APRIL
17, 2007 | SAN FRANCISCO So,
the waiting game is (almost) over. ~FIFTH FLOOR~ (it
seems) has honed in on their new executive chef: but I am not allowed
to say who it is just yet because the deal isn’t final. So
let’s
just run this as a blind item. All I can say is that he’s
French! And renovations are in the cards. Hopefully I can spill
the beans soon—but the ink isn’t dry yet, so it’s
as good as a rumor for now. More soon!
Okay,
this is some totally sweet news. ~WILLIAM WERNER~,
the former pastry chef extraordinaire from the Ritz-Carlton Half
Moon Bay (his pastry creations seriously blow my mind) has joined
The Village Pub and Spruce as the executive pastry chef for both
restaurants. Now yet another reason why I can’t wait for
Spruce to open!
~MASA'S~ has
hired a new executive pastry chef, Camal el Sherifi, to replace
Keith Jeanminette, who left earlier this year after almost 14 years.
El Sherifi is a graduate of the Fondation Le Cordon Bleu in Paris,
and was an assistant patissier at Valrhona L’Ecole Du Grand
Chocolat before becoming patissier at the world-renowned and award-winning
boutique, Pierre Hermé Patisserie. He was also the head
pastry chef at Draeger’s, plus executive pastry chef for
the Sheraton Hotel in Dubai, UAE, and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Masa’s is moving into its 25th year, so they must be pretty
happy with the new hire. 648 Bush St. at Powell, 415-989-7154.
Another
one who has made it through the long haul: ~EBISU~ in
the Sunset is turning 25! That is something like 200 in restaurant
years. So in honor of the occasion, starting in May, the restaurant
will close for a month so it can have a much-needed facelift.
Once it reopens, there will be more seating, a new tatami room,
a new sushi bar, and a new kitchen. New new new! They will also
be adding some new dishes once it reopens, and introducing online
ordering at the end of May. As a clever interim solution, they
will be moving Ebisu to Hotei, its sister restaurant right across
the street during the construction. Also coming up, Ebisu, Hotei,
and their SFO location will all begin using recycled, biodegradable
containers and bags. Word. 1283 9th Ave. at Irving, 415-566-1770.
Another ~BURGER
JOINT~ location
will be opening: this one is just across from the ballpark on
King Street. They are hoping for a July opening, and there will
be about 70-75 indoor and outdoor seats available. 242 King St.
between 3rd and 4th Streets.
~SEARS
FINE FOOD~,
home of the famous Swedish pancakes, has recently hired a new
executive chef, Patricia Blecha, who is adding some upscale French-Cali
cuisine to the formerly comfort food-oriented dinner menu, like
Boeuf Bourguignon and lamp chops with Merguez sausage. She has
cooked at Le Zinc in Noe Valley, and Forbes Island. 439 Powell
St. at Sutter, 415-986-0700.
A report on upcoming openings (and closures):
~SPORK~ is
opening today, Tuesday the 17. For a reminder on what this groovy
spot is all about, click
here for all the details. 1058 Valencia St. at Hill, between 21st and
22nd Streets, 415-643-5000.
Another
cutie in the Mission that is set to open soon is ~BAR
BAMBINO~, which will be ready to welcome the public
with a full menu on April 26. Click
here for the earlier write-up. 2931 16th St. between Mission
and South Van Ness, 415-701-VINO.
Opening
this Saturday, April 21, is ~JONES RESTAURANT~ in
the former Marina Sports Bar & Grill space, a project from
the One Industry Group. Gone is the sports bar vibe, and it’s
going to be more of a lounge and an upscale American eatery serving
classics with a twist. Prime steaks are the main feature, and other
dishes include crab corndogs with homemade ketchup, Kurobuta pork
chops with polenta and mustard greens, and there’s even a
PB+J sammy made with homemade peanut butter, pinot noir grape
jelly, organic Texas toast, and it comes with a shot of milk. (Make
mine a double.) The young chef is 24-year-old Jamaal Taherzadeh
who has worked under Kerry Simon.
23
wines will be available by the glass and some big-ticket wines
will be available by the bottle as well. Drinks are on the higher
end: $12 martinis and $10 craft cocktails made with quality ingredients
and fresh fruit; personally, I need to try the Southern Peach
since Peach is one of my nicknames, and yes, this drank has bourbon
in it (Makers Mark Bourbon, Crème de Peche Liqueur, Peach Puree
and OJ)! They have added a formal dining area, and a VIP area for
large parties. The look is high-end meets roadhouse, with an array
of Jack Daniels bottles above the bar (it sounds like I have already
been there!), and chicken wire around the DJ booth. Sports will
be broadcast on the TV screens when it’s a big game day,
and they will also have Sinatra Sundays with Rat Pack tunes, and
Cowboy Wednesdays, with country music and westerns. Hours are 4pm-2am,
with happy hour 4pm-7pm; the kitchen will open around 5pm, and
serve until midnight. Brunch will be coming soon. 2400 Lombard
St. at Scott, 415-440-2000.
~VISIT~ has
opened in the Lower Haight, serving Thai food for lunch noon-4pm
and for dinner (until midnight). It has a pretty striking contemporary
look, especially considering what most Thai places in the city
look like. 518 Haight St. at Fillmore, 415-626-6262.
~CORTEZ'S~ reopening
has now been pushed to May 1, but it’s looking pretty solid
date-wise. 550 Geary St. at Jones, 415-292-6360.
~JUNI
TEPPAN AND SUSHI~, the teppanyaki space in the
Lower Polk, has closed. 1217 Sutter St. at Polk.
Another
closure to report, this one is in cocktail land (a great place
to live!). After 11½ years of business, the ~RED
ROOM~ will
be closing in July. I used to get my big fishbowl martinis here
in the mid-90s—I blurrily remember it fondly.
You may remember the Commodore Hotel was recently purchased by
the Academy of Art, and was transformed into dorms for its students.
The Red Room’s lease is up, so they are opting to close—being
a bar in a college dorm is not the best business model. (The Red
Room’s closure does not affect the neighboring Canteen, which
still has three years on its lease.) Thanks for all the boozy nights,
Red Room! 827 Sutter St. at Leavenworth, 415-346-7666.
Now,
this is my kind of week. Buckle up, people, for ~SAN
FRANCISCO COCKTAIL WEEK~ (the site should be up soon). In celebration of World Cocktail
Day (which is May 13), some of San Francisco’s top bartenders
and mixologists, including Jeff Hollinger of Absinthe, H. Joseph
Ehrmann of Elixir, and Duggan McDonnell of Cantina, have organized
a weeklong celebration (May 14-21) of San Francisco’s cocktail
scene that will culminate on Monday, May 21, at Absinthe Brasserie
and Bar.
Beginning
Monday, May 14, over 30 of the most popular bars, restaurants
and lounges will participate in San Francisco Cocktail Week by
featuring two limited-edition cocktails, one classic recipe and
one original cocktail created by each location’s “Cocktail
Champion” especially for the event.
Participating bars and restaurants will include: Absinthe, Elixir,
Cantina, Bourbon & Branch, Alembic, Range, Eastside West, Citizen
Cake, NOPA, Slanted Door, Tres Agaves, Le Colonial, Presidio Social
Club, and many others. On Monday, May 21, Absinthe
Brasserie & Bar will host a celebratory evening
combining both traditional and creative cocktails with an array
of appetizers. Gary Regan will be guest bartending. Tickets will
be $45 per person. The event is designed to benefit Tales
of the Cocktail, an organization that celebrates the history
of the cocktail in New Orleans and assists in the revitalization
of the city’s hospitality industry.
For tickets to the May 21 event, contact Vanessa Harris at vharris
[at] absinthe [dot] com or call 415-551-1453.
Brunch alert: ~PRES A VI GLOBAL CUISINE AND WINE BAR~ has
begun serving weekend brunch from 10am-2:30pm. They have that sweet
80-seat outdoor patio which will be gorg on a nice sunny morning.
Some menu items will include an herbed goat cheese omelet, corned
beef and Anaheim chili hash, Dungeness crab cakes Benedict (wow,
that sounds light!), and French toast. One Letterman Drive, near
the corner of Lombard and Lyon Streets, 415-409-3000.
Just in case some of you night owls planned to head to ~NOPA~ for
a bite this week, they have closed for one week to honor their
one-year anniversary, in addition to celebrate the marriage of
owners Laurence Jossel and Allyson Woodman, which just happened
on Sunday. (Congrats all.) NOPA reopens on Thursday the 19th.
And
be sure to tune in to the Food Channel on Sunday at 9pm, because
it’s
local boy Cosentino (from Incanto) versus Batali on ~IRON
CHEF AMERICA~.
More details here.
Oh, and one
last thing: I thought you’d like to know
the spring issue of Edible San Francisco is out! Click
here to see where you can pick one up!
Got
a hot tip? You know I'd love it (and you). Just reply
to this email!
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