A 2 Clement Muni t-shirt available at Park Life (220 Clement). $26

Some local links to get you through your Wednesday…

• Turkish / Mediterranean restaurant Troya (349 Clement) will be opening a second location on Fillmore in the former Vivande and Citizen Cake space. EaterSF reports that it will be more “modern and hipper” than the original. Troya Fillmore is targeting an April 2012 opening.
• Oozora Sake House didn’t last, so veteran shabu spot Shabuway will be taking over the space at 5120 Geary according to GrubStreet. It will be the fourth opening for the Shabuway chain, and let’s hope experience wins out. The last two shabu concepts in that space have failed.
• How many people are needed to truly make a meeting “public”? SFCitizen says more than one but that’s all that showed up at the recent meeting about the upcoming renovations at the Stow Lake Boathouse which includes a new cafe. There was some buzz about it in the Chron but in reality, they’re the same plans and drawings we saw in July of last year. Still, exciting that it’s finally happening.

The bridge from George Washington High School’s campus. Photo by Hugh Stickney

Some local tidbits for your Monday off work:

• The Surfrider Foundation is hosting an Ocean Beach volunteer cleanup event on Sunday, January 22 from 10am until 12noon. Meet up at Stairwell 17 across the Street from the Beach Chalet Restaurant if you want to help out.
• Bison unite! The new, young, hip bison were released from quarantine and joined their elders in the main paddock. Cute but still one of the strangest things we have in Golden Gate Park.
• A dramatic fire took place on 42nd Avenue and Balboa very early Sunday morning. Flames were bursting out of the building, SFFD had to cut through a neighbor’s wall to control it, and two firefighters were injured. To top it off, the one woman who lives there ran off and is MIA.
• Cafe Mereb (1541 Clement) is no more but the dust barely settled before a new tenant will move in. I saw some construction going on there Sunday and Grubstreet reports that a place called “Chomp & Swig” will be opening soon. No word yet on the menu or when it will open.
• Seedstore clothing on Clement is having a 50% off winter sale from Jan. 21 – 29. Attend their kick-off party the night before on Jan. 20 from 5-8pm and you get an additional $20 off purchases over $200.
• The Academy of Sciences is changing their free day policy this year. Rather than one weekday a month being free, they’ll offer four Sundays during the year: February 5, June 3, September 16, and December 9. Why the change? “To target more working families, who were previously unable to come on the Wednesday free days. We hope that this change to weekend dates will allow a wider range of people to attend,” says the Academy website.

  Don’t worry – they’ll still be offering free days each Spring and Fall to residents based on zip code. For 94118 and 94121, our first free days will be May 11, 12, and 13.

• Burma Superstar to expand… again! They’ve got two restaurants on Clement, one each in Oakland and Alameda, and Eater SF reports they’ll be opening a Valencia Street location this year. Tea leaf salad for all!
• Artful reminder: The Pissarro’s People exhibition at the Legion of Honor closes this Sunday.

Sarah B.

Looking over the Richmond District from the de Young Museum tower. Photo by andertho

For the foodies out there, here are some local links about our neighborhood eateries. Eat up!

• The always funny Beth Spotswood visits the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, seeking zen and tea. “Sitting there with my tea/sandwiches, listening to music and looking forward to a fresh new year ahead, I was able to remove myself from nasty annoyance at their dumb conversations and European cargo pants.”
• Chron food critic Michael Bauer says you should check out the French Onion soup at Chapeau!
• The Chronicle’s Food & Wine staff finally discover popular Korean spot Han Il Kwan
• The Moss Room restaurant at the Academy of Sciences closed on January 1. But it will re-open, under the management of Charles Phan who already runs the upstairs Academy Cafe.
• Anthony Bourdain, host of the The Layover show on the Travel Channel, dined on fish head at Korean restaurant To Hyang (3815 Geary) during a recent San Francisco episode

It opened about 2 weeks ago and is owned and operated by the market’s owner. The menu offers a wide variety of starters, pizzas and for the more creative, a “build your own pizza” menu offering nearly two dozen options.

I didn’t get to try the pizza when I stopped by on Sunday, but they described it as “east coast style” with a thinner crust.

The starter menu features some tasty items, including garlic knots, a staple of east coast pizzerias. They are twisted breadsticks with garlic and butter at their core. You can also pick up cheesy bread (“very popular with the kids!”), buffalo wings or a salad.

The specialty menu includes a spicy bacon cheeseburger pizza with garlic butter, extra ground beef, jalapenos, bacon and cheddar. They also offer a Greek Pesto pizza featuring basil pesto, baby spinach, feta and black olives. The helpful man behind the counter said the BBQ chicken pizza, which includes bacon, was his personal favorite. Specialty pizzas start at $12.99 for a 10 inch, up to $22.99 for a 16 inch.

And if you’re into more traditional options, or have a favorite combo of your own, just order off the build your own menu, which starts at $3.99 plus $.50 for each topping on a 6 inch pizza, up to $14.99 plus $1.50 per topping for a 16 inch.

Firehouse Pizza, located at 6001 California Street, is open daily from 4pm until 10pm. There’s minimal seating inside at a countertop, so it’s definitely designed to be a take-out spot. They also offer free delivery (221-7603).

Have you tried their pizza? If you have, leave a comment to let us know how it is!

Sarah B.

Photo by The Tens

Here are a few local links to take you into the weekend…

• SFist brought our attention to an unexpectedly interesting photo essay on Outer Richmond District garage doors. Photo blogger The Tens has 34 shots in the series so far, full of contrasting colors and patterns.
• Sigh, another soon to be empty storefront on Geary… SF Eater reports that Thai fusion bistro “Morph”, located at 5344 Geary near the Alexandria, has called it quits. No one’s answering the phone and the lights are off. Never tried it, but we liked the decor when it opened in April, 2010.
• Ever gotten a ticket for not curbing your wheels properly? Beyond aggravating and as this 7×7 article points out, probably contestable. Their parking guru tells a reader how to prove that the ticket she got at 6th & Clement is erroneous. Score one for the citizens.
• If you’ve got a tough stomach and an adventurous appetite, head over to Kowloon Tong Dessert Cafe (393 7th Avenue) and try out their amphibious desserts. Yup, you read that right. NBC Bay Area highlights their “several desserts with snow frog (dried fatty tissue collected near the fallopian tubes) or tortoise jelly (a gelatin-like substance made with herbs and, possibly, ground turtle shell).” Supposedly good for respiratory ailments and better skin.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sarah B.

From 11:30am until 3:30pm, St. Monica’s School is hosting Santa’s Village, a community event where you can have brunch with Santa, get your photo photo with Santa, let your kids become an elf in Santa’s Workshop, and do a little Christmas shopping list in their Christmas Boutique.

Entry is $13 per person. St. Monica’s School is located at 5950 Geary Blvd near 23rd Avenue.

Also on Sunday is the first of two Tal-y-Tara Christmas Teas, held at their shop on California Street near 27th Avenue. Tal-y-Tara is an English tearoom with high-tea service, as well as a polo and equestrian shop.

They serve a full tea service with sandwiches and scones, featuring live musical performances and sing-a-long, lots of games, and even Santa Claus will be on hand to read stories to the children (you’ll have to ask Santa how he’s managing to be at St. Monica’s AND Tal-y-Tara at the same time!).

Christmas Tea at Tal-y-Tara is offered this Sunday, Dec. 11 from 12noon until 6pm, as well as next Sunday, Dec. 18. The price is $25 per person – make reservations by calling 751-9275.

Sarah B.

Denise is sorry to see the cafe closing. “I imagine it is tough to have a business on that part of Clement where there isn’t that much foot traffic. They have been there over 5 years and I was so excited when they opened so we could get some Eritrean food in the outer Richmond.”

In addition to its Mediterranean fare, the cafe was known for its Eritrean specials every Saturday and Sunday, as well as its weekend brunch.

Cafe Mereb is not the only business on the 1500 block of Clement. Neighbors include newcomer Hot Sauce and Panko, stalwart San Francisco Brewcraft, a hair studio, and an electric appliance store and repair shop.

But despite having a nucleus of stores, that is a particularly quiet stretch of Clement. The owner of Cafe Mereb, a woman, explained to Denise that “business isn’t good”.

You wouldn’t know it from its 78 Yelp reviews, which net it a 4 out of 5 stars with comments like “Want the best falafel sandwich in town? Then come here.” and “I could not pick a better place to live so close to. I’ve tried many of the menu items and have not been disappointed yet!”

Denise said Cafe Mereb will remain open until about the 20th of this month. So if you are a fan of the cafe or have been meaning to try it, don’t delay (note: closed Wednesdays).

Sarah B.

InsideScoopSF broke the news today that popular restaurant Namu (439 Balboa) will be closing for good on December 24th.

Namu is owned by the three Lee brothers, who will be opening up a new spot, Namu Gaji, at 499 Dolores at 18th Street:

It’s no secret that the Lee Brothers have been ramping up their new Mission restaurant, Namu Gaji, for much of 2011. They’re still eying an early 2012 debut for their izakaya-esque restaurant. More new details on Namu Gaji will be shared in tomorrow’s column, including the reservation-only chef’s counter.

Their current location on Balboa near 4th Avenue is popular and often crowded. So why close? Dennis Lee says it has to do with failed lease negotiations.

“Given that we’re investing so much in the new restaurant and we’re really excited about that, and that we couldn’t come close to an agreement with the Balboa landlord, we decided to close,” Lee says.

Namu has been open for 5 years, so it’s a shame to see them close their doors here in the neighborhood. Will you miss it? Leave a comment to let us know.

Sarah B.

They’ve been open for a couple of months, but I just noticed the new Amphawa Thai Noodle House (5020 Geary) while on a neighborhood walkabout last weekend.

The restaurant is named for a floating market in Thailand where vendors prepare and serve their Thai specialties on their boats filled with fresh produce. Chef and owner Kob Varaphol ran a Thai restaurant in London before opening Amphawa.

It was late afternoon when I stopped in so I wasn’t ready for a meal. But the interior was lovely, it smelled delicious, and the staff was very welcoming. The menu is expansive, offering typical Thai dishes like curries, noodle soups, salads, and rice plates, as well as twelve vegetarian dishes (plus other dishes can be modified to be vegetarian). See photos of their food

The “Amphawa Favorites” section of the menu includes Crying Tigers (barbecued beef steak with vegetables served with chili sauce), Pla Sam Rod (deep fried pompano fish topped with sweet and sour sauce), and for the more adventurous, Tom Luad Moo (pork blood pudding in clear broth with pork entrails and marinated ground pork).

If you’re having a get together, Amphawa can also cater your event, offering four different menus. The charge is $15 per person with a minimum of 5 people, plus free delivery.

The restaurant is open daily from 11am until 10pm and offers free delivery with a minimum charge of $15.

Have you tried Amphawa? If you have, leave a comment with your review.

Sarah B.