Issue #10 October: A Menu of Hexes 🪄

Plus Cambodian noodles featured on Chef’s Table, a newly renovated lake in Golden Gate Park, and lessons on how to appreciate art. 

Happy Halloween weekend! 🎃 I hope you had a fun and spooky evening with many more thrilling events to come. This month started to feel more like fall with its chillier days and darker evenings. We visited a pumpkin patch and decorated our tiny doorway (cue the stoop envy). Also, how is every store on sale right now? No need to wait for Black Friday, I guess 😂. Speaking of shopping, next month's issue will be a gift guide because who doesn’t love a gift guide? Until then, here’s what I’ve been up to this past month.

Eat 😋 

Boulevard (FiDi, SF)

I went to Boulevard with some colleagues that were in town last night on Halloween. We were greeted by a giant skeleton hanging out on the awning. Once we were inside, the amazing Halloween decor continued, including bartenders wearing In-N-Out hats (for those unfamiliar, In-N-Out is a popular California fast-food chain with delicious burgers and shakes). They served a special Menu of Hexes which inspired the title of this issue and featured tasty bites like the enchanted grilled cheese made of red devil cheese and topped with a quail egg and shaved truffles. Other non-hex menu highlights included the crab salad, guinea hen ravioli, white asparagus risotto, and tres leches cake for dessert 🍰.

Hook Fish (Outer Sunset, SF)

Hook Fish is a neighborhood seafood shack, specializing in locally-caught fish. It’s packed by lunchtime thanks to the city's surfers looking to grab a bite after catching waves in Ocean Beach. We started with tasty crab cakes served on top of a simple green salad and tartar sauce. We also had the poke fish tacos, which I thought would be strange texture-wise, but worked well with the crunchy cabbage slaw. And of course, the star of the show–the fish & chips 🐟🍟. The batter was light and crispy while the fish was fresh and flaky. The table next to us sat tourists from England who exclaimed enthusiastically these were the best fish & chips they ever had. And I couldn’t agree more. 

Lunette (Ferry Building, SF)

After watching Chef Nite Yun’s episode on Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Noodles 🍜, I eagerly went back to Lunette for a bowl of K.T.P.P (kuy teav phnom penh), her signature Cambodian noodle soup made of an 8-hour pork broth with rice noodles, pork, shrimp, and fresh herbs. It’s a deeply satisfying bowl of comfort that can only be made by a chef with love for her roots and a passion to share that with others. I also tried the dry version of the noodles that’s tossed in a sweet soy dressing with broth on the side for sipping. Both noodles are delicious, but must be eaten with a side of the funky cabbage salad. 

Shop 🛍️

Catbird (Lower Pac Heights, SF)

Brooklyn-based jewelry shop, Catbird, has arrived in SF. The store is as cute-as-can-be, carrying all the fun things that’s made the shop popular for the last 20 years. All jewelry is at least 14-karat gold and designed either by their in-house team or by their partner artists. The price point makes it a great entry for those looking to graduate from costume jewelry into fine jewelry. For their opening, they had special SF charms. I stopped by opening weekend and picked up the very last sourdough toast with butter charm. The cable car is also available online.

See 🌳

Middle Lake (Golden Gate Park, SF)

A $10M restoration project just finished this summer in Golden Gate Park. Middle Lake, which used to be a wasteland, is now a beautiful lake surrounded by lush vegetation with benches for taking in the view. Along the walking path, there’s a 800-ft waterfall that leads into the lake. The top of the path is a large fly casting pool. The city plans to continue adding more plants to attract native birds and wildlife 🐦.

Watch 📺

How to Die Alone (Hulu)

I was a fan of Natasha Rothwell when she was in Insecure and later in White Lotus so I was excited to hear that she finally got to star in her show. How to Die Alone is a comedy/drama series about Mel, a 35-year old woman working at JFK who feels stuck in every aspect of her life. While celebrating her birthday alone, she gets into an accident as she tries to build a cabinet, ignoring the “requires a partner” instructions. She realizes while lying on her hospital bed that she wants to start living a life worth flashing before her eyes. The show captures so well the late-millennial ennui and complicated relationships that the media love making us feel bad about. It’s sweet and hilarious with interesting and likable characters. Fingers crossed for another season!

Read 📖

Get the Picture (Bianca Bosker)

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book about the author, a journalist who dives head-first into the New York art scene, but I was instantly hooked. She becomes fascinated by the art world and what it means to cultivate taste, how to distinguish “good” art from “bad,” what even makes art art, and who gets to make that call? For anyone who’s ever been intimated walking into an art gallery, you may be relieved to hear that's by design. The art world is hyper-exclusive and elitist, but the author was able to tenaciously penetrate the scene and end up working at various art galleries and artist studios, attending Art Basel in Miami, working security at the Guggenheim, and even having her face sat on by a butt-artist. The stories are funny and wild and taught me so much about the inner workings of the industry and how to appreciate art more–all lessons I will remember the next time I walk into a museum  🖼️.

FAQ ❓

Q: Where can I go for Oktoberfest-ish vibes in SF?

A: While I’ve never been to Oktoberfest, enough friends have told me about it that I think Leopold’s in Russian Hill could be a fun choice. They serve authentic Austrian/German cuisine and lots and lots of beer. The staff is super friendly and dresses the part. They even ring a bell and cheer whenever someone orders a boot 🍺. Their wiener schnitzel is the most popular dish, but the goulash with spaetzle, short rib, and bacon-wrapped trout are also great options. I enjoyed the giant pretzel 🥨 served with a cheesy beer sauce and the apple strudel is the best I’ve ever had. The portion sizes are very generous so you can continue the fun the next day.