by Mari Hunter

I sat down with Bawer Tekin the other evening to discuss one of the newest additions to Hayes Valley, Hayes & Kebab. Tekin, a Kurd from Turkey came to the States fourteen years ago. He started in Florida but relocated to San Francisco in 1999 after visiting a friend. His brother Emin followed him to San Francisco shortly after. Within a few years of working at an Italian restaurant in Burlingame, opportunity knocked when the Brazilian restaurant at Hayes and Laguna (now Café Altano) went up for sale. Not a stranger to the restaurant business, Bawer seized the opportunity but after a few years and a downturn in the economy, he decided to sell the restaurant, travel abroad and do a little research.

Upon returning to the States, Bawer returned to Hayes Valley when space became available in 2006 at Hayes and Gough and Hayes & Kebab was born. Business was great but unfortunately, the lease was not—either he had to turn over half the business or lose the lease. With several families invested in the restaurant, turning over half of the business was not an option. Fortunately, by the summer of 2009, a new space became available and the Tekin brothers moved Hayes & Kebab to Hayes and Laguna. Over the next year, permits, zoning, and changes in business concepts kept the Tekin brothers busy with various City departments, but with help of many family members and the original Hayes & Kebab team, the new Hayes & Kebab opened in December 2010 and has been booming. Bawer’s mission statement, “give and then you receive. It’s the attitude, food, love and care, and everything” that brings people to Hayes & Kebab. Case in point, Bawer has, quite successfully, made the most of the parking lot to create a welcoming seating area to enjoy the delicious lamb and beef gyros. For the eco and health conscious crowd, you’ll be pleased to know that the countertops and tables are of recycled wood from the reconstruction and the healthy home recipes are fresh every day. Afiyet olsun!

Hayes & Kebab, 582 Hayes Street @ Laguna

Susan and François met three years ago and have since opened Terra Bakery. Susan is a second generation baker and trained at Le Cordon Bleu. François trained at Les Moulins de Paris, one of the oldest and revered baking schools in France. Combined they have thirty years of baking experience.

Terre means “earth” in French, and with Susan and François’s unwavering commitment to natural ingredients, it was the perfect inspiration for naming their bakery. Terra Bakery opened its doors to the neighborhood in April of 2010, offering croissants, breads, and other baked goods prepared with precise French technique, creative muffins, traditional New York water bagels, and an eclectic French-inspired menu. Their staple food items include a Vietnamese chicken sandwich, a meatloaf sandwich and a fried chicken sandwich. Brunch is a popular experience for many and Terra’s made to order cakes are frequently requested.

Susan and François love being in Hayes Valley and owning their own business, but it is definitely a labor of love. They bake everything fresh from scratch each day, often starting at 4 in the morning and running well past 9 at night. François’s specialty and favorite thing to bake are the baguettes, a challenging item to have come out just right. Susan enjoys baking the muffins the most because their flavors can be reinvented in many ways.

They say that one of the things they love most about baking is that you never know how things might turn out and everyday brings something new. They stay light on their toes, always offering new items. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Susan and Francois introduced truffles and a new white chocolate and berry muffin. They will begin serving cold sandwiches within the next few weeks.

Terra Bakery is located on the northwest corner of Gough and Hayes. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you stop by Terra Bakery early in the morning things are hot out of the oven. Speaking from experience, this can leave even the grumpiest commuter with a smile on her face.

by Jessie Allen-Young

At 203 Octavia, a neighborhood restaurant space under new ownership has a remod- eled look with new festive food. Naomi Beck (executive chef), Ari Feingold (restaurant consultant) and Greg Kaye (marketing guru) co-own Straw, a restaurant that serves up fancy California-style sandwiches and salads with carnival flair. Each month they feature a special menu with food themed on famous carnivals. Through February, you’ll find fare inspired by the New Orleans Jazz Heritage festival.

The partnership and sweat equity of Naomi, Ari and Greg pulled together a restaurant with a creative physical space and menu. They recruited friends and family to sculpt the restaurant’s look and feel. Their help ranged from Karl Langer, the contractor and Naomi’s husband, to a friend who took haunting photographs of Coney Island which are displayed on one wall. They’ve used classic book covers to house their menus and their collection of yard-sale-type finds were transformed into light fixtures and bar decor. The owners even hunted down and trucked across country a salvaged Tilt-a-Whirl booth which a few lucky diners get to sit in. They commissioned local artist Hugh Leeman to hand-paint their exterior sign.

For the community, Straw is donating ten percent of their food sales from Mondays to local non-profits. For the first four Mondays they will be supporting Hayes Valley Farm, with the second non-profit being Spark. The owners also partnered with the Gethsemane Church on Page Street. They donated cooking equipment that they wouldn’t need for Straw to the Church’s kitchen, and Naomi and the kitchen staff cooked up a Thanksgiving turkey dinner that fed over one hundred people at the Church.

Straw serves dinner every night, with weekend brunch and lunch. If you can’t get a table inside the carnival themed restaurant right away, they encourage patrons to stop next door at Mercury Cafe. Straw provides take-out, delivery and catering. Visit them at Octavia and Page or on the web at strawSF.com.

by Laura Surma

501 Fell Street, formerly Apollo Market & Deli, has been reborn as Mazzat, a restaurant that sheds its dual convenience store/restaurant identity for contemporary foodie appeal at affordable prices. The cafe retains its unassuming charm but invites visitors to “sit, stay” as owner/operators Adam and Suzi Chamsine will tell you. In the short time since opening in December, Mazzat has achieved an impressive Yelp score of 4.5 stars out of 5 based on more than 20 reviews. Visitors speak fondly not only of the delectable Lebanese fare but also of the husband and wife team behind the restaurant. “Both of the owners are so warm,” one reviewer says. “Their mom makes the Lebanese food from scratch every morning, and you truly get the sense that this is a family enterprise. They’re attentive and conversational, good people.”

The name Mazzat is derived from the plural for “mazza” a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as dinner or lunch, with or without drinks. The menu encourages sampling–six mazza for $25 will serve two guests–and adding a beer or inexpensive glass of wine can complete the meal. Highlights include the chicken artichoke pita or sandwich, baba ghanoush, fried halloumi cheese, dolma, and kibbe. The Chamsines say that they plan to continue to grow the menu based upon response.

Although it welcomes lingerers with laptop power, Mazzat makes take out easy. It serves lunch every day as well as brunch on Sundays, and stays open relatively late for a casual dinner–until 10 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on Saturdays. The new restaurant’s evening glow contributes to the familiar Laguna Street vibrancy of Il Borgo, Momi Toby’s, Domo and Suppenküche. Stop in and say hello.