THE SPRING ISSUE
Urbanite
Next Generation Cocktails
Mixology goes global with sake, soju and cachaça Mediterranean Caipirinha ingredients: 2 oz Sagatiba Pura cachaça 3 strawberries 3 grapes 4 fresh basil leaves 1 teaspoon of sugar or the equivalent in sweetener method: Chop the fruit and muddle in a cocktail shaker with sugar and basil until the sugar is dissolved in the juice. […]
Steven Oliver: Go-to Industry Guru
Driving up Post Street you can easily miss the turn onto the narrow backstreet of Cosmo Alley. This unassuming location is hardly the place you would expect to find the grandiose building that is Le Colonial. This sprawling urban oasis has been a landmark in San Francisco for over ten years, and General Manager and […]
Destination Huntley Hotel
Summer is coming to a halt, but before you dismiss the soothing images of palm trees and warm sands, consider The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, CA as your final destination. This beachside escape—originally built in 1966—recently went under the knife for an $18 million reinvention. LA-based interior designer Thomas Schoos—behind noteworthy restaurants Koi (Los […]
Hoss Zaré is Trapped in a Fairy Tale
I met Hoss Zaré at his Folsom Street restaurant and found myself instantly charmed by the quintessential charismatic proprietor. Ingratiating and amiable, you can’t help but root for the already successful restaurateur. Born and raised in Tapriz, Iran, Zaré immigrated to the U.S. to pursue an education in medicine, with the ambition of becoming a […]
Gabe Garcia Brings His Circus to SF
Strolling down the street in the Fillmore Western Addition area of San Francisco is not the same experience it used to be. What was once a penurious array of closed storefronts and roach-ridden restaurants has transformed into a newly revitalized area that fosters the arts and innovative new businesses. Enter Gabe Garcia and Brooklyn Circus. […]
The Good, The Bad, and The Gin: A Brief History
Photography by Aaron Campbell For many people there is no middle ground with gin. They either love it, or hate it. But for a beverage that elicits such strong, singular opinions, its proponents couldn’t be more diverse. Among those who favor gin are members of British Parliament and house partiers in Compton. Gin passed muster […]
Not All Great Design is Under a Tent
The Mansion, Amsterdam With a solid wink to the fin de siècle opulence of A’dam’s histoire, The Mansion, which set up shop in one of the Dutch royal family’s historic residences a few years ago, manages to cram glittering chandeliers and gilt-edged mirrors into a space that routinely throbs with house DJ mega mixes. It’s […]
Fashionable Haunts
Twice a year, every year, the phenomenon known as fashion week marks a fashion industry one-month pilgrimage from New York to London, Milan and Paris. But you don’t have to be couture-clad to enjoy these international fashionista favorites. Hotel Byblos, Saint-Tropez (featured above) If a month of following the dizzying whirlwind of fashion weeks around […]
Montréal: Paris, Quebec
The days of Americans sniggering at Canadians are clearly done and gone. Indeed, in 2007, the Mercer Quality of Living Survey placed five Canadian cities ahead of any single American city, effectively ending our seemingly unceasing superiority complex. Yes, we totally suck. So a zip up to Canada now would be like leaving the new […]
LOLA
LOLA 1 oz. Oronoco rum 1/2 oz. Campari liqueur 1 oz. orange juice, fresh squeezed 1 oz. lemon juice, fresh squeezed 1/2 oz. of agave nectar (second option: 1/2 oz. simple syrup) orange peel Pour all the ingredients in a pint glass and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a 12 oz. Collins glass […]
An Evening of Friends at Mars Bar
In the grand SOMA tradition of uniting the prettiest guests in the Bay Area, on May 25th, the partygoers enjoyed a night of mingling, dancing and partying at Mars Bar in San Francisco. The Cielo tequila was flowing and the dance floor was packed.
Green Mind
Text by Duggan McDonnell Photograph by Lukka Feldman Don’t take this the wrong way. Really. I know, I know, Earth Day came and went, and no one batted an eye. Recycling is as de rigeur as brushing one’s teeth. Styrofoam hardly exists anymore. Your bartender is asking if you’d prefer your cosmopolitan shaken with organic […]
BOLERO
Text by Duggan McDonnell Photograph by Sara Remington Summer is the time of burgeoning and lasting heat. The day waxes longer, the sun sets, but the heat of the season remains. It is on these nights that I pretend to be of Latin blood, that I am a bullfighting torero, that I wish to be […]
Short Attention Span Guide To Travel
Boutique hotel Ostoya Palace You know those decadent destination magazines that tempt you with rapturous accounts of truffle oil massages, pristine white beaches and bamboo reeds tapping gently against French doors? Well, SOMA doesn’t have the stomach – or, frankly, the budget – for such trifles. Instead, our intrepid and discerning correspondents Kerry Olsen and […]
Hotel Vitale
Test by Heather Wagner You know you’re in San Francisco when a hotel has a yoga lounge in the penthouse. Unlike hip hotels the world over, DJ concierges, disco-ball-bedecked hot tubs and exclusionary hotel bars have no place here. Priding itself on being an “urban oasis” in design, philosophy and decor (a soothing, citrus, neutral […]
East Meets Budapest
It would be a bloody shame if, after fighting like hyenas during the 20th century, staving off the total sublimation of their cultural identity by some rather formidable foes, the Hungarians just laid down and allowed their capital to be overrun by the insatiable beast of contemporary globalism. And while specks of shiny modernism have […]
With or Without Reservations
Text by Heather Wagner Hype is a strange thing. In some cases it’s entirely justified, while other times it’s just that – hype. A hollow house of cards painstakingly assembled by lacquered PR professionals intent on luring hapless scenesters to various of-the-moment establishments. So it was with mild trepidation that I approached the Hollywood Roosevelt […]
Fine Chaya
Text by Yon Motskin The original idea was to fuse a French brasserie with a Japanese chaya (teahouse), but after more than 20 years cooking on the West Coast, the Chaya restaurants resemble less of a Eurasian immigrant and more of a native Californian born, bred and fed. Executive Chef Shigefumi Tachibe came to California […]
Ginger Lychee Gimlet
Ginger Lychee Gimlet By Christopher Nur For 7,000 years, the Chinese have celebrated the medicinal properties of ginger and its ability to cleanse and warm the body. Duly taking note, ginger devotees are amassing in this country by the day. How better to usher in Spring and good health with the snappy taste of a […]
Urban Space Invaders
Text by Matthew Nestel Graffiti specialist Sixten requests a flat white and a can of matte black. The white would “make the stencil pop-off the wall a bit more,” Sixten says. “Preferably purchase Belton as it dries quick.” Late night, he has to make due with a couple cans of Home Depot’s locked and carded […]
The Street, C’est Chic
No matter how fierce your outfit, how rarefied your game or how brilliant your dance moves, at a certain point in the evening you realize you’re either going to hook up or give up. For the Street Issue, SOMA has devoted our nightlife prowess to scouring the best places to drink, dine and mingle, followed […]
