Featured: Waldscraft Bakery
Plus, new restaurants from brandname chefs arrive in San Francisco and Oakland.
Native East Coaster Stacey Waldspurger has been looking forward to introducing a bialy to her robust menu of naturally leavened breads, such as olive oil and rosemary, and her popular Wünderbread, a seed- and nut-packed, wheat-free bread. After a pop-up series there, Waldspurger’s burgeoning cottage bakery business moved into the former Bootjack Wood Fired space in April, bringing in Caitlin Hubel and Justine Brown, pastry chefs accomplished in Viennoiserie, to add more vegan items and expand the sourdough program. The cafe is back, too, and Waldspurger plans the return of a beer and wine program and an expanded menu of salads, toasts and light sandwiches soon. For now, owner Ged Robertson (Watershed, Shoreline Coffee Shop) is using the back ovens for burger buns, pastries, desserts and pizza dough for Watershed and Shoreline, but will transition that program to another space this spring. “It feels just right after Small Shed, Molina and Bootjack to hand it off as I found it 20 years ago to someone just getting into the business who wants to continue the tradition of a community bakery at 17 Madrona Street,” Roberston says.
17 Madrona St, Mill Valley
Eat & Drink
Maybeck’s
Husband-and-wife duo Jeff Banker and Lori Baker (Baker & Banker) will join chef-owner Aaron Toensing in the kitchen for a three-way collaboration featuring dishes like Japanese hamachi crudo with sticky rice and preserved citrus or English pea and ricotta agnolotti. Industry veteran Brian Walker will head up the cocktail program. Copper-accented lighting by local artist Pablo Designs is part of a refreshed interior that includes additional lounge seating, a chef’s bar with raw bar and a wine shop curated by Rebecca Chapa.
3213 Scott Street, San Francisco; 415.400.8500
Occitania
Oakland is abuzz with news of chef Paul Canales’ freshest offering. Slated to open in mid-May in the Uptown neighborhood, the restaurant will hone in on the flavors of southern France with modern riffs on traditional cooking and preservation techniques. Look for Canales’ signature charcuterie alongside raw seafood preparations; escargot; and game birds like duck, squab or quail, plus more familiar fare like steak frites and summer seafood dishes. The Arcsine-designed interiors will evoke the colors and energy of the region.
422 24th St, Oakland
Hotels
Stanly Ranch
Set on 712 acres of a working ranch and vineyards with views of the Mayacamas mountain range, a new resort drops into Carneros this month. One hundred thirty five rooms and a small collection of onsite residences are complemented by a wellness program incorporating sports science and energy healing at Halehouse and outdoor experience programs including cycling with a pro, conservationist-led mountain lion tracking, and a Train Like an Olympian program. Designed by San Francisco’s AvroKO, onsite restaurant Bear is the heart of the resort’s culinary offerings. The team plans to use the space to showcase innovative fermentation and preservation processes along with local ingredients on a modern American menu.
200 Stanly Cross Road, Napa; 866.421.5122
Shop
Souvenir Bottle Shop
“It’s a room full of stuff we like,” jokes David Ruiz, who, along with wife, Margaret, and Dylan Jones owns a new bottle shop in downtown San Anselmo. The owners of Fairfax’s Stillwater designed the retail space with fresh beer, canned cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages but make space for books, fresh flowers, vintage and new vinyl records and other items. A curated wine program focuses on minimum intervention, Pétillant Naturel, and zero zero wines (wines with no added yeast, nutrients, acid, water or preservatives) from California and Italy.
570 San Anselmo Ave, San Anselmo
Shoppe Amber Interiors + Freda Salvador
Discover furniture, kitchen, dining, decor, bedding, art, rugs and vintage finds at Amber Lewis’ shop at Larkspur’s Marin Country Mart, which opened in January. Incorporating a six-month pop-up to celebrate the Shoppe, a wall of shoes from Megan Papay and Cristina Nelson’s Sausalito-based Freda brand is balanced with pillows, candles and other everyday essentials.
1201 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur; 415.785.4780
Wellness
Cloudbreak Yoga
After moving to town, owner Khoury Ibrahim noticed a gap — an outlet for older and younger populations to overlap and be together naturally. “Sausalito and I both needed a yoga studio,” Ibrahim says, who opened her studio in the spring of 2021 and is working to proactively bring yoga into more people’s lives. Located downtown, the studio aims to be a community hub.
1621 Bridgeway, Sausalito
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Christina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Sunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her childrens’ schools, and supports the Marin Audubon Society, PEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.
