hill film • SF Music Week returns for second year • ‘Mom Dance Party’ captivates Mission.

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RESTAURANTS • The Nines

Duck

The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in the Bay Area and surrounds. Paid subscribers have access to the complete Nines archive.

• Go Duck Yourself (Bernal Heights, above), Cantonese Roast Duck from the Hing Lung family, cleaver chopped, fluffy bao buns, hoisin sesame sauce, intel, walk-ins only

• Quack House (Tenderloin), Cantonese Roast Duck from same brothers as above, quarter bird boxes w/ jasmine rice and garlicky greens, intel, for pickup or delivery

• Mister Jiu’s (Chinatown), Peking Style Duck served banquet style, peanut butter hoisin, duck liver mousse, reserve

• The Happy Crane (Hayes Valley), Peking Duck, shatteringly crispy skin, housemade pancakes, seasonal fruit, pluot sauce, intel, reserve

• Z&Y Peking Duck (Chinatown), Peking Duck, classic experience, rolling carts, carved tableside, tidily cut scallions and cukes, reserve

• The Progress (Fillmore), BBQ Duck, thinly sliced breast, crispy confit leg, reserve

• The Morris (Mission), Hickory Smoked Duck, tangled w/ roasted roots, rustic ceramics, reserve

• Bombera (Oakland), Duck Carnitas Mole Verde, crispy confit leg, creamy pepita sauce, inky black beans, reserve

• Burdell (Oakland), aged Duck, juicy roast breast, leg and giblet dirty rice, grandma-chic vintage plates, reserve

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LOST & FOUND • Behind the paywall

→ A handful of favorite Bay Area restaurants from new subscribers: Last Rites (Mission) • Bull Valley Roadhouse (Port Costa) • Anchovy Bar (Fillmore) • Soba Ichi (Oakland).