Freud is a small British design house currently debuting their coffee and tea ware collection in the U.S.A. Created in 1986 by the Freud family, Freud (still very much a family business) specializes in producing simple, modern, functional design products for the home. theirs is a super stylish stainless steel coffee and tea ware collection, available to lucky europeans since the mid 2000s, and their tea ball in particular has become something of an icon — it’s the coolest tea ball i’ve certainly ever seen. Freud has just launched stateside so those of us on this side of the pond can now proudly own their collection, too.

Freud on Shaftesbury Avenue and thier iconic tea ball.

Inspired by stories of his father’s inter-war life spent in the coffee houses of Central Europe, where coffee, beer, culture and conversation flowed hand in hand, David Freud founded Freud design and café-bars in 1986. With the aim of bringing the bustle and chatter of his father’s treasured Viennese hang-outs to London, his first venture was to create the first café-bar in England – Freud on Shaftesbury Avenue — as well as freud café oxford. and now they’ve introduced this beautiful new way to brew at home. included in freud’s collection are stovetop espresso makers, milk & sugar bowls, cafetiere and of course the iconic tea ball. i have a feeling this could be one of the best british invasions since the beatles.

freud’s stovetop espresso maker and freud café oxford.

Outerlands is a restaurant committed to doing things right. With a focus on collaborating with local organic farms & specialty food purveyors–they have created a menu full of delicious dishes. If you’re anything like me … you do brunch often. And let me tell you friends, Outerlands, will make you cry sweet little tears of joy. It’s just that good.

A few recommendations:

Brunch: Eggs in Jail or Dutch Pancakes w/ Ginger Lemon Apple Cider. All good. All the time.

Lunch: Beet & Farro Salad or Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Go Cheese … trust me.

Dinner: Confit Duck Leg w/ Fingerling Potatoes. crazy good.

Cheers to life well lived,

Nathan Michael

recently i met some friends for coffee at a fairly new spot tucked away just below nob hill in the tenderloin. i did not know however, when i was headed to hooker’s that is was that hooker’s — hooker’s sweet treats! i’d been a huge (make that ‘crazed’) fan of hooker’s salted caramels for a long while, and whenever friends are in town, i usually insist we pop over to bi-rite market to try them. but now, now i know that hooker’s has it’s very own adorable and vintage-inspired little cafe up on hyde street, so i’ll probably need to take them there, too. here’s a peek…such a cute spot to sit and sip. and eat hooker’s sweet treats!

• all photos © sfgirlbybay.

there’s an amazing shop that one simply must visit when in paris. jordan of oh happy day! took me by here on our way to the paris flea, and alas it was closed (on sundays) but i just had to go back. merci is beautiful, and really, really big — like two huge floors of a sunlit loft big, plus a cafe, and a reading room-slash-coffee house. think abc carpet meets anthropologie with french flair, and that’s merci.

i discovered a lot of these ‘concept’ stores while in europe. not settling to fall into one category, merci is many things to many people – selling vintage and new homewares, jewelry, lighting, cookware, clothing, and as i said a few cafes thrown in for good measure. it’s fun! and lest i sound too american — it’s one-stop shopping! i could have brought home half the store had it fit in my suitcase. merci, merci!

• all photos © sfgirlbybay.