If all goes well, Bourbon & Branch's ~RICKHOUSE~ will be soft opening this Wednesday. (It's the bar that is opening in the former Ginger's Trois space in the Financial District.) It's quite the looker—you can take a peek at some preliminary pics on Alcademics. According to the B&B website, "The focus is going to be modern-takes on vintage and obscure classics with an emphasis on a diverse option of choices." If you want to read more back-story on it, here's a tablehopper mention. 246 Kearny St. at Sutter, 415-398-2827. (Photo: Camper English/Alcademics.)
And in North Beach, Dario Zucconi of Tommaso's has opened his ~THE VIN CLUB WINE BAR~. The wine bar is currently in the middle of its soft opening, with the grand opening scheduled for Wednesday July 1st. (In case you're wondering where it is, it was previously Broadway Joe's.) There will be an extensive selection of wines by the taste, glass, and bottle available, plus specialty cheeses, salumi, charcuterie plates, panini, and homemade desserts. The looks is a classic, contemporary wine lounge with mahogany floors, 12-foot ceilings, hand-blown pendant lights, and a custom-built bar crafted from wooden wine box tops. Open Wed–Thu 4pm–11pm, Fri 4pm–12:30am, Sat 12pm–12:30am, Sun 12pm–10pm. 515 Broadway St. at Kearny, 415-277-7228.
I'm lucky to have a somm friend I can call when I need to figure out what will pair best with some vittles I'm cooking up at home (with the occasional call or text while I am at a restaurant). But, sometimes I am outta luck, which is when the ~DRINKS MATCHER FROM NAT DECANTS~ is my friend—you just enter in the food you're trying to pair with, or if you have a special wine and you're trying to figure out what would pair best with it, you just enter the wine. And how handy, there is now a Drinks Matcher mobile application for iPhone, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry, with 380,000 wine and food pairings in all. I haven't had a chance to check out the mobile app, but The Nat Decants Drinks Matcher is $2.99 and you can download it from the online stores for iPhone or BlackBerry—here's the link to the homepage for the Mobile Matcher.
Winos, it's about that time: every wine list at each of ~LARK CREEK RESTAURANT GROUP'S~ Bay Area restaurants (One Market Restaurant, LarkCreekSteak, The Tavern at Lark Creek, Lark Creek Walnut Creek, Yankee Pier in Larkspur, Lafayette, and Santana Row, and Parcel 104) will be offered at half price for brunch, lunch, and dinner throughout the entire month of July.
