The Tenderloin’s restaurants are some of the best in the city, and the next two weeks is the perfect time to explore.
Eight Tenderloin restaurants — Catrachita Yucateca, Chao Pescao, Ciaorigato, Gyu-Kuku Japanese BBQ, Lers Ros, Louder Thai, Rise Over Run and Tratto — have special prix-fixe menus for SF Restaurant Week.
The menus range in price. On the cheapest end, Catrachita Yucateca is offering a $25 empanada lunch meal. If you want to splurge, Italian restaurant Tratto is offering a five-course $75 dinner with a nine-ounce Bavette steak as the star.
My recommendation? Why, thank you for asking. If you head over to Ciaorigato, make sure you get their focacciapan. It’s a blend between Italian focaccia and Japanese milk bread. You’ll thank me!
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Tilted Brim has limited edition “Little Saigon” shirts in partnership with Live on Larkin, which recently celebrated the corridor’s history as a hub of the city’s Vietnamese immigrant community.
“Food is such a huge part of how we connect with each other as Vietnamese diaspora: Memories of family get-togethers, good times with friends, and how we show love,” said co-designer Johnny Huy Nguyen.
The clothing drop has colors inspired by traditional Vietnamese dishes: one savory (Bánh xèo) and one sweet (Bánh da lợn cà phê).
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Enough about food. I have other good news to share.
On Oct. 6, legislation sponsored by District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood to make 101-121 Taylor St., the former home of Gene Compton’s Cafeteria, a city landmark, passed.
In August 1966, the cafeteria was the site of a riot that was one of the earliest manifestations of a growing trans rights movement in the city. Last year, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
By landmarking Compton’s Cafeteria, the building’s owner — currently the the private detention company GEO Group — will need to go through a public process before making further changes to the building’s exterior (which has changed significantly since Compton’s closed in 1972).
Mahmood said the city continues to work on methods to preserve the inside of the building, which is currently a halfway house, run by GEO Group.
“It must be recognized that the urgency of the landmarking today is, in part, due to the building’s current use,” Mahmood said to the board on Oct. 6. “ Landmarking the building will ensure its history is not under threat by the current operator.”
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Spooky season is steadily approaching. Some would say the Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos festivities started on October 1. And they’d be right (according to me).
Families and children are invited to Sgt. Macaulay Park on Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a “create a monster” arts and crafts event hosted by Tenderloin Community Benefit District and the city’s Recreation and Parks division. The event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. and is open to kids 14 and under.
Stay tuned for the next Tenderloin Buzz, which will be chock-full of all of the spooky and scary events in the Tenderloin.
