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San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s newest dining trend? Old restaurants
In her March 1987 review of Izzy's Steaks and Chops, Chronicle critic Patricia Unterman described the transformation of an Irish pub in the Marina into 'an elaborate stage set' inspired by prolific bootlegger Izzy Gomez's North Beach saloon. She wrote, 'The place projects a history, a resonance, even though it's only a couple months old. The ambiance makes you want to have a shot of whiskey and a steak.' Those sentences could have been written by me a few months ago, although I'm more of a whiskey sipper than a shooter. After an extensive renovation overseen by the late owner Sam DuVall 's daughter, Samantha Bechtel, Izzy's is back slinging steaks, and the projected history and resonance is as thick as the house creamed spinach. If the original Izzy's was a late '80s simulacrum of a Prohibition Era speakeasy, the new Izzy's is a 2025 interpretation of a luxurious late '80s steakhouse inspired by a Prohibition Era speakeasy. This year, at least as far as dining is concerned, what's old is new again. Izzy's is one of a handful of legacy San Francisco restaurants that have recently been given a fresh lease on life. Old standbys like Turtle Tower, Wayfare Tavern and Crustacean have reopened in sparkling new locations. Others have overhauled their interiors and given menus the spit shine. But the house specialty is reliably the same — nostalgia. The current economic climate is an arduous one for independent restaurateurs, especially those looking to launch their first business. My colleague Cesar Hernandez and I recently introduced the Now List, a quarterly round-up of the best new restaurants in the Bay Area. Of the 25 entries, 15 are either an additional location of an existing concept or are operated by groups that have at least one other restaurant. Like Marvel franchises and the Polly Pocket movie, restaurants that can trade on existing IP have an advantage. Sam DuVall was wise to that in 1987, when San Franciscans would still have remembered Gomez's Barbary Coast gin joint. Well, maybe not all San Franciscans, but certainly Herb Caen, who described 'the long climb to the second floor, where the bar was jammed with winners, losers, beauties and beastly bohemians' in a column that year. DuVall crammed the walls with Gomez-related memorabilia, old-timey advertisements and sepia-toned photographs. Much of that ephemera, together with memorabilia from Izzy's Steak and Chops, remains on gallery walls on the second floor, but the downstairs is dominated by a new mural by artist Matthew Benedict depicting the characters from William Saroyan's 'The Time of Your Life,' a play inspired by Izzy Gomez's clientele. Saroyan himself looks approvingly down at the refurbished dining room, with its long soapstone bar, milk glass pendants and checkerboard floors. Design firm Gachot Studios understood the assignment. North Beach Restaurant, which served Tuscan fare from its opening in 1970 until it closed in 2023, reopened under new ownership late last year. Its dining rooms, spread across two floors, have received a similarly respectful treatment courtesy of local designer Maria Quiros, melding the old — a black-and-white photo of former ownerLorenzo Petroni mugging for the camera, a mirror so weathered it's more Rorschach Test than reflective surface — with the new. Booths have been upholstered in a sumptuous mossy green. Arresting canvases from Robert De Niro, Sr., brighten up walls. I don't know whether the glassware and china are holdovers from North Beach's previous incarnation, but their heft and quality are unusual for a contemporary restaurant. It takes very little to make the nostalgia flow at North Beach. One evening, seated downstairs next to the Willie Brown room, which boasts its own private entrance, I asked our server about the mayors, governors and other political players who did their deals at the restaurant during the Petroni years. Our server needed but the gentlest encouragement to dish. It would be unseemly to repeat his ranking of the least gracious political clientele, but apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger is a real gent. And the food at these establishments? Generally solid, but somewhat besides the point. You're not going to the latest Superman film for the dialogue, but rather to visit old friends and see what the new director has done with the joint. At Izzy's, stick to steaks and the dynamite potatoes au gratin, saving room for the warm cruellers, fried and glazed to order. At North Beach, the tweaked menu features more dishes reflective of the new chef's roots in Emilia-Romagna. Pastas and braised meats are a good bet. The caveat here is that I was not a patron of Izzy's or North Beach 1.0, and I therefore have no basis for comparison. I called up my uncle, who dined at Izzy's with some regularity during his bachelor days in the '90s. His voice took on the aural equivalent of a Vaseline-lens flashback as he recounted the cocktails he and his pals would throw back before dinner, the skirt steak that they definitively decided was the best cut on offer, the hot sauce bar with dozens of selections. He'd been back post-remodel, and I asked him how it measured up. 'Well I don't drink anymore, so that probably doesn't help,' he admitted, 'but it's never as good as you remember.' Nostalgia — and alluring new interiors — will get people in the door. If superhero movies are any indication, these historic restaurants have a bright future ahead of them. Izzy's Steaks and Chops 3345 Steiner St., San Francisco. Noise level: Moderate Meal for two, without drinks: $100-$150 What to order: Drinks: A martini would be an excellent place to start, but with any classic cocktail, you're in good hands here. Wines by the glass, including Coravin pours, draught and bottled beers, and a few N/A cocktails. Best practices: If you don't have a res, the bar is a beautiful place to dine. If you prefer something more secluded, angle for one of the private booths in back. Upstairs, there are club chairs by the fireplace for lingering over a nightcap. Skip the appetizers and the burger. North Beach Restaurant 1512 Stockton St., San Francisco. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday Noise level: Quiet to moderate Meal for two, without drinks: $90-130 What to order: Tagliatelle Bolognese ($31); osso bucco ($36) Drinks: Cocktails are excellent and all the better for being served in weighty, high quality glassware. N/A options are available. The lengthy wine-by-the-glass list is exclusively Italian and Californian. Best practices: North Beach Restaurant is popular with large groups; on one visit, a party brought their own accordion player, so… be aware that that could happen. The main floor is light-filled during the day, while the basement level reminded me of 'The Cask of Amontillado,' but in a cozy sort of way.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ali Wong and Bill Hader just hit a new relationship milestone
Ali Wong and Bill Hader have already made their love red carpet official. Now they're taking another big step forward in their relationship by collaborating on a musical. The two comedians announced they are co-executive producers for Riki Lindhome's one-woman show, 'Dead Inside.' Though Wong and Hader both voiced characters in 'The Angry Birds Movie' (2016), this venture marks their first professional collaboration since they began dating in 2023. 'Dead Inside' is a dark comedy about Lindhome's fertility journey, and is described as 'part musical, part solo stand-up spiral,' according to the show's synopsis. An experienced singer and actor, Lindhome is known for her work as a musician in the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates and lists roles in ' Knives Out ' (2019) and the first season of 'Wednesday' (2022) among her onscreen credits. 'This show started as a way to process an experience that felt isolating, emotional and impossible to explain,' she wrote in an Instagram post about Wong and Hader's involvement. 'Thank you @aliwong & Bill for helping me amplify the most important story I've ever gotten to tell.' Wong and Hader saw the show during its Los Angeles run in April, and signed on ahead of its performances at Washington D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre, scheduled for July 9-27. Tickets are available now. The couple has been spotted out and about on several occasions since making their relationship public, and were photographed dining at San Francisco's Vietnamese restaurant Turtle Tower in March during Wong's run of stand-up shows at Punch Line Comedy Club. More recently, the San Francisco native was seen cheering on the Golden State Valkyries during the WNBA team's debut earlier this month at Chase Center. Though the Valkyries lost 67-84 to the Los Angeles Sparks, Wong still posted to Instagram congratulating the team. She also shared photos of her dinner at Gao Viet Kitchen & Bar in the Outer Sunset during her trip home.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ali Wong's boyfriend reveals how she helped him through devastating L.A. fires
Bill Hader recently revealed his girlfriend, Ali Wong, took him shopping this month after his home was deemed 'unlivable' following the Los Angeles fires in January. The 'Saturday Night Live' alum spoke about the San Francisco comic's kind gesture during an guest appearance on the podcast ' Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend ' on Sunday, April 27. 'It's a funny thing that Ali and I went today … to shop for clothes,' he said. 'It meant a lot to me. It's because I'm just wearing Uniqlo sweats, you know, and my kids are like, 'You're living in your pajamas.' I feel like they're very worried. And I told her about that and she was like, 'Let me take you to get some clothes.'' His home in the Palisades was one of the thousands affected by the deadly blaze at the start of the year. Hader recalled that he was filming a Volkswagen ID. Buzz commercial when the fires began and had to travel with a news crew to get to his home in the Palisades. 'We're shooting and I look up, I saw smoke and the guys go, 'Oh, don't worry, that's in the Palisades.' I go, 'I live in the Palisades,' and it was just dead silence,' he recalled. 'Then I was like, 'I got to go.'' Though his home survived the fire, it was severely damaged. 'It was like dust, you know, toxic stuff everywhere,' he said. 'It was no good. I was in total shock … I thought I was going to go up there and hopefully the house would be somewhat OK and I could get my passport and get out of there.' He added he was 'speechless' seeing the state of his home and community, and has had to lean on friends and loved ones, like the ' Beef ' actor, since. The Golden Globe-winning comedians have officially been a couple since 2023, though they briefly dated in late 2022. They made their red carpet debut together in February at the 77th Directors Guild of America Awards. Last month, Wong, a Pacific Heights native, brought Hader to the newly reopened Vietnamese restaurant Turtle Tower. She previously named the establishment as one of her favorites in the city and shouted out its signature chicken pho as one of the top four noodle soups of all time during an appearance on the talk show 'Hot Ones.' Loyal to her hometown, she thanked the Punch Line Comedy Club during her acceptance speech at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in January and set and filmed part of her 2019 rom-com ' Always Be My Maybe ' in San Francisco.
