The Leavenworth Passport: A TLM Walking Tour of the block, Dinner at Azalina’s, & Jazz at the Black Cat
Wednesday April 10, 2024 | 5pm & 6:30pm start times
Meet at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102
A TLCBD Mini-Grant via SF’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development will support SF residents in need of financial assistance to enjoy the Leavenworth Passport! Fill out this Google form to request a completely free passport experience! Requests open 2 weeks in advance at 12 noon & are also available in-person at TLM.
General Admission tickets are available for purchase via Azalina’s Resy!
$10 tickets to TLM tour of the 300 Leavenworth only | Register via Eventbrite
Tenderloin Museum has teamed up with our neighbors to offer an evening-length experience of our block at its best! The “Leavenworth Passport” starts at TLM for a historical mini-tour of the 300 block of Leavenworth St., stops at Azalina’s for a tasting menu of Mamak Malaysian cuisine, and lands at the Black Cat for an evening of live jazz by the Joel Wenhardt Quintet Feat. Vocalist Georgia Heers!
The “Leavenworth Passport” is a collaboration between the Tenderloin Museum, Azalina’s, and the Black Cat to offer a hyper-local experience of the Tenderloin and our shared block of Leavenworth St. between Eddy & Ellis. Join us for an evening of arts, history, and innovative cuisine. Thanks to a TLCBD Mini-Grant through the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, we’re able to offer the experience for free to a limited number of SF residents in need of financial assistance to partake in the Leavenworth experience. While everyone is welcome and encouraged to reserve a free community ticket, residents of the Tenderloin will have priority; additional full price tickets are available for purchase via Azalina’s Resy. Join us for this special, coordinated activation of three iconic Tenderloin establishments to support small businesses in the TL and enjoy the rich, dynamic, and innovative culture that has always made its home in our neighborhood.
Each “Leavenworth Passport” will begin at the Tenderloin Museum, where staff will do something we’ve never done before–share the history of the Tenderloin through a hyper-local walking tour of our immediate block! Topics will include:
- The history of residential hotels like the Cadillac, Verona, and Aarti and their transformation into permanent supportive housing
- The block’s extensive neon signage, including the museum’s new Tenderloin/Cadillac blade;
- The storied Newman’s Boxing Gym
- Significant architecture such as the Eichler-designed Mosser Towers
- The Tenderloin National Forest and the epic, Luggage Store organized Tauba Auerbach mural
- And more!
The tour will take attendees up the block to Azalina’s, where they will enjoy a tasting menu of Malaysian Cuisine. Winner of the Eater Chef of the Year award and a James Beard semi-finalist, Azalina’s Eusope takes diners on a trip through the night markets and home kitchens of her native Malaysia, with a focus on the cuisine of the Mamak ethnic group, who trace their roots to India and often practice Islam. Eusope has been cheffing in the TL and around SF–locals may remember her pop-ups at the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market–for the better part of a decade, and her new restaurant manifests these specific, complex Mamak flavors with virtuosity, innovation, and mastery of traditions that for her stretch back five generations. Not even a year old, Azalina’s deserves its many accolades, and its success adds to a long lineage of immigrant-run businesses building on the community and opportunity here in the TL to celebrate and elevate a foodway while achieving a singular and delectable experience.
The Leavenworth Passport concludes at the Black Cat Supper Club, where guests will enjoy a set of live jazz music and a drink to conclude the night on the block. Since 2016, the Black Cat has consistently programmed some of the most exciting jazz in the city in a setting that harkens back to the Tenderloin in its heyday as the city’s entertainment district. The intimate subterranean venue and elevated service creates an immersive experience that invites careful listening. While a more refined atmosphere than its mid-century predecessor around the corner, the Blackhawk, the Black Cat maintained the Tenderloin’s reputation for live music, in particular intimate, small-combo jazz music in a nightclub setting. The talent on Wednesday April 10th is the Joel Wenhardt Quintet Feat. Vocalist Georgia Heers!
Happening the second Wednesday of April, May, and June 2024, the Leavenworth Passport is one of several programs supported by TLCBD mini-grants meant to highlight the cultural vibrancy of individual blocks in the Tenderloin. We hope you can join us to experience our block at its best, and we hope you learn more about everything the Tenderloin neighborhood has to offer its residents and its city–check out tlcbd.org and visittenderloin.com for more information.