Governor Newsom is going out with a bang: he climbed the Golden Gate Bridge to sign one of his last bills. Notably, the bill wasn’t even related to the Bridge.
Heather Knight, a reporter with The New York Times, took the elevator to the top of the bridge as Newsom climbed it. In her awesome article on the occasion, Knight writes of Newsom “He wore aviator sunglasses, black sneakers designed by Snoop Dogg and a stack of bracelets strung with beads that have become the preferred accessory for middle-aged Marin County men such as himself.”
Unfortunately, Bridge officials didn’t let the Governor’s Office release footage of the climb for fear people would try to replicate it. Maybe Newsom now wishes he took the elevator too.
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In other news, CCC Place of the Week is Pasta Supply Co.
I had a great meal at the Inner Richmond location on Saturday. In a time where restaurants can feel sterile, Pasta Supply Co enveloped us. The food was delicious, the team was above and beyond welcoming, and we were pleasantly surprised by the number on the bill (rare). They served the best meatballs I’ve ever had. This isn’t sponsored content, I just want to support them! (and for the record, CCC is never sponsored content; I currently receive a total of $0 for writing. That said, let me know if you’d like to sponsor an issue.)
Notably, Pasta Supply Co. has been crowdfunding their third location by pre-selling a year’s worth of pasta. They hit their funding goal this week! If you still want to buy a year of pasta, you have until tomorrow.
Not-All-SF Grab Bag:
If anyone would like to join a book club for Ari Emanuel’s new memoir, let me know and I’ll add you to the chat.
As of today, the San Francisco Chronicle is bringing back restaurant stars. After 8 years of starless reviews - and a national wave of removing stars during the pandemic - the newspaper once again seeks to give readers “an immediate sense of value” and comparability. Their first review, which dropped this morning, is of SF classic House of Prime Rib (two stars).
I’ve long been a fan of the city’s Vacant to Vibrant program, which connects small business owners to property owners for low-cost, short-term leases on vacant spaces. Several small eateries and stores have popped up in downtown thanks to the program. The tricky part, however, is what happens when the lease is up and the rent skyrockets. Vacant to Vibrant is a great start and the city needs to continue its push to help local businesses thrive.
Every few years there’s a viral article about America’s social isolation. The last one was The Atlantic’s January 2025 piece, “Americans Need to Party More.” This week’s edition is Derek Thompson’s “You Are No Longer Invited to Dinner,” in which Thompson dives into the data on hosting. His conclusion is that “everyone’s home. No one’s coming over.” He has sound hypotheses on rationale behind the data, including that people have less leisure time than they used to and there’s more to do alone. I have another, less intellectual theory: social media has raised the bar for what hosting should look like. Influencers suggest a need for table scapes, courses, and cocktails. That can be fun, but it’s not a requirement. We need to collectively lower the bar. I find many dinner guests care more about the companionship than the food. Make something easy! Consider sheet pan chicken.
For people like me, who love NYC’s Superiority Burger, you’ll be excited to learn that the owner is opening a new restaurant in…Los Angeles. SF someday?!
Today in random celebrity pairings, did you know that Pitbull wrote the foreward for Bernie Markus, the co-founder of Home Depot’s memoir? Pitbull had previously interviewed Markus on his podcast. I wholeheartedly recommend Acquired’s Home Depot episode.
Talk to you Sunday!