Heartbaker owner Sybil Johnson with her father, Mark

This past weekend marked the opening for Heartbaker, a new cafe / bakery located at 1408 Clement near 15th Avenue. The cafe received some early buzz on local food blogs last Friday, and when we stopped in on Sunday afternoon, the place was already hopping with new customers.

Heartbaker is the lovechild of pastry chef Sybil Johnson, who is returning to the retail food business after taking some years off to be a Mom. Johnson had past stints as a pastry chef at some high-end San Francisco eateries, including Aqua, the Fairmont Hotel and Kokkari. But after not finding work right away, she ultimately decided she’d rather open her own place and work for herself.

She says she went back and forth between wanting to open a full-scale restaurant or just a bakery. Heartbaker is a nice blend of both – an assortment of pastries, small sandwiches, quiches, cupcakes and cookies – that will satisfy a wide range of palettes and appetites. And it’s a comfortable space where you’ll want to spend some time and have a nice meal.

Heartbaker is still awaiting their beer and wine license, but Johnson expects it to be approved within the next couple of weeks. Once it is, she’ll add more savory items to the menu, and stay open into the evenings for dinner fare.

The space at 1408 Clement has been empty since Chapeau! vacated it in mid-2009 and moved to the second block of Clement. In February, we saw the first Heartbaker sign on the door that promised “Coming Soon!”.

Fast forward a few months and Johnson was still tied up in city red tape trying to open. They kept neighbors updated with letters on the door that promised they were still working on things. Johnson’s father, Mike Johnson, who is a partner in Heartbaker, said it was a challenging journey to get to opening day.

But they made it and the neighborhood is happy to have them. The space looks great inside. Cool grey walls and a white, marble top counter make it feel warm, cozy and fresh. There is table seating for about twenty, and a few chairs at the counter.

Heartbaker definitely wins for some of the most unusual photos we’ve ever seen at a cafe or bakery. Large portraits of the Heartbaker staff hang on the walls, each of them wearing baked goods “masks”. One has a a faceful of chocolate chip cookies, another covered in puff pastries.

The cafe is on the north side of the street and gets great mid-day and afternoon sun. They’ll be adding outdoor seating soon, but in the meantime patrons can sit on two stone benches out front that are holdovers from the Chapeau! days. There is also a large back patio on the property, but they’re unsure if they will open that up for seating.

One of the best parts of Heartbaker opening for Johnson? Her short commute to work. She lives just a few blocks away with her husband and two sons, all of whom were in the cafe when we stopped by. The boys were reading on bean bag chairs back near the kitchen (“They’ve already found their space,” Johnson said), and her husband was working behind the counter.

Heartbaker is open Tuesday through Sunday from 7am until 5pm (closed Mondays). In a few weeks, they’ll add additional evening hours, staying open until 9pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sundays, and until 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Stop in and welcome them to the neighborhood!

Sarah B.

We are a city known for our sourdough bread, but most of us buy it at the market, or even better, fresh from the ovens at the Boudin Bakery on 10th Avenue.

But if you’re more of a DIY’er when it comes to breads, you might want to check out the Sourdough Starter Workshop at the Anza Branch Library on Wednesday June 19 at 6pm.

Cat Shimizu, the “breaducator” from Sour Flour, will talk about the art and science of making bread using a sourdough starter.

This includes how to feed and take care of your own starter, and how different factors such as time, temperature, and starter hydration affect the fermentation process. They will also provide samples and suggested reading that will help get you started on a new adventure in sourdough bread baking.

The workshop is free, and takes place at the Anza Branch Libary located at 550 37th Avenue, between Anza and Geary.

Sarah B.

On Tuesday, June 4, the Golden Gate Park Senior Center is hosting their “Cooking with Kids & Grandparents” event from 9:30am until 12noon.

The event is a great chance for grandparents and their grandchildren to enjoy a day together of cooking, culinary exploration and eating. The event is hosted by the students of the Nutrition Assistant Program of City College SF, under the supervision of registered dietician Lisa Yamashiro.

The workshop takes place at the Senior Center, located at 6101 Fulton Street. Cost is $5 per participant, and children must be accompanied by an adult.

Please reserve your spot in advance by emailing lisa.yamashiro@mail.ccsf.edu.

Sarah B.

The view at Lands End

We’re cross-eyed after reviewing the dozens of awards that SFWeekly handed out this week in their annual “Best of San Francisco” poll. Below are the local winners in the roundup – yay for the Richmond District!

Best Aquarium Turned Dance Floor: California Academy of Sciences
Every Thursday evening the museum converts into a makeshift discotheque, using its various rooms to host DJs pulled from the city’s best parties. Venture downstairs to Steinhart Aquarium, and, on select nights, you can dance next to a stunning variety of tropical fish. More

Best Funhouse: Buckshot (3848 Geary)
This bar and game room out in the Inner Richmond puts a whole new twist on the term “drinking games.” Forget the college classics like flip cup, beer pong or kings when you’re putting back the booze. Instead, travel back further into your childhood and play a slew of arcade games, including hipster favorite Big Buck Hunter. More

Skee ball at the Buckshot. Photo by Joey the Cat

Best Feat of Culinary Strength: The Challenge at Pho Garden (2109 Clement)
we’re probably not the best candidates to take The Challenge at Pho Garden, wherein contestants must eat 2 pounds of rice noodles, 2 pounds of combination beef and tripe, and 4 quarts of broth in less than an hour. More

Blogger Madison tries her luck with the Pho Challenge

Best Place to Get Lost: Mile Rock Beach
…with a little more effort on the Lands End hike – over 100 stairs, to be precise – it’s possible to find a place where on a foggy day not even Marin County across the water can be seen from a stretch of sand tucked in between cliffs west of the Golden Gate. More

Best Housing Metaphor: Golden Gate Park’s Tiny Door-in-a-Tree
Whether art project or public statement or another sad escapee from UCSF’s Super-Intelligent Squirrel Development Lab, the door attracted national attention before it got filled with trash, at which point the city intervened, citing (as always) some permitting thing. More

The mini door at the base of a tree in Golden Gate Park. Photos by Erica Reh

Best Amateur Historian: Woody LaBounty
The self-described “Big History Guy” — he is 6-foot-5 — is the executive director of the Western Neighborhoods Project and the keeper of the mesmerizing OutsideLands.org. If ever there were a more surefire way for a history-minded San Franciscan to blow an afternoon perusing amazing old photos and reading insightful essays than visiting this site, we haven’t found it yet.

Best Place for a Mani/Pedi: Aqua Spa (14 Clement)
Before your toes hit the water, the friendly staff offers you tea, puts a warm wrap around your shoulders, and turns on the massage chair. There’s an endless supply of tabloid magazines, but there’s a good chance you’ll never get to that Brangelina story, because they do foot and hand massages that are so relaxing it’s hard to concentrate on celebrity gossip. More

Best Place to Take Small Kids on a Bike Ride:
Ocean Beach Promenade
…there’s no better place, day-in and day-out to pedal along with the wee ones than the flat, forgiving terrain of the Ocean Beach promenade. More

Best Hike to Ruins of an Astronomical Observatory: Summit of Strawberry Hill, Golden Gate Park
You won’t find strawberries atop Strawberry Hill anymore. Nor will you find the Sweeny Observatory, a grand, castle-like structure erected in 1891. Sepia-toned photos reveal a wondrous, circular structure sprouting atop the hill and reflected in Stow Lake. More

The Sweeny Observatory atop Strawberry Hill lay in ruins after the quake of 1906. Photo courtesy of calisphere

Best Marathon Sporting Development Battle: Beach Chalet Soccer Fields
After five years of wrangling and approval by four city agencies, the state’s Coastal Commission finally approved proposed Astroturf fields under 60-foot light towers on the far west of Golden Gate Park. It was a long and odd road; a city document actually argued that the turf-and-lights plan was best because the area had fallen prey to “undesirable uses such as camping and sexual activity.” Turf opponents claimed that artificial grass conflicted with the natural state of a park created atop rolling sand dunes. Barring legal redress, the turf and lights are coming. Whether the camping and sex go away remains to be seen.

Reader’s Poll Winners
Best Museum: De Young
Best Music Festival: Hardy Strictly Bluegrass
Best Hike: Land’s End
Best Park: Golden Gate Park

A conceptual, overhead rendering of the four renovated fields at Beach Chalet

Bienvenidos a La Ciudad de Mexico, a new Mexican food cafe that opened this past Saturday in the old Jersey’s Sandwiches location at 200 6th Avenue near California.

Ciudad’s menu is pretty expansive considering the tiny space they are operating out of. Stop in for tortas, tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and alambres (a mix of bell pepper, onion, and bacon with your choice of meat).

They also offer more traditional fare like sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches and salads. You can view their full menu online.

No word yet on how the food is, but there were plenty of curious people who stopped by to check them out over the weekend.

“I passed by today and the place was crowded (even though it doesn’t take much to crowd this place up!),” reader Mark T told us.

La Ciudad de Mexico is open Monday through Friday from 7am until 5pm, and Sunday from 8am to 4pm. They are closed on Saturdays.

Have you tried it out? If so, leave a comment to let us know how it was.

Thanks to readers Mark T. and Amanda for the tips.

Sarah B.

Here’s hoping it’s not a Manic Monday for you today. But in case it is, here are some local links to distract you…

• In case you missed the above, fun video on SFAppeal last week, it showcases some acrobats making the most of the Cliff House environs. And no need for copycat videos please, we trust you could do it too. UPDATE: Looks like the videographer removed it for some reason, so we posted another one of his Cliff House videos for you.
• It’s all about the Benjamins… We got an email from Rodney, the proprietor at the Purple Skunk Skate Shop (6037 Geary) this weekend. He told us some teenage boys came in on Friday and tried to purchase goods with counterfeit $100 bills. The shop, unsuspecting, accepted the first bill, but then got suspicious when a second teen showed up soon after, also trying to pay with a $100 bill. Rodney tried to stall the second suspect but they fled before police could arrive.
• Stop and smell the flowers… Every Saturday through May (except May 25), the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy will be leading wildflower walks along the Lands End trail. The hikes meet up at noon in the Merrie Way parking lot near the Lands End Lookout visitor center.
• Tia Margarita on Clement at 19th Avenue turns 50 this year. The same family has owned the restaurant since its opening and serves up good food and what we hear is a great Margarita. They’re hosting an anniversary party this Saturday (sorry, it’s sold out), but if you’re stopping by, be sure to congratulate them on hitting this huge milestone. Muy, muy bien!
• Want to know the latest on the projects at Mountain Lake Park? A new restroom is being built, the lake is being cleaned out, and park groups are working to get a new playground built. This Thursday night, April 11 at 6:30pm, there is a community informational meeting at St. John’s Church (4620 California Street near 8th Avenue). Stop by to get the latest info and find out how you can help.



• A new sign has popped up on the 500 block of 48th Avenue between Geary and Anza. “The Black Dog” sign hangs from a second floor balcony. We’re not sure if it’s a Bed & Breakfast, a pet-related business, or just someone’s decorative flag. If you know anything, leave a comment to let us know. Thank to reader Gabriel for the tip. UPDATE: It’s just decorative; a motif from Martha’s Vineyard.
• Mark your calendars for healthy kids… The YMCA will be hosting their annual Healthy Kids Day event on Saturday, April 27th from 11am until 2pm at Argonne Playground (18th Avenue near Geary). Enjoy games, healthy treats, performances, arts & crafts, and much more. For more information, contact Jasmine Punzalan at jpunzalan@ymcasf.org.
• Got some e-waste to dispose of? Stop by George Washington High School this Saturday, April 20 between 10am and 3pm. The Lacrosse team is taking e-waste drop-offs to raise funds for their program. Enter on 30th Avenue near Geary. For more information, email Larry Yee at yeel@sfusd.edu.
• “Dahlias, darling, dahlias!” This Saturday is the Dahlia Society of California’s Annual Sale at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. Stop by between 9:30am and 12noon to shop for over 300 varieties of dahlias, tubers and plants. Their tip: come early for the best selection.
• Is there a budding DJ within you? Or living in your home? Then you might want to check out the free DJ workshop at the Richmond District branch library (351 9th Avenue) on Tuesday, April 23 at 4pm, presented by the Urban Music Program. Over the last fifteen years, UMP has worked with hundreds of youth and adults to further their knowledge of writing, recording, DJ’ing and producing.

Photo by stefanie.johnstone

Happy Thursday – here are some local links to get you to the weekend finish line!

• Nothing like having a national newspaper air your very local museum’s dirty laundry… The New York Times’ Turmoil at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco article about the Fine Arts Museums (the de Young and Legion of Honor) details the low staff morale (including firings), the lack of Director since John Buchanan passed away, and the very mixed reviews of Board President Diane “Dede” Wilsey. Some think has held too much influence over the institution, while others think she is responsible for bringing it back to life. The Chronicle caught up with their own article this morning about the pending appointment of a new Director, rumored to be Colin Bailey, the deputy director and chief curator of the Frick Collection in New York. There should be an announcement next week.
• Paul’s Hat Works took NPR on a tour and shared some secrets with them in a piece called The Making of a Hat. The owners also did some spring cleaning recently and now have for sale dozens of vintage hat boxes for between $5 and $60.
• Congratulations to Pastry Chef Melissa Chou of Aziza. She was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award – “the highest honor for food and beverage professionals working in North America” – which will be given out at a ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York on May 6.
• Here’s your local history for the week… The SFPL Archives published Part 2 of their profile on Adolph Sutro, this time looking at some letters, architectural drawings and great old photographs of Sutro’s land holdings throughout the city. CurbedSF had a story earlier this month on a man who lived in a cottage on the cliffs of Lands End. His name was Charles Harris and he operated the waiting room and concession stand at the train stop near Sutro Baths. “The Harris’ moved to Lands End after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire destroyed their home downtown, and built up a little cottage around the framework of their cable car home.”
• Local artist Jay Mercado, known for his donut paintings, will be hosting a show of his pillow sketches at his studio at 10th and California Street this Saturday.
• Could Sir Paul McCartney be the headliner for the Outside Lands Music Festival this summer in Golden Gate Park? Last.fm is listing him as such but there’s been no confirmation from the show promoters. Something tells me nearby neighbors would much rather hear strains of Paul singing “Hey Jude” than the musings of Metallica…

Photo by @trichris

There was a lively discussion a few weeks ago about the new Asian restaurant at 21st and Geary called, simply, De Place.

The former Video Cafe was completely renovated and modernized by the new owners, resulting in a large space with tv screens, fountains, ample seating and a giant crawfish statue that greeted diners at the door.

But De Place was very short lived. Blog reader Catherine tweeted us the photo of the sign up on the door of De Place, explaining why they are now closed.

“In our three weeks of business, the hiring environment has proven to be a major challenge and it hasn’t improve [sic] and we are not able to enlist the staffs than can assist us with our operation,” the sign reads.

De Place was run by the owners of Chinatown’s City View Restaurant on Commercial Alley near Kearny Street, known for its dim sum.

Did you get a chance to dine there? Leave a comment to let us know.

Sarah B.

Photo by @ghost_wolves