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West End Town
In the geographic center of SF, West Portal is a world unto itself.
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by Anne Marie Harrison
posted on July 26, 2007
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| Named for the Muni tunnel beneath Twin Peaks that connects downtown to southwest SF, West Portal is only 15 minutes from the Embarcadero via train (on a good day), but it feels much farther from the hustle and bustle of SF’s trendier sections. West Portal Avenue’s candy stores, homey diners and old-school machine-repair shops—not to mention the locals whose families have lived here for decades—all combine to make the neighborhood seem more like its own small town. A new development of up to 200 condos in Arden Wood, one of the city’s few remaining urban forests, will no doubt bring more downtowners to West Portal. They’ll join a recent influx of young families, students from nearby SF State and scores of other city-dwellers who seek out the quirky charms of this mom-and-pop enclave. |
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Like any thriving SF neighborhood, West Portal is filled with restaurants of every stripe. The posh Indian bistro Roti will satisfy your craving for tender chicken tikka marinated in ginger, garlic and other savory spices. It recently opened for lunch as well as dinner. Having served traditional Mexican food for the past five decades, El Toreador can cook up a delicious spinach enchilada blindfolded, and best of all, you can accompany it with any of 100 beers. For lighter Latin American fare, Fresca has its third SF location here, and that means one thing: ceviche, followed by incredible pan-seared halibut. Locals line the counter at Manor Coffee Shop Restaurant, WP’s unofficial hangout, where patty melts, house-made cole slaw and freshly baked peach pie are the specialties. Nothing will warm you up from the chilly fog like a couple of piping hot pierogis or a steaming bowl of borscht from West Portal’s buried treasure, Old Krakow—the city’s only Polish restaurant. The must-try at Turkish Bursa Kebab is the beyti kebab: bite-sized pitas stuffed with lamb and beef, then topped with garlic yogurt. Forget divey Chinese takeout: Locals swear by the sleek interior and sophisticated Mandarin cuisine of Xiao Loong, especially the Xiao Loong bow—hand-rolled soup dumplings generously stuffed with ginger-marinated ground pork. Carnivores love BullsHead’s selection of charbroiled burgers: For diet rebels, we recommend the Western burger—topped with tangy BBQ sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese and onion rings—and for the more adventurous, the succulent buffalo burger.
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TOP: Xiao Loong's soup dumplings beckon.
MIDDLE: Peach pie’s the thing at Manor Coffee Shop.
BOTTOM: The bright exterior of El Toreador.
photography by Stefanie Michejda
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The old-fashioned emporium Plain Jane’s looks like Amélie’s Montmartre flat, brimming with Mistral soaps and lotions, delicate dragonfly earrings by LaVie Parisienne and, out back, an actual garden of gnomes. Little Fish Boutique caters to the stroller brigade with organic-cotton jumpsuits by SF’s local baby threader Speesees and handcrafted mobiles by Flensted; stylish moms-to-be should check out Maximum Mama Maternity for its line of chic clothing. If you’re the kind of pet owner whose pup needs a bow tie, you can find it at Citipets, along with sequined doggie dresses. West Portal is home to a large Irish American population, hence Maureen Cavan’s shop, Irish Delights, which carries such rarities such as Jameson Irish Whiskey Orange Marmalade (perfect for that hangover brunch). The inventory is perfectly Antoinette-ish at White Rose Boutique: elegant chemises, courtly wrinkled French dusters and other tailored luxuries from Paris and Italy. Etteniotna carries products made by Southeast Asian artisans—trays inlaid with elephant grass, clutches made from abaca fiber—and holds craft workshops Mondays through Saturdays. You won’t find mindless video games or Bratz dolls at old-fashioned toy store Growing Up—just imaginative figurines of animals, Smurfs and fairies lining the shelves. The Music Store stocks new and used CDs on the ground floor and vinyl upstairs. You can also get record needles and help in transferring your vinyl onto CD. If words are your thing, stop by Bookshop West Portal (the owner also hosts Writer’s Voice Radio, on KALW).
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Riding in style at Little Fish Boutique; Plain Jane's is a gnome man's land; Growing Up; Etteniotna's wares.
photography by Stefanie Michejda
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"WHEN A CHILD COMES IN WITH A DOLLAR,
they know they can buy something with that dollar. "
——Jude Friedman, owner of Growing Up toy store
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| explore |
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It’s a no-brainer: the Metreon for blockbusters and CinéArts @ Empire for thought-provoking, independent films in a modern, comfy interior that still maintains its retro charm (and marquee, of course). After the movie, tubs of Mitchell’s ice cream and jars of classic confections such as jawbreakers and Necco Wafers will remind you why Shaws San Francisco has been the city’s sweet spot since 1931. For more sophisticated tastes and a warm ambiance, check out the no-frills wine bar Que Syrah, open for just over a year, where you can sip at the bar or cozy up on the suede sofa. Hit up WineStyles if you’d rather bring home a varietal from its selection of 127 small vineyards; most bottles are priced under $25. The Greenhouse is West Portal’s socially conscious café, serving organic and fair-trade coffee to students and freelancers who plug away on their laptops, as well as locals lingering over the newspaper. Tuesday is trivia night at Joxer Daly’s, a homey pub with a cozy patio and a free jukebox. And at the legendary Philosopher’s Club, the pressing existential question is “Pint or cocktail?” Though the longtime neighborhood favorite opened when Calvin Coolidge was president, the Donovan brothers, who grew up just around the corner, bought it in 2004 and “cleaned it up a bit.” Otherwise, it’s unchanged. Smart guys.
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TOP: Sweet treats at Shaws.
LEFT: Checking out Cinearts @ Empire.
RIGHT: Joxer Daly's Irish Pub.
photography by Stefanie Michejda
|
|
| Named for the Muni tunnel beneath Twin Peaks that connects downtown to southwest SF, West Portal is only 15 minutes from the Embarcadero via train (on a good day), but it feels much farther from the hustle and bustle of SF’s trendier sections. West Portal Avenue’s candy stores, homey diners and old-school machine-repair shops—not to mention the locals whose families have lived here for decades—all combine to make the neighborhood seem more like its own small town. A new development of up to 200 condos in Arden Wood, one of the city’s few remaining urban forests, will no doubt bring more downtowners to West Portal. They’ll join a recent influx of young families, students from nearby SF State and scores of other city-dwellers who seek out the quirky charms of this mom-and-pop enclave. |
|
|
| eat |
|
|
Like any thriving SF neighborhood, West Portal is filled with restaurants of every stripe. The posh Indian bistro Roti will satisfy your craving for tender chicken tikka marinated in ginger, garlic and other savory spices. It recently opened for lunch as well as dinner. Having served traditional Mexican food for the past five decades, El Toreador can cook up a delicious spinach enchilada blindfolded, and best of all, you can accompany it with any of 100 beers. For lighter Latin American fare, Fresca has its third SF location here, and that means one thing: ceviche, followed by incredible pan-seared halibut. Locals line the counter at Manor Coffee Shop Restaurant, WP’s unofficial hangout, where patty melts, house-made cole slaw and freshly baked peach pie are the specialties. Nothing will warm you up from the chilly fog like a couple of piping hot pierogis or a steaming bowl of borscht from West Portal’s buried treasure, Old Krakow—the city’s only Polish restaurant. The must-try at Turkish Bursa Kebab is the beyti kebab: bite-sized pitas stuffed with lamb and beef, then topped with garlic yogurt. Forget divey Chinese takeout: Locals swear by the sleek interior and sophisticated Mandarin cuisine of Xiao Loong, especially the Xiao Loong bow—hand-rolled soup dumplings generously stuffed with ginger-marinated ground pork. Carnivores love BullsHead’s selection of charbroiled burgers: For diet rebels, we recommend the Western burger—topped with tangy BBQ sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese and onion rings—and for the more adventurous, the succulent buffalo burger.
|
TOP: Xiao Loong's soup dumplings beckon.
MIDDLE: Peach pie’s the thing at Manor Coffee Shop.
BOTTOM: The bright exterior of El Toreador.
photography by Stefanie Michejda
|
|
|
| shop |
|
The old-fashioned emporium Plain Jane’s looks like Amélie’s Montmartre flat, brimming with Mistral soaps and lotions, delicate dragonfly earrings by LaVie Parisienne and, out back, an actual garden of gnomes. Little Fish Boutique caters to the stroller brigade with organic-cotton jumpsuits by SF’s local baby threader Speesees and handcrafted mobiles by Flensted; stylish moms-to-be should check out Maximum Mama Maternity for its line of chic clothing. If you’re the kind of pet owner whose pup needs a bow tie, you can find it at Citipets, along with sequined doggie dresses. West Portal is home to a large Irish American population, hence Maureen Cavan’s shop, Irish Delights, which carries such rarities such as Jameson Irish Whiskey Orange Marmalade (perfect for that hangover brunch). The inventory is perfectly Antoinette-ish at White Rose Boutique: elegant chemises, courtly wrinkled French dusters and other tailored luxuries from Paris and Italy. Etteniotna carries products made by Southeast Asian artisans—trays inlaid with elephant grass, clutches made from abaca fiber—and holds craft workshops Mondays through Saturdays. You won’t find mindless video games or Bratz dolls at old-fashioned toy store Growing Up—just imaginative figurines of animals, Smurfs and fairies lining the shelves. The Music Store stocks new and used CDs on the ground floor and vinyl upstairs. You can also get record needles and help in transferring your vinyl onto CD. If words are your thing, stop by Bookshop West Portal (the owner also hosts Writer’s Voice Radio, on KALW).
|
|
|
|
|
|
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Riding in style at Little Fish Boutique; Plain Jane's is a gnome man's land; Growing Up; Etteniotna's wares.
photography by Stefanie Michejda
|
|
|
"WHEN A CHILD COMES IN WITH A DOLLAR,
they know they can buy something with that dollar. "
——Jude Friedman, owner of Growing Up toy store
|
| explore |
|
It’s a no-brainer: the Metreon for blockbusters and CinéArts @ Empire for thought-provoking, independent films in a modern, comfy interior that still maintains its retro charm (and marquee, of course). After the movie, tubs of Mitchell’s ice cream and jars of classic confections such as jawbreakers and Necco Wafers will remind you why Shaws San Francisco has been the city’s sweet spot since 1931. For more sophisticated tastes and a warm ambiance, check out the no-frills wine bar Que Syrah, open for just over a year, where you can sip at the bar or cozy up on the suede sofa. Hit up WineStyles if you’d rather bring home a varietal from its selection of 127 small vineyards; most bottles are priced under $25. The Greenhouse is West Portal’s socially conscious café, serving organic and fair-trade coffee to students and freelancers who plug away on their laptops, as well as locals lingering over the newspaper. Tuesday is trivia night at Joxer Daly’s, a homey pub with a cozy patio and a free jukebox. And at the legendary Philosopher’s Club, the pressing existential question is “Pint or cocktail?” Though the longtime neighborhood favorite opened when Calvin Coolidge was president, the Donovan brothers, who grew up just around the corner, bought it in 2004 and “cleaned it up a bit.” Otherwise, it’s unchanged. Smart guys.
|
|
|
|
TOP: Sweet treats at Shaws.
LEFT: Checking out Cinearts @ Empire.
RIGHT: Joxer Daly's Irish Pub.
photography by Stefanie Michejda
|
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|
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