LE DOSSIER
The people, places and things you need to know right now.
1. PRODIGAL SON
SFMOMA is the last stop on the late California photographer Larry Sultan’s touring retrospective,
“Here and Home” (April 15–July 23). For more than three decades, Sultan, a San Fernando Valley native, lived and taught photography in the Bay Area, at California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute. The exhibit explores the lens master’s 35-year career, from early collaborative projects with conceptual artists to instantly recognizable documentary-style images of life in suburbia, often featuring his own parents. Case in point, 1986’s “Practicing Golf Swing,” seen here, from the series “Pictures From Home.” sfmoma.org
2. EAST MEETS WEST
Bicoastal interior designer Allison Caccoma brings a touch of Manhattan opulence to San Francisco with her forthcoming boutique in Presidio Heights.
Allison Caccoma Decoration offers classical furniture by her mentor, the grande dame of New York design, Bunny Williams (the Regencyinfluenced Star chair, right, features hand-applied gold-leaf details). Caccoma also features curated vintage pieces and antiques, including teak and bone boxes and green-glass hurricanes, from Williams’ husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli. allisoncaccoma.com
3. STUDIO ENVY
Team Nicole Hollis has officially unveiled its strategically stark 5,000-square-foot SoMa space, outfitted in a rotating array of high-end decor and furnishings, depending on what artists and fabricators drop off for inspiration. “We wanted a white canvas where we could clear our minds of daily clutter and focus on creating,” says the designer. Jeannie Fraise of Lotus
Bleu laid out her new Potrero Hill studio like a two-bedroom apartment brimming in rich colors, graphic patterns and layered textiles. New York-born, San Francisco-based glass sculptor
Nikolas Weinstein returns to the East Coast with a second studio, a former metal foundry, located in Queens. nicolehollis.com, lotusbleudesign.com, nikolas.net
4. MAKING A SCENE
The 11,000-square-foot Classic Revival mansion at 2698 Pacific Ave. was designed in 1904 by famed local architecture firm Newsom and Newsom to take advantage of sweeping hilltop bay views. Now, the Pac Heights masterpiece will be the canvas upon which 28 of the Bay Area’s who’s who of design — including Beth Martin, Ian Stallings and Chloe
Redmond Warner, whose plans for the living room, above, feature a paper-lantern “cloud” and custom de Gournay screen — will unleash their modern-day stylings upon the 40th annual Decorator Showcase (April 29 to May 29). decoratorshowcase.org
5. INTO THE WILD
Big Sur resort Ventana Inn recently debuted
Redwood Retreats, an over-the-top glamping experience with 15 safari-style canvas tents kitted out in luxe cabin-style decor — king-size beds dressed with 300-count Egyptian cotton sheets, Coleman stoves, hickory walking sticks and the miracle of daily housekeeping. A nightly turndown service comes hot water bottles to warm up your bed sheets. But take heed, prospective glampers: Thanks to the stormy winter, roughing it at Ventana will have to await the reopening of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge. ventanainn.com/glamping
6. BEHIND THE LYRICS
The Tilden Hotel is the latest in a flurry of new galleries, bars and shops to hit the Tenderloin. Brooklyn-based Studio Tack designed the boutique inn and adjacent restaurant, the Douglas Room, with an eye toward 1970s glamour — the lobby sets the tone with its purple Harvey Prober tufted sofa and custom Atelier de Troupe chandelier. There’s even a poet in residence, Tenderloin-based Jessie Johnson, whose words will grace the hotel’s walls and appear on inspirational postcards placed on pillows at turndown. These lines in particular touch upon the heart of the neighborhood: “We shall look back/ on San Francisco/ and see/ not a scribble of dark streets/ and drifting pedestrians/ but a city of atoms.” tildenhotel.com
7. TINY BUBBLES
The Riddler — a new, female-funded Champagne bar in Hayes Valley — satisfies any demand for sparkling with a list topping 100 selections, including vintage wines from the big guns (Taittinger, Billecart-Salmon) alongside more obscure grower-producers (Gaston Chiquet, Domaine Egly-Ourier). In keeping with its girl-power theme, graphics on the menu call out such womenmade wines as Bellus La Vie en Rose, made by Jordan Salcito, beverage director at David Chang’s Momufuku in New York City. theriddlersf.com
8. HOME SWEET HOTEL
Watch out, Airbnb — there’s a new rental service in town. Oasis, which launched with 15 designforward San Francisco properties in February, gives travelers exclusive access to private homes and apartments, all with hotel-style amenities. That means in-person check-in, on-demand concierge, Malin + Goetz bath products, and discounted valet parking through local on-demand parking service Luxe, all for rates on par with competing vacation rentals. oasiscollections.com
9. A SCOOP ABOVE
Henri Waltenspühl and Antonio Massimini graduated from Bologna, Italy’s famed Carpigiani Gelato University before bringing their sweet treats stateside. The Swiss and Venezuelan co-owners, respectively, craft California-inflected flavors — think mint-chip stracciatella and Almost Chai — that are impossibly rich and creamy (despite a lower fat content compared with ice cream) onsite in their new SoMa gelateria, Coletta. Look out for the Coletta Cruiser, a mobile gelato cart pedaling a rotation of flavors around town. colettagelato.com
10. KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
Inspired by the gastronomic societies in the Basque region of Spain, Napa’s new Kitchen
Collective is the country’s first members-only restaurant and kitchen where guests can prepare meals side-by-side with professional chefs. Serious cooks and novices alike will appreciate access to multiple dining rooms and a fully loaded kitchen — the state-of-theart design of which founder Garret Murphy likens to a Maserati — appointed with a 12burner gas range and Forno Piombo woodburning oven. kitchencollective.club
11. GOURMET WITHIN REACH
Tartine co-owner and James Beard Awardwinner Elisabeth Prueitt’s ode to the home cook, “Tartine All Day: Modern Recipes for the Home Cook” (Ten Speed Press), shows how she prepares food when she’s not on the job — think, Suzanne Goin’s “Sunday Suppers” meets Heidi Swanson’s “Super Natural Every Day.” The book features beautiful photography, expert tips and approachable recipes — spring risotto, Champagne gelee with strawberries and this purple salad, featuring such early-summer violet-hued produce as figs, red onion and radicchio, lightly tossed in a simple vinaigrette.
12. HEX MEX
Last month, Mexico City’s magical inn Las
Alcobas debuted its St. Helena outpost with 68 guest rooms and suites that encourage alfresco romance — most private vineyardview terraces and balconies feature either fireplaces or outdoor soaking tubs. San Francisco top chef Chris Cosentino helms the property’s signature restaurant, the Acacia House. lasalcobasnapavalley.com