Palace Steak House Will Rise From the Dead… Again!

Let’s not be ashamed to say it: Despite our great hopes, the first attempt to revive the legendary Palace Steak House on the corner of Mission and Cesar Chavez turned out to be a big disappointment. But on the bright side, it was also relatively short-lived, as the reborn Palace Steak House returned to the realm of the dead about a year after it reopened. Now Bernalwood has learned that the Palace Steak House will be reborn – again!

The Inside Scoop blog reports that acclaimed chef Manny Torres Gimenez from Roxie’s Cafe plans to reanimate the Palace Steak House in the guise of a steak house he wants to call… The Palace!

Confused yet? Inside Scoop explains:

Gimenez signed papers to take over the old school joint on the corner of Cesar Chavez and Mission. Along with his wife Katerina (who doubles as the GM), he will reopen the restaurant as a new steakhouse named The Palace.

“We’re gonna try to do like a take on a steakhouse, but more refined,” he says. “My goal is to create tributes to whole animals with affordable prices.”

The plan is to open the doors on June 1 after a little bit of renovation. He’ll be able to do animal butchery there — whole pigs, beef quarters — and will also bring over many of the favorite dishes from Roxy’s Cafe. Do note that he’ll continue to operate Roxy’s, and he’s hired chef de cuisine there to help out: Shawn Naputi, who worked for five years as a line cook at Incanto, among other places.

At The Palace, Gimenez will make his own sausages, cure his own meat and so on. He’ll offer both an a la carte menu and a tasting menu ($50 for five courses).

Barring the demonic effects of  an undead restaurant curse that haunts the Palace Steak House space, there is reason to believe that this revival will be more palatable and more successful then the last. The crankypants critics on Yelp give the Roxie Cafe four stars, while SF Chronicle food critic Michael “The Bauer” Bauer recently praised chef Manny Torres Gimenez while awarding Roxie’s Cafe two stars:

Manny Torres Gimenez is one of the new breed of chefs who cook from the heart and aren’t deterred by inadequate kitchens and inferior dining amenities. He earned a cult following creating arepas and a $20 four-course tasting menu at Mr. Pollo in the Mission, but in January he “upgraded” to a space in the same block that’s three times as large – Roxy’s Cafe.

At Roxy’s he offers a $25 chef’s choice menu; a $75 10-course tasting menu that includes Asian, Italian and South American flavors from his native Venezuela; and a short a la carte menu.

Before going out on his own, Gimenez worked at SPQR, Coi and Quince, and those influences are evident in what he ladles into his chipped soup bowls and arranges on his oversize white plates.

All this sounds promising… zombies notwithstanding.

PHOTO: Shuttered new Palace Steak House, October 2012, by Telstar Logistics. Hat tip: Neighbor Greg

Saturday: Bernal Author Hosting Cookbook Launch Party at Badger Books

Neighbor Kim Laidlaw lives on Folsom near the Alemany Farmer’s Market, and she just published a new cookbook for parents with kids who lead active lifestyles called Baby and Toddler On the Go: Fresh, Homemade Foods to Take Out and About. Neighbor Kim is having a book-launch party at Badger Book (500 Cortland) this Saturday from 3 to 5, and you’re invited:

I am having a launch party for my new cookbook, Baby & Toddler On the Go  at Badger Books on Cortland this Saturday May 4th, from 3-5pm. It’s open and welcome to everyone, and I’d really love folks in the neighborhood to come by! I live in Bernal, and the photographer of the book, Thayer Allyson Gowdy, also lives here in Bernal.

Bonus: Here’s a video of Neighbor Kim’s daughter commuting to work at a Bernal playground. Cuuuuuuuuuuute:

PHOTO: Neighbor Kim with her daughter

Tomorrow: Dunk a Teacher at the Junipero Serra Elementary School International Carnival

Neighbor Kristen invites Bernalese of all ages to the Junipero Serra Elementary School International Carnival Celebration, happening tomorrow, Saturday, May 4, from 11 am to 3 pm at the school, on the southwest side of Holly Park:

This rockin’ event will feature a jumpy house, homemade food from our diverse parent population, a dunk tank so we can dunk our principal and various teachers, dancing, a beauty salon, games and an impressive raffle (drawing will be at 2 p.m., need not be present to win!). Come on down and support your local elementary school. 625 Holly Park Circle, Bernal Heights, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It takes a village to raise our amazing students!

Average Bernal Heights Home Sale Prices Going Up, Up, Up

Residential real estate is booming throughout the Bay Area. Even more locally, San Francisco real estate is white hot, with a year-over-year price gain of 19 percent in February. Naturally, then, as one of the most glamorous neighborhoods in one of the nation’s hottest real estate markets, home sale prices in Bernal Heights are up, up, up too. That’s exciting news for current Bernal homeowners, but it is also also troubling to others (and Bernalwood will represent the latter point of view in a separate post to follow soon).

Still, until someone figures out how to repeal the ironclad laws of supply and demand, the market is what it is, and so we bring you this summary of March 2013 Bernal Heights home sales, prepared by Downing & Company:

As the seller’s market continues, it’s getting more expensive to buy a home in Bernal Heights. During March prices were up for the third month in a row. The rate of home price appreciation in Bernal Heights is starting to mirror the recent gains achieved in the nearby (very hot) neighborhoods of Noe Valley and the Mission District.

Eleven (11) single-family homes sold in Bernal Heights last month. The average sale price came in at an impressive $938,091. This figure compares to the average in February of $829,429 and the average in January of $820,125.

The homes that sold during March were on the market for an average of 31 days before going under contract.

A few notes: 719 Anderson Street and 3 Bennington Street were sold as fixer uppers. The home at 21 Bessie Street was a short sale. The home at 347 Mullen Avenue totals 3,000 square feet and was built in 2011. The lot this home sits on was purchased for $399K in June of 2008.

For whatever its worth, if you knock out that outlying $2mm house at 347 Mullen — the most expensive home sale in recent Bernal Heights history — the March average recalculates to $832,000, which is still uncheap.

There’s more specific sales detail on each of the Bernal homes shown above at Downing & Company.

Make Your House More Glamorous With a New Tree Out Front

You know what you need? You need a tree in front of your house. Actually, what you really really need someone to come to your house and plant a tree for you!

The green thumbs at Friends of the Urban Forest will do just that, but to get in on the deal, you have to fill out two forms and submit them by May 7.

FUF’s Phil Pierce tells Bernalwood:

I am the outreach coordinator at Friends of the Urban Forest and we are preparing for our upcoming community planting in Bernal Heights.

It is scheduled for June 8th and will cover both sides of the hill. Our goal is to plant 50 trees on June 8th and would love your help in spreading the word to interested residents and businesses. So far we have around 25 commitments and a week left to get all the forms in from people who want in.

Get in! The forms you need are right here. Additional details are below:

Three of “San Francisco’s Quirkiest Homes” Found in Bernal Heights

Have you heard of the San Francisco Chronicle? We hear they print a newspaper. Yet just like Bernalwood, they also have a website, and on that website they published an article yesterday that lists “10 of San Francisco’s quirkiest homes.”

This angle plays well to our neighborhood’s innate disposition, which may explain why three of the 10 quirky houses are located in Bernal Heights. Of course, Bernalwood has written about each of them in months past. Bernal’s three contributions to the Chron’s oddball residential round-up are:

1) “The International Orange House” 

2) “The Chalkboard Garage House”

3) “The Yoga House”

… because we’re quirky like that.

PHOTOS: Bernalwood

“Failed Parking Attempt” Is Actually Aftermath of Possible Drunk-Driver Accident

Neighbor Mason captured these photos this morning on Franconia where it turns into Esmeralda; they document what may be the the most unsuccessful parking effort ever seen on the upper reaches of Bernal Heights.

Neighbor Mason has a more elaborate theory:

Ken Block spent the night in Bernal, and resorted to some gymkhana inspired parking techniques.

That can’t be, however, because Ken Block would have pulled it off successfully.

In fact, it looks like the parked car may have been hit by another passing vehicle, which is actually rather sad.

UPDATE: It was indeed an accident, and confirmed as sad. Neighbor Benjamin writes to say it was a bad one:

The car was indeed hit by another car at about 7:45 PM last night.  I didn’t witness the accident, although I heard it – loud crash.  I took the attached photo a few minutes after the accident. The driver appeared hurt, though I don’t know how badly.  I waited until the police arrived.

Neighbor Di adds more detail in the comments:

Actually, a young man (21 years old) was completely intoxicated and drove up Franconia at a high rate of speed, did not negotiate the curve, hit this poor Mazda, then slammed his own car into the curb on the corner.  He tried to run away because he was so drunk, he couldn’t even stand up.  Thankfully, several neighbors ran to help me keep the guy lying on the ground until police and paramedics arrived.  He is in big trouble, that one.

PHOTOS: Neighbor Mason (top) and Neighbor Benjamin (below)