Ichi Sushi is one of those restaurants that has a local cult following, and the legions cheered when owners Tim and Erin Archuleta announced they were expanding to a bigger spot across the street. The new spot includes a larger restaurant/sushi bar (though not much larger -- only a seven-seat addition) and a new bar, called Ni, where the legions can wait for their omakase. As I wrote in this week's restaurant review, both are worthy of a visit.
See also: Ichi Sushi + Ni Bar: Bernal's Beloved Sushi Bar Expands Across the Street to Much Rejoicing
When I walked into Clooney's Pub at noon no one at the bar turned around to check the door. The regulars had long since taken their seats at the bar, the baseball game was on, and the guy playing pool by himself under the illumination of a Budweiser light was focused on his shot. The stools, with green carpeted backs, looked grimier than BART seats. If we weren't in the heart of the Mission, it would be an unexpected place to get a really good sandwich.
At 9 a.m., six members of La Cocina's staff gather around a rectangular table in a nondescript apartment-come-office on Folsom Street. Over coffee and tortas from La Gorda Taqueria, they begin their first meeting of the day. As they pick at the salty pork and avocado sandwiches and a welcomed wave of caffeine washes over them, the languid easiness of the morning transforms into a space of heightened energy. The creativity, the drive, and the passion permeating this space become palpable as ideas and suggestions ping-pong across the room.
We could get into a heated argument about which came first: the restaurant or the neighborhood name. But there is no denying the importance of Nopa the restaurant on the city's dining spectrum, and the absolute joy that is spending an evening in the bustling the dining room, the handsome bar, or upstairs in the quieter mezzanine. Whether you are or aren't such a fan of the Divisadero corridor's obvious gentrification since the restaurant's 2009 opening, there is no doubt that it has had a profound impact on why the area looks like it does now and the direction it's going.
