Today during the BerkeleyLUG discussion, we were pondering the possibility of resumed BALUG dinners at (some) Henry's Hunan restaurant. Answer: maybe. It's complicated. And the situation is fluid.
_Probably_ yes, at the Excelsior District Henry's.
Yesterday, CABAL had what might well be the first in-person LUG meeting since Before Times (at least, outside of New Zealand):
http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/2021-April/011579.html http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/2021-May/011587.html http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/2021-May/011595.html
(By the way, I just identified the fault in my external speakers that impaired the meeting's "hybrid" nature: I just need to buy a replacement 3.5mm stereo mini M/M patch cable. The existing one has an intermittent wire.)
Getting back to Henry's (a set of independently owned + operated Hunan-style restaurants), the main problem is figuring out which of the four locations, if any, has reopened for indoor dinner dining.
1 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 110 Natoma nr. 2nd St (inner SoMa district near SF MOMA -- trad. BALUG venue) San Francisco https://www.google.com/maps/place/110+Natoma+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94105/@37... https://www.yelp.com/biz/henry-s-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco https://www.hhunan.com/ https://www.facebook.com/HenrysHunanNatoma/ (415) 546-4999 Google Maps claims no-contact delivery + delivery + takeout
2 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 1016 Bryant St nr. 8th St (outer SoMa district west of Mission Bay) San Francisco https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry%27s+Hunan/@37.7722532,-122.4075852,1... https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-san-francisco-4 (415) 527-6999 Google Maps claims takeout + delivery
3 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 4753 Mission nr. Ocean Ave. (Excelsior district) San Francisco https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco-6 https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry%27s+Hunan+Restaurant/@37.722137,-122... (415) 585-8838 Google Maps claims _DINE-IN_ + takeout + delivery
4 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 1708 Church nr. 29th St (upper Noe Valley district) San Francisco https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco-9 https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry%27s+Hunan/@37.7428546,-122.4266541,1... (415) 826-9189 Google Maps claims takeout + delivery
(The former Henry's Hunan at 1398 Grant Ave., Chinatown district is gone, ditto the original Henry's Hunan at 924 Sansome nr. Vallejo, Chinatown/North Beach districts.)
Problem: Our consensus is that Internet information about the operating status of this and other restaurants is mostly outdated and unreliable, but Google Maps's data seems overall best. BALUG planning should logically include telephoning any candidate venue during business hours and confirming in-person dining. That caveat having been noted, it _looks_ as if BALUG could resume in-person dining at the 4753 Mission (Excelsior district) Henry's Hunan.
That location is about a 3/4 mile walk from BART's Balboa Park station, and served by Muni's 14 Mission and 49 Van Ness / Mission bus lines.
I have never been to that Henry's, so cannot vouch for anything about it.
(I hope this research-ifying proves useful.)
From: "Rick Moen" rick@linuxmafia.com Subject: [BALUG-Talk] In-person BALUG at (some) Henry's Hunan restaurant Date: Sun, 9 May 2021 17:02:40 -0700
Today during the BerkeleyLUG discussion, we were pondering the possibility of resumed BALUG dinners at (some) Henry's Hunan restaurant. Answer: maybe. It's complicated. And the situation is fluid.
_Probably_ yes, at the Excelsior District Henry's.
Yesterday, CABAL had what might well be the first in-person LUG meeting since Before Times (at least, outside of New Zealand):
http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/2021-April/011579.html http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/2021-May/011587.html http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/2021-May/011595.html
(By the way, I just identified the fault in my external speakers that impaired the meeting's "hybrid" nature: I just need to buy a replacement 3.5mm stereo mini M/M patch cable. The existing one has an intermittent wire.)
Getting back to Henry's (a set of independently owned + operated Hunan-style restaurants), the main problem is figuring out which of the four locations, if any, has reopened for indoor dinner dining.
1 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 110 Natoma nr. 2nd St (inner SoMa district near SF MOMA -- trad. BALUG venue) San Francisco https://www.google.com/maps/place/110+Natoma+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94105/@37... https://www.yelp.com/biz/henry-s-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco https://www.hhunan.com/ https://www.facebook.com/HenrysHunanNatoma/ (415) 546-4999 Google Maps claims no-contact delivery + delivery + takeout
2 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 1016 Bryant St nr. 8th St (outer SoMa district west of Mission Bay) San Francisco https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry%27s+Hunan/@37.7722532,-122.4075852,1... https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-san-francisco-4 (415) 527-6999 Google Maps claims takeout + delivery
3 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 4753 Mission nr. Ocean Ave. (Excelsior district) San Francisco https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco-6 https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry%27s+Hunan+Restaurant/@37.722137,-122... (415) 585-8838 Google Maps claims _DINE-IN_ + takeout + delivery
4 of 4: Henry's Hunan Restaurant 1708 Church nr. 29th St (upper Noe Valley district) San Francisco https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco-9 https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry%27s+Hunan/@37.7428546,-122.4266541,1... (415) 826-9189 Google Maps claims takeout + delivery
(The former Henry's Hunan at 1398 Grant Ave., Chinatown district is gone, ditto the original Henry's Hunan at 924 Sansome nr. Vallejo, Chinatown/North Beach districts.)
Problem: Our consensus is that Internet information about the operating status of this and other restaurants is mostly outdated and unreliable, but Google Maps's data seems overall best. BALUG planning should logically include telephoning any candidate venue during business hours and confirming in-person dining. That caveat having been noted, it _looks_ as if BALUG could resume in-person dining at the 4753 Mission (Excelsior district) Henry's Hunan.
That location is about a 3/4 mile walk from BART's Balboa Park station, and served by Muni's 14 Mission and 49 Van Ness / Mission bus lines.
I have never been to that Henry's, so cannot vouch for anything about it.
(I hope this research-ifying proves useful.)
Well, for San Francisco, there are a few Henry's Hunan Restaurant locations - existing - which may or may not be open - or open for dinner, or open for dine-in, yet, etc. - or may not even still exist ...
"Of course" many of us are familiar with the 110 Natoma St. location. So, before pandemic - about 80% of their business is the mostly business (+ conventions, etc.) lunch crowd. Also makes them a quite good location for evening dinner - especially larger crowd or size not highly predictable. Really no reservations needed - plenty of available space - whereas for lunch they'd be totally packed ... though for quite large groups, would want to give them suitable heads-up so they can be appropriately staffed and prepared. But last I'm aware of, with pandemic, that location is "temporarily closed" (probably lower losses closed than open with far too little business). Anyway, not sure their current status regarding evening dine-in dinners - may also be limits as to how many folks are allowed to dine how close together.
Anyway, some others I'm at least partially familiar with ...
647 Sacramento St. Smaller location, pretty sure I've never eaten there.
924 Sansome St. I think I only ate there once, large location - much dine-in space ... not sure about (nominal) evening crowds/capacity - I'd guestiate from the location it may be more busy/packed (nominally) for dinner service. But looks like that location is probably beyond temporarily closed (gone?).
1016 Bryant St. - have eaten there fair number of times, but not in quite a while. Considerably smaller location.
Anyway, as for in-person, shall see how it goes, notably what's allowed, available, and what folks are likely generally going to be and feel safe/comfortable about.
I did some updates this past weekend on calendar: SF Bay Area Open Source/Linux Events https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=caj9iea2ol69b7n2uqdek4ocso%40group... I'm guestimating up 'till about 2021-06-15 +- will be a relatively gray area, as things continue to partially open up, but we've not yet fully made it to where at least San Francisco and the Bay Area thereof can essentially declare COVID-19 fully behind us and get rid of all related restrictions ... and safely so (unlike some locations where for political/economic reasons things open up faster and harder than is medically and public health prudent to do so).
Also, the venue landscape will be forever changed. When locations open, what hours, etc. will be quite different, as much of the work remote / from home will persist - at least in substantial part - so that will change the business models and customer flows/models for many surviving businesses. And, also, many business locations - and even businesses, will not have survived. I'm sure over time new businesses will generally replace the vacancies of those that shrunk or failed - but that will also take a while to become (meta-)stable once again.
So ... will probably continue to reevaluate the in-person question on at least a (semi-)frequent basis. I anticipate BALUG returning to (at least also including) in-person ... but the particular timeline and particulars of the when and where, are I think still at least somewhat open questions at the time.
And yes, Henry's Hunan Restaurant - certainly including 110 Natoma location - food there has always been quite good if not excellent, and the prices quite reasonable for the value. But, although BALUG has met there for a fair number of years now, I don't know that we're necessarily wed to that restaurant's location - or another location of that restaurant ... though BALUG has (almost) always met at a Chinese Restaurant in San Francisco, and on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. So I'd think we'd be likely to keep at least most of that tradition - as feasible - and certainly the schedule ... but as to venue ... we shall see ... and work to figure that out.
Anyone rather to quite local to San Francisco want to do some more detailed reporting and recommendations for venue ... and even approximate timing, as things open up? We've had a longstanding call on our volunteering for someone(s) to assist with venue planning and arrangements.
Quoting Michael Paoli (Michael.Paoli@cal.berkeley.edu):
Well, for San Francisco, there are a few Henry's Hunan Restaurant locations - existing - which may or may not be open - or open for dinner, or open for dine-in, yet, etc. - or may not even still exist ...
That's what I just got through saying, basically, yeah. ;->
Anyway, some others I'm at least partially familiar with ...
647 Sacramento St. Smaller location, pretty sure I've never eaten there.
The page on Yelp (https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco-4) has a January 11, 2021 notice from the restauranteurs: "Hello, this location is temporarily closed. Please contact our Mission (415-585-8838) and Church (415-826-9189) street locations for service."
However, nice catch. That's the one still-extant Henry's location I missed, yesterday.
924 Sansome St. I think I only ate there once, large location - much dine-in space ... not sure about (nominal) evening crowds/capacity - I'd guestiate from the location it may be more busy/packed (nominally) for dinner service. But looks like that location is probably beyond temporarily closed (gone?).
That was the _original_ Henry's Hunan location -- and, as I mentioned just upthread, closed permanently quite a while ago (probably around 2014).
1016 Bryant St. - have eaten there fair number of times, but not in quite a while. Considerably smaller location.
I already covered this one (though I appreciate the detail about it being a considerably smaller location): As I said, Google Maps claims they currently _do not_ do dine-in service, only takeout and delivery.
I'm guestimating up 'till about 2021-06-15 +- will be a relatively gray area, as things continue to partially open up, but we've not yet fully made it to where at least San Francisco and the Bay Area thereof can essentially declare COVID-19 fully behind us and get rid of all related restrictions ...
Nope. I personally feel I've struck the right balance for CABAL meetings starting this past Saturday, of saying people with ramped-up vaccine immunity (which I reserve the right to verify) are welcome to come, provided they feel it is safe and acknowledge that doing so is at their own risk. It also helped that CABAL is 98% outside in my spacious back yard. _However_, speaking for myself, I would be comfortable at this point, i.e., starting now, with indoor BALUG dining under similar terms as CABAL's, at a restaurant.
Also, the venue landscape will be forever changed.
So true!
We're not done losing cherished restaurants, and there will be permanent changes for the survivors, not to mention replacement businesses that spring up to replace those we've lost.
That is also an area where restaurants in the urban core (where there's less available space for outdoor dining) and those in the fog belt are disadvantaged compared to those out here in the sticks. E.g., Alpine Inn in Portola Valley, a historic beer garden with an immense outdoor dining space, has done well and reopened early.
With San Francisco County having recently entered Yellow Tier, I expect we'll be seeing more reopenings and expanded service. (San Mateo County is stuck for now in Orange Tier, moderate risk).
And yes, Henry's Hunan Restaurant - certainly including 110 Natoma location - food there has always been quite good if not excellent, and the prices quite reasonable for the value. But, although BALUG has met there for a fair number of years now, I don't know that we're necessarily wed to that restaurant's location
One thing strongly in that location's favour: It is airy and spacious inside, thus getting close to the ideal risk profile of outdoor dining such as one has at Alpine Inn.
So, as a point of comparison, as I mentioned, I've never been inside the Excelsor District (Mission nr. Ocean) location. The Google Street View photograph shows a small door almost invisibly tucked to the right of a large storefront for a Mexican restaurant. So, is the Henry's Hunan dining space cramped? Can't really say. Without visiting or seeing good indoor photos, all I can say is that the 110 Natoma venue (currently not yet reopened) is really good by general industry standards, as to airiness and spaciousness.
BALUG could always relocate to Alpine Inn, but it's certainly not Chinese and certainly not San Francisco (so that's only a joking suggestion).
The closest San Francisco analogue I can think of (quickly) to Alpine Inn is Zeitgeist, a beer garden at 199 Valencia @ Duboce. Funky mostly-outdoor place with picnic tables, and, if you wish, you can bring in pizza from across the street and they don't mind. Google Maps says they have reopened for indoor (patio) dining.
Reviews on Google Maps suggest that the beer and food remain good, but that the staff have gotten frayed tempers dealing with pandemic restrictions and other related matters (including the risk to their good selves), and so have tended to be way less laid-back and more snippy than they used to be (and who could blame them?). Definitely _not_ Chinese, but a past haunt during Dot-Com days, and it has its pleasures.
Anyone rather to quite local to San Francisco want to do some more detailed reporting and recommendations for venue ... and even approximate timing, as things open up?
That would be appreciated. (I'm a whole county away, as the bottom end of Menlo Park.)
I wrote:
Anyway, some others I'm at least partially familiar with ...
647 Sacramento St. Smaller location, pretty sure I've never eaten there.
The page on Yelp (https://www.yelp.com/biz/henrys-hunan-restaurant-san-francisco-4) has a January 11, 2021 notice from the restauranteurs: "Hello, this location is temporarily closed. Please contact our Mission (415-585-8838) and Church (415-826-9189) street locations for service."
However, nice catch. That's the one still-extant Henry's location I missed, yesterday.
BTW, you seem to have transposed digits: Correct address is _674_ Sacramento (near Kearny). Google Maps claims they are _not_ yet doing indoor dining -- but there are also no customer reviews more recent than about a year ago. FWIW, the storefront as seen from Google Street View seems quite small, in the sense that the entire building is only about 16' wide along the sidewalk (and the frontage is shared with a different business, too).
Oh, and I just noticed that Google Maps _does_ include some photos of businesses' indoors, under tab "Vibe" or "Photos" (depending on the business). Yes, confirmed that it's pretty small and a bit cramped, in there.
Revisiting the matter of the 4753 Mission (Excelsior district) location, Google Maps's interior photos seem to show a medium-spacious facility that includes some number of 1950s-style vinyl-backed booths.
Google Maps indoor photos of the 1016 Bryant St. location (outer SoMa district west of Mission Bay, reportedly takeout/delivery-only for now) show a modest place with regular chairs and tables with only maybe two tables able to accomodate a >6-person dining party.
Google Maps indoor photos of the 1708 Church (upper Noe Valley) location (claimed to be takeout + delivery, for now) make it look small and snug.
Following up:
With San Francisco County having recently entered Yellow Tier, I expect we'll be seeing more reopenings and expanded service. (San Mateo County is stuck for now in Orange Tier, moderate risk).
Update: San Mateo County just entered Yellow Tier (minimal risk), too, starting midnight tonight. That'll mean these new permissions (added to what's already OK):
Indoors ------- restaurants @50% capacity bars @25% capacity cinemas @50% capacity family entertainment centres @50% capacity amusement parks @25% indoors, 35% outdoors wineries, breweries, and distilleries @50% capacity places of worship @50% capacity mall food courts @50% capacity gyms, fitness centres @50% capacity, and saunas / steam rooms sleepaway camps starting June 1, with modifications
Outdoors -------- Live events @67% capacity with modifications & in-state visitors only
I normally would not go into that level of detail about San Mateo County on the BALUG list, but it's also a nice recap of what new openings San Francisco County declared a few days ago -- the point being that we can probably expect a number of SF restaurant openings for indoor dining, soon, since more restaurants will be able to make that make economic sense.