Sam Wo Lives (Again)

The late, great Edsel Ford Fung (left), the "world's
rudest waiter," in a gallery photo from the website.

When we first posted on Sam Wo Restaurant 22 years ago, the signs of its demise were unmistakable: the menu was dated, the dishes didn't provide good value, and the decor was on the verge of going to seed. ("If Sam Wo is here 20 years from now, I'll be very surprised.")

Since then Sam Wo went out of business twice--the second time was this January--and its chapter in San Francisco's history appeared closed. To my pleasant surprise, Sam Wo is back:

The century-old establishment, almost certainly the most famous restaurant in Chinatown, reopened its doors in early September under new ownership. There are updates to the menu — more dim sum, including sections for steamed and fried “tapas.” Also, instead of potent Hong Kong-style lemon tea and milk tea, there’s a list of oolongs and pu-erhs from Vital Tea Leaf, available by the pot. Not to fear, the barbecue pork rice noodle roll ($) is still on the menu.

I'll be sure to pick up a T-shirt the next time I go.

Zippy's

I'm only frustrating myself when I open
the App in Zippy-less California.

It's not gourmet, but it serves local favorites late into the evening and when it opens at 6 a.m. [bold added]

The takeout and dine-in menu is large and varied — with everything from spaghetti to plate lunches, chili and burgers — and regulars usually have a go-to dish.

Bruno Mars’ favorite is the “Korean chicken plate with a small chili with rice,” according to a 50th anniversary publication. Jason Momoa recently proclaimed Zippy’s has the “best fried chicken in the world.” Former President Barack Obama likes the Zip Min, a bowl of saimin with wontons, char siu, fish cake and breaded shrimp.

I usually order the Zip Pac, containing one piece of fried chicken, Spam, breaded fish and a slice of marinated teriyaki beef over furikake-seasoned rice.

There are two Zippy's--one next to my father's high school, McKinley, and one on Kapahulu Ave.--within walking distance of my parent's home. I go to Zippy's two or three times on each trip home. It's time to book a flight.....

Chicken of Choice

(Chronicle photo)

When Boston Chicken (later Boston Market) introduced rotisserie chicken to the masses in the late 1980's, we were frequent patrons of its restaurants. In 1994 Costco began selling a whole rotisserie chicken for $4.99 (a price which hasn't changed for 30 years), and we visited Boston Market much less often. The Costco chicken was juicy, well-seasoned, and cheap; it was a much better value proposition than Boston Market or any other restaurant.

The Chronicle conducted a blind taste test of rotisserie chicken prepared by 17 different Bay Area vendors. How well did the Costco product measure up?

We took note of saltiness, appraised aromatics and analyzed distinguishing seasonings. We loved schmaltzy, crisp skin and abhorred the rubbery ones. We wanted meat rich in moisture and dreaded when a piece was dry...We rated each on flavor, juiciness and skin. A good chicken excels in all of those categories, which influence the judge’s overall score, on a 10-point scale. The findings show that restaurants typically make better chickens than markets and butchers; they often use higher quality birds...

[Costco's] chicken was by far the juiciest, practically dripping with moisture, and stayed warm longest. The value also must be noted: The price disparity between Costco and every other place was cavernous, nearly five to 20 times cheaper than the rest at $1.16 per pound. However, there is one big caveat: The oversized fowl is only available to those with a Costco membership, which starts at $65 per year.

Without considering the cost, Costco's chicken finished second to Rooster’s Peruvian Rotisserie, a restaurant in San Francisco's Mission district. If we happen to be in that area, we'll check out Rooster's. Meanwhile, Costco's second-best offering will do just fine.

Barbecue Close Call

The Trinity plate at Armadillo Willy's has three barbecued meats

When I hanker after barbecue, Armadillo Willy's, which is less than two miles away in San Mateo and has ample free parking, is my go-to place. I was therefore concerned about this headline but was relieved by the opening sentence:

Armadillo Willy’s BBQ abruptly closes all but 1 restaurant location

If you’re a fan of Armadillo Willy’s Texas-inspired smoked meats, sauces made inhouse and spicy peanut coleslaw, you’ll have to get your fix in San Mateo from now on.

The Bay Area chain founded 42 years ago abruptly closed its three other restaurants at 8 p.m. Tuesday...

Remaining open with a full menu of smoked ribs, brisket, chicken, pork plus burgers, wings and side dishes, is the restaurant at 2260 Bridgepointe Parkway in San Mateo.

They will need more customer support, and I intend to do my share.

Musk: Something More

Elon Musk has been attacked from all sides during his time at the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Washington. Interest groups are fighting to keep every dollar of over-$6 Trillion in annual government spending, while shareholders in his companies want him to return to tending his businesses.

Elon Musk's last day as a temporary government employee was today, but he may have a few ideas about how he wants to spend his time that don't include Tesla or SpaceX.

The Tesla Diner under construction (Jessie Alcheh/SFGATE)

Elon Musk continually surprises with his list of priorities, but I doubt that many had Tesla Diner on that list.

But there’s something … different about the diner under construction at Santa Monica Boulevard and Orange Drive in Hollywood. For one, it’s got a striking two-story silver Space Age design and electric car charging stations aplenty. Large outdoor screens are set to show movie clips. And then there’s the mercurial owner, controversial Tesla and SpaceX CEO and Department of Government Efficiency architect Elon Musk...

The Tesla diner project has been in the works since 2018, when Musk announced on what was then Twitter that he was “Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA.” Progress has been slow since that first public idea, but lately, tidbits about the space have been trickling out on social media. The announcement of [Eric] Greenspan as chef was first floated on X and picked up later by the New York Times. In March, Sawyer Merritt shared on X that the “diner will feature a ‘1950s retro charm, dazzling neon lights, the unmistakable scent of freshly grilled burgers & hand-spun milkshakes.’” Merritt also noted the launch of a Tesla Diners Instagram account, which remains post-free...

The restaurant’s alien-spaceship design, courtesy of Stantec, is growing more visible by the day, despite the fencing and security around the busy corner lot. In late 2023, the restaurant was still very much a steel shell, but recent photos reveal that the building has not only been topped out but is already filling up with furniture and other finishing touches. Large movie screens affixed above the chargers are roughly in place, and word is that the screens will show films for 30 minutes, or the time it takes to charge a car.

It may have the tastiest burgers and unique decor, but I doubt that was enough to excite Elon Musk. There is undoubtedly something more to Tesla Diner.

Hillsdale Mall: Food Destination

Hot Dog on a Stick is no longer at Hillsdale (Flickr)

When we moved to Foster City at the end of the '70's the Peninsula, except for tony towns like Hillsborough and Atherton, was decidedly middle class. We shopped at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo for most of our non-grocery needs. At Sears we repaired our cars and bought Kenmore washing machines, dryers, and refrigerators. We went to Macy's for fancier clothes and personal items than could be found at Sears.

The food court was just a place to grab a bite in between stores. Burger King and Panda Express were popular, but I liked Hot Dog on a Stick; the dough-wrapped dog's crispy exterior dipped in mustard and a fresh lemonade hit the spot.

Over the years Peninsula shopping centers have either been demolished for housing or have been remodeled to appeal to upscale clientele.

Hillsdale's design renovation and new restaurants has been met with approval by SFGate food reporter Susana Guerrero:

When a bamboo basket of brightly colored soup dumplings arrives at my table inside Palette Tea Garden restaurant, I can’t help but marvel at the transformation of Hillsdale Shopping Center.

Palette's dumplings (SFGate)

The large Cantonese restaurant, which opened this second Bay Area outpost, its first outside of San Francisco, in 2020, is among a wave of new eateries that have planted roots at the bustling Peninsula mall in recent years. The 71-year-old San Mateo mall has been on a steady remodeling kick since at least 2016, when it tore out its dated food court. In 2018, it unveiled an elegant dining terrace that featured new restaurants like Blue Whale Poke Bar & Grill, Kuro-Obi ramen bar and thve Bay Area’s first Uncle Tetsu Japanese Cheesecake.

Just outside the dining terrace, Hillsdale gained a Shake Shack and the Refuge, which has been featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.” With new additions like Michelin-recognized Flores and the all-you-can-eat restaurant Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House, which opened earlier this year, it’s no longer the mall of my childhood.

Hillsdale's restaurants and food court are now a destination rather than an afterthought. Over the past year I've gone to the mall to dine more often than to shop.

Loco Moco in San Bruno

The DHGS loco moco (Yelp photo)

The basic loco moco --rice, burger patty, gravy, and fried eggs--is a simple dish that's on the menu of nearly every Island restaurant, from plate lunch take-out to fancy hotel dining rooms. A good loco moco is distinguished by quality ingredients and a rich, seasoned brown gravy, and we had not found one in the Bay Area until today.

The Diamond Head General Store is a small Hawaiian-themed store and restaurant on El Camino Real in San Bruno, several blocks south of San Bruno Avenue.

The shelves were stocked with snacks and foods (for example, Spam) that are favorites with the people back home. We bought a few items, but the main reason we were there was to order from the restaurant. In addition to the loco moco ($19)--which I liked but others found a little too peppery--we tried the mochiko chicken ($18), which was excellent. The mochiko flour gives the fried chicken crust a distinctive sweetness, and I'm surprised mochiko chicken's popularity hasn't spread beyond Hawaii.

Portions were generous, and there were enough leftovers to supply lunch or dinner the next day. We'll be back.

It's Over

Sam Wo after hours (Stephen Lam/Chron)

Last month we lamented the imminent demise of San Francisco's Sam Wo restaurant. Alas, there was no white knight:

After 117 years (with a three-year pause during its relocation to 713 Clay Street), the Chinatown institution served its last barbecue pork noodle roll on Sunday...It feels both poignant and fitting that Sam Wo shut its doors just days before the Lunar New Year.

Sam Wo's closure is due to two commonplace factors: changing tastes and the inability of a family operation to find anyone in the next generation(s) with the desire and ability to run the business. The latter was the missing ingredient, because there appeared to be enough sentiment from Chinese-American fans, near and afar, to provide the capital to keep it going.

Sam Wo had a good run, but it's finally over.

Sam Wo: The End?

Chef David Ho (Strazzante/Chronicle)

Every month we hear a report of a well-known San Francisco restaurant closing--often these announcements come as a surprise--but Sam Wo's demise has been in the cards for at least a decade. Its closure (for health code violations) occurred in 2012, and it reopened in 2015 at a different address. In 2020 long-time chef and co-owner David Ho, then 65, was feeling the effects of age.

His body is full of aches and pains. He’s scared of catching the coronavirus. Still, he doesn’t want to stop working, despite the pleas of his business partners. Even his daughter has expressed concerns he’s working too hard without a staff to back him up, according to co-owner Steven Lee, who helped resurrect Sam Wo, Chinatown’s oldest restaurant, after it temporarily closed in 2012.

Sam Wo will probably close on December 31st.

A 116-year-old San Francisco Chinatown landmark, Sam Wo Restaurant, is set to close Dec. 31 — potentially for good — as chef and co-owner David Jitong Ho retires and his partners scramble to find a successor.

First opened sometime after the 1906 earthquake by Chinese immigrants, Sam Wo Restaurant became a haunt of the 1950s Beat Generation poets, including Allen Ginsberg, and workplace of the late Edsel Fong, whose colorful personality earned him the title of “world’s rudest waiter” from Chronicle columnist Herb Caen.

Ho, the second generation of his family to helm the restaurant’s kitchen, has been working at Sam Wo since 1981, except for a three-year break starting in 2012 when the restaurant temporarily closed. The 69-year-old said he is exhausted from the years of toil and needs to retire, in part, because of two torn tendons in his arm.

Sam Wo Restaurant was the subject of one of the first posts on this blog in 2003. At that time David Ho had already worked in the kitchen for over 20 years. He deserves a happy and restful retirement.

Not the McDonald's Demographic

The $14 honeymoon oyster at Water Grill is topped
with roe, sea urchin and a quail egg. (Cahill/WSJ)

The hottest trend in fancy restaurants: single-bite dishes that can cost $30.

Tiny portions of intricately assembled ingredients are gracing menus. Many incorporate caviar, seafood or Wagyu beef. The bites are meant to start the meal, and many cost $20 to $30 each, often more than heartier appetizers.

For restaurants, it’s a way to fatten check totals, since customers remain just as likely to pay for larger plates. And customers order their own because they are too small to share. Diners are drawn to the novelty—and the social media hype.

It's a way to taste very expensive ingredients without breaking the bank, as well as have something to brag about on social media. However, I suspect that many old-timers like myself will gag at the (lack of) value proposition and decline to order. Life is simpler and cheaper when one doesn't care about how many hits one gets on Instagram.

Chicken Feet

While shopping at 99 Ranch I passed the display of chicken "paws." The price was $5.49 per pound, and no, I didn't buy any.

My paternal grandmother used to get chicken feet free from the Honolulu Chinatown butchers. When one has to feed nine kids, no part of the animal is wasted.

Grandmother had several go-to recipes. What they all had in common was long hours of cooking. The feet are tough and require heat over an extended period to break down the cartilage.

My father never lost his childhood fondness for chicken feet and would always order a dish at dim sum restaurants. Nostalgia can be a powerful motivator.

Crouching Lion

I always had a hard time envisioning the lion (Peebles/SFGate)

My father liked to load the kids in the family car and "drive around the island" on weekends. We would head to the North Shore and return via the single-lane highway on the Windward (eastern) side.

The 2-3 hour trip seemed interminable to this Island kid, and the Crouching Lion rock formation signalled that we were 30 minutes from Kaneohe, which was 30 minutes from central Honolulu.

60 years later I no longer rush through the route, choosing to stop and savor the moment:

Because we don't know when we will die,
we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well.
Yet everything happens only
a certain number of times,
and a very small number really.
How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood,
some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive
of your life without it.
Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that.
How many more times will you watch the full moon rise?
Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.
--Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky

(Krause/SFGate photo)

Now there's another reason to go to the Windward side. The Crouching Lion Restaurant has re-opened.

Perched above the ocean, the restaurant remains one of the few dining establishments available in the windward neighborhood. It has changed hands throughout the years because of financial challenges. Eventually, it closed down. It was a daunting prospect for potential investors because of its remote location. It also required a significant amount of investment to restore.

But it was a challenge that new owner Eddie Kim was willing to take on, and he purchased the property in 2022 for $3.7 million. “I wanted to try something new,” he says. “After years of being an educator, it was time for a new adventure.” The restaurant officially reopened this past May. While Kim is new to the restaurant business, his goals are simple: “I wanted to create a restaurant where I would want to eat at and bring family and friends.”

For decades I've noticed the cars parked outside but never stopped. It's time I did.

Michelin-star Chef Gives Up on SF

Peter Hemsley prepares a dry-aged blue
fin tuna steak (Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle)

Michelin Award-winning chef Peter Hemsley thought that he could both succeed in business and help revive San Francisco's South-of-Market area. He has given up. [bold added]

Less than two years after Aphotic opened and drew acclaim in San Francisco, the fine dining restaurant will close.

Aphotic, which won a Michelin star in its first year of operation, announced on Instagram that it will close on Dec. 21. Chef Peter Hemsley said despite the accolades, the restaurant’s location at 816 Folsom St. in SoMa proved challenging.

“The fact that we all did this at the ugly butt end of a desolate convention center suck hole in the post-panny apocalypse, is nothing short of a small miracle,” he wrote. “And I believe in miracles — I have to as a chef and restaurant owner in these times. But I also know that miracles do not last forever.⁠”

In an email to the Chronicle, he wrote, “The energy may come back to that part of town in the years to come, but it will be a long and painful battle. Longer, much longer than anyone expected.”

Aphotic's dry-aged blue fin tuna steak (Suzuki/Chronicle)

Hemsley, an alum of the Michelin-starred Quince, opened the moody Aphotic last March in the former home of Palette, his combination art gallery-fine dining restaurant. It served an ambitious, seafood-focused tasting menu and standout cocktails. Aphotic is one of the rare restaurants with a license that allows it to distill its own spirits, producing a seaweed-infused gin...

In an email to supporters announcing the closure, Hemsley wrote that he “stayed put where I am because I was always charmed by the architecture of my restaurant, and the potential it had as an exceptional dining venue from within." Yet he said he increasingly felt the city failed to address post-pandemic challenges in Aphotic’s neighborhood. In the message, he cited “fear of parking on the street due to broken windows,” construction and other issues, coupled with the rising costs of doing business.

Mayor Breed and other San Francisco boosters are trying to make us believe that San Francisco has put the worst of homelessness, crime, open-air drug use, and general filth behind it.

To get at the truth watch the behavior of Peter Hemsley and other business people who have their own money on the line.

Getting Ahead

Bay Area Cantonese restaurants sell half or whole chicken and duck. Although traditionalists prefer to carve the fowl themselves, the restaurants will slice it free upon request.

We bought a whole steamed chicken yesterday, and the restaurant cut the chicken and included its head. Not only does it prove to the customer that he received the entire chicken, but many diners still regard the head as a delicacy.

My father and uncles patiently waited for their kids to serve themselves, knowing that the head would remain untouched. Saving the best for last, they sucked the entire appendage, leaving only the beak and pieces of the skull.

I throw the head into the compost pile. That's one tradition that stopped with the previous generation. Sorry, Dad!

Shige's Saimin Stand

Yelp reviewers say that Shige’s Saimin Stand, a small family-owned restaurant in Wahiawa (pop. 17,400), serves the best cheeseburger in the U.S.

While Shige’s Saimin Stand is best known for its house-made saimin noodles, a popular Hawaii dish, the restaurant’s cheeseburger is among one of the eatery's most-ordered menu items, judging by social media posts highlighting it. The restaurant offers three versions of the classic, all priced under $10: a regular cheeseburger made with a juicy beef patty, ketchup, and mayonnaise; the deluxe served with added onions and tomato; or the double burger that comes with an extra beef patty.

Recently I've been going to the North Shore of Oahu quite often, playing tour guide to Mainlanders.

I bypass Wahiawa because it is off the main road to Haleiwa, the usual destination. It's time to visit Wahiawa again.

I'll check out Shige's the next time I'm in the area. Cheeseburgers and saimin are two of my favorite things in life.

Stonestown Galleria: Foodie Paradise

Our lunch at Marugame Udon

For the past decade, even during the COVID lockdown, we've stopped at Stonestown Galleria whenever passing through San Francisco because of the food. From 2019:

In recent years, the 66-year-old mall in the Outer Avenues has quickly and quietly become a top culinary destination in San Francisco, thanks to a flood of new restaurants that have brought crowds ready to line up for freshly made noodles, fruity boba tea and, most recently, Japanese souffle pancakes.

In 2024 Stonestown is adding more restaurants:

The San Francisco mall already considered by some to be a foodie paradise is about to get another infusion of trendy eateries. Three new restaurants are opening at Stonestown Galleria in the next year...

Le Soleil, a Vietnamese restaurant in the Inner Richmond, is expected to open a second SF location at the mall by the end of the year. The restaurant, which serves dishes such as bo luc lac (shaking beef) and imperial rolls with pork and vegetables, also has a Hong Kong location. Le Soleil will take over the former Banana Republic space, reported KRON-TV.

Supreme Dumplings, a Seattle area restaurant known for its soup dumplings, is expected to open at Stonestown by the end of 2024 or early 2025. With two existing restaurants in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington, this will be Supreme Dumplings’ first California restaurant. The restaurant will be in the former LensCrafters space on the second floor of the mall, according to KRON.

Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya, a Japanese chain with over a dozen U.S. locations, is also slated to open at Stonestown in the first quarter of 2025. The bulk of its American restaurants are located in the Seattle area, with this one being its first in California. According to KRON4, it will replace the popular souffle pancake spot Gram Cafe, which is closing after Aug. 27.

Within the past few years, Stonestown has become a food hub, bringing in popular international Asian restaurant chains such as Marugame Udon and Kura Revolving Sushi Ba

We have more restaurants to try, so Stonestown will continue to be a place for us to stop.

A Good Idea, but They Didn't Ask Permission

(Chronicle photo)

Last week we wrote about how the Hillsborough "Flintstone" House will become open to the public for a short period as a high-end sushi restaurant.

Your humble blogger wondered why the snooty community would allow such commercial use, especially since the property's owner, Florence Fang, had a history of disputes with her neighbors about the use and appearance of the house. Now that shoe has dropped.

On Friday, the Hillsborough Police Department sent the owner of the Flintstone House, Florence Fang, a letter warning her that the sushi business could be in violation of the town’s zoning ordinance.

“Restaurants and other commercial uses are not permitted in a residential zone, even on a temporary basis,” wrote Linda Stevens, code enforcement officer for Hillsborough police. “You and the restaurateurs may not have been aware that this use would be illegal. Since you are now on notice about this restriction, please inform the operators that they may not open for business.”

In a statement, the owners of Stoneage Omakase said the business has been “incorrectly classified as a restaurant, which has led to this misunderstanding. We look forward to working with the city to resolve this issue.”

The business owners said that the food will be catered, not cooked on premises. In the meantime, reservations will be canceled and any deposits returned.

Hillsborough, the home of the descendants of Bing Crosby and William Randolph Hearst, doesn't sound like a fun, welcoming place, and I'm sure the town likes to encourage that impression.

Not the Caveman Diet

Bedrock architecture (Chronicle photos)

The last time we posted about the "Flintstone" house was five years ago.

In its latest iteration the Hillsborough home is a high-end sushi restaurant:

Stoneage Omakase will launch July 12 with a 15-course, $230 omakase menu inside a dimly lit, cave-like private dining room at the Bay Area landmark. A temporary pop-up run by a catering company, it’s the first time the Flintstone House, which sold in 2018 for $2.8 million, has been open to the public. (It was available to rent on Airbnb in 2016.)

The acclaimed chef behind the sushi is Masa Sasaki, who previously worked at the Michelin-star Maruya in San Francisco and his own restaurant Sasaki, both now closed. Sasaki was also slated to open a sushi bar as part of a splashy project at the Salesforce Transit Center rooftop before the plan fell apart. An Instagram video shows a menu with dishes like kurodai (black sea bream) nigiri and akami zuke (marinated tuna).

This is an inspired use of the property. Patrons get a Michelin-quality dinner along with a tour of the house.

I'd sign up, but Stoneage Omakase has stopped taking reservations. Here's wishing Chef Sasaki a successful, extended run.

The Enjoyment Made it Worthwhile

Somehow the calendar has gotten away from us. Nearly half the year has gone by, and we haven't enjoyed a sit-down meal at a nice restaurant.

It was a family member's birthday, and, as we did for our anniversary last year, we reserved a table at the Iron Gate French restaurant in Belmont.

The service was good on a crowded Tuesday night, and the cuisine was better. I treated myself to a New Zealand rack of lamb (pictured). The $68 cost was 50% higher than it was five years ago, but the enjoyment on the birthday girl's face (she had veal) made it all worthwhile.

We did a poor job pacing ourselves tonight and brought home leftovers. Next time we'll plan better and have enough room for the Grand Marnier Soufflé,

Let's Have More Gaslighting

Erika Minkowsky, co-owner of personal chef service The
Heirloom Chef, cooks at her Richmond, Calif. home
on a gas range. (Mercury News photo)

Earlier this month we noted how Berkeley's 2019 ban on natural gas in new buildings was successfully challenged in court by the California Restaurant Association. Other Bay Area cities who had followed Berkeley's lead are now suspending their bans: [bold added]

The Sunnyvale City Council recently temporarily suspended its ban on natural gas in new buildings, which was first adopted in 2022 to help cut Sunnyvale’s greenhouse emissions in half by the end of the decade.

Recently, Cupertino announced the city will suspend its gas ban until this fall. In the East Bay, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors earlier this month agreed to pause their all-electric building requirement and gas ban in unincorporated areas of the county. San Mateo County and San Luis Obispo also recently suspended their bans.

Except for his grandparents' house before 1961, your humble blogger has never lived in an apartment or home with a gas range and likely will never do so. Although I agree with the nanny staters that cooking with gas is riskier to health and safety than electric, I don't agree that the decision should be made for people.

Besides restaurants, there are many home chefs who prefer gas--in Chinese cooking, for example, electric cooktops cannot heat woks to the temperature required--and they should be allowed their choice.

Sure, bombard everyone with warnings about the potential dangers to themselves and "the planet," but one of the country's basic principles is that informed citizens should make their own decisions instead of having decisions purportedly made for their own good by a government bureaucrat.

Can you feel it? The tide hasn't turned, but it has been stalled.