Double issue (part I)
Berkeley listings, best dumplings, Don Giovanni’s, Joovv Light Wall, Jean Imbert au Hôtel Plaza Athénée, MORE
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Bear country
Berkeley, that combination of college town and San Francisco suburb, has long left its reputation as a hippie haven in the rearview mirror — but that mirror might be attached to one of VW’s ID. Buzz buses. Bidding wars are common when one of the city’s iconic Craftsman homes enters the market, but residences with less familiar silhouettes also move quickly. The median single-family sales price for the last year is $1.5M, Compass reports, with condos moving at a median of $730K. Here, three fresh listings to consider in the shadow of Cal:
→ 660 Woodmont Ave (Berkeley, above) • 4BR/2BA, 1496 SF house • Ask: $1.195M • Roger Lee design with Tilden Park views • Days on market: 15 • Agent: Merritt Oliver, Red Oak Realty.
→ 1 Brookside Ave (Berkeley) • 3BR/3.1BA • 2510 SF house • Ask: $2.35M • 1912 build with original flourishes, big garden • Days on market: 5 • Agent: Nahid Nassiri, Sotheby’s.
→ 1484 Grizzly Peak Blvd (Berkeley) • 6BR/4.1BA, 4387 SF house • Ask: $3.695M • Bay, Mt. Tam, and SF views from updated 1988 build • Days on market: 13 • Agent: Anian Tunney, GRUBB.
SF WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Bruising Billionaires' Row parking battle • SF Art Institute revamp kicks off • Tesla granted CA ride hail service permit • We’re on track for gender workplace equality by mid-22nd century • The ‘path to low-level fortune and fame’ as a LinkedIn influencer • Hot in decluttering: Norwegian Life-Cleaning • Are your pants a symphony?
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUNDLISTING
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WORK • Wednesday Routine
Works of art
AUSTIN ALLISON • CEO & co-founder • Pacaso
Neighborhood you live and work in: Napa
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I wake up at 5a and start my day with 10 minutes of breathwork. Then, I do 20 minutes in the sauna at 195 degrees, followed by a 3-4 minute cold plunge at 43 degrees. After that, I spend 12 minutes doing oxygen therapy and another 20 minutes with red light therapy. Three days a week, I strength train, and the other three days, I focus on cardio. My dog is with me the whole time during my workout.
My workday starts around 730-8a, and I’m super intentional with my time and how my calendar is blocked. My workspace is a small home office, but I make a point to move around the house instead of sitting on Zoom all day, and whenever I can, I take my calls on my deck to get some fresh air. I also block off time in my calendar for high-gain activities where I’m not in meetings and can really lock in and focus. but I like to keep things flexible, and change up the scenery when I can.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m heading to Irvine to meet with the executive team for Pacaso, which offers luxury vacation homes for co-ownership. We have a sales office down there, so we convene in person once a month. On travel days, I always set aside time with my son before I leave. I also hold off on calls until I’m in the car on the way to the airport. When I travel frequently, I make it a point not to waste time at home on calls that can easily be done while commuting or waiting for a flight. That way, I can focus on family time and any crucial video meetings while I’m home or in my home office.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, or this weekend?
My family loves Don Giovanni’s in Napa. There’s a good chance we’ll go there this weekend or next. My favorite dish is Mandili pasta.
Any weekend getaways?
A little over 10 years ago, my wife and I became second homeowners in Lake Tahoe, and we love using our home year-round. Whenever possible, we take the drive from Napa to Tahoe. I’m more of a summer guy and love trail running and mountain biking.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I’m really into my red light therapy panel — it’s a Joovv Light Wall and has been a game-changer.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I always recommend John Anthony’s Church Vineyard or Palmaz Vineyard — both here in Napa, and both incredible spots.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Take Me Out
Franz Ferdinand • The Warfield (Mid-Market) • Fri @ 9p • GA, $67 per
Scholastic Chess Championship • Yerba Buena Center (SoMa) • Sat @ 930a • Recommended donation, $50 per
Double Indemnity • Balboa Theater (Richmond) • Sun @ 730p • GA, $15 per
GETAWAYS • Paris
Cruising altitude
This post appeared in last week’s debut edition of FOUND Paris. Looking for a little more of the City of Lights in your life? Subscribe to FOUND Paris, with new issues dropping each Friday. (Also debuting across the pond last week: FOUND LDN, with new issues each Wednesday.)
Globe-trotting chef Jean Imbert has finally hit his stride at the swanky Hôtel Plaza Athénée, where on Fridays and Saturdays, you can find his 190 € three-course lunch.
Imbert’s arrival three years ago signaled a major changing of the gastronomic guard in Paris — after all, he replaced Alain Ducasse. But it’s taken some time for him to settle in, especially because he has restaurants everywhere from Saint Barths to Dubai. Out of the gate, he did a brilliant job rebooting the Plaza Athénée’s rather elderly brasserie, Le Relais Plaza, with a menu of comfort food dishes like baked stuffed tomatoes.
It was slower going at Jean Imbert au Plaza Athenee, the hotel’s main gastronomic restaurant, with its opulent Vive le Roi! decor, best embodied by a mile-long red marble table dotted with crystal and gilt candelabras. If an initial meal here was excellent, the following one came off more like business-class catering.
Now, though, Imbert’s reached cruising altitude. It’s especially true of the lunch menu, which includes a first, main, and dessert (a miniature buffet of spectacularly beautiful and inventive French pastries). There’s also a complimentary suite of hors d’oeuvres, plus champagne, mineral water, and coffee. The menu evolves regularly, but a recent lunch of scallop mousse with sea urchin, followed by sea bass in a sauce of vin jaune with girolles mushrooms was technically flawless, beautifully plated, and deeply satisfying.
They also pour a seriously good list of wines by the glass, including a flinty Condrieu and a luscious Pommard. Under the direction of galant and hawk-eyed Denis Courtiade, probably the best maitre d’hotel in Paris, service is unfailingly warm and alert, all part and parcel of one of the best buys in town. –Alexander Lobrano
→ Jean Imbert au Hôtel Plaza Athénée (8th arr) • 25 Av Montaigne • Lunch Fri & Sat 12h30-14h15, dinner Tues-Sat 19h15–22h15 • Book.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Travel to SF rising modestly • Cult favorite Napa taqueria Mothers Tacos expanding to Ventura • Coastal Santa Barbara ranch hits market for $65M • United overhauls lounge access (and raises membership prices) • Assaying the myriad problems at Resorts World on Las Vegas Strip • Checking out chef Chis Consentino’s new Maui restaurant Koast • First look at Amangiri’s private residences in Utah • Hot nuts are still ruining first class.
ASK FOUND
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After London and Paris, where should FOUND launch next?
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Which outdoor dining and rooftop spots are you most excited to visit as SF warms up?
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RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Dumplings
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the Bay Area’s best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundsf.com.
Dumpling Kitchen (Outer Sunset, Castro), casual sit-down spot for wontons in chili oil, Shanghai-style sticky rice shumai + sautéed pea shoots, walk-in only