Is it convenient to buy food in Ocean and then drive back to Bayview? 280 and 101 are right there.
I used to enjoy Emmys on Monterey 30 years ago…Is Emmys on Ocean the same?
For sure, the Fab 7x7 is not that big after all. I gotta still resist that our Fuhrer would subject his wifey and kids to Bayview action. He may be cheap and extremely bullish on Bayview but to live in all that in the meantime? But then again, you have his left/right neighbors too…
Me: Boss, since I am maxing out on PTO again, I am going to take Monday off.
Boss: Ok, doing anything fun?
Me: I plan to drive around Bayview in hunt of a Honda CRV driven by an Asian male.
Boss: WTF!!! You need help…
Me: Yes, I do need help…
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Is that like Denny’s?
It was great Chinese food, now Won Kok, 700 Monterey
Wow, is that really true? Your knowledge (all the way from South Lake Tahoe) to the Fab 7x7 is impressive…
I worked on the corner of Joost and Monterrey in 1982…I went to Lick Wilmerding on Ocean in 1967-71…
Just went back for my 45th reunion. .one of my business partners lives on Aptos right off of Ocean…
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“The subway line broke ground in February 2010, but the planning phase stretches back to the 1990s.”
Wow, they move fast. $1.57B to go less than 2 miles.
It is embarrassing how expensive this project is. Again, goes to show how powerful Chinatown can be. You think this happens in Bayview? No way!!!
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The T-line is going to be a huge deal. It will be a straight shot from the Washington & Jackson station in Chinatown to Moscone (conventions, tech) and 4th & Braanan (more tech). That’s going to represent massive mobility of tech workers into the Chinatown area — which will mean lots of investment dollars to revitalize what has traditionally been a hard-to-access area — doubly hard to access ever since the '89 earthquake shut down the direct freeway into Chinatown.
Guys like Brandon Jew (Mr. Jiu’s Michelin star restaurant on Waverly Place) and George Chen (8-Courses / China Live on Broadway) have opened up really modern/sophisticated dining spots and well be well positioned to capture business from a wealthier crowd. I’ve been to both restaurants and enjoy both – particularly the quail @ Mr. Jiu’s and the shengjianbao at China Live.
My hope is that the T-line will change Chinatown and transform it from being “stuck in 1950s HK/Singapore” to “Modern Day Asia blended with Western culture.” I can see that Mr. Jen / Mr. Chen are already capitalizing on the gradual shift in public perception that has occurred over the past twenty years ---- and presenting Chinese/fusion food in a much more sophisticated and polished (and $$$) context!
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Hard to say what will happen as the old guard of Chinatown eventually die off. Will the heirs or children sell off to the non Asians or will they stay and modernize???
That’s a fair observation — however I don’t think the question is really if the heirs will sell off to non Asians. Meaning - I don’t think the question is really about race.
I think the question is really about class.
In the 80s/90s, immigrants from Taiwan/HK were for the most part well-educated (unlike the earlier immigrants who settled in Chinatown) and these folks for the most part settled in places like Cupertino and Millbrae.
Then, in the 00s/10s, many of the immigrants from China were/are also well educated, and, as we have seen, millennials are opting to live in city centers as opposed to suburbs.
As a country now, we have had 4+ decades where those of Chinese ethnic-extraction who come to this country are not always associated with the economically disadvantaged anymore. (unlike, say, the 1880s-1940s)
So Chinatown will change and grow — and I suspect really the question is — will Chinatown continue to be for the underclass, or will Chinatown increasingly cater to the better educated — whether those better educated folks are Asian or non-Asian being mostly moot?
I sense that China Live and Mr. Jiu’s restaurants point to a bet for the upper class…
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Absolutely, but let’s see how long they last. It sounds like Mr. Jiu’s is doing ok, but I am not sure how China Live is doing. The fact is, this is a place for tourists and perhaps hipsters/millennials and ABCs with some money. The typical Chinatown resident is not going to these places. Trust me, I would love to see an evolution for the better but I am not sure I will see it in my lifetime.
@sfdragonboy - I hear you. I am optimistic though for change - I would point out that the fact that the average chinatown resident doesnt go to MJ / China Live is a very very very good thing — these restaurants are pulling in wealthier folks into the neighborhood which will ultimately drive change. I went to CL three weeks ago on a thurs eve - the place was packed with what
I would characterize as 40% expense account types, 40% “local tourists” meaning not from the neighborhood, and perhaps 20% tourists.
At the same time, the subway, when it opens in 2019, will also be pushing wealthier folks into the neighborhood — also a source for change.
Just as the tech buses represented a fundamental change in transport accessibility which served as one of the catalysts for change in the Mission/Noe, I suspect the subway will serve to be a similar catalyst for Chinatown.
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It’s kind of unfortunate the subway station is right on Stockton, the worst part of Chinatown.
What??? That is like saying BART/Muni shouldn’t be on Market Street. You want a station to be centrally located at the most convenient spot for most people. Stockton and Washington I suppose is decently central Chinatown or close enough. Just hurry up already!!!
What??? Come on!!!
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