Moni Frailing had only just gotten the hang of the grill station at the Progress, where she was tasked with wrestling octopus tentacles and massive bone-in ribeyes over a live fire, when word came down that the restaurant would have to close due to shelter-in-place. She figured it would be two weeks—kind of a vacation—but then realized, as we all have, that the world we knew would have to be on pause for much, much longer. “And then I just started getting antsy,” she said in a phone call.
So she studied up on bread baking, experimenting with new flours from the Mill and the sourdough starter that she was able to take home from work. The work was challenging, providing the creative spark that she missed from her job, and she kept getting better and better at it. While snacking on fresh bread, homemade hummus, tinned fish and pickles with her boyfriend and a roommate, she came up with a new way to sustain herself: She’s been selling fresh bread, hummus and quick pickle sets over Instagram, and it’s one of the most satisfying meals out there.
For $25, you get a paper-wrapped loaf of bread, a pint of hummus and an 8-ounce container of quick pickles, available via pickup in the Richmond district or delivered to your door (in San Francisco). Recently, my order included a squat loaf of red wheat sourdough, hummus blended with mint and sweet green peas, and pickled spring onion and green garlic. I cut thick slices of the hearty bread and stacked it on a platter with the condiments, along with a wedge of blue cheese from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., a handful of farmer’s market almonds and a quick celery salad. Simple and nourishing.
So far, the operation has been a hit, with the sets selling out a week in advance. “It’s such a crazy thing for me to think about,” Frailing says. “Who buys bread a week in advance?” Clearly, a lot of people.
Now, she and her boyfriend, Peterson Harter, aren’t really on “vacation” anymore. (Harter also worked at the Progress, in the front of house.) They spend their workdays fielding orders via Instagram DM, making deliveries and baking 12 loaves of bread every day. Frailing isn’t so sure what her move will be when the Progress reopens and her and Harter could go back to their old jobs. Yet she’s buoyed by the support and already looking to go legit.
“It feels good, you know? To have purpose.”
Bread, Spread + Pickle. Pickup and delivery throughout San Francisco available by pre-order daily. www.instagram.com/bread_spread_pickle/
What I’m eating
When it comes to social distancing, the lineup at La Tapatia Mexicatessen works great. When you get there, you’re sorted with a call for “Burritos? Tacos? Nachos?” while those who just want to pop into the store for groceries get in a separate queue. Everything’s nice and quick, though the business still only takes cash. Recently, I grabbed a bunch of tacos there, and the chiles rellenos tacos ($3.50), stuffed with fried Poblano peppers and cheese, were the absolute best. Gooey, piquant and perfectly cushioned by the soft, fresh tortillas that La Tapatia is known for.
The pizza at Gioia Pizzeria, a New York-style thin crust spot with locations in Berkeley and San Francisco, is fantastic. I love the richness of the crust and the fact that each slice is a bona fide two-hander. The salsiccia pizza ($20 for a 14-inch, $30 for 18-inch) with pickled jalapeños, Sicilian sausage, mozzarella and Pecorino is balanced nicely, with the richness of the sausage countered with plenty of bite from the pickles. Pro tip: Add kimchi for great results.
Recommended reading
• Over at the Boston Globe, restaurant critic Devra First voices her misgivings over dining in restaurants right now. She cites concerns about worker health, exposure risks and the time and money needed to retrain staff and provide them with adequate personal protective equipment. Though her heart breaks for the industry and everyone who depends on it, she writes, “a premature return to the dining room won’t help anyone.” I feel much the same as she does.
• Chronicle contributor Tunde Wey gets into conversation with the New Yorker’s Helen Rosner about his polemical essay, written as a series of Instagram posts, about the precariousness of the restaurant industry. If you’ve read his work at The Chronicle before, you know that he’s a big-picture thinker, always, and thus his analysis of this imperiled industry uses a wide lens: “If there’s anything I think should be done, it’s that restaurant owners should abandon entirely their pursuit of a bailout specific to the industry, and focus on policy and government programs that support people generally.” Definitely check out the short video he posted, wherein he discusses those issues with Oakland chef Reem Assil.
• Aida Baghernejad checked in with the Bay Area’s mosques and community organizers to find out how people are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the fast breaking holiday at the end of Ramadan. Essential to this story is the Yaseen COVID Response Team, which has been organizing and delivering free meals for families in need. Though not necessarily a feel-good story, it’s wonderful to hear how our neighbors have stepped up during hard times.
Bite Curious is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicle’s restaurant critic, Soleil Ho, delivered to inboxes on Monday mornings. Follow along on Twitter: @Hooleil
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May 25, 2020 at 06:00PM
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The best snacky dinner, brought to you by Bread, Spread + Pickle - San Francisco Chronicle
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