June 16, 2009

La Boulange To Noe Valley?

Sure looks like it. Eater SF has the scoop: "While the Bay Bread folks are mum on any specific location, saying nothing is confirmed quite yet, we couldn't help but notice this liquor license application for 3898 24th Street, which just happens to be the current home of Noe Valley Pizza Restaurant on the corner of Sanchez."

[ESF: Inevitabilities: La Boulange Goes to Noe Valley]

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great - let's get yet another pretentious restaurant in Noe Valley.
Noe Valley Pizza is the only welcoming, non-pretentious restaurant in Noe Valley. The only place with a welcoming attitude to all.
How Sad.

Anonymous said...

You are a crazy person.

greenish said...

I love La Boulange and I'm excited to see this change over. I welcome them to the neighborhood and I think they will do great. I'm sorry to see old institutions go but it's what happens.

Sean said...

Gah, why couldn't it be Pomodoro, or for that matter even Haystack? NVP is maybe not the best and certainly not the fanciest pizza in town, but it's a regular in our household on a weekly basis. It saddens me to see them go.

Anonymous said...

"You are a crazy person" is your only pathetic response?
How Sad.

chipie said...

It's been a looong time now since I tried it, but I don't care for this or Haystack's pizza. Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm more concerned the affect this will have on Noe Valley Bakery than about losing this place
Otoh, I really like the couple of lunches I've had at the Cole Valley spot... the NV dining is unforgivably mediocre, so hopefully the fare here will liven things up a bit.

Anonymous said...

i'm excited! la boulange is delish! however, it is sad to see an established place go, hopefully they got a pretty penny and the employees found other work.

ps: "pretentious"? i don't go it. every restaurant/business in noe valley is welcoming, that's what makes our neighborhood so great.

TK said...

I'm all for established neighborhood places. But after the 2 decades-long new restaurant moratorium, Noe is in desperate need of places that new/younger residents want to go to. I'm talking about residents who are paying the new, very high prices in rent & mortgages.

I am extremely excited that Boulange could be coming to the neighborhood. It's the type of place that attracts a clientele of all ages, and "all" includes young couples (and yes, some of us are stroller-free) that now live in the neighborhood [see above].

I think Noe Bread is cute, but I'm not a fan. I have always said that we would never get a Boulange bc of having Noe Bread, but I am extremely excited about the prospect of being wrong!!

I love Noe, so I'm sorry if I sound angry - I'm not - but having gone through Bell market as our only grocery store, a Real Foods that will never open, restaurants on 24th that I never eat at, I am really excited for some change.

Contigo, Boulange, Whole Foods - bring it on! At the very least Contigo could qualify as a new Noe classic. I would love to eat in Noe rather than walking down to the Mission every weekend.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about Noe Valley Bakery. We will be fine and Boulange will be a welcome addition to our great neighborhood. We welcome them!

Mr. Cranky said...

It defies reason to call Noe Valley Pizza the last unpretentious restaurant in the entire neighborhood when there's a similar pizza place almost directly across the street. It's not even the last place on the block.

And I can't speak for anyone else's experiences, but I've never found La Boulange to be pretentious or unwelcoming -- only convivial and delicious. It is French, but don't let that scare you. They practically invented tasty pastries.

Noe's filled with unpretentious family-friendly places, and I'm glad to hear Noe Valley Bakery welcome another.

Anonymous said...

I'll still go to NVB for the Challah and the yummy cupcakes, but happy to have another good alternative in the neighborhood!

Anonymous said...

Second the above poster - NVB is terrific and my go-to place for take-away bakeries (best cupcake i've ever had).
This new place (which I'm excited to hear about) will probably be more like a sit-down-lunch-place for me.

robertol said...

Excited to have the Boulange move into the neighborhood. Maybe they'll even have baguettes in the morning like a proper bakery should, and also serve as a check to NVB's prices

PJ said...

Comparing Haystack to Noe Valley Pizza is like comparing Valencia Pizza and Pasta to Delfina. I will miss NVPR like I miss Herb's and Hopwell's and Little Italy. I've been in the neighborhood since 1987; the staff at NVPR knew me by phone number and treated me like a friend of the family, even when I was only ordering once a month or so. If they promised you a pie within 45 minutes, there was a good chance they would have it to you in 25. Who else would stay open and sling out one last pie for a loyal customer when it mattered the most? God bless you guys.

Anonymous said...

People actually eat at NV Pizza Restaurant? Seems mostly empty to me. La Boulange is great (I can already feel the pounds coming on!), and NV doesn't have anything like a sit-in patisserie.

Nicole said...

I am seriously going to miss Noe Valley Pizza. Their prices are better than Haystack's, their pizza is decidedly better, and I love the atmosphere there. The staff is really friendly, and the restaurant itself feels like many I went to growing up on the East Coast.

La Boulange is fine, but boring. It saddens me to see so many independent shops and restaurants leave NV and more chains moving in. Then again, I suppose they're the only companies with money right now.

Anonymous said...

We need more restaurants for young people in Noe Valley? Now that is pretentious. It isn't all about you folks. There are actually working people who have lived in this neighborhood for decades who don't want to pose at dinner every night. We don't want to have to yell to be heard over the din of noise or keep up with the latest 'water'. Myself, I'm young and like to go out but I also like to go to a place like nvp and have a pizza with nice servers and a quiet atmosphere for families. I watch the pretentious clothing stores open and fold, open and fold, and I laugh. Why aren't all the great fun young people in nv buying their clothes. Hmmmm.

TK said...

Wow, laughing at "local businesses" opening & closing? Who is pretentious now?

I don't shop at those boutiques that sell $300 sweaters or whatever. But I also don't laugh when they close.

My POV is simply that Noe is clearly attracting a new, young-ish professional demographic (skyrocketing property values are directly related to this new demand so it's not all bad for long term residents), and it would be nice for this group to have some more interesting places to eat.

NVP is fine - it always was, but I ate there once in 4 years. I walk down to Beretta for pizza and walk further to Tartine for great pastries. I would love to spend my money on 24th and I am looking forward to more places to enjoy doing that frequently.

I am also looking forward to friends from other neighborhoods wanting to meet me in Noe to eat, rather than always meeting in the Mission, Potrero or other locations. Again, I want to spend money in Noe, and bring some of my friends' dining dollars here as well.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to see NV Pizza leave. Only Haystack is left for pizza on 24th. I never go there. All my pizza needs are met by Twin Peaks Pizza on Church and 29th! Thin crust and double cheeze....yum!

Anonymous said...

I like La Boulange; my wife and kids love it. But it just makes Noe Valley that much more like Cole Valley or even Market & 3rd, where they just opened as well. But I will miss NVP. I used to eat there and get delivery often - very good. Better and more consistent than Haystack for sure.

The problem is we keep getting chains here - local chains are better than national chains but they're still chains. NV simply becomes more and more like everywhere else. How boring. What character NV had continues to dissipate with the influx of "young professionals" (I guess I used to be one when I moved here 20 years ago; now I'm an old fart) and chains. At least we can still walk to the Mission. Oh sorry TK, that's too far. "Noe Bread"? WTF? and "Noe is clearly attracting a new, young-ish professional demographic"...kiddo, that's been the case for years, accelerating in the last decade... it's been called "Snowy Valley" for longer. You know not of what you speak.

No; what we need here to get back to here is unpretentious eat/drink (and I suppose clothing) places (Cork & Bottle, 3rd Inning, Herbs, Hopwells, and the joint that unfortunately became Toast on Church at Day) that have good and/or unique food or drink at reasonable prices (unfortunately becoming less and less possible due to SF's mandates on wages and health care for small businesses - so get ready for La Boulange's $10 sandwiches! How ridiculous!).

Anonymous said...

Noe Valley Pizza Restaurant, has continue to cook with poor ingredients resulting with poor to less then average taste in the food. Not only that, if you've been there more then a couple of times you might have had the pleasant experience of having the owner of the restaurant harass the living soul of the delivery boy and the staff there. He has a short temper and I once witness him verbally attack and threaten the delivery guy. Haystack has ingredients that are fresh not just deprived from an orgy of cans and there service is excellent rather then mediocre the way Noe Valley Pizza Restaurant has been.

Anonymous said...

NVP is a default. Somewhere that's fine if you want delivery. And then it takes an hour - with no remorse when you call to see where the heck your food is. Thanks for serving our community for years - but now it's time for something new and delicious and a decided destination.

Anonymous said...

I grew up in San Francisco and now live out of state. Eating at Noe Valley Pizza Restaurant was a family tradition of ours. This past weekend I visited and was sad to see it had closed. While it is exciting for new chain businesses to be opening, I am sad to see old, established businesses close. Especially this one. I will miss the delicious pizza and certainly miss the owner; he treated my family like family and always greeted and welcomed us with a smile and a warm hello. I find it sad when a place like San Francisco-known for its small, family owned business charm succumbs to chains. In 10 years we'll have Walmarts replacing our boutiques.